Pocket Knives

[Bluto]

I recently visited another forum where a question was asked, what kind of knife do you carry?
Well, it quickly went from that to all kinds of guns, etc.

My interest is that I would like to carry a folding knife to open packages, cut line while fishing, cut rope, etc. I'm not that interested in carrying a knife for protection, although, it could be used in that capacity as almost anything can be used as a weapon, if you know what to do with it, so I'd rather not go in that direction, if possible.

I spent the day looking for a good quality knife to keep in my pocket on a daily basis and something that won't pull my pants down because it weighs a couple of pounds.
Ya, I know "get a life". But I have an excuse, I'm in a sling, and will be for some time, so I'm spending a lot of time on the computer and watching TV.

In the end, I found the perfect carry knife, I think.
It's the Benchmade Mini Griptilian and can be had for under $90.
I'd like to hear from others on here that share the similar interests and maybe ideas on what knife you carry in your pocket everyday while traveling and camping before I place my order.
Do you have a favorite?

[overlander63]

I have a Kershaw Ken Onion pocket knife. It has a locking blade, and a clip to hold it to either my belt or pocket, so I don't lose it. It's been a screwdriver, hammer, prybar, chisel, and gasket scraper. Sometimes, I even use it as a knife.http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/KS1...uminum-Handles

[voremus]

Here are a couple to think about. Like many, I've carried a knife daily for more years than I care to mention. I use them and use them up. For lightweight, ease of use and general utility I like some of the new "assisted opening" knives. If in a sling, you can open and close these with one hand. Look at the SOG Flash I, it's good quality, easy to use and light. I also have a Mini-Griptilian in my collection but it is too big to carry daily as I'm not a fan of the "clips", I like to just carry it in my pocket. It's also larger than I find useful for daily work but a high quality blade. Finally, look at the Kershaw Ken Onion mentioned by another post. This is the most popular new knife out there and around $60.00. I've had two and they are great but a bit heavy.

[Wingeezer]

I generally have a Leatherman belt pouch multitools close by. - I like the Wave model which has locks to hold the tools out when opened - some of the less expensive models don't have the looks and the tool (typically screwdrivers) can fold up on you when pushed and cause minor injury.

For as pocket knife, I have tried many and more or less settled on one of the medium sized good old Swiss army knives - not too expensive, robust, and useful.

Brian.

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by overlander63

I have a Kershaw Ken Onion pocket knife. It has a locking blade, and a clip to hold it to either my belt or pocket, so I don't lose it. It's been a screwdriver, hammer, prybar, chisel, and gasket scraper. Sometimes, I even use it as a knife.Kershaw 1670DSBLK Ken Onion Blur Assisted 3-3/8" Black Plain Blade, Desert Tan Aluminum Handles - KnifeCenter

I have this Knife, I have had it so long that the clip and lock have worn out and are long gone. It still works great and sees daily service opening boxes. I carry it on my boat and cut line all the time. The knife has peeled hundreds of apples and just keeps going. Anything Ken Onion designs works great. Opens fast enough to scare a bad guy away ask me how I know. It was recommended to me by a friend who is is a knife maker, using a forge and hammer. BTW can be found a Walmart. The cheaper version that is.

[wahoonc]

I carry the Swiss Army Classic , I have a couple of them, usually pay ~$12 for them. The only time I don't have one is when TSA takes it away from me. I have bought them as BOGO on sale at Target and some other places.


Another favorite that I carry when I am working around the farm is an Opinel #10 Pruning Knife, I have several different Opinels and love them. I quite often have a Leatherman PST II or a Fuse on my belt too, which has a knife. No shortage of tools around me.

There are a lot of other good knives out there. I have a Spyderco Saver Salt that I carry when boating.

My wife jokes that I have more knives than I have underwear...

Aaron

[pgr32e]

Ye olde swiss army Knife, simple one with two blades, can and bottle opener (with screw driver blades on ends), punch and last but by no means least a cork screw. Simple, compact and easy to use, I've worn two of them out in the 45 years or so I've carried one.....Phil.

[Nuvite-F]

Heck, I've been carrying the same Victorinox Swiss Army knife for. . . let's see. . . 37 years. The plastic is chipped on one end and the spring in the scissors is broken, but it soldiers on, and I have become very attached to it.

The main blade is worn to about 2/3 of its original width from repeated sharpening. One time I broke off about 1/4" of the tip. I pondered it for a while and reground the tip to a Tanto shape, which proved to be a wonderful improvement. The Tanto tip is sharp as a needle, good for digging out splinters and stabbing things, like feed bags, that you need to stab before you can cut.

I would guess that I use the scissors, can opener, and screwdriver blades about as much as I use the main blade. I have used the corkscrew, and it works fine. You gotta love an army that issues corkscrews to the troops.

I have lost it several times, but always found it. The first time I lost it I bought an exact replacement which I used till I found the original, then put it back in reserve. I call it my Swiss Army Reserve knife.

The Swiss Army knife is not too competitive as a straight knife. Like the previous poster, I have a Kershaw Ken Onion "Vapor", and it's sharp as a razor. I also have a couple of Cold Steel knives, which are also razor sharp and economically priced.

I know they are razor sharp because just for the heck of it I shaved with one of them. Never having used a straight razor, I was surprised how well it worked. (But I stuck to my cheeks and stayed away from tricky spots, like under the nose.)
.

[JimGolden]

Wahoonc beat me to it. I also carry a Swiss Army knife. Mine is a Victorinox. I have one of the medium sized ones, with about four blades, scizzors, toothpick, and the most fine grabbing tweezers I've ever seen.

My first one fell out of my pocket while riding my motorcycle and is laying along U.S. 522 somewhere. So I got a new one at Lowes a couple Christmas's ago. Think I paid $16.

I've got some nice SOG and Cold Steel knives, but they are too big for me for daily carry.

My size Swiss Army is too small to really be a defensive thing, but I can open a bier bottle, a can of pork and beans, cut a fishing line, skin a deer, turn a phillips or straight head screw (my old one had a wine opener instead of the phillips screwdriver...I actually liked that better), clean my teeth with the toothpick or pluck my eyebrows They really are pretty handy, and you won't have cardiac arrest if you lose it. The blade is definitely not a Kershaw ceramic or a J.A. Henkles forged steel, but it's good enough for a pen knife.

On Edit, I see PGR and Nuvite posted their love of Swiss Army knives while I was typing. Great minds do think alike


Best of luck!

[Lily&Me]

Oh, Lordy, don't ever get Doug started on pocket knives!

He is never without at least one, has about a dozen. Big ones, little ones, long blades, short blades, handmade, antique. I am going to get him a display case at some point. And, they're always sharp, very sharp.

His most valuable is a Gil Hibben, circa 1966.

The ones he carries most often are the smallest Swiss Army knife made and a Spiderco Dragonfly.

Doug believes real men carry pocket knives.


Maggie

[T4HALO]

The good news is, The Swiss Army Knife is still swiss made. There is a lot of history in those little knives. I collect and own many hunting knives, but the Swiss Army helped get me through both Ranger school and the Special Forces Qualification Course. Great knives.

T4

[Crusty]

I carry a SOG Twitch II for cutting only and it's the best pocket knife I've ever had. For tools I also carry a Leatherman Squirt P4 on my keychain because it has all the tools that I'm likely to need for normal things.

[Sprouty]

I strap on my Leatherman Wave every day. I can’t tell you how many times it has helped me out in a pinch. I think it’s a great all around tool.

[cameront120]

I've been carrying a Swiss Army classic in my pocket for longer than I can remember. It's small, but I've rarely needed anything more, so feel no need to carry anything bigger. I have a larger one with corkscrew and a can opener and a couple of blades, but that one stays in the cutlery drawer.

[az-streamer]

it really doesn't matter too much - simple or fancy,

an questions, refer to:


Gibbs' rule #9 - always carry a knife

[Bill M.]

I have and have carried a whole lot of knives. For a quality knife that is fairly light it is hard to beat the Alaska knives lightweight with the D2 steel blade. But when it sharpened to its best edge it is just too sharp and a little too big for me for the things I do every day with a knife. I carry a $20 Gerber LST and just sharpen it every day or so to a medium aggressive edge. I have 3 or 4 of them. (the airport trash can has one and they were not pleasant about it). I keep the good quality D2 and carbon steel knives with my carving tools in the shop for when I am paying attention.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Jim Clark

I have this Knife, I have had it so long that the clip and lock have worn out and are long gone. It still works great and sees daily service opening boxes. I carry it on my boat and cut line all the time. The knife has peeled hundreds of apples and just keeps going. Anything Ken Onion designs works great. Opens fast enough to scare a bad guy away ask me how I know. It was recommended to me by a friend who is is a knife maker, using a forge and hammer. BTW can be found a Walmart. The cheaper version that is.

I know mine has a lifetime warranty, and yours should, as well. I sent mine in a couple of months ago, after a decade of very hard use, and three weeks later, a brand new replacement arrived, no questions asked.

[baylito99]

Uncle Henry made by Schrade. In a belt sheath, never in a pocket. Up until a few years ago they were made in the USA, had a lifetime warranty and lost replacement.

[Mike Leary]

I've had Cutco knives for ever, best made, tho the old Case knives were decent.

[Jammer]

In my daily activities I adopt a minimalist attitude and carry extremely little around with me.

When I have a knife with me it is usually either a Kershaw Blur or a Gerber 600 multitool.

I have knives and other tools in the cars and campers.