Given how sharp utility knives are, you really don’t want them deploying their blades accidentally. The Titanium Safety Portable Multi-Knife addresses that concern with a unique locking mechanism, plus it incorporates six other features.
Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Multi-Knife is made by Chinese gadget manufacturer Titaner. If that name sounds familiar to you, that’s likely because the company has previously brought us gadgets such as a tiny adjustable wrench and a nifty measuring ring.
Like most of Titaner’s other offerings, the Multi-Knife is made chiefly of machined Grade 5 titanium. It uses commercially available stainless steel blade inserts, and comes with one such insert that’s laser-engraved with a snazzy pattern.
Instead of the slider- or wheel-type mechanism that most utility knives use for extending and retracting the blade, the Multi-Knife utilizes a spring-loaded pin that engages two notches along the top of the insert.
The user compresses that pin by pressing down on an external ceramic bead with one finger. Doing so allows the blade to slide through until the pin pops back up into the next notch in line – or into the empty space in front of the insert – thus holding the blade securely in place until the bead is pressed again.
A small gap between the cutting bottom-edge of the blade and the “rail” through which it slides keeps that edge from getting worn down every time it gets extended or retracted.
At the non-cutting end of the Multi-Knife, users will find a bottle opener/nail puller along with a pry bar/flathead screwdriver. The thin outer edge of the pry bar also serves as a boxcutter, for cutting tasks in which torque takes priority over precision.
Finally, four slots along either side of the tool allow for a total of eight optional vials of glow-in-the-dark (and slightly radioactive) tritium to be inserted. The idea is that these could help users locate the device in low-light conditions.
Assuming the Titanium Safety Portable Multi-Knife reaches production, a pledge of US$69 will get you one. The planned retail price is $145.
You can see it in action, in the video below.
Titanium Safety Portable Multi-Knife
Source: Kickstarter