11 ms·

Genuine question, coming from the perspective of a city-dwelling office worker. I get the value of having a knife like this in the house (to open and break dow

• jeffbee 6y ago
  I carry a benchmade knife everywhere. Why? Because all hell breaks loose if you have three kids and only one nectarine. Not that you need a fancy-ass knife for such work. Other field-knife activities include “what does the inside of this seed look like?” and “I got a splinter!” The only issue is even though the state of California permits them, the university of California forbids carrying knives, and there is one of those right in the middle of my city.
  • vvanders 6y ago
    Yup, +100 on Benchmade. Their locking mechanism is the best I've ever used(strong, can be used single handed with gloves on, and doesn't put your fingers in the path of the blade). We've got a small farm and put their blades through a workout, really a fan of the 535 as a non-flashy, lightweight EDC knife. Toured their factory pre-covid and it was pretty darn cool.
  • User23 6y ago
    Last I knew, in California you can legally walk around with a sword, so long it’s in a sheath hanging from your waist and not concealed.
    • jeffbee 6y ago
      I believe that's true. You can openly carry anything. The University system claims to forbid any folding knife with a blade that locks open (i.e. most any pocketknife) and any blade longer than 2.5 inches, carried openly or concealed.
      • eeperson 6y ago
        That's why I like to carry a Spyderco Dragonfly. A small (<2.5in) knife that is legal pretty much anywhere but feels like a much bigger knife when you use it.
• stx 6y ago
  I live in the city and carry a knife where allowed. I use it to open boxes and packaging, cut food, turn screws (sometimes when they fit), pry things open, pick out splinters, strip wires... Its the most basic tool. The other day I was replacing my windshield wiper blades and needed to pry out a small adapter that they came with and used an old knife I keep in my car. I was doing this in the parking lot of the auto parts store because the first set I took home did not fit correctly even though the computer said they did.
• robgibbons 6y ago
  A small pocket knife is a handy tool to have, whether you think you need it everyday or not. The general idea is that it's better to have it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it. Beyond self-defense, which is a fairly obvious use case for any "weapon," I've used my pocket knife to cut loose threads from clothing, open plastic packaging that broke a good pair of scissors, removing stickers, splinters, and even as a makeshift screwdriver (in a pinch). You can do almost all of those with scissors, but are you going to carry a pair of scissors in your pocket? Probably not. Beyond that, there are emergency scenarios you may never run into, such as cutting seatbelts, clothing, or stuck shoelaces -- again, better to have it and not need it...
  • enchiridion 6y ago
    It is a bad idea to rely on it in any sense for protection, unless you are mentally and physically prepared to use it. The best option is always to run if you can. Everyone loses in a knife fight.
    • vvanders 6y ago
      Yup, the laws around knife possession/self defense are much worse than many other things, at least in the US. As the OP mentioned running is a better choice and only if no options existed should you even consider it. (not a lawyer)
    • econcon 6y ago
      Unless you are trained in knife combat unlikely you'll be able to use it effectively and risk your knife being against you by the attacker.
• bravoetch 6y ago
  Outside the house recent uses: Cutting some cord while camping. Cutting food while camping. Making a slit in a facemask lining to allow insertion of a filter. Cutting some card for a bookmark. If you have a knife on you, it gets used. Side-note - people tend to assume it's for self defense. I doubt that's actually practical, and I'll run away every time. Maybe throw the knife into a lake along the way to be safe from someone using it against me.
  • Moto7451 6y ago
    Same experience here. I’ve been carrying a knife since I worked a retail job in high school unboxing product. I still use it almost every day. Likewise I have no intention to use it in an altercation. They can have my wallet. Getting into a knife fight, knife/gun fight, or any sort of other situation where I’m more likely to be hurt than walk away... is not in my life plan. Lots of things that people tear open are better cut open instead. New bag of coffee? Out comes the knife. Annoying stickers they seal boxes with? Knife it. Packing tape? Knife it.
    • thaumasiotes 6y ago
      > Lots of things that people tear open are better cut open instead. New bag of coffee? Out comes the knife. Annoying stickers they seal boxes with? Knife it. Packing tape? Knife it. While this is true, a key usually works almost as well, and is something you are likely to already have to hand.
• Ma8ee 6y ago
  I don’t understand American knives. Too big, and in my taste often very ugly. Something like the a Victorinox Climber fits better in the pocket and works better both for city life as well as for camping, with essentials as cork screw and pincer (works very well for ticks).
• et-al 6y ago
  I think your experience is totally valid. For me, a Swiss Army Knife is often provides a better tool for the job than a knife. In descending frequency of use as a city slicker: - scissors - Philips screwdriver - tweezers - awl - package hook (untying knots) The knife doesn't make it in the top 5, but would get used on the occasional picnic when someone forgets to bring a knife.
• korethr 6y ago
  Simply, many of the common situations where you'll find a pocket knife handy around your home also happen outside your home not infrequently. As you go through your day, look around for situations where a tool that can cut, pry or poke would be useful. They're probably more common than you might think. Some examples I can think of off the top of my head, some of which may be decried as blade abuse by knife enthusiasts. * Need to get a can of paint open, and just how all Phillips-tip screwdrivers in a 30 meter radius spontaneously cease to exist when it's time to open the case to some piece of tech, so do all flat-tip screwdrivers when it's time to open a can of paint. But the spine of the knife behind the tip makes a decent pry tool in this case. * The ram upgrades that were ordered two weeks ago for all the CAD workstations in the engineering department have just arrived, in those thrice-damned bubble packs that cut you back when you try to cut them open with scissors. Stab, slice and now the only gods that are getting a blood sacrifice today are the gods of the insides of computer cases. * Pulling network cable in a new office installation. Juan borrowed your jacket stripper, and hasn't come back from back from lunch yet. But, you've got practice in applying just the right pressure to cut the jacket without nicking the insulation of the twisted pairs inside or slicing your thumb. * While visiting a friend, the mail arrives, including little Billy's latest issue of Superman. To Billy's frustration, it in one of those plastic bags that simply does not tear when pulled on, it just stretches. One poke later, and now it actually will tear open, and Billy can see how Superman's fight with Darkseid comes out. * It's Reverse Engineering Night at the local hackerspace. Ahh, gadget makers are so cute. They think a recessed plastic tab smaller than human fingers can protect the case screws from your kit of specialty screwdrivers designed for voiding warranties. * Rebuilding the engine for a project car. While assembling the cylinder head, you notice that the caps for the camshaft had little slots machined into their faces to act as channels for oil distribution. But, when the machine shop did a hot-tank cleaning of these parts, not all of the hardened crud came of of those little channels. Dammit, now your remember the reason you'd been keeping that old set of dental picks that you threw away last week when cleaning out the garage. Well, pocket knife tip is fine enough to get in there with some care. I'm sure you or your friends can probably come up with some more examples.
  • Blackthorn 6y ago
    I'm surprised not at those uses, but that anyone would use a fancy steel knife for any of them. I have a utility knife that takes replaceable utility knife blades, and I'd think having a replaceable blade would work best for any of those things.
• analog31 6y ago
  Definitely cutting food. Maybe this goes back to my camping days, it was easier to carry a loaf of good bread and a chunk of cheese than a bag of sandwiches. (And a tube of mustard, must not forget). A pocket knife didn't make the cleanest of cuts, but did the job, and the food always got eaten as fast as I could cut it up and hand out the pieces. Likewise for bringing food along on a car trip. Being able to do this prevented us from getting into the habit of traveling with junk food. The knife for this job never had to be particularly big or sharp. I have a Victorinox and a cheap old boy scout knife that won't take an edge at all. Oddly enough when my family traveled in Europe, we would usually rent an apartment for a week or two, and would just borrow a knife from the kitchen drawer for our daily hike. It was usually a stainless serrated knife with molded handle. Yes we also used the corkscrew. ;-)
• giardini 6y ago
  I've carried a pocket knife since I was a boy. I cut myself once, as every boy must. The knife is an endlessly useful tool for exploration, for testing materials, for abusing as a screwdriver or lever, removing splinters, trimming loose threads/cloth, etc. I've sometimes thought that carrying a pair of scissors might be handier but then cutting boxes, carving wood or cleaning under my fingernails would not be so easy and I worry about what image it might project. Nonetheless I would be hesitant to pick a fight with a tailor or a seamstress. Perhaps you're too old and fixed in your ways to adapt to carrying a knife, since it seems that it's presence worries you. If you are thinking of self-defense, you could always carry a firearm instead (or perhaps a sword or staff), since most people apparently consider that a more persuasive deterrent to violence. You can always carry a pistol unloaded, with ammo in a separate pocket, so you have time to think clearly whether to load should violence occur!8-)) Remember that one can both punch or bludgeon quite effectively with a pistol even if it is not loaded. This is called "pistol-whipping" and is commonly displayed in old Hollywood westerns. If you cannot make up your mind there is always the "Apache" knife/gun/brass knuckles: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=apache+knife%2Fgun+brass+knuckles&t=opera&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=apache+knife%2Fgun+brass+knuckles&... but this is unwieldy for removing splinters and in everyday use tends to make companions unduly nervous.
  • LyndsySimon 6y ago
    > I cut myself once, as every boy must. My 12-year-old daughter would strongly disagree that this is gender-specific :) > If you are thinking of self-defense, you could always carry a firearm instead (or perhaps a sword or staff), since most people apparently consider that a more persuasive deterrent to violence. Frustratingly, knife laws in the US are bad and inconsistent. It’s often the case that you can legally carry a firearm but not a good knife. Knives are also comparatively very difficult to use defensively, and extremely dangerous to the user. Every skilled knife user I know has the same opinion: If you end up in a knife fight, you will get cut. Finally, while they can certainly be lethal, they are not typical fast-acting - for defensive purposes, it does you no good if an attacker dies hours later in the hospital from blood loss if they’re able to continue their assault in the meantime. In all circumstances where it is legal, OC (“pepper spray”) in its various forms is much better suited for defensive use. It’s relatively fast acting and has the added benefit of not killing your attacker. > If you cannot make up your mind there is always the "Apache" knife/gun/brass knuckles: Brass knuckles are illegal in most states, even with a carry permit in the ones that offer and require them. I couldn’t carry this in Arkansas - not because of the gun, but because of the knuckles. > You can always carry a pistol unloaded, with ammo in a separate pocket, so you have time to think clearly whether to load should violence occur!8-)) Remember that one can both punch or bludgeon quite effectively with a pistol even if it is not loaded. This is called "pistol-whipping" and is commonly displayed in old Hollywood westerns. This is objectively terrible advice. I’m a strong advocate for carrying a firearm, but carrying unloaded is the worst of all worlds. It’s not going to be ready when you need it, and presenting it immediately escalates the situation both legally and in the eyes of a potential attacker. You shouldn’t carry a gun unless you have seriously considered what that means, know when you can legally use it, and are 100% certain that you understand an accept the moral responsibility that it entails. If you do, you should carry it in a way that protects it from being taken from you and makes it available for your immediate use.
• bb611 6y ago
  As another city-dwelling office worker, I used to carry a knife everyday when I had a use for it at work. Changed jobs and eventually I realized I hadn't used it in months, so I stopped carrying it. My partner has a pretty large knife collection and enjoys expanding it, but similarly doesn't find it convenient to actually carry one.