Most useful pocket knife in your opinion.....

[Tightwad]

What is the single most carried useful pocket knife
that you own/carry??

Every person is different and the pocket knife they carry
or prefer most reflects,to a point, who they are and how
they view life.

Keeping in mind that the pocket knife you have on you
may be your only tool in an emergency situation........
What type ,or kind, of knife would that be??

(I know this one may be tough due to the crazy terrorist
inspired restrictions)

[Uncle_Alvah]

I pretty much always have two actually. A tiny SAK with toothpick and tweesers, 2 blades and a sizzors. It's literally unnoticeable in my watch pocket, forget I have it with me even.
The other is a Muskrat Pattern Schrade. I love the California Clip blade style and the Mushrat gives me two of them for the task at hand.

[scoutinlife]

Daily I carry a mini Trapper by case it's small but handy as I work in a office!!! Camping or fishing I carry a swiss army ranger model! That's my favorite carry pocket knives!
;D ;D

[Frank]

Victorinox lock blade (back-packer version).
this Swiss knife is the best!
I skinned & butchered dozens of moose, deer, bears, mt. goats with this little knife.
the saw on it is good enough to open the chest and hip of any moose and after a successful hunt you can pull out the cork of a good bottle of wine.
this knife sports also a beer bottle opener with the end as screwdriver and wire stripper,
a can-opener with a small screwdriver head,
a awl, tweezers, tooth pick, cork screw
and a nice solid ring.

[meancoyote]

i use my gerber multi tool more than any thing else i carry.

[bgarrett]

http://www.hideawayknife.com/concept.php

http://belt-buckle-knife.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=BBK&Category_C ode=EBBK

[Toad_Sticker]

I have an Officer model McGuyver knife that I found laying in the middle of the trail while turkey hunting 9 years ago. It has black scales which I like ,once I got it to open it has been my constant companion. THE only drawback to those swiss army knives is the thin blades on them. I have snap off the ends on more than one. then I have to regrind them. for the 15 years or so before that I carried a frost cutlery little trapper that I did most of the same stuff with.
TS

[American_Infidel]

I carry a Klein lockback and a Leatherman Kick multi tool.
The most useful knife is a sharp one.

[JakeLeg]

all i've carried for the past 7 or 8 years is a Gerber multitool.

[Arkansas_Fat_Man]

8) Carry two. A winchester multitool, and the victorinx swiss . These will be your best friends in an emergency situation. Just my two cents. 8)

[BamaGator]

Swiss Army Knife. I have had it for almost 20 years. Its always there in my pocket when I need it. The blade and screwdriver get the most use.

[commonsense]

Large Case XX stockman for a pocket knife.

[mangyhyena]

I carry a lock-back razor knife; the type that has a razor blade for its blade and opens like a lock-back pocket knife. I carry this because I work in a print shop and having the razor knife lets me cut paper easily without tearing the paper or laminates.

I also carry a multi-tool knife that has pliers, half-serrated knife blade, and a multitude of other handy little gadgets. This is the one that I believe would most benefit me in an emergency, though it is not perfect for all situations. It will help with a wide variety of situations, though.

[lost1]

A Case Stockman and a small multi-tool.

[sheen_estevez]

I carry the Gerber Diesel all the time

[Jeff]

A Victorinox. My first Victorinox was one I found years ago. It was great quality. Not long ago, I bought another Victorinox at the flea market that is a little smaller.

[ryanmercer]

My case sodbuster... I carry one, my dad carried one. Great knife, 2 sizes. I go with the bigger one, but both are wonderful knives. :) Then there is also a special collectible one that I have as well, but it's too large for carrying around in your pocket. I love CASE knives period. :)

[Tightwad]

Yes, The "sodbuster" was designed as "do it all'
knife for hardworking farm folk. While not a popular
knife the 'sodbuster' is seldom wrong for any chore.

[Jeep]

SAK Huntsman

[Archangel]

I carry a Buck camping Knife. Can opener, bottle opener, you know the type. My 2 cents Michael

[kilogulf59]

Victorinox Camper and I've used every tool on it. However, I wish the large blade locked.

[Old_John]

My case sodbuster... I carry one, my dad carried one. Great knife, 2 sizes. I go with the bigger one, but both are wonderful knives. :) Then there is also a special collectible one that I have as well, but it's too large for carrying around in your pocket. I love CASE knives period. :)

Yeah, me too. I've been carrying one for about 10 years.
I like the Sodbuster Jr.

Dad use to carry one.
I gave one to each of my boys.
Sodbuster is a good sturdy "do it all" kinda knife.

I have Sheffield Multi-tools in the console & BOB behind the seat, in my truck & DSW's truck.They're too much for a pocket tho.

[HPshooter]

1. Super Leatherman Multitool
2. Cold Steel Voyager

I carry both all the time. The only exception is in the shower. While swimming I leave the Leatherman only.

[flatbed]

1. Leatherman Wave
2. Fox lock-back

[Bad_Omen]

The most useful knife is the one you always have with you.

For me it a Leatherman Wave.
I'm also still waiting for my replacement Kershaw Wildcat Ridge to arrive. I lost my old one in a move so bought another on Ebay at the beginning of Dec... Still waiting... Not Happy.

[Rick_O_Shea]

Although the famous Leatherman is a pocket tool that nobody should be without, I have to say that for a knife specifically, I am full of praise for my new Kershaw Leek.

I got the plain 1660 stainless version with a serrated blade...the 440A steel has been well treated, holds a fine edge, is razor sharp and feels good in the hand. Took me a bit of time to get used to the assisted-opening mechanism though...

It's about $70 MSRP but WalMart (love 'em) has them for around $40

[Pitdog]

For Everyday carry, I always carry two like many of you guys. A Victorinox Swiss, Ranger model, and either aKershaw assisted opener (just got at shotshow) or a CRK M16 Tanto/half serrate.
Hunting season always finds me mixing things up, I have a Case Sodbuster collection I use, the big ones and the small ones. They ma great folding gutters, really aren't bad for skinning either. The Swiss Army knife finds me using it for EVERYTHING, I did gut an 8 pointer with it once, as I didn't have anything else with me when chance led to the harvest, worked just fine although not my first choice. Open cans with it a lot and use the daggone woodsaw more than anything.
I have a knife box I keep in a dresser drawer that has most ever smaller knife I own in it, and occasionally I go through it and carry something a little different just because.

[STRIKER]

Columbia River Iraqi Freedom folder with tanto blade and large open assist w/ double lockback.

[Badger]

I carry two knife most of the time.

One is a large 3 blade stockman style knife. Right now I'm carrying a Buck #301-4. I have carried Old Timers and Case.

The other knife is a large tactical type knife. I usually carry either my beloved Spyerco Recuse or a Buck Strider

[GUNSLINGER]

I never leave home without my CRKT M16-O3Z. And when I am working I also carry my Leatherman Charge TI.

I thought I lost my CRKT once and had to buy another. Actually I had dropped it in the backyard and it stayed there for 3 months. When I found it I almost cried I was so happy. ::)

But talk about a win/win. Now I have two! 8)

[Poisian]

Kershaw 1550

[Badger]

The knife you have on you. A daily carry knife is the most useful knife there is. A Randall model #14 Attrack isn't much good at home in the safe where you need it. But you will your SAK Officers knife with you.

[Gibbonboy]

Gerber multitool that's been with me for 13 years, every day. When I'm backpacking, I go lighter with either my Leatherman micra or a Victorinox Classic. The scissors are used more than the blade. I can do everything I need to with the small blade, although I wouldn't want to live long-term (month or more) with a tiny knife.

For daily carry/convenience, I'd say the Classic Swiss is fine. My Gerber tool has a slot for regular jigsaw blades, came with a carbide grit blade, and I've stuck with that, cuts just about anything. I use mine a lot at work, lost without it.

[CSA_Again]

I am a wholesale knive dealer I deal in most all brands of knives on a daily bases.
I could carry any knife out there ... the ownly one I have carred for the past 12 years is a < Benchmade > hands down the best knife out there.
But I choose a knife like my life depends of it.

[bltjr1951]

THE only drawback to those swiss army knives is the thin blades on them. I have snap off the ends on more than one. then I have to regrind them. TS

If it's a Victorinox, they will fix it for free. If it wasn't abused.

[airmojo]

Always carry my Victorinox Executive model SAK, and usually my Leatherman Charge Ti (with additional bits).

[OzarksJohn]

Howdy.

I'm of the tool box mentality. I carry and use a Victorinox Huntsman. It has a bunch of tools in it that are always getting used, and it has a saw and scissors as well. I also carry a Leatherman tool, currently a "Kick" that I bought really cheap to replace my lost "Super Tool". Only when I'm actually in the process of cutting meat or skinning a game animal do I resort to a traditional knife with a more specific blade style for certain tasks. OzarksJohn

[mtdrtbag]

An old (USA made) Uncle Henry Trapper and a CRKT M-16

[Techstuf]

I hear all you guys talking about your fancy modern technologies and I just shake my head. One must know how to improvise from nature so that you are always prepared! Look at the knife I've used for years now:

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/5be97769a2.jpg


Of course, it has lost a little size over years of use....but it still works! Mostly use it as a toothpick nowadays. And I still have most of my fingers....


Just keepin it real.


LOL


I carry a Super Leatherman and Cold Steel Vaquero Grande.



Techstuf

[gwhilikerz]

Swiss army knife and a Buck clip-on.

[randallhilton]

Most useful, as in getting used the most, is my little Gerber single blade lock back, about a 2" blade which I keep "shaving sharp." But I'm never without my Gerber multi-tool wiith the pliers and other stuff. That gadget has saved me so much time over the years I should have gotten a vacation out of the deal. I don't know what went wrong. ???

[khristopher23]

I usually carry a Victorinox, not sure of the model. It was the cheapest one Target had with a corkscrew (always wanted one with a corkscrew- but have never in 5 years used it).

I really love the case medium stockman, but I don't currently have one. Lost my last one in the lake while cat fishing years ago and haven't got around to replacing it yet.

I guess I go with the Victorinox for function, and the Case just as a thing of pure beauty.

I usually also carry either a Leatherman Supertool, or a Buck Folding Hunter on my belt , whichever I feel like carrying that day.

I really want a good USA made Benchmade though. The auto-openers are legal here in GA, or so I've been told.

[Wyzyrd]

Usually a Gerber multitool in the belt-pouch with the other stuff and a lockblade clip folder in the back pocket - lately a Gerber Obsidian, because it has a couple screwdriver blades too

[NotSoFast]

Pocket knife: 2 3/4 in. CRKT Drifter
Multitool: a no-name mini multitool, 2 1/2 in. closed.

I am going to upgrade the multitool, though. I've just not decided on which one yet.

[buster]

small gerber that uses the razor blade, bougth it at wal-mart for $10.

[flatwater]

Ya'all are going to laugh but my most useful knife is actually a box cutter. The brand name is Kobalt. Lows has them and different variations. Mine has a fold out blade holder and a little side hatch that holds seven blades. It also has a little attached belt/pocket clip. Granted it may have some small drawbacks but when I need something razor sharp I have it.

[Cat Lover]

Knife threads always fill me with dread.

Look, I've owned a variety of knives over the years. Expensive to disposable, mass produced to hand made, every design under the sun. And yet ... my actual practice has been at wild variance with the 'conventional wisdom.'

Indeed, I continue to own most of the knives and tools mentioned in this thread - though I can't explain why, as I haven't used them in ages.

In the 80's, I lived mainly out of a backpack, in the field. The knife that proved indespensible - at least when it came to actually cutting things - was a pencil-sized no-name knife with replaceable blades. Each blade you could 'refresh' by breaking the tip off a dozen times (or so).

By this millenium, my needs had changed, to where I needed a somewhat stronger blade. Enter the $3.95 folding no-name box cutter, again with replaceable blades. Sure, I own several top-notch box cutters ... but the one that's in the pocket is the one that gets 90% of the use.

About the only functions that these knives were not suited for were kitchen chores. In the 80's I addressed that with a 'tomato knife,' whose serrations were helpful in slicing bread.

Again, by this millenium, I had graduated to a 'real' kitchen, where nearly every chore was handled by either a real bread knife of a chef's knife ... though I did sometimes use the boning knife.

Defense? Again, what worked for me -unfortunately, at least twice- was unheard of at the time: a 3" blade hung frm the zipper pull of my jacket. Think of it as a 'neck knife' before neck knives were 'cool.'

One specialty knife I won't be without is a #11 scalpel blade. With a straight edge and sharp point (think of it as a mini- X-acto blade), it is a godsend for removing splinters and lancing abscesses.

Rather than using a knife, there are many tasks for which I prefer a good pair of shears; a 7" pair of barbers' shears ought to be in your kit. For woodcraft, add a pair of bypass-type pruning shears.

For the typical homestead, I'd say: be happy with a decent 5-blade set of kitchen knives. Beyond that, there is an endless variety of job-specific knives, one for every task.

In general, what matters in a knife is sharpness and control. Both are helped by thin blades - again, flying in the face of those guys selling 1/4" thick steel planks as "survival knives."

[CastIronCook2]

I carry a little Kershaw Ken Onion--the Scallion, I think it is. Wouldn't be caught without it, especially up at the ranch.

[nhlivefreeordie]

Schrade 77OT I use it for everything, I have skun everything, from muskrats to deer with it. They are a well made, handy knife that I wouldn't go out without.

[SmokeEater2]

The one that gets the most use is a Case Trapper,but I also always have a Leatherman Micro in my pocket too.

[recoilless_57mm]

Interesting thread. I feel a knife is a personal issue. What works for one person may not work for another.

IMO I carry a pocket knife for everyday use. I carried an Old Timer single blade, drop point lock back for years. I love carbon steel knife blades over stainless. I feel they hold a better edge than the stainless. When old timer stopped making carbon steel blades I went to a Kershaw "onion". I found that the stainless blade kept a nice edge. I liked the assisted opening feature as well. It stands up well under the hard use I give a knife.

That being said I shall move on to the hunting knife thing. I personally love my Cold Steel "pro hunter" The blade holds an edge. It is a sturdy solid knife that cuts through bone. The grip is easier to hang onto when your up to your elbows in blood. It is not bulky or heavy to carry when going by foot.

Like I said in the beginnig. A knife is a distillation of what you intend to use it for & personal preferencewe. What do you want to do with it? Old Timer

[NotSoFast]

For the most part I carry a CRKT folding locker, the drifter. It is most handy for cutting straps, opening packages, and easy to open with either hand.

I guess if I was doing a lot more handyman sort of work, I'd be constantly carrying a multitool as well, but I don't do that much of it and my home toolbox is handy for the many varied jobs I run across. Never have figured out what all those extra blades are for on a jackknife so while I have one, it sits in my dresser drawer in it's box.

[cubcadet]

I used to carry an Imperial Cub Scout jack knife when I was a boy, even to school. Yeah back in the 60`s, I always had that in my pocket. Later, I graduated to a Buck lockback sheath knife. Since then, I have carried various knives, preferring sheath knives, because they don`t wear holes in my Carrharts. I have an oldfashioned stainless drop point steak knife at my workbench, a sheathed Rada fillet knife in the work shop, an old Imperial 3 bladed jack knife hanging on the wall in the kitchen. That one has just the best can opener on it, better than a P-38. Carbon steel blade, and a cool marlin spike-like- tool I really like. A Shrade needle nose multi tool on my belt is something I can`t do without. It has a good knife blade that is half-serrated, which is the best thing for cutting rope and string. That blade never gets sharpened. It`s too dangerous to try to get it folded out with freezing or greasy hands when it`s too sharp. When I go into the woods, I usually have a small Norland hatchet with me and the multitool. I`m also looking at picking up another Opinel carbon steel folder when I get back to work this spring.

[Dawgus]

I've carried the same 3 blade Old Timer 807 for more years than I can remember. It's my all around knife-pencil sharpening, small game,box cutter, and everything else this side of a deer.I've just taught myself over the years to use each of the 3 blades for a specific purpose. I can't remember when I got it, but I'm thinking it was my early 20's in the Woolworth days. My dad turned me on to Shrade/Old Timer when I was very young, and it's all I have owned since. I have the one he carried in his pocket for years and years, and it's been sharpened so many times that the blade is worn down to the point that I could do brain surgery on a hummingbird with it. I have somewhere around 25 other pocketknives I have gotten as gifts, bought, or given to me by dad but I always end up carrying this same one.
I've had 2 of the lockblade's that hold regular old box cutter style blades, but though they were easy to open, they simply weren't long or thick enough to hold comfortably in these ape hands I was cursed with. When I was at the gun shop, I tried a few Spyderco's and loved them, but when I lost a $125 police model, I decided that I wouldn't own another one. I could handle replacing a $40-50 small knife, but losing $125 made me sick to my stomach.

[Smalls]

I carry a benchmade and a Moore Maker Sodbuster. I am hard on knives but the Benchmade has weathered well. I use it every day. They are a bit pricey but to me well worth it. The Moore maker knives are made in Matador Tx and are realy excellent quality knives for a reasonable price. http://catalog.mooremaker.com/browseGroup.cfm

I like buying American made and i think they are Equal to or better than most name brands today. I also have the Trapper model with the belt sheath and am impressed with the quality.

[yotetrapper]

Scharade Old Timer, or Trapper. I carry a Christmas Edition Trapper.

[AzLoneRider]

I carry 3 knives. I in my pocket is a 2 blade Old Timer, probably the smallest folding knife they have. The other 2 knives I keep in my possibles bag that goes with me every where. 1 is a Leatherman multi tool, the other is a Buck fixed plade skinning knife with a 5 inch blade. I keep all the blades on these knives razor sharp.

[Bondo]

Knives are always one of two, usually a yellow handle Trapper, or a Craftsman lockback. I like the blade on the Case alot better, as the steel just holds an edge better, but they don't make the kind of lockback that I like. Otherwise, I keep a Bear and Son multitool on the belt most of the time, for the tool aspect.

I notice so many references to box cutters- Since most of my work over my young life has been in shipping or something along those lines, my preference is really for those cheap little knives that have a razor blade in them. The kind that slide out of a sleeve. Totally unsafe, and not OSHA approved I am sure, but they are the way to go for opening boxes. Don't want one of them in your pocket though.

[headhunter]

I am a carver, and sometimes derive pleasure from doing so with a pocket knife. My Old Timer Stockman seems to work. I know there are better knives out there, but this one is mine. On my belt is my multi tool, either the Leatherman or the Gerber.
If it's hunting season, I'll have my Buck Duke. I'd carry it more , but I afraid it might be misplaced. I originally tried one belonging to a friend and the rest was history. Made in the USA, excellent blade size (3"), drop point, really good blade- handle angle. The corners were too sharp when purchased, but after rounding just a super knife.