BOXER
A Gravity Utility Knife
Boxer
Gravity Utility Knife
A reinvention of the utility knife, the Boxer is designed to put your toolbelt in the palm of your hand. Combining simple physics with the most common tools used by craftsmen and the casual DIY-er, Boxer streamlines utility, redefining the meaning of the utility knife.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Utility knives are functional, but they often come with compromises, falling short on usability, versatility, or comfort. We need a no compromise utility knife, one that is functional without sacrificing features or accessibility.
How might we create an accessible, no-compromise utility knife?
RESEARCH
Competitive Audit:
Researching main players in the utility knife space, as well as “designer” utility knives.
I’ve noticed most commercial utility knives are from the same cookie cutter formula- rugged, bulky, simple flipper or slider. A couple tried experimenting with features such as repositionable blade, or wire cutting slot.
On the Designer side, things get interesting. Sleek, simplistic designs masking intricate mechanisms and features. Designs inspired by nature, with ergonomics in mind. Features that are more than just gimmicks, such as a measurement tool or “smart” Swiss features.
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But to understand, I have to get a real feel for them, use them for periods of time to understand what works and what are gimmicks.
I used the knives to open everything, no matter how small. Brought them to work with me (I worked retail at the time). I tested different deployment methods, the ergonomics of everything, the practicality.
I started off with one of the sketches I drew during the Ideation phase. The design is based off Reate’s Exo- M gravity knife, but as a multitool Utility Knife.
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After designing the base mechanism on which I want to build the design off of, I realized it looked like a cassette, so I stuck with that design to create MKI, and build a physical and digital model for it
While testing MKI, I found it was hard to get a good enough grip to open the shell to flick the blade out, so I tested different systems, thumb grooves, etc. After fidgeting with it more, I noticed my thumb rests between the two locks, so I designed a cutout that looks like a name sticker for cassette tapes.
MK III and IV were focused on the ergonomics of the knife, reducing the size to be much more hand friendly. This requried redesigning how the knife gets assembled, ultimately doing away with screws and tabs in favor of solid, machined parts.
MK V, VI, and VII focused on refinement. How can I reduce the bulk even more? How do I make the deployment more natural? Allow for easy maitenance and customization? So I redesigned the hinge mechanism to have bearings with rubber wheels, and be simple to replace with a different color or re-lubing. The blade is designed to be swappable with standard razer blades, and the screwdriver mechanism was introduced. there’s also a stopper so the shell separated at a safe and natural stopping point (25 degrees)
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Physical Prototypes
BOXER
A Gravity Utility Knife
A RULER IN YOUR POCKET
Quick deploy is a feature that knife enthusiasts and craftsmen want for ease of use. However with traditional methods, a spring is required for spring loaded deployment. This makes the blade easy to deploy with one hand, however closing it requires time and force, two things that are very valuable to the user.
With a gravity method, all that's needed is to have a transfer of weight and energy, allowing easy deployment and retraction.
MECHANICS OF GRAVITY
SCREWDRIVERS AND NUMBERING
The back of Boxer has two secrets. The first is the hexagon slot. It’s actually designed to take screwdriver bits. While Boxer is not big enough to house any of the actual bits, it can still attach bits from a standard screwdriver (sold separately), or a optional screwdriver pack upgrade (sold separately).
The second secret is a subtle nod to it’s development process as well as modern day product naming scheme. the roman numerals for seven represent Boxer’s seventh iteration and lucky number seven, as it took seven attempts to perfect it.
