Comment by rtpg | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rtpg | Hacker News Reader

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This isn't that but their "record factory" toy[0]... I'm like 90% sure is the same thing as something Gakken released in Japan for half the price as a little fun toy[1]

Even in the age of the internet there's a huge business in people basically taking a "normal" thing from another market and then rebadging it to release as an elevated thing.

Studio neat has a $231 tiny box cutter[2]. OLFA (A "professional" box cutter maker) sells a 2 pack of tiny box cutters that probably are 5x more ergonomic on account of being made to be used instead of to look nice on a website, for $10. [3]

The best version of a thing is likely whatever people who do it all day use. But you can totally make a market for consumers who want "fashionable" things but who don't really get the space.

Studio Neat is a big offender on this honestly... basically all of their stuff have "better" things at least at half the cost just available in random stationary stores. I'm all for wasting money on pens, but at least waste them on good pens!

[0]: https://teenage.engineering/products/po-80

[1]: https://hon.gakken.jp/book/1575072200

[2]: https://www.studioneat.com/products/keen

[3]: https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/OLFA-Compact-Knife-Pieces-95B2...

The best box cutter is the Moby Safety Knife. I used it when I was working in a supermarket 20 years ago, and I haven't found anything even remotely comparable.

The short blade on top is perfect for breaking the tape to open the box without damaging the contents. Then the mouth can be used for quickly breaking down boxes or cutting shrink wrap. You are just cutting tape, so the blade never wears out.

I cringe every time I see someone using a Stanley knife in a supermarket.

https://www.safeknife.com/

I remember someone talking about their $100 box cutter and thinking, huh? I just use my keys.

I learned about the Pacific Handy Cutter from my local grocer. It's cheap and excellent. It has a dull edge for 95% of tape cutting needs, and a safety guide for when you need to use the blade. Admittedly, it's not useful for slicing up / cutting down boxes.

This model is right handed, but they make a lefty too.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HXLNCMM

That fancy box cutter looks high utility; what don't you like about it besides the price? The retraction seems designed for frequently opening boxes, but not constantly. (I open few boxes and have a bog standard box cutter; I haven't used Studio Neat's or OLFA.)

It’s not made to fit in the hand. There’s no way to lock the blade forward. It’s one of the stupidest designs you could have for a box cutter.

For what it’s worth, a non-locking blade is a plus for some people. I wouldn’t really want to leave a locking box cutter around, I’m too forgetful, but one that stows itself away automatically I’d feel a bit safer about. Still a silly price, though.

Looks good for light-duty uses. Scared for my fingers for anything heavy.

> frequently opening boxes, but not constantly.

If you are frequently opening boxes, that spring-loaded mechanism is going to cause repetitive stress injuries. No competent workplace health and safety employee would approve it.

Also, if you are using a utility knife frequently, you likely have a depth you want to keep it. Say I’m installing carpeting. I want to set the razor at a depth for the shag of carpet I’m working on today and have my blade at that depth until I’m done. With a spring load, the only depth that can easily be set is fully out where I’m pushing it all the way. Any intermediate depths will result in me shaking back and forth trying to hold a constant intermediate pressure.

This is a utility knife for someone rich who uses it for the day’s amazons packages because they think using the blade from their scissors is beneath them.

Maybe frequently was the wrong word; I would think spring-loaded would be designed for a lot of cycling between quick cuts and some other tasks, and you didn't want to leave the blade open.

Fixed blade would be best if you were constantly opening boxes and/or you could set your knife down open. And yes, for doing tasks where you are doing longer or more strenuous cutting (carpet is a great example.)

They money is fun to grouse about, but I thought the complaint about the low utility was the interesting bit.

The other nice feature is using standard utility blades.

I have several Stanley type box cutters and blade retraction is an infuriating experience on each one because it gets stuck, the lock button gets stuck, it doesn't slide properly, often doesn't click into place, etc. I can definitely see the appeal of an object that is actually designed to work properly.

I'm confused because over the past 20 years I've owned four Stanleys[1] and used many more and never had those problems. Are you using the absolute cheapest ones they make? Because even the ones you get at Home Depot these days have metal innards that hold up over time.

One of mine got left outside in the garden for an entire winter. One side of the enclosure is sun bleached and I had to replace the blade, but otherwise it still gets used every week and works fine.

[1] This one. None of them have ever failed, I just keep 3 of them in different locations and physically lost (maybe loaned out) one a few years ago. https://www.stanleytools.com/product/10-179/hi-visibility-re...

The OLFA small box cutter is more ergonomic, does the job, and costs 100x less so you could buy a 10 pack of em and put them everywhere you want one.

Other people have linked serious box cutters for "I need to use a box cutter on 100 boxes" cases, and OLFA's small box cutter will work well for a bunch of other stuff (OLFA also has like 20 other form factors all at reasonable prices).

That used to be $95 at launch, which still is very expensive of course, but slightly more palatable. I wonder if the current price is due to tariffs perhaps?

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