Stationery Spotlight: Kokuyo Hako-Ake 2-Way Scissors
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I was at my local Japanese goods store last month, minding my own business, and as it would happen, I turned around from my glorious wall of model kits to lock eyes with something I’ve been interested in for quite a while now:
There it were.
It was so easy to miss! After an embarrassingly audible gasp, I made my way to my new prize. Oh man! The Kokuyo scissor-box cutter thing! Or the Kokuyo Hako-Ake 2-Way Scissors.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Kokuyo Hako-Ake scissors, that’s not at all surprising. I haven’t seen nearly enough talk about them as I feel like there should be. In short, this is a pair of deployable scissors with a 2-step lock that either has it function as a pair of scissors or a box cutter. I was seriously considering picking these up when I was looking for a pair of scissors a long while back because the idea seemed so cool. Now that I’ve had them for a few months, I think it’s safe to talk about what it’s like to live with them.
The Hako-Ake cutters are made of textured ABS plastic, and while I think an aluminum construction would have been cool, it probably wouldn’t be worth the price increase for something like this. The plastic feels plenty durable, but I wouldn’t recommend bashing things with it either. I wouldn’t recommend that either way. Moving on!
There’s also a small ring on the end to attach a keychain, or carabiner, or a cool paracord dongle of your choice. I didn’t have any of that, so we’ll have to “settle” for bento-Pikachu. From an aesthetic standpoint, it’s great! But again, I’m not sure how well that would hold up to hard use without breaking (the ring, not the Pikachu).
Like I mentioned earlier, the blade deploys in 2 stages: box cutter, and then scissors. There are three respective marks on the side of the unit to indicate each setting, as well as its closed position.
The deployment is satisfying enough. It takes a light amount of pressure to press the lever down and slide it forward, making a soft snap when it locks into place and an even better snap when you retract it. Once the blade is out, the lock itself is okay. It’s good enough to keep the blade in place while you’re using it, but if you press enough on the lever (and it’s not a lot of pressure at all), the blade will release.
With that said, I spent quite some time trying to make that happen while cutting boxes, and naturally, my hand never fell into a position where it was anywhere near hitting the lever while using it. Even when I tried to purposely press the lever down while cutting, it wasn’t easy to get it to retract back into its closed position. What about having the blade come out further on accident? When I pressed the button down purposefully while cutting, that was certainly more likely, however, it also wasn’t as easy to do as you think. While you’re pulling back on the cutter, the lever will naturally fight being pressed down, and the only easy way to get the blade to deploy further would be pressing forward on the rear side of the lever, which isn’t all that easy to do while using the cutter. That’s not to say it can’t happen, but it’s also not as easy as it might seem at a glance.
Now, in terms of the Hako-Ake’s box-cutting abilities, they’re okay. It’s definitely usable as a box cutter. It holds well in the hand, and it’s plenty sharp enough to get through even a few layers of packing tape with ease, but anything tougher than that might require a more dedicated cutting instrument.
That issue stems simply from the fact that there’s not that much blade accessible in its box cutter position — only about 3mm. And that’s the biggest issue with the Hako-Ake. It also lacks the function of replaceable blades like a true box cutter. It’ll certainly get by for opening some light packages, but it absolutely won’t replace a dedicated box cutter for those who need it. On the other hand, it’s certainly better and safer than flipping open a pair of scissors to open a box.
I also tried plenty of taped-up mailing envelopes. It worked, but it was more fiddly and difficult to get a good catch on the tape to slice through.
For the Hako-Ake’s scissor function, it’s not bad at all. Once you extend the blade all the way out to work as scissors, the sliding lever pops out to allow you to squeeze and operate the scissors. It feels slightly loose and jiggly, but it works.
Both blades are single-beveled and cut easily through paper, washi, cardstock, tags, and anything I was able to reasonably throw at them. I even used it to cut the tip of a rubber bulb syringe I use to fit certain pens. Sometimes it had a difficult time catching softer plastic bags (like the one pictured above), but once it did, it sliced right through. According to the specs, the blades are also titanium-coated, so they should hold up well for a long time.
The flaw here is again the result of its dual-function design. The blade in scissor mode is only 1.5 inches long. To be honest, that was more than enough for the more basic things I needed them for around my desk, but I also do a lot of paper crafting, and there’s simply no chance that the blades are long enough for that. In short, I didn’t have an issue with them, but I also used them within reason.
All in all, the Hako-Ake isn’t bad, but it’s not a perfect one-size-fits-all tool either. It’s not going to replace a good pair of scissors, and it definitely won’t replace a box cutter, but if you have your expectations in order, I think it makes for a nice, convenient tool to have around a desk, or maybe in a backpack for small tasks. I opened a lot of boxes. I cut a lot of things. It was able to handle it, but at the end of the day, it feels like more of a novelty than anything. A cool one, sure, but a novelty all the same.
Links:
Find the Kokuyo Hako-Ake here! (Amazon)