A utility knife and methods for using the same are disclosed. The utility knife includes a handle portion, a head unit attached to the handle portion, and a blade attached to the head unit. The handle portion is made of two parts jointed together by a hinged connection arrangement. A blade support component is also included which orients the blade in perpendicular relation to a central axis of the handle. The exemplary utility knife can safely be used in many applications with a design configured to help prevent user contact with the blade's cutting edge or edges.