Within the limits of the local laws my Buck 110 has been on my belt since about 1974. Other than that I usually have a keychain mini-Swiss Army Knife on me and a Remington multi-tool in the car. I also routinely have one of several Case cow-pattern folders I own on me.
I carry a Swiss army knife. I routinely use both the knife blades (one’s often sharper than the other at any given moment), the screwdrivers, the scissors, the tweezers, and sometimes the awl. In order to get all of that, I seem to always wind up with a tool or two I don’t need. (What is that thing with the curved hook on the end, anyway?)
Years ago I used to need one that also had a corkscrew, but these days if I’m drinking wine I’m a lot more likely to be drinking it in a building that’s already corkscrew-equipped. And more wines don’t need one, anyway.
I’ve occasionally forgotten to leave it behind when going into some building that doesn’t allow pocketknives, but so far the only thing that’s happened is that I’ve had to leave it at the security desk and pick it up on the way back out.
How do people who don’t carry pocketknives get modern packaging open?
I have a small-bladed Buck knife on my keychain. Good for taking cuttings if I see a plant that would benefit from asexual reproduction.
NYC, which has very strict gun laws, doesn’t seem to have any prohibitions on carrying reasonably-sized pocket knives (no switchblades or gravity knives, tho). My black friends don’t carry utile blades because they’d be more likely to be busted by the NYPD, and make fun of me for keeping one.
I habitually carry this little beauty, the German Mercator K55K, a lockback with a Solingen blade that’s been in continual production since 1856. I like knives with folded steel handles, because most of the price goes to the blade itself and not a fancy handle, so they’re fairly cheap to replace (I’ve had a few Buck knives with pretty wood handles, but they cost me a lot when I lost them). I also have a folded-steel French “Douk-Douk” knife and a couple of the Japanese version (the blades are shaped like Samurai swords), but the lockback feature makes the German my favorite.
Like the wise man said, if you carry a knife, there are two questions you hear every day:
- “Why do you carry a knife???”
- “Can I borrow your knife?”
After losing several keychain SAKs to the TSA over the years, I’ve switched to this:
It does well enough ripping open packing tape.
I have a 25-year-old first-gen Leatherman in the glove compartment of the car and stick a Juice in my pocket whenever I’m doing something handy around the house.
Victorinox Cybertool Lite. It’s a bit bulky, but as an emergency toolkit, it’s damned handy.
And it opens boxes, too. 
Small SAK Classic with the car keychain and/or in the desk drawer. If I know I’m going into some location that’s obnoxiously anal about even small blades (I mean, come on, this SAK is OK with the US Capitol Police to enter the House Office Buildings…), I can detach it and leave it in the cupholder. Also, off-brand Leatherman-knockoff multitool included with the car emergency kit.
I have a multi tool in my car, but don’t carry one on my person. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a situation where I needed one on my person where it couldn’t wait until I got home or to my car.
On my keychain is a fingernail clipper/bottle opener. I don’t drink many beverages that require a bottle opener, but I do use it for my nails all the time. Regular nail clippers get lost instantly in my house.
First of all, many thanks to those who posted. I’m a bit surprised by the popularity of the Swiss army knives, they always just seemed rather gimmicky and kind of shoddy to me. My experience is rather limited with them though so I should probably give them another look before commenting further.
With that being said, I LIKE this bit of kit.
Cheap enough to buy several and to lose one without stress. Too simple to break and small enough to carry everywhere. It won’t replace an EDC pocketknife for me but it’s a wonderful add on.
Victorinox Huntsman and an Opinel No. 6
I still carry my Boy Scout knife, despite the fact that it’s now starting to show its age. I carry it more out of nostalgia (and have had to send it to myself from the airport three times when it turned up, forgotten, in my luggage).
I sometimes carry a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife (I don’t know the number) when I need something new. And I recently got a no-name multitool that I’ll sometimes carry, as well.
Make sure it’s an actual Victorinox (or maybe Wenger, I think they may also make quality but am not sure). I had a knockoff once, briefly. It was a piece of junk. The genuine ones are well made.
Gimmicky, maybe. But there are a lot of different versions; no need to get one with a lot of tools if all you want is a knife blade or two.
Victorinox and Wenger have been one company since 2003.
My experience with no-name multi-tools is that they are complete crap, just like knock-off SAKs. This is one area where paying for a quality item is a very good idea.
But you do occasionally get into “collector mode” with them. I think I own every Leatherman Juice model ever produced, including the “Costco-only” model.
I have a Gerber paraframe mini pocket knife and aGerber Shard multitoolon my keychain. (so far, all I’ve done is open a single bottle with it)
I bought the combo for $5 because it had the knife in it, and figured why not put the shard on the keychain if I have it anyway.
I always have a Leatherman micra with me, and I use the scissors, bottle opener, and knife blade a lot. I use the screwdrivers and file too, but not as much.
I actually have 3 or 4 micras. The kids kept giving them to me for Christmas until I told them to stop.
I like the look of that Squirt though. 
I also habitually carry a chinese knockoff of a Kershaw leek because I open a lot of boxes and I like being able to open my knife with one hand when I’ve got a box, or something, in the other.
I used to work for a well-known knife manufacturer and carried more expensive knives, but I would always lose them. I lose my cheap chinese knife too, but I always find it again. Go figure.
Todays SAK’s use EN 1.4110 Martensitic Stainless Steel for their blades. It is a fairly nice price-point stainless steel. The can be sharpened to a nice push cutting edge and are highly rust resistant if being a bit softer than the more expensive options. Really you will just have to sharpen them more often than more expensive options.
Really the only way clones of the SAK can reduce price is by using a cheaper steel which will more of a compromise based on cost. As the toughness and corrosion resistance is a huge reason for the SAK gaining popularity that is an issue.
During the 70’s or 80’s (not sure) they had versions that are stamped “Economy” and/or didn’t have flutes on the corkscrew that were made from a much lower grade steel and were IMHO garbage for actual use. I think post 9/11 crash they only produce the halfway decent knifes these days. But these cheap knifes were also produced by Victorinox but were just aimed at a much lower price point.
oh, SAK = Swiss Army Knife.
That little TSA-compliant tool looks handy. If it’s small enough I might pick one up.
I bought an overpriced Benchmade because their locking system was supposed to be amazing (I’ve had a couple lock back mechanisms fail). Their axis lock is pretty good, but the blade does have annoying play side to side. I donated one to TSA too, which is really annoying at the price point.