The blade is nice and long to extend the full length of the envelope. It's pointed to insert easily into the envelope. It has thin edges to slit the envelope cleanly. The handle is hard plastic, rounded enough not to hurt the hand. OK, maybe I'd give it 9 starts because if the handle were that soft material that's on Oxo products, *then* it would be perfect. But folks, you're just not going to get anything better than this letter opener unless you actually use a steak knife (which is what I was doing but this looks more appropriate and is less dangerous). One word of warning: it took several weeks for me to receive this from date of ordering. If you are giving it as a gift, order early. Westcott KleenEarth Letter Opener with Microban Anti-Microbial Product Protection (14821)
When this opener arrived I was pleasantly surprised by how solid the steel felt. Usually stainless steel that doesn't need to have a sharp edge is pretty soft, and yes lateral pressure on the tip will flex the blade, but it springs right back perfectly.
Speaking of sharp edges, this thing comes with beveled sides that are not sharpened to an edge because it's supposed to be something people can have on their desks without fear of cutting themselves. If you look at a letter opener's work it is really more of a neat tearing open of the edge than a cut, per se. If you saw the review wishing the opener were sharper be assured that mine arrived more than sharp enough to open envelopes with ease, even if there is slight resistance to start the tear. I'm sure if you wanted to sharpen it more you could a little bit, and a little bit is probably all it would need to be able to cut skin. My opinion is that if you want a blade that slices through paper like butter I advise perusing the very nice selection of knives available. To be clear: I would not want to be on the receiving end of this letter opener's point, but it is not a knife.
I am also pleased with the solid pairing of the handle and blade. If you see the 3 indentations near the top of the handle in the picture it appears the blade is secured at those 3 points, eliminating any level of wiggle whatsoever. The plastic is very solid too so I don't expect it to develop a wiggle. The sides of the handle are cast together very nicely without a messy seam.
If you are interested in the recycled / green philosophy behind this product you may be pleased to know that one side of the handle has a white recycling logo (the three folded arrows) and on the other side the blade is prominently printed with "KleenEarth®" so no matter which way it is set down one or the other shows. If that aspect is not real high on your priorities you may be pleased to know that while both of those things are prominent and noticeable, they still look traditionally classy. It isn't a cheap product using environmental friendliness as a gimmick to sell, nor does it look like one.
Bottom line I'm very happy with this letter opener. Leave me a comment if there's any other helpful info I can give you.
I read the reviews. I have no idea what the people were opening that claimed it opened up mail so wonderfully. I finally took a sharpener and sharpen the blade and it only help somewhat, and i believe thats because sharpers are designed for knives, scissors, etc and have predetermined angles for sharp bladed. I had to guess. I use it mostly for cutting the tape on sealed boxes, envelopes are easier to open if i do it the old fashion way, (with my own hands and no help from the opener)
I got tired of trying to open all my mail the old way and although I have envelope letter openers, I wanted something for bigger envelopes. the KleenEarth product was very reasonably priced, was available via Prime and works better than I expected. It's well constructed, sharp enough to open envelopes without cutting your hands. I'm very happy with the product quality and price. - Letter Opener'
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