STANLEY Instantchange Retractable Blade Heavy Duty Utility Knife with Interlocking Nose Design and Quick Blade Change 0-10-788, Grey

I have used Stanley knives in the past and found them clunky and awkward to use, and as for changing the blades on the older models by having to take the knife apart - nightmare!!!But this new generation of Stanley knife is superb! It is still a chunky, heavy tool but feels well balanced in one's hand, and is supremely comfortable to hold, and I don't have particularly large hands for a woman. It is robust and feels solidly made.The small recess in the bottom of the knife enables you to (as some reviewers have pointed out) cut string etc. but it is perfect for stripping electric wiring!The rubber thumb rest almost forces you to hold the knife correctly, safely, and in an ergonomic way for the best cut. Brilliant!Having the spare blades in the knife handle compartment is an added bonus. No more hunting around in tool boxes and drawers!Changing the blades is a doddle. I really can't see why some reviewers have complained about it. Provided you push the slide right to the top, it's then simply a matter of pressing the yellow button in the side and sliding the blade out, and sliding a new one in, until it clicks.As to the packaging, once again, if people took ten seconds to examine it, they would see that there is a section of the card in the slider bit that is perforated. Give it a good hard tug, the perforation breaks and the card is then easy to just slide out of the knife. If you click on the photo below, you can see the break, on the right hand side of the card, just at the top edge of the image of the blade, indicated by an arrow.

Appropriately shaped handle. Adjustable blade exposure, cord cutting slot and storage for spare blades all useful.

Don't take it apart! packaging is ridiculous, Stanley ( Black & Decker ) Need to revisit it. After 3 of us tried to remove it I checked reviews, got irritated & cut the cardboard where it shows to pull... Nonsense instruction! it worked a treat, easy to install a blade with a bit of jiggling.. Hold the blade with cloth or gloves on. Once you get used to it it is a quick change, not the best blade I've had but it seems robust , time will tell.

Terrible instructions with the knife. Hope this helps1. The blades are STORED in the body. They do not automatically feed through. Just in case you were wondering how it worked (like me)2. To remove packaging. Push slider all the way forward. It will stop two thirds of the way along. Push down on slider, move it back slightly and then push down harder and slide all the way forward to the end.3. Push in yellow button at side and pull packaging out4. To access where blades are stored. Push black button at rear hard down and pull bottom part down. Blades are in here. Push it back in place. It clicks5. To remove a blade. Push slider all the way forward. It will stop two thirds of the way along. Push down on slider, move it back slightly and then push down harder and slide all the way forward to the end.6. Press yellow button. Remove blade7. To add a blade. Leave everything as it is. Press the yellow button. Slide blade in until the top edge of the blade is completely inside the knife. Let go of yellow button.8. One final point. If you push the slider all the way to the end (see 5 above) the blade wobbles a bit. Pull the slider back to hide the blade, now slide it forward. It naturally stops two thirds of the way along. In this position the blade does not wobble.Hope this helps.

The packaging is difficult to remove. The blade is easy to insert, but is an accident waiting to happen with the method of fitting. It doesn't stay in place. For a company like Stanley, this has got to be one of the worst design tool they have produced. My finger has stopped bleeding now and I have thrown the product in the bin.

Brilliant idea to have a retracting blade as the piece you use to put over the blade always fell off this is much safer

This, overall, is a "reasonable" quality Stanley knife, *after* you battle through removing the *absolutely awful* packaging, and the initial setup. If you do that, you will have a "reasonable" quality, rugged knife.==================================================================================================Positive FeaturesThe knife feels solid and rugged in the hand, and is easy to hold.The underside of the knife has no protruding aspects, so a lot of pressure can be applied for "tough cuts", with no pain to the hand.A large part (most, but not all) of the housing is metal. I prefer knives that feature a metal housing to knives that feature largely plastic housings.These points are why I have been prepared to "put up with" and adapt to the "minus points" of this knife (which I will explain below).==================================================================================================Minus Point 1: *Absolutely Awful* "Out Of The Factory" PackagingThe packaging, "out of the factory" is absolutely *awful*. It is *very* annoying to remove. The diagram on the back of the packaging is not clear, and is practically useless.In the end, I simply:(1) Cut the packaging at two points with a pair of scissors.(2) Practically (just about) disassembled the whole knife, pulled the remnants of the packaging out of the knife, then re-assembled the knife.This problem appears to be common among modern Stanley knives.An Amazon hosted discussion of the problem, in relation to a *slightly different* Stanley knife (the Stanley 0-10-825 FatMax Retractable Folding Knife, in Yellow/Silver), is here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/ask/questions/Tx2P30PU26820L6The solution set out in the link above also applies to this knife though.==================================================================================================Minus Point 2: Button/Sliding Mechanism Needs to Be "Worn In"/"Jimmeyed" A Number Of Times InitiallyThe second "minus point" was that, in my experience (and I have bought 2 of these knives), the blade sliding mechanism, initially, needs to be "worn in" or "jimmeyed" *a number of times*, before it eventually begins to work smoothly.At first, you may suspect that you have received a "bad sample" from the factory.However, if you persevere with sliding the button back-and-forth a number of times, its operation becomes smoother over time. You may have to "jimmey"/"wiggle" the button a little while doing this. Also, make sure you press down the button very firmly when doing this. *Eventually*, in my experience, the mechanism will work properly and smoothly.==================================================================================================Consideration of Competing ProductIf you want an “easy life” and a good quality knife that works properly *straight away*, you may want to consider a competing product. Professionals, in particular, want to be able to buy a product and have it work quickly and effectively, straight away, and without hassle. On this note, I have had very good usage experiences with a competing product from Bosch, called the "Bosch Professional Universal Folding Knife".It is sold by Amazon, here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Professional-1600A016BL-Aluminium-Packaging/dp/B07J25Z7KC/Speaking plainly, in the context of universal cutting knives, I feel that Bosch are "out-competing" Stanley, and are making the better product.==================================================================================================ConclusionAs stated above, overall, this is a "reasonable" quality Stanley knife, *if* you are prepared to battle through removing the *absolutely awful* packaging, and the initial setup.If you do that, you will have a "reasonable" quality, rugged knife.Personally, I do, overall, like this Stanley knife enough to keep it, but I can see why *many* (and perhaps most) users will be frustrated with it.If you need a quality knife that gets up-and-running *fast*, *without* any fiddling about, you may prefer the Bosch product detailed above. It pains me to say that, as my family has, historically, always used Stanley knives.I feel that Stanley have lost their way with many of their products, and this is one such product.If Stanley decision makers read this review -- please remember that quality matters, in all aspects of the product (be it packaging, or the actual product itself). Do not cut corners with quality in order to make minimal cost-savings, as with full information, customers will simply move-on to better quality competing products.Thank you for reading this review.

Very good