Sharp Looks & Safe Cuts: Secupro 625

At 151 g, Martor's aluminum-bodied squeeze-grip knife, theSecupro 625, is about as light as a feather. The fully automatic blade retraction and trigger mechanism make it about as safe as one, too. That should all be expected from a safety knife, but the pleasant surprise comes from the carbon blade, which brings a new meaning to the term "razor sharp." Just take a look at the video:

The comfort, safety and performance are why the recently released knife's tagline is "No more compromises," explains Joe Buzzell, sales manager for Martor in North America. It's also why the recent export from Solingen, Germany, a.k.a. the City of Blades, made such a deep impression at the A+A 2015 Trade Fair in Düsseldorf and won a prestigious "German Design Award" in the workshop and tools category.

"Everyone wants to know that what they buy is a quality product," Buzzell says. "The German manufacturing and German quality put into this knife is what ensures the user will have this knife for weeks and months, and probably years to come."

Martor won awards at the show for three other knives, but the Secupro 625, has Buzzell most excited. And it's been a long time coming.

"We’ve been looking forward to this one arriving for almost 10 years," Buzzell says. "Now that it's here we’re pretty pumped, because it’s everything we’ve been looking for."

He says the Secupro is a "marriage" between two popular models, the extremely durable, long-bladed Secupro Megasafe and the Secupro Martego, which has a squeeze trigger. The  625 has the same 25-mm blade extension of the Megasafe and a more ergonomic version of the Martego's trigger.

"The trigger mechanism makes it really easy to operate," Buzzell says. "You simply squeeze the trigger and it comes out the front, versus a slider style where you have push the blade forward with your thumb every time. Also, because of the soft touch rubber on back, even if you're wearing PPE or cut resistant gloves, it should stay in place and not slip out of your hands."

"Once the blade starts the cut, the trigger being squeezed is no longer holding the blade out," Buzzell says. "The blade is being held in place by the contact with the material such as being stuck in a box.  Therefore, when the cut is completed (i.e., there is no more material there to hold the blade out) it retracts without hesitation because the blade carriage is no longer linked to the trigger itself."

The New Equipment Digest staff got to try it for ourselves, and the safety feature works every time on cardboard, which it slices through easily and shoots back into its housing immediately. To truly test it, we cut through an issue of "New Equipment Digest." While holding the paper up, it cuts through like it isn't even there. This means sometimes the mechanism doesn't engage when making a quick, Samurai-style slash. That's more a testament to the blunted tip blade's edge than an indication the feature isn't reliable. On slightly thicker stock, the 0.63-mm thick blade retracts more often. And on a horizontal surface, the blade retracts every time. So if you're using the knife as you would a normal utility knife, and not pretending you're Wolverine in a berserker rage, the knife should work as promised.

The 0.63-mm thickness has been deemed by the German experts to be the optimal size for durability, strength and effortless cuts, Buzzell says. And changing the blades when they need it can take mere seconds. Just flip the top tab, squeeze the trigger, and pull out the blade. Because it's tool-less, Buzzell says this will encourage more operators to change the blade.

Buzzell says that if a utility knife's blade is difficult to change or requires extra tools such as a screwdriver, the user is less likely to change the blade when needed.

"Therefore they’re going to use a dull blade longer than they need to and that results in putting far more effort into cutting than they need to," he says.

Hooked, stainless steel and other special purpose blades can also be installed.

To get the design just right not only took the expertise of the prolific German blade makers, but also the feedback from Martor's best American customers. After testing the prototypes, the businesses gave their input and sent the knives back to Germany for testing. In all, six rounds of prototypes led to the final incarnation.

The price tag is $29.54, much more than a drug store box cutter. Buzzell says you get what you pay for, and exponentially more.

"The indirect costs are usually far more expensive to a laceration than the upfront costs," the sales manager says. "The reason the Secupro 625 is worth every penny is because they reduce the risk of laceration in the workplace. They pay for themselves and beyond that, prevent people from getting hurt. The average utility knife has no safety features whatsoever."