Patent ID: 8764781

Claim:
A guarded surgical knife handle, comprising: a handle portion comprising a blade holder adapted to hold a blade, a chamber within the handle portion, a detent, and a slot; a guard having an open distal end slidably mounted within the handle portion and operable to slide longitudinally between an unguarded position and a guarded position, wherein the guard is sized to surround the blade in the guarded position; a cantilevered latch formed on the guard, the latch operable to engage the detent to latch the guard when the guard is slid into the guarded position; a first button operable to disengage the latch; a bias member configured to force the guard in a proximal direction to an unguarded position when the latch is disengaged; and a second button extending through the slot and operable to slide the guard in a distal direction into the guarded position.