Boxcutters are an essential item for cutting cardboard, especially on items like shipping boxes or other cheap moving boxes. However, though most people have seen them and likely used them, an overwhelming amount don’t practice boxcutter safety because they’re always in a hurry or simply don’t know how to use it correctly. Check out these safety tips below.

Always point the blade away from your body.

And be sure no one else is around you when you make your cut. This is the first thing most people will teach you about boxcutters, and yet it’s something people still fail to heed. Cutting away from your body is much easier to do in the first place, but it also ensures that you don’t cut yourself (or any of your clothing, for that matter).

Make sure your other hand or other parts of your body aren’t in the path of the knife.

This is especially true for your fingers. It’s easy to get used to cutting shipping boxes and other cardboard with a boxcutter, but don’t ever slip up and hold a part of the box in the direct line of the cutter’s path.

Keep your eye on the blade as you’re cutting at all times.

Rather than watch where you’re going to be cutting, watch the blade itself as you move it along the box. This ensures you don’t accidentally misjudge where the knife’s blade is because you’re looking ahead. Avoid messing up your cut or, worse, cutting yourself and simply keep your gaze on the boxcutter’s blade.

Store boxcutters in a safe place when you’re not using them.

If the blade is retractable, which most are, make sure the blade is fully covered and locked if it has a locking option. You don’t want to reach in a drawer for something else and cut yourself because you left the blade exposed. It takes no time at all.

Don’t toss a boxcutter to another person.

Even if you think the blade is closed or fully retracted, you should safely hand boxcutters to other workers or people with the handle first.

Don’t try to catch a falling boxcutter.

Just move out of the way and let it fall to the ground if it falls when you’re using it. Whether or not you think the blade is retracted, it could come loose and cut you if you attempt to grab it. Most boxcutters are cheap enough that if they break, it’s not a big deal to get a new one.