A scalpel handle for holding a blade having a cutting edge includes a handle member and a blade shield for covering the blade cutting edge. The blade shield is connected to the handle member for pivotal movement relative thereto between a blade-covering condition and an out-of-the-way condition, and a movable shield latch mechanism is capable of releasably locking the blade shield in its blade-covering condition. A finger-operable actuator mechanism is mounted upon the handle member for movement between first and second conditions, and a spring is interposed between the actuator mechanism and the handle member. During a first phase of movement of the actuator mechanism from its first to its second condition, the shield latch mechanism unlocks the blade shield from its locked blade-covering condition, and during a second phase of movement, the blade shield is moved from its blade-covering condition to its out-of-the-way condition.
