Do I Need a Knife?

Yes, so hard to remember to leave my pocketknife when entering Gov buildings, going into DC for meetings, etc. Many times I left my knife in my car, because I forgot to leave it at home, smile.

I remember when I used to think those toothpicks on Swiss Army knives were about the most useless thing on them. Now, older and wiser, I realize they are one of the handiest, as I need to remove food caught between my teeth as my gums recede. Those designers were smarter than I thought!

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I have one in my pocket all the time. I also have a really small pair of vise grips with me at times in my pocket. This model of the Swiss Army Knife is always with me.

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I always have a dive knife in my PFD pocket specifically for that purpose. It has come out at times for paddling related things like cutting clear fishing line or whatever.
But it has been invaluable for cutting up oranges at break, or cheese.

Basically, that is the one I carry, but without the saw. The Tinker.

Today’s world I am never am without one. Lanyard hangs out of pocket for quick access. Pull lanyard give it a snap it’s in my hand open in fractions of a second.

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The Tinker was the one I carried prior to coming across this one called the Hiker (I think). I use every tool on the knife. They are very handy, and I sort of feel incomplete without it. Started carrying the Tinker around 1979 or 80. I have other knives I also carry depending on what the foreseen needs will be. Like boats they are designed for different functions.

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Mine has a corkscrew rather than the phillips driver. far more useful.

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Family trip by car to DC about 15 years ago. Had the Oh S**t moment before we were going to go into the Smithsonian. The Mall has these waist high planter full of ?petunias?. I wandered up like I was going to look at the flowers and gently deposited my Swiss Armey knife among the flowers. About 4 hours later I wandered back & retrieved it. Half expected to have some gentlemen in black suits and sunglasses have a talk with me. :grinning:

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Using the plant was very crafty, I like that. I had jury duty years back and forgot to leave my Swiss Army Tinker at home every single day, and had to go through a lengthy checking process each time.

Museums, LoC, treasury were not an issue when I was there about 10 years ago. The capitol OTOH… my options were have it confiscated or not go in. I was already bummed: when I was a kid you could walk right up the capitol steps - they were a thing then - but now you go 'round back to the basement. I opted to keep the knife.

Oops! I lied because I always have a Leatherman Micra on my keychain.
Scissors, tweezer, screwdriver,file, blade. The scissors are used the most.

Ha, a previous colleague of mine did that once when we had a meeting in the airport, administrative section, and he had forgotten to leave it back at the office. And, his knife was still in the planter when we returned, to my surprise.

I’ve done the same thing when regulations of knives became more stringent on public property. Several times I arrived a City Hall or the Federal administrative offices with my folder in my pocket. Rather than being late, I would ditch the folder in the nearby shrubbery before going in and picking it up after coming back out. Never lost a knife doing this.

But, ultimately, I just stop carrying a folder in my pocket on workdays. More often than not, on weekend outdoor excursions, I do still remember to carry a sub 2.5" folder or 2" FB in my pocket. On backpacking trips, I still prefer to have a 3-4" FB on me or in outside pocket of the backpack.

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Threw my knife in partners pocketbook. Year after 9-11 she flies out for work on a plane. Sailed through ALL screeners at airports 6 check points. Blade was 3"-5/8 long. She found it when she came home and emptied her bag.