Editing Utility knife (section)

{{Short description|Knife used for general or utility purposes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Outdoor knife.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Finnish outdoor utility knife, [[puukko]]]]
[[File:Aaknife2.jpg|thumb|right|Retractable blade knife with replaceable utility blade]]

A '''utility knife''' is any type of [[knife]] used for general [[manual work]] purposes.<ref name="PET">Peterson, Harold L., ''Daggers and Fighting Knives of the Western World'', London: Herbert Jenkins Ltd., {{ISBN|0-486-41743-3}}, p. 1</ref>  Such knives were originally fixed-blade knives with durable cutting edges suitable for rough work such as cutting [[rigging|cordage]], cutting/scraping [[hide (skin)|hide]]s, [[butchering]] animals, cleaning [[fish scale]]s, reshaping timber, and other tasks. '''Craft knives''' are small utility knives used as precision-oriented tools for finer, more delicate tasks such as [[carving]] and [[papercutting]].

Today, the term "utility knife" also includes small [[folding knife|folding-]], [[retractable knife|retractable-]] and/or replaceable-[[blade]] knives suited for use in the general workplace or in the [[construction industry]]. The latter type is sometimes generically called a '''Stanley knife''', after a prominent brand designed by the American tool manufacturing company [[Stanley Black & Decker]].

There is also a [[Kitchen knife#Utility|utility knife for kitchen use]], which is sized between a [[chef's knife]] and [[paring knife]].