A utility knife, sometimes generically called a Stanley knife, is a knife used for general or utility purposes. The utility knife was originally a fixed blade knife with a cutting edge suitable for general work such as cutting hides and cordage, scraping hides, butchering animals, cleaning fish, and other tasks. Craft knives are tools mostly used for crafts. Today, the term "utility knife" also includes small folding or retractable-blade knives suited for use in the general workplace or in the construction industry.
A knife is a tool with a cutting edge or blade often attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by mankind, knives appeared at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of wood, bone, and stone, over the centuries, in step with improvements in both metallurgy and manufacturing, knife blades have been made from copper, bronze, iron, steel, ceramic, and titanium. Most modern knives have either fixed or folding blades; blade patterns and styles vary by maker and country of origin.
The Swiss Army knife is a multi-tool pocketknife manufactured by Victorinox. The term "Swiss Army knife" was coined by American soldiers after World War II due to the difficulty they had in pronouncing "Offiziersmesser", the German name.
Leatherman is an American brand of multitools and knives made by Leatherman Tool Group of Portland, Oregon. The company was founded in July 1983 by Timothy S. Leatherman and Steve Berliner in order to market his idea of a capable, easily portable hand tool with multiple functions. That same year Leatherman sold the first multitool, which was called the PST.
Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consist of a pair of metal first-class levers joined at a fulcrum positioned closer to one end of the levers, creating short jaws on one side of the fulcrum, and longer handles on the other side. This arrangement creates a mechanical advantage, allowing the force of the hand's grip to be amplified and focused on an object with precision. The jaws can also be used to manipulate objects too small or unwieldy to be manipulated with the fingers.
A switchblade is a type of knife with a folding or sliding blade contained in the handle which is extended automatically by a spring when a button, lever or switch on the handle or bolster is activated. Most switchblade designs incorporate a locking blade, in which the blade is locked against closure when the spring extends the blade to the fully opened position. The blade is unlocked by manually operating a mechanism that unlocks the blade and allows it to be folded and locked in the closed position.
Victorinox is a knife manufacturer and luxury watchmaker based in the town of Ibach, in the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. It is well known for its Swiss Army knives. The Swiss Army knives made by Victorinox are made of a proprietary blend steel from Germany and France. Since its acquisition of rival Wenger in 2005, it has become the sole supplier of multi-purpose knives to the Swiss army. It is the biggest manufacturer of pocket knives in the world; in addition, the company licenses its logo for watches, apparel, and travel gear.
Wenger is one of two companies that have manufactured Swiss Army knives. Based in Delémont, Wenger was acquired by rival Victorinox in 2005. Since 2013, Wenger Swiss Army knives are integrated in the Victorinox collection ; the brand Wenger remains for watches and licensed products.
A pocketknife is a foldable knife with one or more blades that fit inside the handle that can still fit in a pocket. It is also known as a jackknife (jack-knife) or a penknife, though a penknife may also be a specific kind of pocketknife. A typical blade length is 5 to 15 centimetres. Pocketknives are versatile tools, and may be used for anything from opening an envelope, to cutting twine, slicing a piece of fruit or even as a means of self-defense.
A gravity knife is a knife with a blade contained in its handle, and that opens its blade by the force of gravity. As the gravity knife requires gravity or spinning motion to propel the blade out of the handle, it differs fundamentally from the switchblade, which opens its spring-propelled blade automatically upon the push of a button, switch, or fulcrum lever. The main purpose of this opening method is that it allows opening and closing to be done one handed, in situations where the other hand is occupied. A major historical use has been in issue to parachutists to cut off their parachutes when tangled in a tree or in similar situations.
The Opinel company has manufactured and marketed a line of eponymous wooden-handled knives since 1890 from its headquarters in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Savoie, France — where the family-run company also operates a museum dedicated to its knives. The company sells approximately 15 million knives annually. Opinel knives are made of both high carbon and stainless steel, the latter being the highest quality Sandvik steel from Sweden.
Gerber Legendary Blades is an American maker of consumer knives, multitools, and other tools headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, United States, within the Portland metropolitan area. Currently, Gerber is a sub division of Fiskars Brands Inc, owned by the Fiskars company of Finland. Gerber was established in 1939 by Pete Gerber.
Irwin Industrial Tools is an American manufacturer and distributor of hand tools and power tool accessories. It is owned by Stanley Black & Decker. It is best known for producing Vise-Grip locking pliers. Additionally, it produces clamps, drill bits, taps and dies, screw extractors, bolt extractors, saw blades, pipe wrenches, screwdrivers, snips, and other construction tools.
The Linerlock is a locking mechanism for folding pocket knives. A Linerlock is a folding knife with a side-spring lock that can be opened and closed with one hand without repositioning the knife in the hand. The lock is self-adjusting for wear. The modern Linerlock traces its lineage to the late 19th century, but in the 1980s the design was improved by American custom knifemaker Michael Walker.
SOG Specialty Knives, Inc. is an American knife and tool manufacturing company famous for their reproduction SOG Knife from the Vietnam era.
A multi-tool is a hand tool that combines several individual functions in a single unit. The smallest are credit-card or key sized units designed for carrying in a wallet or on a keyring, but others are designed to be carried in a trouser pocket or belt-mounted pouch.
Locking pliers are pliers that can be locked into position, using an over-center toggle action.
An OTF Knife, also known as an out-the-front knife, sliding knife, or telescoping knife, is a pocketknife with a blade that opens and closes through a hole in one end of the handle. Contrast this with the majority of knives, which are either standard folding knives or are "fixed blade" sheath knives.
Columbia River Knife & Tool, Inc. (CRKT) is an American knife company established in 1994, and currently based in Tualatin, Oregon, United States. The company's president and sales executive is Rod Bremer and the finance executive is Peggy Bremer.
The Blade Show is an annual tradeshow for the cutlery industry. It is the largest event of its type in the world. The show is sponsored by Blade magazine and is the host for inductees into the annual Hall of Fame.
