I must admit to being pleasantly surprised by invitation to review Iain Sinclair’s CardSharp 2. So I said “yes” and waited and a few weeks later I got a CD-sized package from the United Kingdom.

The CardSharp 2 is essentially a credit card knife that you can, if you are so inclined, carry around in your wallet. To some that would sound incredibly irresponsible and dangerous – I would argue that it is no more dangerous or irresponsible than carrying around a pocketknife. Iain Sinclair has called it a utility knife and that really is the best way to describe it – a tool not a weapon and it doesn’t look threatening. With those points established, let us proceed.

While the CardSharp2 is really easy to setup, it is worth taking a moment to look over the instructions. The blade is quite sharp and if you do things the wrong way you run the risk of damaging the handle or worse, damaging your fingers. The setup simply involves turning the little safety catch to unlock the blade and folding the handle around the metal. The plastic safety catch is a little tight on first use but it loosens with use.

The handle is a reasonably soft polypropylene and it feels a little flimsy at first but is comfortable to use and the hinges are guaranteed for life. It arrived at my home at the same time as a new office chair and it had no problem cutting the large cardboard box into manageable pieces – it felt surprisingly sturdy in my hand as it did so. As far as sharpness goes, it has no trouble cutting thin slices of tomato, but you can’t use it for shaving.

I find uses for it almost everyday. It makes a good letter opener, it is great for cutting through boxes, plastic packaging, etc and makes short work of finger slicing blister packs. All things considered, it would make a worthwhile purchase.

Price: $20