Despite site safety remaining high on everyone’s agenda, hand injuries are still a leading cause of workplace injury. With this in mind, Nick Grinnell explores the best safety knives for use in the logistics industry…
Our hands are among the most complex and hard-working parts of our bodies, with multiple joints, different types of ligaments, tendons and nerves enabling a large range of movement.
Injuring a hand can be at best inconvenient, and at worst incredibly costly.
Despite increasing focus on site safety over the years, injuries to the wrists and hands – including the fingers – still account for almost a quarter of all non-fatal injuries in UK workplaces, with more than 12,000 reported in 2020-2021. Over a third of these resulted in the worker having to take more than seven days off work.
Apart from the impact such absences can have on productivity, or on a business’s bottom line as they recruit temporary staff to cover the shortfall, any injury sustained at work comes with potential for expensive legal proceedings and fines if it is found that an employer failed to provide suitable safety equipment or ensure adequate compliance with safety protocols.
The majority of hand injuries at work can be prevented by ensuring workers wear safety gloves with adequate cut protection, and by providing those opening packages, boxes and bags with safer cutting tools in the form of the appropriate safety knife.
At iSB Group, we’re proud to offer Slice safety knives. These award-winning safety knives have ceramic blades that cut with their hardness rather than their sharpness, which makes them safer than traditional knives and cutters. Not only do their ceramic blades not cut skin, but the small surface area they require to cut through various materials means they do not need to be exposed to the depth that would endanger the items inside any box or package.
Slice’s safety knife blades have been shown to last 11 times longer than their steel counterparts, and will not rust, while their handles are ergonomically designed to reduce stresses and strains on the user’s hands and wrist during cutting.
Find out more about the benefits of choosing a Slice safety knife.
All the Slice products we offer at iSB Group have been tried and tested, reviewed and approved by people working on the frontline in the logistics industry. This allows us to guarantee their utmost suitability for use in the industry.
Here is our pick of the best safety knives for logistics work:
This lightweight mini safety knife comes with a rubberised slider and auto-retractable blade. Super easy to use, it will make light work of cutting materials like plastic bags, tape and vinyl stickers.
Ergonomically designed to reduce strain on the wrist thanks to its J-hook handle, which also provides protection for the fingers against staples and other packaging hazards, this is an ideal safety knife for opening up or breaking down cardboard boxes. It will also cut a variety of other materials, including clamshell packaging, tape, lighter-weight card stock, and plastic film.
With its rubberised non-slip finish and ambidextrous design, this easy-to-use safety knife is small enough to fit into a pocket, and safe enough to be kept in one. Its micro-ceramic blade is ideal for cutting open plastic bags.
Designed like a traditional ‘Stanley’ knife, this is ideal for people who prefer that style of safety knife. Its durable metal handle has a textured finish for added grip, while its blade is automatically retracted through spring-loaded action. This safety knife will make light work of cardboard boxes, zip ties, tape, banding and plastic wrap.
With five potential blade positions, including the option of a longer blade for thicker cuts, this safety knife is a good all-round, easy-to-use option that is ideal for removing plastic packaging and for cutting open cardboard boxes and plastic bags.
Contact us to order sample knives for trial, we’d love to hear from you!