Patent ID: 8793881

Claim:
A utility knife, comprising: a handle; a blade holder assembly constructed and arranged to hold a blade, the blade holder assembly being movable between a storage position and a position of use, the blade holder assembly comprising a manually engageable member movable relative to the handle to move the blade holder assembly between the storage position and the position of use, the blade holder assembly constructed and arranged to be releasably locked at the position of use wherein the blade projects outwardly from the handle at one end of the handle and to be released to enable the blade to be retracted into the handle; and a clamp assembly constructed and arranged to move between a clamp position wherein the clamp assembly applies a clamp force to opposing side surfaces of the blade and a release position wherein the clamp assembly releases the clamping force, wherein the clamp assembly comprises an indicator configured to provide a first indication to indicate to a user when the clamp assembly is in the clamp position and a second indication to indicate to the user when the clamp assembly is in the release position, wherein the blade has at least one opening therein and the blade holder assembly has a blade engaging structure for being received in the opening of the blade, and wherein the clamp assembly is operatively independent from the blade engaging structure of the blade holder assembly.