Stanley knife

British  

noun

1. a type of knife used for carpet fitting, etc, consisting of a thick hollow metal handle with a short, very sharp, replaceable blade inserted at one end

---

Etymology

Origin of Stanley knife

C19: named after F.T. Stanley , US businessman and founder of the Stanley Rule and Level Company

Example Sentences

"I think it was Stanley knife," he said.

From BBC • May 23, 2024

At the I'm a Kombo pop-up restaurant in Copenhagen, I had to carve through the table with a Stanley knife to reach part of my meal: a herb chalice beneath the surface.

From The Guardian • Nov. 25, 2012

His life during the period in which he was a student and a world-leading young research fellow is like a film in which a minor character has been removed from the celluloid with a Stanley knife.

From The Guardian • Aug. 19, 2011

Using a Stanley knife I hollowed out a crappy-looking book called Woodcraft for Boys.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell