Guarded surgical knife handle

1. A method of guarding a surgical blade comprising:

providing, in an unguarded position, a guarded surgical knife handle comprising:

a lower handle portion comprising a blade, a proximal pair of lateral shelves separated by a first lateral spacing, and a distal pair of lateral shelves separated by a second lateral spacing;

an upper handle portion comprising a guard portion that is open at a distal end of the upper handle portion and sized to surround the blade, a proximal post extending downwardly between the proximal pair of shelves and having a first widened post portion below the proximal pair of shelves that is wider than the first lateral spacing, and a distal post extending downwardly between the distal pair of shelves and having a second widened post portion below the distal pair of shelves that is wider than the second lateral spacing;

a button extending through a button hole in an upper surface of the upper handle portion, the button comprising a button waist narrower than the second lateral spacing and a widened button portion below the button waist wider than the second lateral spacing, wherein the button is positioned with the widened button portion against a proximal end of the distal pair of lateral shelves in the unguarded position; and

a bias member connected to the button and at least one of the lower handle portion and the upper handle portion, the bias member providing an upward force on the button when the button is depressed;

depressing the button;

sliding the button longitudinally between the distal pair of shelves while the button is depressed to slide the upper handle portion into a guarded position; and

releasing the button after the button passes a distal end of the distal pair of shelves.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the button comprises a rounded tab actuated by a user to depress and to slide the button.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lower handle portion further comprises a retention stop restricting longitudinal motion of the upper handle portion.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lower handle portion comprises a button stop restricting downward movement of the button at a height where the button waist is at a shelf height of the proximal pair of lateral shelves.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lower handle portion includes a grip feature extending from a bottom surface of the lower handle portion.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lower handle portion further comprises a textured grip surface adjacent to the grip feature.

7. A guarded surgical knife handle comprising:

a lower handle portion, the lower handle portion comprising:

a blade holder extending past a distal edge of the lower handle portion adapted to hold a blade;

a proximal pair of lateral shelves separated by a first lateral spacing;

a distal pair of lateral shelves separated by a second lateral spacing;

an upper handle portion, the upper handle portion comprising:

a guard portion that is open at a distal end of the upper handle portion and sized to surround the blade;

a proximal post extending downwardly between the proximal pair of shelves and comprising a first widened post portion below the proximal pair of shelves that is wider than the first lateral spacing; and

a distal post extending downwardly between the distal pair of shelves and comprising a second widened post portion below the distal pair of shelves that is wider than the second lateral spacing;

a button extending through a button hole in an upper surface of the upper handle portion, the button comprising a button waist narrower than the second lateral spacing and a widened button portion below the button waist wider than the second lateral spacing; and

a bias member connected to the button and at least one of the lower handle portion and the upper handle portion, the bias member providing an upward force on the button when the button is depressed.

8. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the guard portion comprises a transparent material.

9. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the bias member comprises a cantilevered pin.

10. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 9 , wherein the button further comprises a bottom groove, the cantilevered pin fitting within the bottom groove of the button.

11. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the bias member is connected to the upper handle portion.

12. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the guard portion comprises an underside configured to fit below the blade when the guard portion is in a guarded position, the underside further configured to contact the distal edge of the lower handle portion when the guard portion is in an unguarded position.

13. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 12 , wherein the underside includes a channel sized to fit around the blade holder.

14. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the button comprises a rounded tab actuated by a user to depress and to slide the button.

15. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the widened button portion contacts a proximal end of the distal shelves when the guard portion is in an unguarded position.

16. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the button is past a distal end of the distal shelves when the guard portion is in a guarded position.

17. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein:

the lower handle portion comprises an outer portion and an insert portion;

the blade holder is formed in the outer portion; and

the proximal pair of lateral shelves and the distal pair of lateral shelves are formed in the insert portion.

18. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the lower handle portion further comprises a retention stop restricting longitudinal motion of the upper handle portion.

19. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the bias member is attached to a bias member base on the upper handle portion, and the retention stop interferes with the bias member base to restrict the longitudinal motion of the upper handle portion.

20. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the lower handle portion comprises a button stop restricting downward movement of the button at a height where the button waist is at a shelf height of the proximal pair of lateral shelves.

21. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the button includes an alignment feature to prevent rotation of the button.

22. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the blade holder includes a blade contact stop restricting vertical movement of the guard portion.

23. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the blade contact stop comprises an upper post fitting between ribs on an inner surface of the guard portion.

24. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 1 , wherein the lower handle portion includes a grip feature extending from a bottom surface of the lower handle portion.

25. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 24 , wherein the grip feature includes a flattened bottom surface preventing the guarded surgical knife handle from rolling when placed on a flat surface.

26. The guarded surgical knife handle of claim 24 , wherein the lower handle portion further comprises a textured grip surface adjacent to the grip feature.