Surgical instruments

Autopsy Knife

Web referenceTGI-C-A8AE244EQuote this to us. It identifies this page, not a factory part number.

Sizes TGI publishes25.5cm Printed on TGI's own catalogue photograph of this article.

Also called Necropsy Knife

A blade fixed permanently to the handle rather than detachable like a scalpel's, single-edged with a long straight cutting edge for sweeping cuts through thick tissue.

An autopsy knife, also called a post-mortem knife, is a large, single-edged dissecting knife built for opening and reflecting wide areas of tissue during a post-mortem examination, rather than for the short, precise cuts an operating-room scalpel is built for. The blade is long, wide and thick compared with a scalpel blade, with a straight or gently curved cutting edge running to a point. It is set either on a fixed handle, with blade and handle forged or riveted as one piece, or on a heavy detachable handle built for a larger, more robust blade than a standard surgical blade-and-handle system takes. A longer blade lets one continuous draw-stroke open a large area without the multiple strokes a short blade would need.

Minimum order300 instrumentsThe minimum for surgical instruments. Mixed orders are quoted against your list.

Lead timeInstruments ~2-3 weeks · full sets ~4-6 weeks after advance.

Quality control

The inspection step is set by the line you order.

Economy line
sample: visual + dimensional
Clinical line
sample + boil test
Premium line
tighter sample + hardness test
Executive line
100% inspection + laser mark

Finish A color is a second choice, made on top of the line. Colored finishes on request, on any instrument, in addition to the steel line. Evidenced: black · gold · rose gold · blue · rainbow (anodised titanium).

Autopsy Knife, surgical instruments, TGI's own catalog photograph
TGI's own catalogue photograph of this article.

How it is built

  • Blade long and wide relative to a standard surgical scalpel blade
  • Single cutting edge, straight or curved to a point
  • Fixed-handle (one-piece forged) or heavy detachable-handle construction
  • Handle wider and heavier than a standard scalpel handle, for a firm grip through long draw-strokes
  • Made in more than one blade length within the pattern

PatternsVirchow pattern: the standard named post-mortem / brain-sectioning knife, sold by multiple instrument makers in this same size ladder

The standard sizes this kind of instrument is made in

21 cm · 25.5 cm · 26 cm · 29 cm · 31 cm · 33.5 cm · 38 cm

These are the sizes the pattern is manufactured in across the trade. They are not a stock list. Tell us the size you need and we will quote against it.

This describes the article. The steel, the finish and the inspection step are set by the line you order.

Material and quality

LineSteelOriginFinishInspection
Economy lineAISI 410Pakistani or Taiwanesesatin, passivatedsample: visual + dimensional
Clinical lineAISI 420Pakistani or Germansatin, passivatedsample + boil test
Premium lineAISI 420-440CGerman or Japanesefine polish, passivatedtighter sample + hardness test
Executive lineAISI 440CGerman or Japanesemirror polish, passivated100% inspection + laser mark

This is the steel each line is made from as standard. A different origin can be supplied on request (a lower grade in Japanese steel, for example), agreed on your order.

Premium is the line where the choice is yours: 420 or 440C, agreed on your order. Economy is always 410 and Executive is always 440C. Those three are the instrument steels. Hollowware and sterilization containers are made in AISI 202 on a Clinical order and AISI 304 on a Premium or Executive one, and they are not offered in the Economy line at all, which is the section above.

The five grades, side by side, and what each one is for

True of every order

Instruments are marked to the buyer's requirement (TGI, unmarked, or the buyer's own brand), agreed on the order.

Customized packaging is part of what TGI supplies. Your own printed boxes, your labels, your brand on the pack, or plain export packing, whichever your market needs. The packing for your order is agreed with you and confirmed on the order.

Manufactured under the quality management system covered by TGI's ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016 certificates. Certificate numbers and the issuer's registry are on the certification page. Open the certificates

Every batch of steel is ordered to a specified grade and arrives with the mill's own certificate, which identifies the mill and states the grade. TGI checks the material at the factory against its own requirement before it goes into production. That check is TGI's own inspection, not an independent laboratory test.

TGI manufactures in its own factory in Sialkot and also supplies articles made by contracted partner workshops, to TGI's specification. Which applies to a given article is confirmed on your order.

One-year guarantee on Premium and Executive tier instruments, hollowware and sterilization containers: any technical manufacturing defect, including material faults and rust, is replaced free of charge. Damage from handling or accidents is not covered. The year runs from the day the goods leave Sialkot.

If something is wrong with a delivery (a manufacturing defect, or a short or wrong article), tell us on WhatsApp within 7 days of delivery, with a video and photographs of what arrived. Replacement instruments are sent free of charge and dispatched within 24 hours of us seeing them; you pay the shipping, and they reach you as a normal order does.

Damage that happened after the goods left Sialkot is a claim against your carrier. The video of your parcel at the shipping office is sent to you before shipment and is the evidence that claim needs.