Many employers are seeking safer cutting tools to help prevent their employees from injuring themselves. However, there are so many kinds of safety knives on the market that it can be overwhelming. Brands use different words to describe similar safety knives, making it difficult to figure out exactly what to look for. What is the safest option for an exposed blade knife? While there plenty of knives that have fixed or manually retractable blades, they are not the safest. The two safest types of exposed blade knives are the semi-retractable knife and the fully automatic retractable knife.