Most tool users pick up a hobby knife at some time or another, as there’s no equal when it comes to precise cutting tasks.
I’ve seen all kinds of hobby knives, from X-Acto, Excel, and others, but I’ve never seen one like this before. It’s retractable!
One of the most frustrating parts about hobby or precision knives is how easy it is to misplace the small and often transparent plastic caps.
Advertisement
It seems that this one doesn’t need a cap.
Might it even be pocketable? I wouldn’t recommend it, but maybe the retractable design makes this model more compact than others.
X-Acto says that their Retract-A-Blade knife comes with a standard #11 blade, and it should be compatible with other similarly-sized blades.
The knife has a triangular grip for added control.
From the images, there are 3 positions – closed, extended for use, and full extended for blade changes.
I strayed from X-Acto brand products a few years ago, preferring other brands’ knife handle blade clamps better. This one, similar to other X-Acto knives, has its blade clamp collar towards the front end of the knife, but I don’t see what else they could have done.
Advertisement
Reviews on Amazon seem mixed.
Price: $12-13
Nathan
Interesting if it felt good and was stable it might be a buy
Jared
Same thing I was thinking. So long as the slide mechanism isn’t wobbly – seems like a handy idea.
Bill
My biggest concern with that as well. Wobbly and sharp blades are not a good mix. 😊
MM
That’s a cool idea. And it’s one of those things that seems so obvious once you see it and you wonder why this hasn’t been a thing for ages. I’ve seen mechanical pencils and markers with this kind of function for many years, it’s surprising it took so long for someone to apply that design to an art knife. It would have been even better if the design incorporated a small compartment to store blades.
I doubt I’ll pick one up though. I used to use X-acto knives a lot, and I still like the larger #2 blades for some things but my general preference now is for snap-blade knives: there is never a cap to lose, you can extend the blade when you need to make deeper cuts or flex it to make flush cuts, and of course you can snap the tip when you need a fresh point. For small stuff I really like the Olfa SAC-1, and if the job is something really super precise then I prefer something slim, cylindrical, and with no play. My favorite is the Olfa LTD-09, which is basically a super-high quality version of the classic small X-acto handle. It is solid metal so it feels very good in the hand but the chuck is much more precisely made than X-acto. If you like nice mechanical pencils then you will like that knife. It can hold its own proprietary blades and also takes any of the small series of X-acto blades too.
Another good art knife is a new take on the 9mm snap blade style similar to the Olfa SAC-1 but it has a plastic handle, I’ve seen them sold under many brand names but I am not sure which is the original. For example:
https://www.amazon.com/VViViD-Premium-Retractable-Precision-Balanced/dp/B07BW2X168/
I like those too, and a handy feature they have is the notch for cutting string, tape, etc.
Koko The Talking Ape
Cool! I usually use snap knives for small cutting tasks and marking saw cuts because the blade is retractable. But having a really pointy tip can be important sometimes. Olfa makes snap blades that are pointier than the usual, but they still aren’t as pointy as #11 blades.
Greg
This one might be as pointy as an x-acto, but the blade edge in on the adjacent side.
https://olfa.com/collections/professional/products/9mm-sac-1-stainless-steel-graphics-knife
Koko The Talking Ape
That’s the one, or at least those are the blades. They’ll go in any 9mm handle.
I prefer the edge on the long side. It lets you make a deeper mark, and it’s less likely to stab your foot if you drop it (the light weight helps with that too).
Koko The Talking Ape
Well I guess I’m wrong. The extra pointy blades, namely these:
https://olfa.com/collections/professional/products/olfa-a1160b-graphics-snap-blades-10pk
apparently fit only the Graphics Knife:
https://olfa.com/products/9mm-sac-1-stainless-steel-graphics-knife?_pos=1&_sid=1f0003f69&_ss=r
MM
I can’t speak to 3rd party brands but they appear to be interchangeable among any Olfa model. I have three 9mm Olfa snap knives: a SVR-1 which is probably 40 years old, a SAC-1, and a LTD-05. I use both both the “extra pointy” Graphics blades and the standard type, and all of those knives will accept either blade. The differences between them seem to be the number of notches you can set the blade depth to. My SVR-1 has fewer notches, the LTD-05 has more.
DRT42
OMG, that Olfa looks good. I may have to get a couple of those.
AlexK
Never thought of putting one in my pocket, but if there was a twist mechanism to extend it, like
some pens, maybe.
If I see this in a store and it feels comfortable, I’d get it. It seems safe to keep in a bag or tool kit.
Dustin
These are great this exact model has been around for quite a while. I remember buying a bunch of pink versions of this knife for a work project. I found them at a dollar store and I still have a few kicking around somewhere. This would have been like 2006.
fred
The Pink ones are: X-ACTO X3255
Kurt
Stabbing yourself in the thigh is a rite of passage for any X-Acto knife user.
eddie sky
Or breaking the tip off on first use. Then you learn about craft mats, aka self-healing mats.
“I was learning how to air brush, and one of the practice lessons with Frisket was to have pieces on inflated balloons. As you learned to cut the Frisket, you needed to be precise and gentle enough to not pop the balloon.”
Mind you, I gave up after the 20+ balloons I popped.
Randy
A lab I worked in years ago had to use these for “safety”. They’re annoyingly floppy. We started using scalpels instead shortly after. Much safer.
Blocky
Thank you for this intel.
Kurt
A Swann and Morton #6B handle with a 25A blade is my favorite knife.
Alex Peel
Second this. Scalpel blades are better, cheaper and come in a wide variety of shapes.
Bard Parker #5 or #6 is a great handle shape.
Jon
Yep, I have one of these and can confirm that it’s not safe if you need to put some pressure on it. Like cutting a little piece of hot glue away or a plastic sprue.
Brett
Had one of these in my work carry gear for years. Buy them for the new engineer kits at work as well. Use it all the time BUT the body is 100% plastic and will break under some stress. Mine is being held together (surprisngly well) by the rubber overmold and has been for years. It’s also surprisingly difficult to dislodge the blade when changing, I usually need a pair of pliers to do it in a way that feels safe.
Bonnie
Front clamp is a no-go for me. They just never grip securely enough for my tastes and flex too much. I like the excel knives for this reason and the hex nut so the don’t roll. I also really only use them at the hobby bench.
If I want a retractable knife I’m going to reach for a snap blade or a full-size razor knife typically. Can’t think of many cases where I’d need a specialty tip geometry not available in either other handle form factor, but I suppose if I didn’t already own several of each it’d be a more open question.
Chip
I lost my hawk knife for marking wood scribes,I found that an Olfa blade works well… or a regular utility blade in a pinch.
I don’t work under a microscope, but a snap knife is very precise if you are careful.
I’ve bought these precision knives before as an impulse buy,but frankly never needed them to be that stiff?
DrDoug
I’ve had a aluminum barrel retractable knife like one of these “Excel Blades Retractable Pen Knife” for about 45 years. Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Retractable-Craft-Replacement-Blades-Excel/dp/B07SY9YWK9
I wouldn’t claim its all that special, and yes, I’ve learned from experience (ouch) not to keep it in a pocket!
On the subject of early experience with Exacto knives, one of my cousins forever altered his vision by stabbing himself in the eye with one at around age 4… a painful lesson for him and his family!
JoeM
Totally need this for some precision work, and I’m a bit of a Klutz by nature as well, so… This fits. Thanks for pointing it out! Now to hope I can bookmark it on the Canadian site! Yay!
…Oh… Don’t worry about the Klutz thing… Always had a motto for my larger projects: “If you didn’t bleed, burn, or bruise enough, you did not have enough fun doing the project.” Kind of a nod to “Putting your Blood, Sweat, And Tears Into It.”
JR Ramos
I’d pass on this unless it’s actually rigid on the business end. If you ever need caps for your Xacto knives, they’ll send you some for free if you ask. I contacted them to inquire about buying a few since they don’t seem to be for sale anywhere – and they are not, but they’ll send them out. Standard fit/handle but they’re easy to modify (as is a section of pex tubing).
+1 for disposable scalpels and 9mm snap knives with good blades. The shallower 30° blades aren’t anything special but they have a similar feel to Xacto type blades, bit thinner which is nice for foam.
Jesse
They’ve had these for at least a decade, i’ve owned several. I’ve moved onto snap off blades from NT Cutter.
hybridmicro
These already existed. Looks inspired by this.
https://www.techni-tool.com/product/758IE009-758IE009
Stuart
Yes, it already existed, but was new-to-me.
Mikey C.
We use these in my sign business. Works ok, but I prefer a solid aluminum handle. We leave these around since they’re handy for a quick task. If I have to weed 30 yards of vinyl, I’m reaching for something else though.