Dovetail Marking Knife, Craft Knife, Thin Blade, Cast Iron Handle, Retractable, 5 Extra Blades, Swann Morton SMO-R

Great knife! I like retractable blades because sometimes I reach for stuff without looking directly at it. I also like it better than the Stanley because that one requires two hands to unlock and fold up. Also has several extra blades!

This knife works well for a variety of uses, including marking wood for cutting. VERY sharp so be careful when loading blades.

It's a great marking knife for woodworking, and a convenient one to carry at all times. No only complaints are:1) The little piece of plastic that keeps it closed has a habit of falling out. A 2" piece of painters tape fixes this for a year or so, then you might need another 2" of tape.2) In your pocket pennies or dimes can get stuck in the slot used to expose the blade. It's not a big deal to unjam it, or you can avoid this by not mixing the knife with loose change.

I was very pleased to see this offering from Swann Morton. I have this same knife in a fixed blade format. I initially bought that knife to use as a striking and marking knife in my wood work. The weight of the cast handle makes it very nice to use for numerous tasks.When I saw this retractable version, I thought that will be even better since I could safely store it in my apron pocket.Sadly when I initially received my knife, I followed the instructions, and the blade would not extend. The spine of the blade was jamming in the channel it is supposed to glide through. I identified the areas where the blade was catching by using a sharpie and some repeated attempts to open. I then gently filed back some of the casting to relieve the binding. Now the knife extends easily almost every time with a rare catch. Sad that I had to do this, but it wasn't terribly hard or time consuming.My other question is the choice to use a plastic toggle to hold the handle closed. While it is nice to be able to open the handle without needing a screwdriver, the toggle piece doesn't secure itself very firmly. I have accidentally unlatched it while handling the tool a few times. It also can jar loose if you accidentally drop the tool even a short distance. The screw that is used on the traditional knife is much more secure. If tool free is essential, perhaps find a way to retain the toggle piece when it's rotated into place.That said, the tool performs well if you have a functional example. The weight is comparable to the fixed blade model and the size is similar. I do enjoy using this knife and it sees more use than the fixed blade simply because I can carry this safely in my pocket.

When I can get the blade it works well. I've futzed with this so much to get the blade to slide in an out I'm ready to toss it. I've had cheap retractable Stanley razor knives that were easier to get to slide in and out. The long blade is great but no matter how perfect I place the blade when I retract it all the way half the time it won't come back out...jams. Track mechanically is crap.

Very easy to use. Make precise marks. No exposed sharp when not using it. I would buy it again or at least the refills.

I love this knife. It is the perfect knife for marking fine woodworking pieces. Being retractable is a plus and it’s still quite “solid“ when open.

I purchased this knife to use for marking in woodworking. The blade is excellent - sharp and has an excellent shape. But the handle is junk. The metal part is poorly machined - so poor that I will have to use tool-making files to widen the opening for the blade so that I can eliminate the blade scraping on the handle. In addition, a plastic knob is used for opening and closing the handle. But when you open it, the knob falls out. Lastly, the product heading says "... 5 extra blades..." That would imply that there was a blade in the handle and an *extra* 5 blades. There are 5 blades TOTAL with this knife.