We’re big fans of Toughbuilt’s utility knives, especially more unusual models like their rotating design. Seriously, we really appreciate creative takes on the utility knife, as it’s a long-running design that’s stayed mostly the same throughout its lifespan, so any clever elements you can throw in goes a long way to make it pretty exciting. This time around, they’ve got another fun-looking take on the classic cutting tool in the form of the Toughbuilt Reload Utility Knife.
So what’s so special about this knife? Unlike your typical utility knife, it’s able to reload using magazines, allowing you to simply switch to a new preloaded mag as soon as use up all the blades on the knife. That means, you won’t have to take a short break from a job just to put in new blades on the knife – you can simply take out the current mag, swap in a new one, and you’re ready to get back to work.
The Toughbuilt Reload Utility Knife is an erstwhile normal but robust-looking utility knife. You know, the kind contractors will have at the job site to ensure they have just the tool to handle any heavy-duty cutting task. Except, this one reloads using magazines, allowing you to have a full roster of blades on tap by simply slotting in a new mag as soon as you run out. No more having to unscrew the case and manually put a new blade (or switch the business side) in the middle of a job – this thing allows you to get a fresh blade onboard in just a couple of seconds.
The magazine is designed to hold five active blades on the front section, so you get five blades you can easily slide up with each new reload. As soon as one blade dulls, just press the eject button and take it out. Then, retract the thumb slider and bring it up again to take the next blade in the queue. When you retract a blade, by the way, it goes right back to the mag, so you can simply switch to a different blade type by using a different mag with the new blade type onboard. As has been custom with utility knives, the magazine comes with storage for an extra 10 blades, although you’ll have to load five of them manually at the front section to use them.
The Toughbuilt Reload Utility Knife has a housing cut in aluminum and zinc, which, the outfit claims, allow for reasonably lightweight and corrosion-resistant use, while a soft-touch rubber grip ensures a more secure hold, while protecting the rest of the knife during drops and impact. The mag is designed to work with any standard utility blades, by the way, so you can use straight, hook nose, serrated, German curve, and hawkbill blades, depending on what the job requires.
Other features include a mag release button that quickly ditches the magazine as soon as you press it, a finger ridge guard for safety during cutting, and a manual load indicator switch on the magazine. Each utility knife comes with two magazines, five standard blades, and five hook blades.
The Toughbuilt Reload Utility Knife is available now, priced at $17.98.
