8 Types of Utility Blades [GUIDE]

There are 8 common types of utility knives depending on their shape and application:

• Trapezoid Blades
• Hook Blades
• Concave Blades
• Snap-Off Blades: 9 and 18mm + without segments
• Long Utility Blades
• Serrated / Toothed Utility Blades
• Safety Blades
• Scalpels, Precision Blades or Craft Blade

Each particular type of utility blade has its own features, applications, methods of use and design. Below we will try to describe each type of utility blade in as much detail as possible.

Trapezoid Blades for Utility Knives

The most common blade on the market for utility knives is the so-called utility trapezoid blade. The terms "trapezoidal" or "all-round" blade are well suited. 

Description: Utility trapezoidal blades have one cutting edge, are trapezoid formed and fit for cutting a variety of materials. Some blades have a coating on the edge, making them more suitable for cutting some harder materials. A short straight blade is recommended to be used where a shorter, stronger tip on the knife blade is needed, and this blade locks in better and is more stable. Short trapezoidal blade has three mounting notches on the back for better fixing in the handle.

Use as reference Sollex blades: 975, 975P, 975PT or 9P, 9PT, 9S

Users of trapezoid utility blades: floor and roof installers, builders and construction workers, warehouse and logistics staff, craftsmen, industrial machines and many others.

Standard dimensions: 52x19.0.65mm and 59/60x19x0.65mm.

Materials to cut / application: 59mm long blades are great for cutting drywall, flooring material, paper, cardboard, films and many more. Main uses for short trapezoidal blades are carpeting and flooring, safety knives, and industrial machines.

Manufacturers of trapezoidal utility blades: Sollex, Stanley, Milwaukee, Hilti, Fiskars, OLFA, Martor, Irwin etc

Mountable in all standard utility knives, t ex: The ordinary long trapezoid blades are 59 / 60mm long and fit most utility knives on the market. Check the fit of trapezoidal blades and knives based on the example of the Sollex 975P blade.

Sollex Utility Blades

Sollex's range of long utility blades for different materials. The blades are 59/60mm long and fit most knives on the market. Some of the blades have a coating on the edge, which makes them better suited for cutting in certain tougher materials. You can read more about Sollex's qualities and coatings here. Sollex utility blades are adapted for our knives Utility knife Mozart S2 1002.00, Construction knife 2000 and Dolphin knife 1280, but fit most knives on the market.

Hook Blade for Utility Knives

A hook blade is a blade with a hook at each end designed to cut through thick materials without damaging the material underneath. Construction, roofing, flooring and other jobs that require cutting tough materials use hook blades. 

Description: Hook blades are unique in that they have a hooked shape that allows them to easily cut materials without catching or jamming. The hook shape also makes it a safer option for cutting materials in confined spaces by preventing the blade from accidentally cutting into underlying materials or surfaces.

Use as reference Sollex blades: 10, 10P, 10PT

Users of hook blades: Hook blades are used by professionals such as contractors, flooring installers and roofers, as well as do-it-yourselfers who need a reliable cutting tool for a variety of home improvement projects.

Standard dimensions: Hook blades for utility knives are most commonly found in the standard 51x19x0.63mm size, but there are some smaller sizes available, such as the 48x19x0.65mm hook blade for Stanley utility knives.

Materials to cut / application: hook blades are designed to cut carpet, linoleum, roofing shingles and other materials difficult to cut with standard straight blades.

Manufacturers of utility hook blades: Sollex, Mozart, Lutz, Milwaukee, Martor, Wolfcraft, DeWalt

Mountable in all standard utility knives, t ex: Typically used in utility, construction or dolphin knives.

Hook blades are a versatile cutting tool that can be used for a variety of applications, such as:

• Cutting through tough or abrasive materials: Hook blades are especially useful for cutting through materials that are difficult to slice with a standard blade, such as carpet, vinyl, roofing felt, rubber, and various types of fabrics.
• Roofing work: As mentioned earlier, hook blades are commonly used in roofing work to cut through roofing shingles, tar paper, and other roofing materials.
• Flooring work: Hook blades are also frequently used in flooring work to cut through linoleum, vinyl, and other types of flooring materials.
• Automotive work: Hook blades can be used to cut through various materials in automotive repair, such as trimming upholstery or cutting through rubber or plastic tubing.
• Arts and crafts: Hook blades can be used in various arts and crafts projects, such as cutting through foam board or heavy-duty paper.

High-quality hook blades which fit all STANLEY utility knives

Hook blades are optimal for knives for floor and roof layers. Thus the hook blade is the one used for utility knives designed for flooring and ceiling construction work. The standard size of a hook blade is 51mm long. An "extra wide" hook blade is 55mm long to be able to cut extra thick carpets. Some Stanley knives can use 51mm long hook blades and some cannot. To force users to use Stanley's 48mm long hook blades, some Stanley knives have been made slightly too shallow so that the 51mm long hook blades just won't fit. Note that it is only the hook blades that do not fit Stanley's carpet knife with hook. The long straight knife blades fit just fine as they have exactly the same dimensions as the Stanley knife blades.

Fortunately, Sollex has a great solution for the Stanley knife with hook blade in the 10STANLEY hook blade which has exactly Stanley's dimensions but the same high quality as Sollex 10P German produced PRO hook blades. You can easily order the 10STANLEY and get a really good hook blade that fits all Stanley knives.

Concave Blades for Utility Knives

Concave blades are hooked utility blades with one cutting edge that are used in pairs with a utility knife to cut and score mostly flooring materials. 

Description: Concave blades have a distinctive curved, semicircular or hook-shaped profile. This design makes it easy for the blade to hook and cut through flexible or tough materials like carpet and flooring, or to cut around pipes and tricky corners.

Use as reference Sollex blades: 16, 16P, 16PT

Users: mostly floor and roof layers, construction workers

Standard dimensions: 59x19x0.65mm

Materials to cut: carpet, linoleum, various underlayments, as well as acrylic panels, LVP, vinyl, rubber and other soft or flexible materials

Manufacturers of concave blades: Sollex, Mozart, Lutz, Stanley

Mountable in all standard utility knives, t ex: Sollex 2000, 1280, 1280B, 1280S utility knives; STANLEY® Classic 99® 10-099, STHT10175-8, STANLEY® FatMax® 10-818, 10-819, 10-789, 10-780, 10-777, 10-778, STHT10424-0, FMHTO-10320, XTHTO-10502 etc. EXCEPT! STANLEY® Titan 10-550, 10-199 199E Fixed Blade Knife

For cutting roofing materials, especially soft roofing materials such as roofing felt, concave blades are sometimes used. The hook shape of the blade provides a precise, controlled cut. When cutting soft packaging materials such as cardboard, thick plastic or strapping tape, concave blades can be useful. Some hobbyists and crafters may use concave blades to cut fabric, leather or other soft materials in their projects.

Because of the shape of the concave blades, it is also possible to use a pulling motion to cut the material. By piercing the material at the initial cutting point and pulling the utility knife toward the material, the material will cut like butter. 

There are also extra titanium coated concave blades that are extra sharp and heavy duty. They are great for cutting abrasive materials such as roofing felt. In this case, try the Sollex PRO Titanium Concave Blade 16PT. 

Snap-Off Blade for Utility Snap-off Knives

Utility snap-off blades are blades typically 90-100mm long and 9 or 18mm wide for use in a special utility snap-off knife with a retract function. 

The snap-off blade is designed to use only 10mm of the blade at a time. Therefore, use only one blade segment at a time. Leave only about 10 mm of the blade in front. This will prevent damage and provide a better cut. If you want a longer blade, use only segmented blades such as the Sollex 180LUS.

9mm Snap Off Blades

Description: 9 mm wide snap-off blades usually have 13 break-off segments. 

Use as reference Sollex blades: 90, 90P,90US

Users: The small snap off knife is used for various crafts and hobbies, but also for packing and unpacking. 

Standard dimensions: 80x9x0.4mm

Materials to cut: For easy cutting jobs, such as cutting thin materials like paper, cardboard, wallpaper, cardboard, leather, vinyl, film and wood, small cutter knives with a 9 mm blade are ideal.

Manufacturers of snap-off blades: Sollex, Mozart, Olfa, Lutz, Stanley, NT Cutter, Milwaukee, DeWalt

Mountable in 9 mm snap-of knives, t ex: Olfa SVR-2 9mm snap-off blade knife small (5090), Snap-off blade knife 9mm PRO NT Cutter A-300GR (5190), Utility knife 9mm single (2090), Snap-off knife 9mm NT Cutter S-202P (S202), Milwaukee 48221960 9mm, 48-22-1960 Utility Knife With Metal Lock 9mm, STANLEY® 9mm Snap-Off knives like 0-10-095, STHT 10264-8 9mm TPR Auto Lock Snap-off Knife, 10-150 9mm QuickPoint Snap-off knife, 10409 Dynagrip Snap-off knife 9mm and many more

18mm Snap Off Blades

Description: 18mm wide snap-off blades usually have 8 break-off segments.

Use as reference Sollex blades: 180P, 180, 180LUS

Users: all-round knives for different types of cutting

Standard dimensions: 100x18x0.5mm

Materials to cut: 18mm snap off knives are used daily for cutting wallpaper, corrugated board, flooring materials, plasterboard and polyurethane.

Manufacturers of snap-off blades: Sollex, Mozart, Olfa, Lutz, Stanley, NT Cutter, Milwaukee, DeWalt

Mountable in 18 mm snap-of knives, t ex: 18mm cutter blade fits in all standard 18mm utility snap-off knives like NT-Cutter snap off knife. e.g. NT-Cutter knives 5180 L-500GRP, 7180 L-2000RP, 9180 L-550GP; OLFA 18mm NOL-1, NA-1, OL, PL1, XH1, L1; Milwaukee® 48-22-1961, 48-22-1964, 4932480107, 48229118; STANLEY® STHT 10276, 10265 ABS, 10266 TPR , 10268, 10-280, 10-151, STHT10151-8 Quick Point snap-off knives, STHT10418-8 Dynagrip, Interlock™ Knife 0-10-018 and most other 18mm snap-off knives

Remember that the blade needs to be changed from time to time. Browse our wide range and buy the best blade for your knife.

Snap Off Blades without Breakable Segments

Sollex has utility snap off blades without segments. These are great because no segments can come off the blade and are perfect for cutting down cardboard and thick materials. 

Do you like the idea of using more than 10 mm at a time of your utility knife? Then use blades without segments. These cannot be broken off and are well suited to use up to 70 mm out from the knife. Blades without segments are supplied as standard in the Martor 380001 safety knife. You can order knife blades without segments from Sollex and these are called 180LUS.

Long blades for Utility Knives

For cutting thicker materials, such as mineral wool or other insulating material, longer blades are required, which are conveniently integrated into the utility knife. Such blades are called long blades and there is no standard for them. The length, cutting part of the blade is different. The most important thing is to know that not all long blades can be built into your utility knife, pay attention to the end of the blade and its notches. 

It is very common to find long blades serrated or toothed, as it is in this form that they best cut mineral wool and insulation. Below we will list possible variations of long blades that can be fitted into utility knives.

• Long blades for cutting thicker insulation materials. The Sollex blade artnr. 330 is 330 mm long (330 x 18.9 x 1.1 mm) with strong titanium-coated teeth, suitable for cutting  thicker insulation. The 1.1mm thick blade is made of quality steel and provides good durability and excellent cutting properties for the professional user.

• Long blades for cutting stone wool.The 180mm long knife artnr 261 is suitable for cutting mineral wool insulation materials and mineral wool slabs. The 0.65 mm thick double-sided blade made of quality steel provides good durability for the professional user. The 261 stone wool cutting blade fits the Sollex construction knife (2000). Special holster (300) is recommended for safe storage when the knife is not in use. Suitable for cutting: stone wool insulation and stone wool boards. Extra holster black for 251 and 261 (180mm blade) fits perfect this blade knife.

• Long blades for cutting fiberglass. Blade Art. 195 (195 x 15.8 x 0.884mm), which is adapted for use in industrial production and is particularly suitable for cutting glass wool and rubber. Grinding is 33 degrees for optimal fiberglass cutting.

• Long blades for cutting foam. Knife blade artnr 251 is 160 mm long (160 x 18.9 x 0.65mm) and is adapted to cut the cellplast, frigolit and styrofoam for example but also other types of insulation. It is made of 0.65mm thick quality steel, double ground, which provides good durability for the professional user. Extra holster black for 251 and 261 (180mm blade) fits perfect this blade knife.

Utility Safety Blades

Safety blades are specific blades to use in a pair with safety knives only. The shape, material and thickness of the safety blades vary and depend on the model of safety knife in which they are installed. Their main features include the following:

• Their main purpose of use is to reduce the risk of accidental cutting by the user, so they often have rounded cutting corners.
• Material from which the safety blade can be made: carbon steel, stainless steel, bimetal, ceramic.
• The shape of safety blades is most often trapezoidal, rectangular or scalpel-shaped. There is also a special form of safety blades, where the blade itself is concealed and built into a plastic head and they are called concealed safety blades.
• You cannot insert a safety blade into any other utility knife other than a safety knife of the same make and model. And vice versa. Manufacturers of safety knives take care so that specially designed knives paired with this particular blade guarantee safety when cutting.

Materials to cut with safety knives and blades: cardboard, tape, plastic film, wrapping, stretch, plastic strapping band, layers of paper, film, foam, polystyrene. Safety knives and cutters are used for opening packages and boxes, cutting strapping material, tapes, tearing shrink wrap, cutting and disposing of packages and much more. 

Users of safety knives and blades: safety knives are common among workers in delivery and logistics departments, warehouses and stores. 

Manufacturers of safety knives and blades: Martor, Klever, Slice and others

Scalpels, Precision Blades or Craft Blades

There are scalpels for medical and surgical use, scalpels for craft work, and scalpels for industrial use.

As a rule, medical scalpels are not recommended for industrial use. Scalpel blades can be used to cut graded plastic parts, for example, but it may not be the most appropriate or effective tool for the job. Medical scalpel blades are usually designed for precision cutting of delicate materials such as fabrics or thin films, and may not be strong and durable enough to cut thicker plastic materials. 

Typical applications of scalpels: for cutting various materials such as cardboard, paper, wallpaper, plastics, textiles, leather, graphic design, precision cutting or any art and design work where detail, neat cuts and clean edges are required

Users: scalpel is the perfect tool for designers, artists and model makers

Manufacturers of scalpels: Swann Morton, Mozart, Exacto and others

Choose the scalpel that suits you and your interests. By combining several different scalpels, you can easily create the perfect combination for the task at hand. You can purchase the handle for the scalpel and the blade itself. 

There are many types and shapes of surgical knives designed for different purposes. For example, Swann Morton scalpel blades numbered 10 and 11 have a pointed end and are great for very detailed work. At the same time, surgical knives are very sharp, so you need to be very careful and follow safety guidelines when handling them.

TIP: Make sure the scalpel blade and handle are the same size - this is especially important.

Read more on this topic on our blog

Buy Utility Blades Online

Sollex has been delivering utility blades quickly and safely since 1927. You can read more about our product qualities and coatings at product qualities.  Can't find what you're looking for? Get in touch with us at +46 35-157500, and we'll help you!

Blades for handheld knives