OLFA9mm Stainless-Steel Utility Knife (SVR-2) - Multi-Purpose Retractable Precision Knife w/Stainless-Steel Snap-Off Blade, Replacement Blades: Any OLFA 9mm Blade

I made the unnecessary mistake of ordering an inferior utility knife instead of this fine cutting instrument. This OLFA product is the standard that all others are imitating. The housing is made of stainless steel, is very rigid and feels great in one's hand. The housing and blades are made in Japan, and as an employee of a Japanese corporation in the USA, it feels right that I'm using this product. The smoothness of the ratcheting mechanism is extraordinary, and I have no fear of the blades slipping out of position. The blades are sharp, and I'm certain that it will cut exactly what I want to cut. The pocket clip is excellent, and is also what you'll use to snap off segments as they get dull. Just pull it off the pocket clip, insert the segment you want to snap off in the notch at the end.

I’ve bought 3 of these. They are sharp and convenient. I mainly use mine as a box cutter/trimmer in a professional kitchen.

The best!

Olfa stainless blades and cutters are the best , If you want the best take no shortcuts.

Olfa products we have used, rotary cutters and utility knives have all been good quality and dependable.

Item is sleek styled and sturdy. It is built to last

Little bit of background... I do papercutting as an artform. In day-to-day life, I'm not very comfortable with scissors -- knives just work better for my general purpose cutting tasks. My standard go-to blade for light duty general tasks (opening packages, letters, cutting thread, cutting cable ties, etc.) and for my detailed paper cutting has been a #3 scalpel with a #11 blade. I greatly prefer carbon steel over stainless. I gave up on X-Acto blades long ago.I had always been aware of snap-off blade systems, and I had always trusted Olfa blades, having good experiences with their rotary cutters. Recently, I impulsively picked up the SVR-1 (not this knife, give me a second here) locally for full retail price. I was immediately impressed with the build quality -- the body is sturdy, the plastic part seemed unlikely to fail, the whole thing just felt exactly as minimal and exactly as engineered as it needed to be. The SVR-1 and the SVR-2 both come with stainless steel blades, so I checked Amazon to see if carbon steel blades were available. When I went to order some, I then also looked into this product, the SVR-2 with a blade lock. So, now I have both.The SVR-1 has no lock to speak of. They call it a slide lock, and yes the blade clicks into place, but enough pressure on the blade (a moderate amount) will send the blade back into the carrier. The lock on the SVR-2 seems like wizardry at first. You slide the blade into and out of place just as on the SVR-1, with no additional step. The blade follows a step behind, springily, like a caterpillar walks almost. Hard to explain, but the point is, you just slide the blade as you want, but no amount of pressure on the blade itself will send it back into the carrier. Amazing. I definitely recommend this one over the SVR-1, with one caveat -- the plastic bit is the lock mechanism, and it seems far more likely to fail than the simple piece on the SVR-1. When/if this will actually happen, I don't know. But it is a more complicated piece. Otherwise, it's the same sturdy stainless construction, the same easy load/use, the same useful and unobtrusive clip/blade breaker.So, what about the blades? For fine detail work, I still think the #11 scalpel blade will be better. But that's not always necessary, and when it's not, I think I'll be grabbing the Olfa. The stainless blades that came with both knives were typical stainless -- relatively soft, dulling more quickly than necessary. The carbon steel blades are amazing. Cannot stress what a difference they make. For day-to-day light duty utility work, they have already proven themselves. Being holiday-time, there have been a lot of packages coming in and going out, a lot of things to open, and this knife has been with me the whole way. When the blade dulls, breaking off a new tip using the clip is simple. Tips don't feel like they'll break off accidentally. This has been on my mind, though. In my paper-cutting, I often cut through many layers at once, and I often apply far more pressure than I should. I have broken scalpel blades. One shot up to my eye. I guess I blinked in time, my eye came out unharmed, but it sure didn't make me feel great. I'm willing to bet that the more controlled break, if it were to happen, on these breakaway blades would be more predictable. I don't really have any evidence to back that up, it's just a thing that's been on my mind.So, in summary, great design. Engineered/designed just the right amount. The stock blades are probably fine for a lot of day-to-day uses, but the carbon steel blades are not prohibitively expensive and are just wonderful. I really love this knife, and am probably going to replace the utility knife in my toolbag with one of Olfa's 18 or 25 mm snappers.

Great ratcheting slim razor knife. That the clip doubles as a blade snapping tool is a bonus. Great for fine craft, trade, and hobby cutting. The stainless blades this comes with (AB-S) are great if cutting on glass (less likely to scratch glass) and wet environs (in rain, wallpaper , damp conditions ). The AB basic carbon blades are a bit better for general use where durability is needed. Then for the super sharp need , the ABB black blades are the ones to use - though they are not as durable - so not for cutting up cardboard and hard materialAnd for those niche users cutting up kaizen foam, the super narrow kaizen blades are 9mm at the base and will load in this knife perfectly. See picture.