A utility knife is any type of knife used for general manual work purposes.[1] Such knives were originally fixed-blade knives with durable cutting edges suitable for rough work such as cutting cordage, cutting/scraping hides, butchering animals, cleaning fish scales, reshaping timber, and other tasks. Craft knives are small utility knives used as precision-oriented tools for finer, more delicate tasks such as carving and papercutting.
Today, the term "utility knife" also includes small folding-, retractable- and/or replaceable-blade knives suited for use in the general workplace or in the construction industry. The latter type is sometimes generically called a Stanley knife, after a prominent brand designed by the American tool manufacturing company Stanley Black & Decker.
There is also a utility knife for kitchen use, which is sized between a chef's knife and paring knife.
- ^ Peterson, Harold L., Daggers and Fighting Knives of the Western World, London: Herbert Jenkins Ltd., ISBN 0-486-41743-3, p. 1