A special utility knife with a retractable strong but razor sharp blade that made the Stanley tool company wealthy and now the name is applied to similar knives that are made all over the world.

Knifes similar in design to Stanley Knifes are also commonly box cutters.

Indispensable to the artist and well worth spending the extra money to get the real thing as the Stanley design has always been the one every one else imitates. Sharp enough for all paper cutting with a straight edge it is strong enough to cut thick card and is the general all purpose knife for sharpening pencils, trimming plastic etc.

A Stanley Knife can be purchased from any art supply store, printmaking supply store or hardware store. The spare blades are stored inside the knife handle.

ART MAKING TIP: A stanley knife is the best way to sharpen lead pencils, it gives you much more control than a pencil sharpener!