I've seen ceramic cutters but never used one. I have ceramic knives and veggie cutters that cut very well. I carry a Bessey in my pocket but it is quite heavy so I wanted to see if I could lighten my daily pocket load by switching to a Slice.
The Slice size and weight are very nice. It weighs almost nothing and it fits easily in my pocket. It's about the size of a box of square Tic Tacs.
::::The lanyard hole::: It is meant for a lanyard and not a keyring. Lanyard threads will fit but most split keyring holders will not fit. It is tiny and I had to use a single wire ring, with a wire diameter less than 1mm (probably about 0.5mm).
::::How does it cut?:::: It's ok but it's no match for my Bessey. I've been carrying both the Slice and the Bessey for three days and attempted to use the Slice as much as possible. I wanted to see if the very lightweight Slice could replace my much heavier Bessey (7 ounces) for most of my general cutting/opening needs. Unfortunately, the Slice just doesn't have the cutting power nor depth of a heavyweight utility knife. In many cases, the Slice wouldn't cut through thin plastic -- it would only score it (like clamshell packaging). Even with a week-old blade in my Bessey, its metal cutting blade is much sharper and much more effective. For far too many applications, I found the Slice to be frustratingly less effective than a metal cutting blade. I had to forego the Slice for the Bessey most of the time.
::::Sticky packaging tape:::: Certain packaging tape gets tacky in elevated temps and it will stick to a blade. This means you must disassemble the Slice and clean the interior housing and blade. With a utility knife, you just snap the end of the blade. If the Slice is used to cut through lots of tacky tape, it will render it almost useless. When that tacky goo hardens, it's even worse.
::::Bubble envelopes:::: I used the Slice to open a bubble envelope.Not using a flat surface and cutting above the bubbles, it was very difficult to open the package. The small blade kept pushing the mailer away. Using a flat wooden surface and cutting the other end (below the bubbles), the Slice worked much better but only partially opened the mailer. However, it scored the remainder well enough that I was able to pull it open by hand.
:::: Regular packaging tape (like Amazon uses):::: As long as the tape is applied to a perfectly shaped and perfectly closed box, it works fine. Along the top, it cuts well. On the sides, if there any irregularities (top is askew, box is dented, etc. ) and this makes the depth required to cut the tape greater than 1/4 inch, then it cannot reach the tape. I used the Slice to open over a dozen boxes and with almost every boc, it left some portions uncut. However, it took minimal time and effort to rip the remainder open.
:::: Corrugated boxes:::: Cutting a box into pieces along the fold lines works decent but takes multiple tries. Cutting through the actual corrugated sections is much more difficult. If you downsize (cut) the boxes for recycling, the Slice will do it but it takes a lot more time and effort than a regular box cutter.
Don't get me wrong. The Slice is a nice tool for certain applications. It is lightweight and easy to carry. It doesn't have a fixed blade but the retractable blade shouldn't be a big issue unless you must use a blade all day, every day, in your work/hobby.
If you don't need a serious cutting tool, get a Slice.
Kaowao Strickland
WakkyWabbit