Pocket knives are one of the most essential tools that can provide an extra layer of convenience to our daily lifestyle because they fit to serve many functions. Not only can they help us overcome small challenges more easily, but also the situation may be safer to evaluate with pocket knives than it is with an evalout them.
Other tools — such as scissors, box cutters, and pencils — are important, but they are normally stashed away within your drawers or desks where you have to walk a few more feet just to retrieve them.
On the other hand, compared to fixed blade knives, pocket knives are normally accessible from your pocket and maybe the ideal substitute for your assignment. They are incredibly versatile and convenient, and here are my top reasons why you should always carry a pocket knife.
Top 11 Benefits of Carrying a Pocket Knife
- Survival Gear in an Emergency
- Opening a Glass Bottle
- Pumpkin Carving
- Gathering Some Kindling and Tinder
- Opening Letters and Packages
- Cutting up Fruits and Vegetables
- Sharpening Pencils
- Opening Clamshells
- Cutting Zip Ties
- Separating LEGOs
- Wood Carving
1. Survival Gear in an Emergency
A multifunctional tactical pocket knife could be the ultimate survival gear in a worst-case scenario. In a car accident emergency, you can use your EDC tactical knife as a glass breaker, or sit bet cutter.
Also when you are alone and confronted by a sudden attacker or pickpocketer you can use your folding knife as a self-defense tool.
Some tactical folding knives feature with small tactical LED flashlight and Magnesium fire starter rod. You can also apply it on a camping or survival trip.
I would advise you to carry a good quality multi-tasking half serrated EDC knife for emergency and rescue scenarios.
2. Opening a Glass Bottle
Whenever I go to my best friend’s party, attend a Fourth of July cookout, or visit my family during the holiday, there will always be glass bottles filled with beer and soda pops. While most people normally reach for the bottle opener to pry the lid off, I tend to grab my pocket knife under $100 from my pocket and leverage it against the lid. The tactical knife is featured with a bottle or can opener mechanism.
Because it is so stunning to see, many of my friends and other party-goers would ask me to open my bottles and record my trick. This is both convenient and cool to see the lids popping away from the blade. Not only would this trick help you open an ice-cold bottle, but it would also serve as a helpful ice-breaker for potential friends.
3. Pumpkin Carving
When you buy pumpkins for Halloween, you don’t need to pay the extra expense of pumpkin carving kits; a pocket knife is all you need. Most pocket knives are more than capable of cutting through pumpkins; you can slice out the lids, then you can carve out the face of the jack-o-lantern, an owl, a catchphrase, or whichever haunting ideas you care to display for Halloween.
Furthermore, you can also use your pocket knife to cut out one long candle into smaller pieces rather than buying a pack of little candles simply to light up your pumpkins. Not only would this prevent some financial burden for one holiday, but it also showed that you can be resourceful with the materials you have.
4. Gathering Some Kindling and Tinder
When you are out in the woods and setting up camp, you need tinder and kindling to start a campfire. Kindling and tinder are small pieces of wood — with tinder being the smaller of the two — needed to start a small campfire before you advance to a larger campfire using firewood.
To gather tinder, you can use your pocket knives to cut small twigs, some dry leaves, and some pine needles. To gather kindling, you can also use your EDC pocket knife for small sticks such as branches and shave off tree bark from those branches for additional tinder. With the best pocket knife under $300 by your side, nature is your resource.
5. Opening Letters and Packages
When you receive envelopes from the mailbox or box packages from Amazon or eBay, having a pocket knife is truly a convenient and accessible utility. Although other tools such as scissors, kitchen knives, and box cutters, are also convenient tools and can open your packages just as well as your pocket knives, you still need to put on the extra effort into retrieving them because they are normally found in your kitchen drawer or your toolbox. On the other hand, you do not need to go anywhere to find your pocket knife because it is normally in your pocket.
Read More: Best S30V EDC Knives
Folding knives are also ideal for either preserving your box packages or saving space during disposal. Once you cut open your package, your box is ready to be reused or returned since it is not damaged. On the other hand, you can cut the boxes into flat cardboard pieces if it is ready to be disposed of without taking up too much space in your trash or recycling bin.
6. Cutting up Fruits and Vegetables
When you are camping outdoors, in the kitchen, or in the break room, and you need a cut some fruits or vegetables into a smaller manageable snack for yourself or your children, folding knives under $50 may be the ideal tool. Some casual fruits or vegetables are small and manageable enough for a pocket knife to cut through such as carrots, apples, corn, and bananas into smaller wedges or cubes. Furthermore, these pocket knives are ideal for peeling fruits and vegetables as well. This idea would help resolve a situation during meal prep if you can’t find a peeler for your cucumbers, onions, garlic, zucchini, etc.
7. Sharpening Pencils
The biggest downside, to me, in owning an actual pencil sharpener is that they are too small to keep track of. Whenever the pencil tip chips, I always struggle in finding the pencil sharpener since I only need it once every other time. You never need a pencil sharpener until your pencil breaks which will be a problem if you can’t find the sharpener. I learned over a year that pocket knives are an innovative tool for refining your pencil.
If you carve the tip into a pointed end to resemble a spear, you have a newly sharpened pencil. Pocket knives are the perfect alternative for a pencil sharpener because they are used more frequently than an actual pencil sharpener. Thus, they are easier to keep track of and less likely to be lost.
8. Opening Clamshells
Clamshells are excellent packaging; they perfectly preserve the products inside, are highly secure due to its tight seal, and are more compact and durable than box packagings. However, they can be a massive hassle when you try to open them for many reasons. They are really difficult to open by hand because the plastic packaging is tightly sealed. They can be opened using scissors, but that is not always the safest option because you risk exposing yourself to sharp edges.
EDC pocket knives are the safest option for opening clamshell packaging. When you glide the blade against the outer ridges in the back of the package, opening the clamshell is simpler as you separate the backside from the front without damaging both the product and the package.
9. Cutting Zip Ties
Zip ties are these plastic strips that can fasten and secure itself. They are easy to strap on and used for many purposes such as sealing bags, securing packages, and being makeshift keychains; however, they are normally difficult to unfasten. Pocket knives, as well as scissors, box cutters, and precision knives, are excellent tools to cut off zip ties when you need to unseal a bag or when you need to unbind packages in a quick moment.
Furthermore, if you have moments to spare, you can use your EDC folding knife to loosen the zip ties by guiding the pointy tip between the strip and the ratchet end and unfastening the strap. This careful procedure will allow you to preserve individual zip ties, so they can readily be reused.
10. Separating LEGOs
I have an eleven-year-old cousin who has numerous sets of LEGO dioramas that range from the White House to the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. Normally, each set of LEGO packages comes with its own brick separator, but when you volunteer yourself to help separate hundreds and hundreds of pieces, a pocket knife is an excellent tool to utilize when those pieces are tightly bound to each other. The extremely thin edge of the blade is precise enough to slide between the bricks and pry them off, so they can separate more quickly and effortlessly.
I cannot emphasize how easy and amazing it was to help out your little cousin overcome the little challenges, so she can complete her project more efficiently. Separating LEGO pieces with either a brick separator or a pocket knife is truly easy, but it will get cumbersome unless you have an older cousin who is willing to help separate those countless pieces. A pocket knife under $200 is a brilliant tool when you are separating bricks and when you are trying to bond with your little cousin.
11. Wood Carving
This is an interesting hobby I have yet to master. When you’re in the middle of the woods, wood carving may be an excellent practice to pass the time. The only skill you need to master is patience and attention to fine details. It is very relaxing, easy to practice, and improves your focus on the surrounding world. If you feel that you have made a mistake, you can either correct it, adapt to it, or throw it into the fire and create a new project. Whether you strive to carve a roll of dice, a bear, a butterfly, or something entirely abstract, woodcarving is an unusual but creative way to express your artistic self.
Frequently Asked Questions About Carrying the Pocket Knife (FAQ)
Question: Why you should always carry a knife?
Answer: In modern times, a knife is not just a weapon but a handy tool that can be used for various day-to-day tasks. So I think wherever you are allowed to carry and use a knife you should always carry a knife with you.
Question: Which brands make good pocket knives?
Answer: When you want to buy a good quality pocket knife try some top pocket knife brands like Zero Tolerance, Cold Steel, Kershaw, SOG Knives, Benchmade, Spyderco, Gerber, Buck Knives, Smith & Wesson, or Columbia River Knife & Tool.
Question: What is the best folding/pocket knife for everyday carrying?
Answer: For everyday carry and use, I would recommend the Kershaw Blur Black SpeedSafe Assisted Folding Knife. The knife is light enough compared to its size and solid build quality, it can be opened or closed smoothly with one hand, it has a SpeedSafe assisted opening mechanism as well as the knife is moderately affordable. Besides, this best spring assisted tactical pocket knife comes in versatile blade configurations and colors.
Question: Is a pocket knife good for self-defense?
Answer: If you’re in a situation where someone is aggressively trying to attack you, or in a situation where hand-to-hand combat could result in physical harm or death, or you encounter a snatcher on the street, I think it’s much better to use a pocket knife for self-defense than to fight with your bare hands.
Just as using a folding knife gives you a bit of an advantage over your opponent, the attacker may decide not to fight after seeing the knife in your hand.
Question: Why should girls carry a pocket knife?
Answer: There are several reasons for women to carry pocket knives, some of which I have highlighted above.
However, girls like to do more things with folding knives such as cutting food, plastic tags, cleaning fingernails, and tightening screws.
But the main reason every girl should carry a pocket knife is to use it as a self-defense weapon in an emergency or as a rescue tool in an accident.
Question: What’s the right age for a kid to get his or her first pocket knife?
Answer: In general, the age range for a boy or girl to use a pocket knife for the first time should be between 6 and 7 years old. Because children of this age are relatively mature. Although not all children of this age are mature enough to carry or use a sharp knife.
So before giving the knife to your child, be sure to explain how to use the knife properly. Also, pocket knife safety rules must be well explained.
Most importantly, only allow them to use the knife if you are carefully watching or instructing them on the spot.
Question: Can you carry a pocket knife as a utility knife?
Answer: Of course, anyone can carry and use a pocket knife as a utility knife. Folding knives are suitable for almost all types of utility work except some heavy-duty ones.
Question: Is it legal to carry around a pocket knife?
Answer: Generally speaking, it is illegal to carry, display or use any sharp object, especially a knife with a pointed tip, in a public place.
However, different places have different rules about carrying pocket knives in public places. Pocket knives with blades under 3 inches can be carried almost anywhere unless there are special restrictions.
To get a clear idea of these things I would suggest you check the knife laws in your area.
Question: Can I be arrested for carrying a pocket knife?
Answer: Different states or countries have different rules about carrying knives or sharp objects and if you break the rule then you are likely to be arrested.
However, folding knives with blades under 3 inches can be carried almost anywhere in the United States unless there are special restrictions.
Final Verdict
An EDC knife under $30 is an efficient tool when you are trying to overcome the little challenges in your everyday lifestyle. The simplistic and compact design allowed the pocket knife to be versatile in various situations. Whether you need to open a letter from the mail, unseal a product from its clamshell, or separate LEGO pieces with your family, you can always trust the pocket knife to be right by your side and get the job done.
What should be the budget to buy a good quality tactical EDC knife?
$50 – $100 is enough for a good quality tactical EDC knife.