Safety knives: Which is better, manual or auto-retractable?

To auto-retract, or not to auto-retract? That is just one question you might be asking yourself when thinking about which safety knife to purchase for your workplace.

Choosing your safety knives

Once you’ve established what size blade you need for the materials you need to cut, and have decided whether to go for steel or ceramic blades, you’re faced with a choice of handle mechanism. How do you know which option is safest for your team: manual retraction or automatic? Are auto-retractable knives a no-brainer to reduce workplace hand injuries?

Well, it depends on your workforce and the specifics of the job at hand.

Let’s find out more…

Reducing hand injuries

Workplaces are getting safer, but hand injuries still happen. On sites where traditional Stanley knives with steel blades are used, it is unfortunately inevitable that cutting injuries will happen from time to time, particularly if blades are left exposed.

At iSB Group, we are a chosen supplier of Slice® award-winning safety knives, whose ceramic blades cut with their hardness rather than their sharpness, making it extremely difficult to cut your skin while using them.

What makes a safety knife safe? Discover the science behind the Slice® range

The handles on Slice® safety knives and box cutters are ergonomically designed to reduce strain on the hands and wrists during cutting, and to be comfortable to use by both left and right-handed workers. All their safety cutters come with either manual retractable or auto-retractable blades, depending on the chosen model – but which is best?

Auto-retractable safety knives

Theoretically, auto-retractable safety knives are the safest option.

The blade is exposed when the user applies pressure to a slider with their thumb. When this pressure is removed, the blade automatically retreats back into the handle thanks to a spring-loaded mechanism, leaving no part of it exposed to cause potential injury.

Unfortunately, those workers who dislike the need to apply constant pressure with their thumb to expose the blade may be tempted to tape the slider into a position where the blade is constantly exposed, bypassing this safety mechanism.

To overcome this problem, Slice® offers what the company calls a ‘smart’ retracting safety knife. This model requires not only pressure on a slider to expose the blade, but also contact with the material being cut. As soon as the knife is lifted from that material, the blade automatically retracts back into the handle, regardless of the position of the slider button.

When to choose manual retracting safety knives

While a smart retracting bladed safety knife will help overcome the issue of worker laziness, it may not be the best option for all cutting applications. Where, despite all best efforts, your workers are experiencing hand fatigue from applying constant pressure to keep an auto-retracting safety knife blade engaged, a manual knife may actually be a safer option.

This is providing the necessary safety training is provided and due diligence checking carried out to ensure workers understand the importance of and adhere to safety rules regarding retracting knife blades when not in use.

Choosing the right safety knives for your team

At iSB Group, our experts can help you to determine the best safety knife or knives for the cutting applications required in your workplace.

As one size rarely fits all, this may mean you need to offer your workers more than one option, depending on the cutting task in which they are engaged. We always encourage clients to trial a few different safety knives prior to purchase, to get a feel for what works best for their team.

Discover the best of what Slice® knives have to offer in our blog on the top safety knives for logistics

More information on the Slice® range can be found on our dedicated online shop, or you can contact us to order sample knives for trial at sales@isb-group.com.