My Pocketknife

 My dad at a young age (under 10) was climbing out of a tree and somehow got his clothing snagged on a branch was being strangled.  He considers himself fortunate that he has his pocked knife and cut himself free.  As such, I was given a traditional Boy Scout Pocket knife at age 7 and was strongly encouraged to carry it every single day.  This was the 1970s and a pocket knife wasn't considered a weapon of mass destruction.  I still have it but it is in a different location that I can't visit and photograph due to Covid-19 restrictions.

It took me a while to habitually carry it.  Often, I would ask my dad for his knife to cut a string, etc.  He would say, "Joe, there are two things you don't lend out in life - your knife and your wife."  As such, I would often need to go get mine.  As such, from age 7 through age 30 I carried that Boy Scout style pocket knife.  It was a good knife and I used it for all manner of things.  By age 30, I stated to feel sentimentally attached to it.  Since pocket knifes can easily fall out of your pocket, I began to worry that loosing it would really upset me.

At that point, I had to think about what pocket knife did I want to carry.  Firstly, I made it clear to my dad, he couldn't give me one as that would repeat the problem of it being sentimental.  Though I liked all of the features on a Boy Scout pocket knife, the key features I really wanted in my next knife came down to a blade, flat head and Philips head screw drivers, and a bottle opener.  If I had that, I could do just fine.  Yes, I had used the can opener before on my pocket knife.  Mostly it was just because I had it.  Only once did I really need to use it.  Having only needed to use a tool once in 23 years meant it wasn't a must have feature.

I tried initially and a few times since to carry a Leatherman type tool both in pocket and on a holster.  Though nice, it was just too much tool.

For my 30s, I settled on the Swiss Army Knife Tinkerer model.  It had a blade, bottle opener, and both types of screwdriver heads.  I'm glad no one gave it to me.  I did have some slip out of my pocket and disappear.  Then after 9/11, I ended up giving quite a few to TSA because I was so used to keeping one in my pocket I often forgot to put it in my check in luggage.  I was quite happy with this pocketknife and found the tweezers and toothpick to be handy.

In my early 40s, I wanted something with a slightly bigger blade.  I didn't want a Rambo style knife.  Fortunately, at that time, Swiss Army was making the next generation Swiss Army knife that had a slightly bigger blade and all of the tools I needed.  It also had a saw blade which I didn't need but such is life.  I carried that knife for about a decade.  

About a two years ago, I wanted a knife that maybe wasn't as bulky.  It took a few false starts.  Then, I discovered this Milwaukee knife shown below.  It is under $50 (might have been $30) and quite a bargain in my mind.  It was basically the bare bones knife I had wanted.  It had a blade (part of it serrated which I could do without), a bottle opener and a really nice quarter inch bit screwdriver that came stock with a bit that had a flat head and Philips on the other side.  I've been carry it for about a year and have been quite happy with it.  I took off the pocket clip as I don't need it that accessible.  

In terms of blades.  Everything since my original Boy Scout pocket knife, which had a a high carbon steel blade, has been a bit of a disappointment.  All the other knives mentioned have been stainless steel.  I can't get stainless nearly as sharp as I can other blades.  For a pocket knife, the level of sharpness is useable but not exciting.  I use the simple sharpener I bought at Woodcraft to sharpen it.  This is the same sharpener I use for my woodworking marking knives.  It does an "ok" job.  For what my pocketknife needs to do, it is fast enough where I tend to sharpen my pocketknife once a week.

I know a tool such as a pocket knife is such a personal choice that I am sure we all have strong opinions.  For now, I am content.  I am sure I will still keep my eye open.  What do you carry?