Patent ID: 8539677

Claim:
A utility knife comprising: a first housing portion carrying a strike plate; a second housing portion movable along a first direction relative to the first housing portion between a closed position and an open position, said second housing portion carrying a locking member, an overlapping locking mechanism for locking the first housing portion to said second housing portion when the first housing portion is moved relative to said second housing portion along a second direction; said locking member movable between a first position in which the locking member engages said strike plate to prevent said first housing from moving relative to said second housing along said first direction and a second position in which the locking member does not engage said strike plate and allows said first housing to move relative to said second housing along said first direction; a blade carrier that holds a blade in one of an extended and a retracted position relative to said first housing portion and said second housing portion; said blade carrier comprising a latch engageable with a first stop where a position of the first housing portion is fixed relative to the second housing portion when the locking member is in the second position, and the latch engageable with a second stop where movement of the second housing portion relative to said latch in the second direction is enabled when the locking member is in the second position.