Previously I answered that a legitimate use for a utility knife might be when you can only afford one knife. In the same post I undermine my own answer showing how I found no historical evidence for this. I wonder if I wasn't more interested in venting frustration at having a poor knife than providing a good answer.
Leaving aside my dubious attempt at an answer, I did find a good use for my utility knife a while back when peeling fresh ginger. I alternated between in-the-hands peeling and on-the-cutting-board chopping off of medium sized chunks of root to peel.
This seems to me both a general and legitimate use for the utility knife.
A good use for the utility knife is when you need to alternate between in-the-hands and on-the-chopping-board use.
