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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2008X-Acto knife
What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: <http://www.xacto.com/p_cuttingtools_knives.asp>  SignatureSML > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: > > <http://www.xacto.com/p_cuttingtools_knives.asp> Craft knife, I think. SignatureDavid > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: > > <http://www.xacto.com/p_cuttingtools_knives.asp> I'd probably call it a Stanley trimmer for want of a better word. I suspect there another brand name for the slimmer ones, but I can't remember it at the moment. Somewhere, somewhen, I read a "proper" name for those kind of cutters, but if I recall correctly, it took me some time to understand what they were talking about, so that term didn't stick in my head. SignatureRob Bannister > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: > > <http://www.xacto.com/p_cuttingtools_knives.asp> I see two different kinds on that page. The thin ones, we called mat knives or exacto knives. The thick ones, utility knives or boxcutters. SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux An American living in the Netherlands Donna Richoux filted: >> What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >The thin ones, we called mat knives or exacto knives. If we go by what I most often use them for, they're CD openers....r SignatureWhat good is being an executive if you never get to execute anyone? > Donna Richoux filted: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > If we go by what I most often use them for, they're CD openers....r I use scissors or a kitchen knife for that. My most common use for these cutters is for removing my licence sticker* from my windscreen. The instructions that come with the stickers tell you to soak them in water for 15-20 minutes and then peel off. Unless you are prepared to stand/sit for ages with a wet sponge, the soaking is very hard. They have improved the stickers over the years, so that nowadays, it is occasionally possible to peel them off in one piece, but some of the stickiness is still left behind even if there aren't bits of licence. * The "licence" is actually the registration to show you have paid the State a large sum of money. It includes third-party insurance. SignatureRob Bannister >> Donna Richoux filted: >> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >* The "licence" is actually the registration to show you have paid the >State a large sum of money. It includes third-party insurance. If they are like the US stickers, spray some diluted ammonia on them, let them soak, and hit 'em with a hair dryer for a few minutes. The ammonia and the heat should make them easy to remove. -- Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida > > Donna Richoux filted: > > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > water for 15-20 minutes and then peel off. Unless you are prepared to > stand/sit for ages with a wet sponge, the soaking is very hard. A piece of wet cloth will adhere for long enough. > They > have improved the stickers over the years, so that nowadays, it is [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > * The "licence" is actually the registration to show you have paid the > State a large sum of money. It includes third-party insurance. If they are like the Swiss autoroute sticker (which is designed -not- to come off in one piece) gentle heat may do the trick. The idea of the Swiss is to force foreigners passing through to pay their road tax for them. Best, Jan [...] My most common use for these > cutters is for removing my licence sticker* from my windscreen. > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > * The "licence" is actually the registration to show you have paid the > State a large sum of money. It includes third-party insurance. * BrE: "tax disc" Alan Jones > [...] > My most common use for these [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > * BrE: "tax disc" Except that the UK one doesn't include any insurance. SignatureDavid >>> * The "licence" is actually the registration to show you have >>> paid the State a large sum of money. It includes third-party [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Except that the UK one doesn't include any insurance. In Australia it varies by state. In NSW it doesn't include insurance, but still requires paying the State a large sum of money. However, we can't even get the renewal unless we have proof that we've paid another large sum of money to an insurance company. Another prerequisite is the "pink slip", a certification by an authorised inspector that the vehicle is roadworthy, i.e. that the tyres are legal, the brakes work, the headlights and indicators work, etc. I recently heard of someone who keeps up her Victorian car registration, even though she now lives in NSW, in order to avoid the annual inspection. She wouldn't get away with this if the State had the power to cross-check car registrations against the electoral roll. SignaturePeter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org For an e-mail address, see my web page. >>>> * The "licence" is actually the registration to show you have >>>> paid the State a large sum of money. It includes third-party [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > this if the State had the power to cross-check car registrations against > the electoral roll. 20+ years ago (it could have changed; I no longer live in Oz) in Queensland the Main Roads Department collected the insurance premium and forwarded it to the insurer of one's choice. And perhaps the only way to cancel the insurance was through MRD -- or the insurer was obligated to notify MRD. Either way, there was no valid registration without the compulsory third-party insurance. In addition, there was a surcharge of a few $$ that went to the "Nominal Defendant Fund," from which claims were paid to the victims (or to their estates, I suppose) of uninsured drivers. OTOH, here in Michigan I have to pay a premium surcharge to cover me against harm caused by an uninsured driver; there does not seem to be any any check by the DMV that one has insurance for the vehicle being registered. Perce >>>>> * The "licence" is actually the registration to show you have >>>>> paid the State a large sum of money. It includes third-party [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >uninsured driver; there does not seem to be any any check by the DMV >that one has insurance for the vehicle being registered. In the UK, the Motor Insurers Bureau pays out on behalf of uninsured or untraced drivers. No separate payment is made for this - all motor insurance premiums take it into account. The arrangment was introduced as a quid pro quo from the insurance companies when third-party insurance was made compulsory in (I think) the 1920s. Registration requires proof of insurance and vehicle inspection (still called "MoT" from the days when we had a Ministry of Transport). SignatureDon Aitken Mail to the From: address is not read. To email me, substitute "clara.co.uk" for "freeuk.com" >Registration >requires proof of insurance and vehicle inspection (still called "MoT" >from the days when we had a Ministry of Transport). On the left side of Leftpondia we don't have a Ministry of Transport, thus we cannot speak of MOT. But we do have to "smog" our cars every so often in order to be allowed to register them. And you're not allowed to sell a 2nd hand vehicle unless it has been recently "smogged". As the name implies, this test is not aimed at checking brakes and lights but more at ensuring that thet emissions coming out of the tailpipe are acceptable. Jitze >On the left side of Leftpondia we don't have a Ministry of >Transport, thus we cannot speak of MOT. But we do have [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >is not aimed at checking brakes and lights but more at ensuring >that thet emissions coming out of the tailpipe are acceptable. Over here in the upper-right corner of Central North Leftpondia, we have: - Two license plates, issued by the Registry (not "Department") of Motor Vehicles, which indicate the number (but not validity) of the registration. - Proof of registration (a paper document which must be kept in the vehicle). - A registration sticker (which attaches to the upper-right corner of the rear license plate) indicating the year[1] in which the registration expires. - An inspection sticker (which attaches to the lower-right corner of the front windshield) indicating the month in which the emissions (biennial) and roadworthiness (annual) inspection expires. One must present proof of insurance in order to register the vehicle, and insurers are required to notify the Registry if a policy is cancelled for any reason. Until this April, we have a command economy for insurance: all rates are set by the Insurance Commissioner. (For policies renewing in or after April, we have a semicompetitive system in which the I.C. still controls the structure of the policy, but insurers are permitted to set their own prices within the bounds of that structure.) Since the insurance rate depends on the territory in which the vehicle is "principally garaged", this is attested in the registration, and it is not possible to obtain a resident parking permit if the garaging location is misstated. It is not unusual for the registration, insurance, and inspection all to renew in different months, and the excise tax (a local ad valorem tax on vehicle registrations) is based on the calendar year. -GAWollman [1] Massachusetts has a strange system in which the rightmost digit of the registration -- whatever position it may occupy for a particular style of plate -- indicates the month (January = 1 ... October = 0) in which the registration expires. Vanity and specialty registrations all renew in December. (Believe it or not, this is considered a vast improvement on the previous system, in which all registrations expired in December, so every Registry office had lines a mile long in the week after Christmas with people waiting to renew their plates.) In normal states, the month of registration is either stamped separately or indicated on a sticker (affixed either to the plate itself or to a window, depending on the state). SignatureGarrett A. Wollman | The real tragedy of human existence is not that we are wollman@csail.mit.edu| nasty by nature, but that a cruel structural asymmetry Opinions not those | grants to rare events of meanness such power to shape of MIT or CSAIL. | our history. - S.J. Gould, Ten Thousand Acts of Kindness >> On the left side of Leftpondia we don't have a Ministry of >> Transport, thus we cannot speak of MOT. But we do have [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> is not aimed at checking brakes and lights but more at ensuring >> that thet emissions coming out of the tailpipe are acceptable. > Over here in the upper-right corner of Central North Leftpondia, we > have: [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > or indicated on a sticker (affixed either to the plate itself or to a > window, depending on the state). In Midwest Leftpondia (Michigan, to be precise), registrations renew in one's birth month. Driver's Licenses renew on one's birthday, but the number of years for which they are valid *may* (I'm not sure) depend on one's age. Perce >> On the left side of Leftpondia we don't have a Ministry of >> Transport, thus we cannot speak of MOT. But we do have [quoted text clipped - 55 lines] > separately or indicated on a sticker (affixed either to the plate > itself or to a window, depending on the state).i In Extreme Left Pondia, Lowest Part, some if not most insurance providers establish our insurance's validity prior to renewal of registration, and once a first electronic renewal has been executed we are awarded a number that apparently works as a key, and when registration time rolls around, a few clicks and keysteokes in the right locations (credit card required) and it's done. Seems to me it was less than a ten-day wait until the new tag arrived in the mail. This ritual occurs on the anniversary of the previous registration or renewal of registration, and unless other circumstances intervene, is usually on or near an anniversary of the original registration of a new car. Same deal in Smog Certificate years (bi-annually after five years from new), but the click-in registration requires the car be tested for compliance within 60 days prior to registration. At the Smog Station, the results of a test are transmitted electronically to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The certification can be made at any service facility, including your friendly new-car stealership, until a certain number of years have passed since the car's manufacture (dono what that is), when the notice to renew tells you to take it to a Test-Only facility. My almost-twenty-year-old Asian pickup truck with numerous global-circuits on the odometer never comes close to failing. Somewhere, somehow, they figured it out. I'm about to discover how long an old guy's renewed license is good for. Must be about 25 years since I had to appear at the DMV for a renewal. It's been write-a-check (or submit a credit card number) every five years for a long time. This time they want a vision test and a written test. Wife is five years younger. She needs to take a vision test. SignatureFrank ess >>>> * The "licence" is actually the registration to show you have >>>> paid the State a large sum of money. It includes third-party [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > is roadworthy, i.e. that the tyres are legal, the brakes work, the > headlights and indicators work, etc. The end effect is the same then. To be allowed to buy car tax (which comes with a disc which must be displayed), one has to show (or these days, have on a database) an insurance policy and an annual MOT certificate (for cars over 3 years old). SignatureDavid > [...] > My most common use for these [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > * BrE: "tax disc" But, as I recall, you just slip those into your holder - none of this self-adhesive nonsense. Some Aussies get around the problem of removal by just adding them to their windscreen, so that the non-driver's side is plastered with the things. I am not sure whether this is legal. SignatureRob Bannister >> [...] >> My most common use for these [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >by just adding them to their windscreen, so that the non-driver's side >is plastered with the things. I am not sure whether this is legal. It isn't in the ACT. SignatureRichard Bollard Canberra Australia To email, I'm at AMT not spAMT. On 26 Jan 2008, Sara Lorimer wrote > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: > ><http://www.xacto.com/p_cuttingtools_knives.asp> I've heard various terms; I suspect it depends on the field you're working in. In the Canadian architects' offices I worked in, I think "X-Acto knife" was the generic term (like "a kleenex" for any tissue). I tend to say "razor knife" now -- I'm fairly sure that would be understood in most drawing offices -- but for all I know other craft groups may use some other term. Some years ago when I declared it at an airport -- having remembered it was in my briefcase when asked if I had anything that could be used as a weapon -- the desk guy referred to it as an "architect's knife" when speaking to his colleague; that rather surprised me. SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed >On 26 Jan 2008, Sara Lorimer wrote > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >used as a weapon -- the desk guy referred to it as an "architect's >knife" when speaking to his colleague; that rather surprised me. Googling for * craft knife * indicates that to be the generic term. Signature************* DAVE HATUNEN (hatunen@cox.net) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * > On 26 Jan 2008, Sara Lorimer wrote > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > think "X-Acto knife" was the generic term (like "a kleenex" for any > tissue). That's what I'd call them. I think it is the generic term around here. John Kane, Kingston ON Canada > I tend to say "razor knife" now -- I'm fairly sure that > would be understood in most drawing offices -- but for all I know [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Cheers, Harvey > CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: > > <http://www.xacto.com/p_cuttingtools_knives.asp> hobby knife, among others > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: > > <http://www.xacto.com/p_cuttingtools_knives.asp> Handy thing to have in your pocket. HTH. SignatureAnton Chigurh (Say "sugar") "I get a really good laugh when I think of how much of their time we are wasting. It only takes an off-the-cuff one liner from any one of the intelligentsia in u.l.s and the passed-its-sell-by-date Chief Collard and his ADC (Another Dozy c.nt) DribblingBuffoon01 spend hours thinking up a response, and even then they can only come up with mindless bollocks. It's like having radio controlled muppets at your disposal. Push their little buttons and watch them go. Too funny!" - Dave The Fat Sarge in uls. > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: ><http://www.xacto.com/p_cuttingtools_knives.asp> The pen-sized knives are called art knives. The next size up (usually retractible blade) are matte knives,and up from that, the utility knife. Various shops call "what we use to cut matte board here" a matte knife, and depending on the thickness of the board used for whatever the shop does, the matte knife might be any of the three. Art knives can be fitted with blades of various shapes, but the matte knife and utility knife generally use trapazoidal blades that can be reversed to make use of the second point. Utility knives are sometimes called box cutters, but "real" box cutters usually have a blade under a guide so that the guide can be run around the top (and sides) of a box without danger to fingers or product. SignatureLars Eighner <http://larseighner.com/> usenet@larseighner.com Countdown: 359 days to go. >What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: > ><http://www.xacto.com/p_cuttingtools_knives.asp> There's 2 kinds on that page - for rough work and for more exact work. The ones designed for really fine work are of course generically known as scalpels - in which case the blade is usualy stabilised in the mounting with a slot rather than just the simple pinch mechanism, and a couple of different blade shapes can be obtained http://tinyurl.com/2kfw2c Jitze > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I've heard it called a frisket knife. Googling that term turned up several hundred hits, including this one: =================== The standard frisket knife, which is normally a #11 X-acto blade in a metal or plastic handle, is the most common one used in cutting frisket film, ... www.arttalk.com/archives/vol-16/artv1605-7.htm =================== (Frisket is sheet or film material used in art or printing.) Gerry > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: > > <http://www.xacto.com/p_cuttingtools_knives.asp> X-Acto knife. Do they even have a competator? > > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: > > > > <http://www.xacto.com/p_cuttingtools_knives.asp> > > X-Acto knife. > Do they even have a competator? Of course. There are many cheaper imitations available, Jan > > > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Of course. There are many cheaper imitations available, ... of which I have one of the very cheapest imaginable. If you open the clumsily-moulded plastic case (whose click doesn't click) what greets your eye is superficially identical to the Real Thing at http://www.sculpt.com/pictures/craft/excel/10344382.gif The assortment of unnecessarily different blades is also religiously copied, complete with impressed numbers: are these numbers subject to some BSI, ASA, DIN, or whatever standard? Or are they imitated from the practice of the original manufacturer? WIWAL, they were called "Trix X-Acto knives", and came with a fine saw blade as well as the knife ones, and (I think) a tiny sanding block. Trix also made an innovative model railway system, and a construction set rather better than Meccano: cf Betamax and other better mousetraps which did /not/ cause a path to be beaten to anybody's door. -- Mike. > > > > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: > > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > ... of which I have one of the very cheapest imaginable. Quite suitable for occasions on which you are going to ruin the blade. > If you open > the clumsily-moulded plastic case (whose click doesn't click) what [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > some BSI, ASA, DIN, or whatever standard? Or are they imitated from > the practice of the original manufacturer? Just imitation, afaik. > WIWAL, they were called "Trix X-Acto knives", and came with a fine saw > blade as well as the knife ones, and (I think) a tiny sanding block. > Trix also made an innovative model railway system, and a construction > set rather better than Meccano: cf Betamax and other better mousetraps > which did /not/ cause a path to be beaten to anybody's door. Must be another Trix. And again afaik: in Germany Trix (the construction set) did gain some market share. They moved on to electic model trains, iirc. There were many other Meccano imitations, with limited succes. Some metric ones too. Quite a nuisance: 1/8" really isn't 3mm. Jan >> > > What's the generic term for an X-Acto knife? I mean these dealies: >> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >set rather better than Meccano: cf Betamax and other better mousetraps >which did /not/ cause a path to be beaten to anybody's door. I still have the 'Trix Twin' model railway set that my father bought me for my ninth birthday in 1948. It had three rails, so that you could independently control two locomotives on the same piece of track. Supposed to be a selling point over Hornby Dublo, but the latter was the more popular, AFAIR. SignatureRobin Bignall (BrE) Herts, England |
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