My wife’s uncle died in 2012 and her mother (his sister) invited me to go through a bunch of his stuff and see if there was anything I wanted. Apparently he liked me. I thought it would be fitting to carry one of his pocketknives so I took one of those. It seems to be “unbranded”; the only logo on it is for WAC, which I’m guessing is some kind of electrical distributor (he was an electrician). It’s basically an SAK knockoff but with a better tool selection than most.
So now I carry his knife and I retired my SAK, since the plastic had detached itself at one end and kept rubbing holes in my pockets. I took an old sextant too.
Amazing how non-zombie this thread title looked. Enough so that I voted for “occasionally” which just means I don’t carry one these days. I used to have two on me at all times, just in case. Small 2-blade things. I carried a Swiss Army camping for all the chores it could help with, but it was too bulky to have in my work clothes.
If it counts, I always have one of those I used to carry close by on shelves or table tops or in the main drawer where I stash my wallet and keys and such. That ought to count for having it handy.
It’s bigger than I had intended, when I told my Mom what I wanted for Christmas that year; Amazon got the picture and name right, but had the dimensions and description of a different knife listed. So I ended up with a knife with a 3 5/8" blade instead of a 2.5" blade.
However, it’s not as ungainly as you might think, and the bigger blade comes in handy when I do have to cut bigger things than the usual letters and boxes.
I don’t carry one in my pocket (I think it’s been years since the last time I needed one but didn’t have one), but I keep one in my desk at work, and once every year or two, it comes in handy.
I’ve got tools at home and in the car and even on my bicycle, so I’m rarely that far away from real tools, so who needs a substitute?
Besides which, pocket space is valuable. With wallet, cell phone, and keys, the only pocket I have to spare is a back pocket, and that really wouldn’t work for a Swiss army knife.
I did from the age of about 7 until shortly after 9-11. But I loved my old knife, and I didn’t want to run the risk having it confiscated by somebody who arbitrarily judges me to be somebody who ought not to have one — my Caucasian physiognomy notwithstanding.
I think of carrying a knife as making me subject to search, seizure or detention through the added increment of “grounds for suspicion”. Terry, and all that. Remember, the police are the enemy now, and the only defense is to keep your head down.
Did until about age 30. Nowdays laws are such that it’s just not practical so I only carry a pocket knife on weekends when motoring round the house doing stuff.
My husband used to carry a small pocket knife but he was always losing them and I got tired of replacing them. It’s been years since he’s had one, and I don’t think he misses it all that much. But he’d be in real trouble :eek: if I stopped carrying nail clippers in my purse. I swear, he seems to ask for them every time we’re in the car.
I always carry a pocketknife, except where no longer allowed, and have since I was probably 6 years old. If traveling by air I will throw one in my checked bags to have when I arrive. I usually carry a small, stripped down SA style knife with a few tools - blade, screwdriver, file, tweezers and scissors. I find it incredibly handy and use it for something almost every day.
Heck, when I was a youngster in school we used to sharpen our pencils with a pocketknife. There was a manual, rotary sharpener on the wall but it was more fun our way.
About once or twice per year I have a situation where a knife in my pocket would be convenient. Not enough to justify daily carry. Especially when I have to go through security checkpoints at least once per week (airports and courthouses)
I recently just started, at age 57. And, it’s not a real knife-it’s a box knife, with the razor blade, but, it is configured like a pocket knife. It folds over and has the lock blade.
There is always a need to cut something-those super hardened blister packs that house just about every product you buy. I also need it to open a bag of chips, because, to pull on the edges will result in everything being spilled on the floor.