Hang this poster at the cutting station, so the Do and Never lists are in front of whoever picks up a blade.
What is on the poster
Do
- Use a cutter only after training and the instructor has checked you.
- Inspect the blade: sharp, tip intact, lock working. Dull or broken: close it and take it to the teacher.
- Cut on a self-healing mat or scrap fiberboard, never on a table top, glass or your lap.
- Draw the cut in pencil. Clamp the piece, or hold it down with your hand well off to the side.
- Run the blade vertical along a cork-backed ruler, angled away from your body.
- Expose only as much blade as you need. Light passes, three if it takes three.
- Know where everyone is: nobody behind you or in the path of the blade.
- Retract or cover the blade the moment the cut is done. Used blades go in a sharps container.
Never
- Cut toward yourself, your hand, or your leg.
- Put your free hand in front of the blade.
- Force a dull blade through the material.
- Try to catch a falling cutter. Step back, then pick it up.
- Leave a blade open on the bench.
- Throw a used blade in the trash.
A cut: pressure with a clean cloth, tell the teacher, first aid, report it.
Built to the Science Safety Teaching Standard
This poster carries the SSTS mark. Like every Science Safety course, it is built to the Science Safety Teaching Standard (SSTS): every rule on it is taken from the body that governs it, at its current edition, and the source is printed on the poster, so you can check it yourself.
Stay current
When you get this poster, it is saved to your Science Safety account. If we revise the poster, or the Cutters and Cutter Safety module it comes from changes, we will email you, and the latest version will be waiting under Downloads in your account. Every revision carries its revision number and date at the bottom of the poster, so you can tell at a glance whether the copy on your wall is current.
Printing and hanging
- One-page PDF, US letter (8.5 by 11 inches).
- White background, so it prints clearly on any office or classroom printer without using much ink.
- Hang it at the cutting station, at eye level.
- The QR code in the blue title band opens this page, so anyone can get their own copy.
- The QR code at the bottom opens the Cutters and Cutter Safety module.
Learn more
The Cutters and Cutter Safety module teaches the full topic this poster comes from.
Sources:
- K-12 Maker Lab: cutters training guide, competency checklist and refresher guide – MIT Edgerton Center (reviewed September 30, 2026)
- Utility knife safety – Excel Blades (reviewed September 30, 2026)
Poster SSP-0029, Rev. 1, September 2026.
