Patent ID: 7533466

Claim:
A folding tool, comprising: a handle having first and second opposed side walls held in a spaced-apart arrangement to define a blade-receiving slot therebetween, said handle having a forward end and a rearward end and a pivot axis near the forward end, said handle defining a handle length between the pivot axis and the rearward end; a blade having a tip, a working portion and a tang portion pivotally attached to the handle at the pivot axis, said blade movable between a closed position and an open position and the length of said blade from the pivot axis to the tip being greater than the handle length so that when the blade is in the closed position a portion of the blade extends beyond the rearward end of the handle; an elongate blade guard longitudinally slidable into and out of the rearward end of the handle in a blade-guard slot defined by opposed grooves formed in the first and second sidewalls respectively and such that said blade guard spans the blade-receiving slot, said blade guard configured for receiving the working portion of the blade that extends beyond the rearward end of the handle when the blade is in the closed position, and said blade guard having a forward end and a rearward end, said blade guard slidabie in the blade-guard slot between a forward position and a rearward position, whereby when the blade is in the closed position and said blade guard is in the rearward position, said tip of said blade is retained in said blade guard, and wherein with said blade in the open position said blade guard may be slid to the forward position and the forward end of said blade guard engages a notch formed in the tang of said blade to thereby lock said blade in the open position.