what's the best tool for opening packages?

if you get packages regularly, you've probably done the same thing i have: grabbed whatever was closest.

scissors from the kitchen. a knife from the drawer. your keys. your fingernail.

sometimes, even your teeth.

the problem isn't that these things can't cut. it's that none of them are really designed for the job. you're just using whatever happens to be nearby because you don't have a small tool that's actually ready to open a package.

and these days, there are always packages. amazon boxes, bubble mailers, cardboard, plastic packaging, envelopes, shipping tape. opening something has become such a normal part of everyday life that it's easy to overlook how often we actually do it.

that's where clicky cutter started.

not with the idea of making another utility knife, but with a much simpler question:

why isn't there a small blade that's just there when you need it?

what makes a good package opener?

for something as simple as opening a package, you don't need much. a good package opener needs to be sharp, compact, easy to use, and quick to put away.

most importantly, it needs to be convenient.

scissors work well, but they're usually sitting in a drawer. a kitchen knife is sharp, but it's much bigger than it needs to be. a traditional box cutter works extremely well, but it's generally designed for heavier-duty work.

there's a gap between all of these things: something small enough to keep with you, but capable enough to make a clean cut through tape, cardboard, plastic, and packaging.

that's the gap we wanted to fill.

the usual ways we open packages

scissors are probably the most common option. they're great for tape, paper, and lighter packaging, but they're not exactly pocket-sized. If they're not already sitting next to you, you have to go find them.

kitchen knives have the opposite problem. they're always accessible, but they're much larger than necessary for cutting a piece of tape. they're also not exactly designed for carefully opening a box without risking whatever is inside.

then there are the improvised solutions: keys, fingernails, the corner of another package, or whatever happens to be within reach. i've used all of them.

and then there's the traditional box cutter.

a good box cutter is hard to beat when you actually need a box cutter. it's sharp, sturdy, inexpensive, and made for cutting cardboard. if you're breaking down shipping boxes all day, that's probably the right tool.

but if you're sitting at home opening an amazon package, it can feel like a lot of tool for a very small job.

a quick comparison

the point isn't that one of these tools is universally better than the others. they just solve different problems.

why we made a pocket box cutter

tyler, one of our founders, originally designed clicky cutter for himself.

he wanted the slimmest, most minimal blade he could make. something that would be easy to carry, easy to use, and ready whenever he needed to open a package.

he didn't want a bulky box cutter or a complicated mechanism. he wanted something that could disappear into a pocket and come out when he needed it.

so he started designing one.

the result is a 68mm x 25mm x 9.85mm box cutter that weighs about 0.2 ounces.

the blade can extend to three different positions, depending on how much you need exposed. once you're finished, it slides completely back inside the shell.

and because the blade is held by a magnet tucked behind the stainless steel front plate, it stays securely in place until you intentionally swipe it out.

it's a pretty simple idea.

swipe. cut. swipe. done.

getting from the first prototype to the finished product

the first version wasn't nearly as refined as the one we make today.

we've gone through roughly 30+ revisions, testing different magnets, blade positions, shell designs, materials, and ways of making the mechanism slide more smoothly.

some of the early versions were too sticky. another material was so lightweight that dropping it from your pocket could shatter the shell.

so we kept changing things.

today, clicky cutter is made from formlabs tough 2000 resin v2, a much more durable material than some of our early prototypes. we also added a stainless steel back plate, which we cut ourselves using an xtool laser cutter.

that back plate helped make the slide smoother and more consistent while keeping the magnet tucked inside the front of the cutter.

none of those decisions came from a spec sheet.

they came from making the thing, using it, finding what didn't work, and making it again.

that's one of the advantages of making clicky cutter ourselves. we can change something, print another version, test it, and keep refining it.

and then there was the click

the click wasn't actually part of the original plan.

while testing an early prototype, tyler noticed that pressing down with his thumb to slide out the blade created a little pop.

it was an accident.

but we liked it.

that little mechanical quirk became part of the design, and eventually, part of the name.

so, what's the best tool for opening packages?

it depends on what you're doing.

if you're opening the occasional envelope, scissors are probably enough. if you're breaking down cardboard all day, a traditional box cutter makes more sense. if you need a tool that can handle dozens of different jobs, a utility knife gives you more versatility.

but if you open packages regularly and want something small, lightweight, and ready whenever you need it, a pocket box cutter fills a pretty specific gap.

that's what clicky cutter is designed for.

it isn't trying to replace every tool in your drawer. it's designed to be the thing you reach for when you need to make a quick cut and don't want to go looking for something.

an amazon box arrives.

swipe.

cut.

swipe.

back in your pocket.

that's really the whole idea.

clicky cutter doesn't need to do everything. it just needs to do its one job well.

get your clicky cutter →