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A utility knife includes a handle body having sidewall portions defining a guide channel, a blade shuttle mounted for extension and retraction movement within the guide channel, and a hand-grip lever coupled to the handle body at a fulcrum for pivotal movement between an at-rest position in which th

A utility knife includes a handle body having sidewall portions defining a guide channel, a blade shuttle mounted for extension and retraction movement within the guide channel, and a hand-grip lever coupled to the handle body at a fulcrum for pivotal movement between an at-rest position in which the blade shuttle is in a non-use position, to an in-use position in which the blade shuttle is in an extended position. In the non-use position, a blade mounted on the blade shuttle is enclosed in the guide channel. In the extended position, a portion of the blade projects from the guide channel. The hand-grip lever is rotatably coupled to the blade shuttle through a transmission comprising a pin coupled to the lever such that a distance from the fulcrum to the pin stays substantially fixed as the lever pivots between the at-rest and in-use positions.

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1. A utility knife, comprising: a handle body having sidewall portions defining a guide channel;a blade shuttle mounted for extension and retraction movement within the guide channel and being movable between a non-use position such that a blade mounted on the blade shuttle is enclosed in the guide

1. A utility knife, comprising: a handle body having sidewall portions defining a guide channel;a blade shuttle mounted for extension and retraction movement within the guide channel and being movable between a non-use position such that a blade mounted on the blade shuttle is enclosed in the guide channel, and an extended position such that a portion of the blade projects from the guide channel;a hand-grip lever coupled to the handle body at a fulcrum for pivotal movement between an at-rest position in which the blade shuttle is in the non-use position, to an in-use position in which the blade shuttle is in the extended position, the hand-grip lever rotatably coupled to the blade shuttle through a transmission comprising a pin coupled to the hand-grip lever such that a distance from the fulcrum to the pin stays substantially fixed as the hand-grip lever pivots between the at-rest and in-use positions;a biasing member urging the hand-grip lever to the at rest position, the biasing member being compressible and extendable and coupled between the handle body and the hand grip-lever;a guide post disposed between the handle body and coupled to the hand-grip lever, wherein the biasing member is disposed around the guide post and confined for compression and expansion between the handle body and the hand-grip lever in response to pivoting movement of the hand-grip lever; anda selector dial attached to the guide post, wherein the selector dial is adjustable to vary the tension on the biasing member. 2. The utility knife of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the transmission is movably coupled between the blade shuttle and the hand-grip lever for translating rotational movement of the hand-grip lever to substantially linear movement of the blade shuttle. 3. The utility knife of claim 2, further comprising a locked position such that pivotal movement of the hand-grip lever is substantially prevented in the locked position. 4. The utility knife of claim 3, wherein the selector dial is adjustable to a plurality of discrete positions, the plurality of discrete positions comprising the locked position. 5. The utility knife of claim 4, wherein the plurality of discrete positions comprise: a first discrete position, such that the hand-grip lever is pivotable a first radial distance from the at rest position when the dial selector is at the first discrete position;a second discrete position, such that the hand-grip lever is pivotable a second radial distance from the at rest position different from the first radial distance when the dial selector is at the second discrete position; anda third discrete position, such that the hand-grip lever is pivotable a third radial distance from the at rest position different from the first radial distance and second radial distance when the dial selector is at the third discrete position. 6. The utility knife of claim 1, further comprising a first guide member extendable from a sidewall portion of the handle body towards an end portion of the handle body from which the blade projects when the blade shuttle is in the extended position. 7. The utility knife of claim 6, further comprising a second guide member, wherein the first and second guide members are positioned on opposed sidewall portions of the handle body. 8. The utility knife of claim 6, wherein the guide member comprises a curved ridge extending from a lateral portion of the guide member, the curved ridge operable to receive a force from a user to extend the guide member from the sidewall portion. 9. The utility knife of claim 8, wherein the guide member remains a substantially fixed distance from the blade when the blade shuttle is in the extended position during a cutting movement of the knife. 10. The utility knife of claim 1, wherein the biasing member comprises a compression spring, the compression spring comprising a first end and a second end, wherein a diameter of the compression spring at the first and second ends is less than a diameter of the compression spring at a midpoint of the spring between the first and second ends. 11. The utility knife of claim 1, wherein the hand-grip lever is sized to receive gripping engagement of at least three human fingers. 12. A utility knife, comprising: a handle body having sidewall portions defining a guide channel;a blade shuttle mounted for extension and retraction movement within the guide channel and being movable between a non-use position such that a blade mounted on the blade shuttle is enclosed in the guide channel and one of a plurality of discrete extended positions such that a portion of the blade projects from the guide channel when the blade shuttle is in any of the plurality of discrete extended positions;a biasing member urging the hand-grip lever to the at-rest position, the biasing member compressible and expandable and coupled between the handle body and the hand-grip lever;a guide post disposed between the handle body and coupled to the hand-grip lever, the biasing member disposed around the guide post and confined for compression and expansion between the handle body and the hand-grip lever in response to pivoting movement of the hand-grip lever;a selector dial attached to the guide post, the selector dial adjustable to vary the tension on the biasing member; anda hand-grip lever coupled to the handle body at a fulcrum for pivotal movement between an at-rest position in which the blade shuttle is in the non-use position, to only one of a plurality of in-use positions in which the blade shuttle is in one of the plurality of discrete extended positions, the hand-grip lever rotatably coupled to the blade shuttle through a transmission comprising a pin coupled to the lever such that a distance from the fulcrum to the pin stays substantially fixed as the lever pivots between the at-rest and in-use positions, wherein the plurality of discrete extended positions comprise: a first discrete extended position, such that the hand-grip lever is only pivotable to a first radial distance from the at rest position when the blade shuttle is extended to the first discrete extended position; anda second discrete extended position, such that the hand-grip lever is only pivotable to a second radial distance from the at rest position different from the first radial distance when the blade shuttle is extended to the second discrete extended position. 13. The utility knife of claim 12, wherein at least a portion of the transmission is movably coupled between the blade shuttle and the hand-grip lever for translating rotational movement of the hand-grip lever to substantially linear movement of the blade shuttle. 14. The utility knife of claim 13, further comprising a locked position such that pivotal movement of the hand-grip lever is substantially prevented in the locked position. 15. The utility knife of claim 14, wherein the selector dial is adjustable to set to one of a plurality of discrete dial positions, the plurality of discrete dial positions comprising the locked position. 16. The utility knife of claim 15, wherein the plurality of discrete dial positions comprise: a first discrete dial position, such that the hand-grip lever is pivotable only to the first radial distance from the at rest position when the dial selector is set to the first discrete dial position; anda second discrete dial position, such that the hand-grip lever is pivotable only to the second radial distance from the at rest position different from the first radial distance when the dial selector is set to the second discrete position. 17. The utility knife of claim 16, wherein: the first discrete position corresponds to a first setting for cutting a single ply thickness corrugated box; andthe second discrete position corresponds to a second setting for cutting a double ply thickness corrugated box. 18. The utility knife of claim 15, wherein the plurality of discrete extended positions further comprise a third discrete extended position, such that the hand-grip lever is only pivotable to a third radial distance from the at rest position different from the first and second radial distances when the blade shuttle is extended to the third discrete extended position. 19. The utility knife of claim 18, wherein the plurality of discrete dial positions further comprise a third discrete position, such that the hand-grip lever is only pivotable to the third radial distance from the at rest position different from the first and second radial distances when the dial selector is set to the third discrete dial position. 20. The utility knife of claim 12, wherein the biasing member comprises a barrel spring. 21. The utility knife of claim 20, the compression spring comprising a first end and a second end, wherein a diameter of the compression spring at the first and second ends is less than a diameter of the compression spring at a midpoint of the spring between the first and second ends. 22. The utility knife of claim 12, further comprising a cavity arranged to store one or more spare blades. 23. The utility knife of claim 22, wherein the cavity is exposed by pivoting a portion of the handle body away from the sidewall portions. 24. The utility knife of claim 12, further comprising a first guide member extendable from a sidewall portion of the handle body towards an end portion of the handle body from which the blade projects when the blade shuttle is in the extended position. 25. The utility knife of claim 24, further comprising a second guide member, wherein the first and second guide members are positioned on opposed sidewall portions of the handle body. 26. The utility knife of claim 24, wherein the guide member comprises a curved ridge extending from a lateral portion of the guide member, the curved ridge operable to receive a force from a user to extend the guide member from the sidewall portion. 27. The utility knife of claim 26, wherein the guide member remains a substantially fixed distance from the blade when the blade shuttle is in the extended position during a cutting movement of the knife. 28. The utility knife of claim 12, wherein the handle body further comprises an aperture for coupling a lanyard to the handle body through the aperture. 29. The utility knife of claim 12, wherein the hand-grip lever comprises a wedge-shaped gripping profile. 30. The utility knife of claim 12, wherein the hand-grip lever is sized to receive gripping engagement of at least three human fingers. 31. The utility knife of claim 12, wherein the pin is a first pin; and the knife further comprises a second pin disposed at the fulcrum, such that a distance from the first pin to the second pin stays substantially fixed as the lever pivots between the at-rest and in-use positions.