Do you carry a knife or multi-tool with you?

Today I used the Juice to cut a vitamin pill in half, pull off the spark plug wire for my snow blower, bend a piece of coat hanger wire to hold some extension cord wires in place.
I’m sure I use a carry knife at least once a day.

I’ve got a very nice spring-assisted one-handed folder with locking blade, half serrated and half razor-sharp. All black, all metal. It’s awesome.

In my car, not on my person (a leatherman).

OK, I’m glad to see that others do too.
@CWOTUS the C303 has a “launch assist” lever. Not as classy as yours.
@syz I have one in all my cars as well, and my tool boxes, and at the office, and on the work benches, and in the barn.

I have a basic, yet well used multi tool-thingy in my car.
Technical terminology r me.
On me, I usually have a serious box cutter on the personage, when out.
Quick Draw McDraw

Not on me, but I have a Leatherman in my kitchen drawer and I always have a small pen knife in my back pack AND even more essential, a cork screw. I don’t carry a purse. I always have a back pack on my back.

I used to carry a full on multi-tool but I now keep that in my car. I carry a good sharp knife with an assist all the time. I’m very picky and keep them sharp enough to shave arm hair with. I probably got my first pocket knife at about 8 also.

@LuckyGuy Do you use it to clean your nails too? ~

My husband has two Leatherman multi-tools. I don’t. I’ve thought of getting one but I’d probably use it very rarely and would forget it’s in my bag when I go to the airport.

I didn’t carry a knife for many years but have taken up the practice again. A medium size pocket knife.

I carried a Swiss Army knife with two blades, a couple of screwdrivers, toothpick, tweezers – for years and years. And one day it dawned on me that I hadn’t had to use any of it for, say, six months. I came to the conclusion that it was not a necessary part of my daily preparation.

Could I have used a knife if I did carry it? Maybe twice in 20 years.

@chyna. No! Ick!

I carry a knife and a Leatherman multi-tool when I’m camping.

I have a good-sized tool set in my car.

I have a tool kit and spare inner tube in a wide-mouth water bottle when I’m cycling.

I used to have a knife I loved, but it fell apart in hands one day and I couldn’t figure out how to repair it. I haven’t managed to find another one yet, though I haven’t really looked very hard.

I prefer a single half-serrated blade to a multitool.

A pocket knife, yes, a pretty decent little Gerber with a 1.75” blade. I use it frequently, probably on average a couple of times a day.

This is my blade and I never leave home without it.

^ that’s what I need! Where can I buy one?

I got it from Amazon.

This is mine, all silver—old enough that it still says ”PATS PEND.” (The one I got my sister several years ago says ”PATENTED.”) It makes my keychain significantly heavier than it would otherwise be, but I feel useless without it.

I think I’ve used every tool on it at least once, and I’ll find myself pulling it out at sudden, random moments. More often, I find myself handing my leatherman-adorned keys to someone else who needed a tool that I had. Sometimes that person is a stranger. Once, two guys were buying glass-bottle fizzy drinks ahead of me in line at the grocery story. They walked out of the doors and then came back in, asking the clerk now checking me out if he had a spare bottle opener. He said they would have to buy one, and they grimaced. I said, “I have one.” They looked at me suspiciously as I pulled out my keys, unfolded the bottle-opener from the leatherman, and handed it their way. They mumbled a thank you, fumbled with their bottles, and handed it back to me without meeting my eyes… I never expected some random act of kindness to be treated so grudgingly!

I usually carry a Swiss Army knife, use it four or five times a week.

I carry a mini multi tool, a jack knife ,and a mini mag flash light.

I carry a swiss army knife, usually a Victorinox Tinker or SuperTinker. Mainly I like the tweezers, they have come to my aid more times than I can recall. Right now it is the Tinker Translucent. I do like the scissors on the Super Tinker but they are not absolutely necessary. The Philips bit on either one has pulled my ass out of the fire in the past.

The only thing I don’t like is that once they lose an edge on the blades I find it difficult to sharpen them again. Or not so much sharpen them as get them to maintain the new edge. Seems like once they are resharpened they dull quickly.

The Leatherman lives in the glove box in the truck & the swiss army knife is always in the car. Behind the seat in the truck are a big box of strike anywhere matches, a really good first aid kit, 6 16 ounce bottles of water, a premium flashlight and packs of AA, AAA & D batteries.,

This is all good news to me. I was wondering if only “rural folk” carried them but it appears that’s not the case. They are so handy.

Now I wonder f we were stopped by the police would they be considered concealed weapons?

Depends on lenght of blade and your skin color and location.

In my area, anything with a blade less than four inches long and the thickness of two fingers (specific, no?) is considered not-a-weapon.

@johnpowell Yep, or if the car smells of weed, or alcohol, or there is an immediate argument or…

I was once pulled over (speeding). I was driving my kids and a couple of their friends to go shooting on some property in the Southern Tier. The trooper asked me “Do you know how fast you were going?” I replied. “I’m guessing about 72?” (speed limit 65) Then he asked, “Do you have any weapons in the car?”. And I said “Yes, Quite a few actually.” “Oh? Why is that?” “We’re going shooting on some property we own in XYZ.” “Are they loaded?” “No, but the ammo is with each one. You can look.”
He went back to his vehicle and ran my info. Everything was in order. When he returned he handed me my paperwork and said “You can go. Happy birthday. ” (It was.)

I can’t help but wonder: was the leniency because I answered honestly and did not argue? Of course, everything was legal (except for my speeding) but things could have turned so ugly.

Well, mine is not exactly “classy” (and it was only $10, with shipping); it’s more of a defensive weapon / rescue tool with the utility aspects that any good knife also offers – when you just want to cut a string or open a box with a good, sharp knife. (I forgot to mention that it also includes a carbide point at the handle end that is intended for breaking auto glass – or heads – if necessary, and a cord / seatbelt cutter built into the handle as well.)

But I like the additional utility that @johnpowell‘s knife / multi-tool offers. I’ll have to consider picking up one of those.

Along with the knife that I carry on my person, however, I also have tools in the car, always; tools in the office, always; tools at home, always, and even an eyeglass repair kit that I carry in my backpack. I am almost never without tools at hand.

I always have a small pocket knife on me that I use many times in a day, a small multi-tool thingy on my key ring, and various stuff like that liberally strewn about my house and my car. I can’t bear to be too far from something that will fix something else.

And now I want one like @johnpowell,‘s too.

@LuckyGuy: I’m guessing you are correct in that you didn’t argue, didn’t throw your hands up or try to get out of the car, didn’t act erratically.

@jca I didn’t deny anything. I didn’t give the guy a hard time. I admitted speeding right up front. The entire episode was civil.

@LuckyGuy, even though they won’t let me on a plane with my little knife, I think it would be a pretty good trick to claim that I’m carrying a weapon, even for self-defense. I can just picture saying to the mugger: “Hold on, wait just a sec. I’ve gotta get my little blade out of my back pocket and open it up…there, you mf: one and three-quarters inches of cold, sharp steel.”

I open letters and packages, open the charging aperture on my cellphone, cut string, trim loose edges of things, and perform assorted other small tasks daily. If I were to lose my knife, I’d be very sorry and would waste no time in replacing it.

My father was a country boy, and he always carried a pearl-handled pocket knife, which I admired. As a young woman, I wanted one too. I’ve carried one since then, in purse or pocket. People tend to be a little surprised when I pull it out, but hey, ever since the sixties it’s been okay for girls to play with boys’ toys.

@Jeruba my wife has carried a Swiss army knife in her purse ever since I have known her. It is a trait she has passed down to our daughter as well but she likes big knives as well and also keeps a knife similar to This folding lock blade knife with her also.

@Jeruba, presumably, the TSA has begun to relax its formerly draconian prohibition against “all knives”, by allowing certain types of knives to be carried on planes. But curiously, this information does not appear on the TSA-branded website, which continues to declaim against pretty much “all knives”. (And the TSA also gives wide latitude to its screening officers, which is also expressly stated on its website.)

So, as usual when dealing with the bureaucracy, “Who knows?”

@Jeruba Thank you for listing typical uses. People who don’t carry one can’t imagine why others do.

When flying, put your knife in checked baggage. You’re not going to urgently need it in flight.

I’ve carried a hunting knives, an eight inch chef’s knife and a six inch boning knife in my luggage. I’ve carried a circular saw AS checked luggage.

No big deal.

Yeah, but with baggage fees that’s a $50 charge to carry a slightly sharpened fingernail trimmer.

@Seek bur t you can back a week’s worth of undies in the same bag with the knives.

I’ve never paid a fee for checked luggage. I keep the bags under 50 lbs. I fly United, Southwest, Delta and Frontier. I don’t know about other airlines.

That was my Juice!!! I lost it in the field a few years ago, and was devastated to learn they don’t make it anymore. Only damned thing that didn’t have flagging tape on it, because it was practically fluorescent. I guess that didn’t help.

Now I have an XE6. I don’t carry it all the time, obviously – I’m a city-dweller most months. But I carry it when I’m in the wilderness. Oh yeah, and I repaired a lamp with the Phillips head screwdriver in it last week. The Juice was closer to hand than a regular screwdriver, so what the hell.

@dappled_leaves Nice! Mine is an early production unit made in 2001 and sold in Japan. It still works beautifully!

@LuckyGuy Yeah, I like that design better, because it’s simpler. I don’t need a corkscrew or scissors on my knife, but I use all the blades, so didn’t want to go smaller on the new purchase.

At my wedding (in vegas) I gave the best man a knife as a gift. I thought I put it in my checked bag but when I arrived in the hotel room I realized it was in the carry on. It was a folding hunting knife (def considered a weapon) plain as day in the bag. Went right through TSA security. Funny thing is they checked my other carry on bag because I had decks of cards to give out as favors and they could not tell what it was. I don’t think they are really keeping us safe, I don’t think it’s really possible.

@ARE_you_kidding_me I usually keep an original P-38 and boxcutter blade taped into one of the pockets in my wallet. They take up no space.
When I travel, I remove them. One time I forgot and TSA found the contraband immediately. “Is this wallet yours?”; “Yes” ; “Please open it for us.”; “Sure! Oh,.... I am so sorry!....”
They took the blade but let me keep the P-38. I was totally supportive and agreed with their actions.

I carry a Swisschamp which is the largest Swiss Army Knife that is still practical to carry (to my knowledge). I have an Opinel No. 5 for lightweight days. And occasionally a tacticool tanto when I happen to stick it in my pocket.

This looks. kinda cool.

@canidmajor That’s a clever idea. I keep the work USBs and keys on a key chain that I wear around my neck. It fits under my shirt.
@Banjo_Pickin_Appalachian_Wizar Is that a Swisschhamp in your pocket or are you happy to see…

@LuckyGuy a lil bit of both ;-*