Pocket knife: Weird or normal?

Is it weird or normal to regularly carry a 3-4" pocket knife or Swiss army knife?

  • Weird

    Votes: 3 3.6%

  • Normal

    Votes: 69 83.1%

  • A plain pocket knife is normal, but only nerds carry Swiss army knives outside the Swiss army

    Votes: 11 13.3%
  • Total voters
    83
FastEddieB said:
As an aside, about a month ago Karen and I went to a Bat Mitzvah in Tampa. Security was high at the synagogue and I had to return to the car to stow my pocket knife.

Thought it was a sad commentary on the times we’re living in.
Click to expand...

Now, had it been a Bris,.....
 
I usually carry a multi-tool. Probably use the pliers as often if not more than the knife.
 
Just thinking back to when I spent summers with my Grandpa in Alaska at 15 & 16 years old…I carried a 3 1/2” lock back, and it was the smallest knife on the airliner coming home.
 
Best knife ever made, in my humble opinion. They're getting hard to find at a reasonable price. My dad had a few of them over the course of his career. 1715561282123.png
 
KE5BM said:
Best knife ever made, in my humble opinion. They're getting hard to find at a reasonable price. My dad had a few of them over the course of his career. View attachment 128718
Click to expand...
Carried one of those for years, in a custom nylon belt holster. Used it every day for opening panels for pre-flight, etc. Can opener for C-rations back in the day. That was a superbly designed tool.
 
Piperonca said:
Here's one that is tiny, with a surprisingly usable phillips screwdriver, and it's TSA compliant:

https://www.victorinox.com/en-US/Products/Swiss-Army-Knives/Small-Pocket-Knives/Jetsetter/p/0.6263

See also:

https://www.pewpewtactical.com/tsa-approved-multitools/
Click to expand...
I have carried a pocket knife of some sort ever since I was in grade school - and never had any significant problem because of it. I think I have one from those days somewhere, but don't know
where it is at present. When I served in the military I picked up several of the Camillus U.S. multi tool knives, and carried one for years. Good knife, but the locking springs eventually break
with years of use. Later I switched to a Victorinox "Electrician" Swiss Army knife - which is still available: https://www.victorinox.com/en-US/search/product/?q=Electrician. This knife differs
from others of the type in that it has aluminum side pieces (rather than plastic). Most are natural color but I have seen them in anodized red. I find that this knife serves most of my needs,
I carry mine every day - and use it multiple times. I occasionally need to terminate coaxial cables - and use the cable blade for that. About the only addition that I would wish for is a Phillips
bit.

Dave
 
Half Fast said:
Who remembers this one?

I am your substitute teacher, Sister Mary Elephant.​
Class, attention. Attention, class! Class? SHUT UP! Thank you.​
Young man, now give me that knife. ​
SWISH-THUNK!!!​
Thank you.​
Click to expand...
We had a local Barnie Fife that we called ‘Sgt. Stedanko’.
 
Cool to see some knives listed that I've owned. I used to carry an LST, the "full size" version, all the time. I think it was about 3.5" or so. And if I were doing some kind of tech/volunteer work I'd add the swiss army tinker. Leatherman was too heavy, I found it a PITA. Like others, I stopped carrying partly because I'd have to go through various check points from time to time, but also because I stopped doing hands on tech work years ago. Not a sysadmin, so shouldn't be working on servers. I used to fly commercially all the time with the LST.

These days the knife I use most is an old fashioned pot metal Stanley utility knife. Just not a fan of the snap off blade things.
 
1715561282123.png

Nobody is jumping in with the answer, so I'll provide it. It is a demo knife, designed for working with explosives. Blade is for cutting C4, det cord, and time fuse. Awl is for making blasting cap recesses in C4 and dynamite. Screwdriver useful for prying open wooden crates of explosives. Stainless steel so less sparks. Can opener because you work up an appetite blowing **** up.
 
Last edited:
KE5BM said:
Best knife ever made, in my humble opinion. They're getting hard to find at a reasonable price. My dad had a few of them over the course of his career. View attachment 128718
Click to expand...

I like how someone thought it was necessary to label the can opener
 
KE5BM said:
Best knife ever made, in my humble opinion. They're getting hard to find at a reasonable price. My dad had a few of them over the course of his career. View attachment 128718
Click to expand...
Dad had one of those, but I don't know what happened to it. But I do have his Navy Electrician's knife (random pic from the web, his is nicer):
1715603688864.jpeg
Bob Noel said:
I like how someone thought it was necessary to label the can opener
Click to expand...
I have another of Dad's old knives, circa 1930s... same style can opener, also labeled (with "Pat Pend", as well).
 
Domenick said:
I carry a 3.5" clip-on pocket flip folder religiously. It's just part of my leaving the house gear like wallet and keys. A Kershaw for everyday and a Benchmade for more formal gatherings. Wore one at my wedding (now defunct). I prefer a combo blade with base half serrated and a tanto pointy end. Keep it sharp enough to shave hair off my arms. Would also work to slice through a stuck seat/shoulder belt. Might even work as an auto window escape tool--never tried it.
Click to expand...
All of this, except 3" Kershaw with drop point
 
I have carried a knife for as long as I can remember. Grew up on a farm and later worked in retail and private ag, so it's just ingrained in me I guess. And yes - I also have the leather belt-loop pouch for carrying the pair of mini-vice grips that my dad used when he was farming. I still feel out of sorts when travelling without a knife in my pocket and have had numerous times of reaching to my pocket to get it to do something simple, only to be met with disappointment when I realize I don't have it.

Funny pocket knife story -- We were in Greenville, SC few years ago. We had driven, so I still had my knife with me. We decided to go to a AAA baseball game downtown. Walk up to the gate and see that they have metal detectors and it hits me "DOH! I have my knife in my pocket." I tell my wife to take the boys in and I'll walk back to the car to leave my knife. One of the guys (good 'ol country boy, I might add) with the metal detector wands says "Hey.. Don't worry about that.. See that big potted plant over there, just stick it behind there and it'll be there when you get back." I walk over and sure enough there's half a dozen pocket knives laying there, so I add mine to the stash. Come out after the game, walk over to the 'knife plant' and most of the knives were gone, but mine was still there. I saw a glimmer of hope for our world that night...
 
Anyone carry an automatic? The ones I have are basically toys as the opening mechanisms aren’t dependable enough, but I’d be interested to learn of others’ experiences, especially with high-end ones.
 
Here is another military supply system favorite. Automatic knife. I was told it was a parachutists knife, with one-hand opening and serrated edge to cut shroud lines if tangled up and hanging on something. But I never saw them issued or carried during actual jump operations. Not convenient for daily carry, due to thick handle and heavy weight. Handle is machined aluminum block. Very robust mechanism, with blade lock so it made a passable weapon.

Edit: more coming back to me now. It was a jumpmaster knife. Serrated edge was for cutting away hung jumpers.

PXL_20240513_180953029.jpg
 
Last edited:
Ed Haywood said:
Here is another military supply system favorite. Automatic knife. I was told it was a parachutists knife, with one-hand opening and serrated edge to cut shroud lines. Not super convenient for daily carry, due to thick handle and heavy weight. But very robust mechanism.

View attachment 128744
Click to expand...

I’ve got one of those, too. They were career field issue for JTACs by the time I got there. They are big and heavy for what they are though. Never heard the jumper/rigger story though.

We also had a smaller benchmade that was perfect for pocket carry and a SOG fixed blade.
d652ddaec559a41e14ed99db072f1c26.jpg
 
Never liked carrying a pocket knife normally bc I hate bulky stuff in my pockets, but always carried one when hiking and camping. For many, many years I used this because it is ultra-light, folds flat, and extremely easy to clean. With some light maintenance, it was very dependable and damn near indestructible when used appropriately.

But in recent years I have stopped carrying the knife and just take my Leatherman. Having multiple dedicated tools on my belt loop has been way more helpful and it still does everything I needed the knife for.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Here is another military supply system favorite. Automatic knife. I was told it was a parachutists knife, with one-hand opening and serrated edge to cut shroud lines if tangled up and hanging on something. But I never saw them issued or carried during actual jump operations. Not convenient for daily carry, due to thick handle and heavy weight. Handle is machined aluminum block. Very robust mechanism, with blade lock so it made a passable weapon.

Edit: more coming back to me now. It was a jumpmaster knife. Serrated edge was for cutting away hung jumpers.

View attachment 128744
Click to expand...
I have a similar Benchmade, use it with a lanyard when sailing. Figure if I go overboard with a line wrapped around my ankle I can hopefully saw thru it before I end up swimming with the fishes.

IMG_7038.jpeg
 
Half Fast said:
Anyone carry an automatic? The ones I have are basically toys as the opening mechanisms aren’t dependable enough, but I’d be interested to learn of others’ experiences, especially with high-end ones.
Click to expand...
I somewhere along the line acquired one of these. One-handed operation and pretty much foolproof.

53719522520_af826c51af.jpg
 
Half Fast said:
Or I assume you can flick it forward?
Click to expand...
1715629303898.jpeg
From left:
HK Mini Incursion
HK Micro Incursion
MicroTech UTX-70

One of the HKs routinely goes with me, depending on sweat pants or regular trousers.
The UTX-70 is the sharpest knife I've ever owned. Amazing.
The only kind of knife I want to carry now is an Out The Front (OTF).
Tried an automatic folder and sent it back, but for some jobs you need it.
 
Last edited:
DeadStick said:
Never liked carrying a pocket knife normally bc I hate bulky stuff in my pockets, but always carried one when hiking and camping. For many, many years I used this because it is ultra-light, folds flat, and extremely easy to clean. With some light maintenance, it was very dependable and damn near indestructible when used appropriately.

But in recent years I have stopped carrying the knife and just take my Leatherman. Having multiple dedicated tools on my belt loop has been way more helpful and it still does everything I needed the knife for.
Click to expand...
I have one of the Gerber Paraframe folding knives as well. I keep it in one of my toolboxes. Only thing I don't love about it is that if I twist my hand just right, it can disengage the blade lock.
 
I think the decline of those who carry these knives is partially related to the decline in the number of those who can use any tool effectively. Maybe related to the decline of Jr. and High School Shop Classes. My daughter, then about 16 years old, got a flat tire while on a double date. Nobody in the car knew how to jack up the car, dismount the flat, and mount the spare. Except Emily, my daughter! When my younger daughter got her license, I made sure she had also passed the Dad School of Tire Changes before she went for her practical test. In both cases, I received multiple eye rolls…. I figured that was a tax we Dads had to pay, and gladly.

-Skip
 
God help them if you can still find a stick shift...not trying to drift the thread but that could easily be a whole other debate.
 
Skip Miller said:
I think the decline of those who carry these knives is partially related to the decline in the number of those who can use any tool effectively. Maybe related to the decline of Jr. and High School Shop Classes. My daughter, then about 16 years old, got a flat tire while on a double date. Nobody in the car knew how to jack up the car, dismount the flat, and mount the spare. Except Emily, my daughter! When my younger daughter got her license, I made sure she had also passed the Dad School of Tire Changes before she went for her practical test. In both cases, I received multiple eye rolls…. I figured that was a tax we Dads had to pay, and gladly.

-Skip
Click to expand...
Same here.

Funny thing: when my daughters both went to college they each had a small tool box with some good quality tools useful for nearly any small projects in and around a dorm room. Turns out a lot of girls had similar, I wasn’t the only dad like that. The boys kept asking to borrow tools. Maybe that was their way to meet girls, whatever works.
 
FastEddieB said:
With extreme prejudice I assume!
Click to expand...
Nope - "carefully". I suppose "remove insulation" would be a better description - and not just coaxial cable. The cable blade works for other types as well, and the larger sizes of insulated
wire. Point being that it is a working knife, and is used for it's intended purpose.

Some have mentioned the "Leatherman" type multi-tools. I have had a few of those as well. Good to have when you need a tool in a hurry - but too bulky to carry most of the time (IMHO).
Even the "Camillus U.S." knife is a sizeable lump in one's pocket. The Swiss "Electrician" knife is big enough to do the job but small and light enough to be unobtrusive. Hard to improve on.

Dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top