Tips and tricks for cutting

“Line of fire” means the imaginary extension of your cutting direction. If the blade slips, it travels exactly there.

1. 1

   Turn the carton or workpiece so that the cut runs past your body to the side.

2. 2

   Stand at an angle to the cutting direction, not behind it.

3. 3

   The free hand holds the material behind the blade, never in front of it.

• Example goods receipt: if the carton is directly in front of your stomach, turn it by 90°. Then the cut runs past your body.

An open blade injures even after the cut, for example when putting the knife down or handing it over. Safety knives prevent that. We classify them in four levels:

• Level 0 — No protection: fixed blade or blade retracted by hand, such as the classic cutter knife.
• Level 1 — Automatic blade retraction: The blade retracts as soon as the slider is released.
• Level 2 — Fully automatic protection: The blade retracts as soon as the slider is released or the blade leaves the material being cut.
• Level 3 — Concealed blade / protective hook: The cutting edge lies inside the housing and is out of reach for hand and goods.
• For cartons: occasionally Level 3 · a lot and changing materials Level 1 · a lot and mostly cartons Level 2.

The safety levels 0 to 3

Which carton knife is right?

A cut into the goods costs twice: the goods themselves and the time to report the damage, write it off and replace it.

• For corrugated board 4 mm thick, that is at most 6 mm of blade.
• With knives with a concealed blade (Level 3), the cutting edge does not reach the goods.

A knife guided vertically compresses the corrugated board. Started at an angle, the blade cuts into it. Less force means less fatigue with many cartons a day and less slipping.

1. 1

   Place the blade vertically.

2. 2

   Tilt the knife about 45° to the side.

3. 3

   Pull through evenly.

In logistics centres the goods often stay in the carton and the carton on the shelf. To pick individual items, an opening is cut into one side, the “window”.

• Knives with a concealed blade (Level 3) or a short cutting depth are suitable.
• With an open blade, a cutting depth of 6 mm at most.

When picking into smaller units, the four top flaps are cut off. The goods lie directly beneath.

1. 1

   Open the adhesive tape.

2. 2

   Cut the flaps off from the inside outwards.

• A concealed blade (Level 3) does not reach the goods underneath.
• With practice, flap removal takes less than 9 seconds per carton.

As with flap removal, the goods are taken out from above. Here the whole top is cut off all the way round in one cut.

1. 1

   Place the blade at a 45° angle towards the lid.

2. 2

   Cut all the way round in one pull.

• With practice, lid removal takes less than 4 seconds.
• The work is monotonous and attention drops. That is why a safety knife belongs in the hand here, Level 2 if there are many cartons.

For internal processing, labels often have to come off the carton without cutting a hole into it.

1. 1

   Score the carton about 1 mm deep along the edge of the label.

2. 2

   Lift the label slightly at a corner with the knife.

3. 3

   Peel the label off together with the top paper layer of the corrugated board.

Strapping is under tension and has sharp edges after the cut.

1. 1

   Pull the strap with the free hand to a light tension.

2. 2

   Place the knife at a flat angle.

3. 3

   Cut with a short, firm movement.

• Wear gloves: the strap ends are sharp-edged.
• Cut thick straps (usually green) only with blades over 0.5 mm thick. Thinner blades can break.
• Cut only with a sharp blade. A dull blade slips.

Film knife for film and strapping

In the paper and film industry, layers are cut off reels. These are heavy-force cuts with a high risk of injury.

• Use only robust knives built for heavy-force cuts.
• Work with a short cutting depth, 12 mm at most. This way the blade breaks less often.
• Use only knives with automatic blade retraction (from Level 1).