I use this product for shipping and was very disappointed. This was a replacement for one that was lost. It appears they redesigned it with "litigation-proofing" in mind, but in the process wound up with an inferior product. It is awkward to use, hard to get it to cut the tape and wastes an amazing amount of tape in the process. I would definitely NOT recommend purchasing.
The retracting blade seems like a good idea for safety...but the design makes it hard to cut the tape. We end up struggling with it, and I agree, it ends up wasting too much of the pricey packaging tape. We've used it occasionally for at least a year now.
Pressing the top tape platen causes the cutter to extend and cut the tape, eliminating the wrist twist that most other tape guns require. Took a day or too to get accustomed to this , but definitely a better design. I tape about 200 large boxes a week, and have used both kinds of gun and prefer this model. Of course, using good tape is key to a successful tape gun usage, as setting the tension properly!
Works well, I think the one star review is unfair. A little tricky to get the tape to cut because it requires a fair amount of pressure, but it does cut the tape without wasting much if any, and it gets the job done.
This particular tape "dispenser" is the worst one I have ever used. It has to be in a certain position in order to cut the tape at all. Wastes tape as it crumbles up on me when trying to cut the tape. If I had another model, I would be happier. One without the (I guess) safety? feature where you have to include the plastic gizmo to cut. BAD!
This is a great dispenser if you're going to use it all day, very comfortable and durable. The problem for infrequent users is the safety cutting mechanism requires a little skill to operate and is very unforgiving if you don't have the tension set properly.
Also, this thing is in dire need of a tensioner lock. I find myself tightening it down a quarter turn every few packages to keep from wasting tape.