A retractable knife includes a blade that is mounted on a blade mounting element, where the blade mounting element is located within and is slidably engaged with a handle. The blade is moved from a retracted to an exposed position upon pushing a button of the blade mounting element, which results in a cantilever arm bending downwards into an open space, and then pushing the element forward to move the blade outside of the protection afforded by the handle. A slit in the handle guides the movement of the blade mounting element.
