Posted on 01/04/2013 2:10:40 PM PST by virgil283
"1st Century Romans created the first folding pocket knife. They made for easy carrying for soldiers and other explorers on their journeys and conquests. However, as the use of sheathed knives became more popular, the use of pocket knives fell somewhat into disfavor......There are three common designs of pocket knives: the jack knife, the pen knife, and the multi-purpose knife. Well discuss the features and benefits of each one, in order to help you decide what kind of knife you should get.
A jack knife has a simple hinge at one end, and may have more than one blade. The jack knife is popular among hunters, fishermen, and campers.... A pen knife is hinged at both ends of the handle, and usually has two or three blades at each end. The pen knife was originally designed to cut or sharpen pen quills for writing. The pen knife is good if you want more than one type of blade. Its also small and lightweight and wont be noticeable in the pocket of dress clothes.....Multi-purpose knife. These are probably the most popular pocketknives. The Swiss Army knife and the Handyman are probably the most well known of the multi-purpose knives.....
(Excerpt) Read more at artofmanliness.com ...
I am not a collector but I have probably over a hundred pocket knives. For many years I carried a Puma Stockman. It is very high quality but I no longer carry one.
Back in the early 60s I read an article in one of the sports magazines such as “Outdoor Life” about knives. The author made a comment about Swiss Army knives. He said he thought tools belonged in the tool box not on a knife.
I thought this was really clever and for years would not even consider carrying one. Then I actually used one and decided that guy didn’t have a clue. I usually carry a super tinker or one of several which have the toothpick and tweezers.
The things I use most are the scissors, the tooth pick and flat bladed screw driver. Maybe the knife blade is next then the Phillips head. I prefer the Victorinox over the Wenger but not by a lot.
Check this out:
Great knife by the way. I have the straight edge-black.
Ditto - Swiss Army, Boker Armed Forces and an itty bitty Gerber Baby.
Except, of course, when I’m going TDY with just a carry-on. Most idiotic rule EVER. And SPARE me the “box cutters brought down airplanes” BS - we weren’t ready for it the first time. Now, I’m pretty confident everybody with a knife would pull it at the first sign.
Colonel, USAFR
Sent her into Schrade...and they replaced the blade..no questions asked. Just cost me S & H.....
Still have that knife..Still use it all the time. I'll be taking it to the GOM next fall....for a tuna adventure!!
Just a Boy Scout FYI. It’s a “Totin’ Chip” for the knife and a “Firemans Chit” to be a recognized fire builder. And if the leaders cut off all the corners of your “Totin’ Chip” (by catching you doing usafe stuff) you have to re-earn it. Let’s be careful out there... :-)
It's also ruined the love life of a large number of young former bulls, back before the rubber band thing became common.
/johnny
Dude....you ARE a collector!! Ha!!
It's called a "Leek" - designed by Ken Onion. Onion, leek, get it?
I'll go away now.
I just got to thinking and I don’t think I have ever had a bad pocketknife as long as it was a name brand.
At one time I thought “Tree Brand” or Arbolito was the best one for the money. Buck is a good knife tho a bit hard to sharpen at times. I believe Puma has got the right combination of ease of sharpening, edge holding and resistance from rust.
Case XX are great but I think a little high. Schrade used to be a good buy. SOG was at one time great but they seem to have gone down recently. I like a lot of Gerber designs.
Like I said all name brands are good.
dirka face??
I like the Barlow I have had for many, many years.
My Father carried and used a Queen Steel pocketknife until he died. I don’t know which one of my siblings got it but it was literally worn out.
I always thought Queen knives steel was just a bit soft. They were one of the first stainless ones but then again, the one Daddy had stood up to a tremendous amount of use.
When I lived on the farm, 110 acres, I carried a knife with a gut hook. Handy! But now that it’s a collectible, it’s stashed away. I cut down an Osage Orange tree, and sliced up some of the nice crotch branchings into handle sized pieces. Dried them for a year near the wood burning furnace. I bought a very nice quality 440 stainless blade, and custom-made my own sheath knife. Polished that stainless like crazy. Took it to a gun/knife show, and was astonished by what I was offered for it! So,,, it’s stashed away too. Osage orange is such a lovely wood. Hard as a rock too. Came up with a design for hidden rivets. Shoulda made some more of them! Maybe I’ll hit the second hand/junk stores looking for an old carving set with Damascus blades. Just might be a nice Winter project! I still have enough wood for a couple more......
I usually carry my Applegate/Fairbairn Covert Folder issued to me when I was deployed with the Army.
Swiss Army sells a small knife with a 128MB flash drive. You just plug it into your USB port connected to the knife.
I have a shorter Kershaw my wife bought me.
I carry it daily (and I just have an office job).
Extremely handy and easily opened one handed with a bit of practice, but it’s a little small for any serious work. This is my first pocket knife with a locking blade, and I’ll never go back to a non-locker.
Been thinking about getting something larger and more utilitarian for in the field, perhaps something with a fixed blade, but I got a bit distracted stocking up on guns and parts and the knife has gotten pushed down on my todo list.
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