First up, this isn’t a question about safety or whether you’d ever carry a knife for self defence or whatever. Nor is it a question about whether you think UK knife laws should be more/less restrictive, or the politics around it. I’m just curious about opinions of carrying multi-tool-type, legal pocket knives
I use a knife around the house a lot for DIY and woodwork stuff, to the point that it practically lives in my pocket at home, and on a couple of occasions have accidentally left one in my pocket when I’ve gone out. No big deal, the knife I have is legal to carry in the UK (usually a multitool, sometimes just a folding knife with a bottle opener) and I live in a quiet area etc
But it got me thinking about how rare it seems these days to carry any form of knife. My grandad used to have one on his keyring so obviously he thought nothing of it, and it seemed common enough with his generation, but nobody I know routinely carries a knife of any sort, as far as I know. And more than once I’ve found myself thinking “yeah, my multitool would be really handy right about now” when I haven’t had it with me
I’ve been thinking about carrying one with me, just a small one that fits on a keyring “like gramps used to have”, but it “feels” weird even though it would only be a multitool (think swiss army knife, leatherman, or a small folding knife) and nothing threatening, illegal, or in that weird “technically not illegal but you’re obviously being a weirdo” category
So yeah, would (or do) you ever carry a pocket knife? Why or why not?
24 comments
Nope. No need.
Every day, a Small pocket knife and a AA battery torch, use them both every day for work. also have a much bigger locking knife and a bigger torch in my bag and a leatherman tool in my camera bag, and a very bright helmet-mounted torch on one of my work helmets.
The knife is for cutting stuff. Mainly boxes, ropes webbing, string and other stuff. and the touch is to light my way when I am walking around certain sections of the office after hours.
I have a little Gerber dime multitool that I used to bring daily to work. Very handy to have it clipped to my lanyard and fun to fiddle with. I rarely used the knife function though as it also has a packaging cutter thing. If it was just knife I wouldn’t bother. Now I’m in a different role it lives at the bottom of my work bag.
Yeah, I have a Swiss Army knife in my bag, it would be pretty useless for protection as it’s quite stiff to get out. I’ve only ever used it for picnic purposes, but always be prepared right?
I have a Leatherman and have carried it with me every day for the 20+ years now and make use of something on it pretty much daily. On the odd occasion when I am without it for whatever reason I feel lost.
I also have a Victorinox credit-card tool thingy in my wallet – so with me most of the time. I don’t use things from this nearly as often, but the pen and tweezers are certainly useful.
Just on the specific subject of Leatherman knives if it’s like mine (Blast) then the knife bit locks into place and so doesn’t fall under the automatically permitted “penknife” exception.
Yes, I carry a Swiss Army knife everywhere. It’s only been a problem twice, once when I went to Probate Court and didn’t consider they’d have metal detectors because it was in the same building as a criminal court (confiscated and returned with a snarky note) and once when flying I forgot I had it (confiscated and had to pay £9 to get it back); I had a second one in my bag that they didn’t spot. Oh and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo when I had to go back to the entrance and leave it there and I was asked at the British Museum whether I had any sharp objects but I just lied. I often carry a nail file too.
I haven’t once in my life, when being out of my house, thought “damn I wish I had a screwdriver/pair of scissors”. Maybe you’re up to different things than I am when out and about!
So for me no, I wouldn’t carry one around as I’d never use it.
I used to sometimes carry a small folding blade as a teenager. The reason is a bit strange.
I used to hang around in graveyards a lot. Not in an edgy way. I just liked the peace, I’ve always liked old stuff and I was not particularly comfortable around my peers. Seems I was happier around the dead.
One I frequently visited was in a very sorry state so I would sometimes visit armed with a small knife (for cutting away ivy), a little brush (for removing moss) and a bin bag (for collecting litter).
I made sure to check all the regulations for knives and made sure the one I had was legal to carry. Never had any issues but it did always feel a bit strange.
I’m an engineer. If I leave the house then I carry my Boker Plus knife and a Gerber MP600 multitool. They are incredibly useful and I wouldn’t be without them. The Boker is UK legal with a blade less than 3” long that does not lock. I’ve used that knife for everything from slicing fruit to stripping cable insulation, trimming plastic prints, opening boxes… Incredibly useful.
I’d never use my knife in a self-defence capacity. Firstly, introducing a knife into a fight is stupid and secondly I’m more likely to slice my own fingers off than defend myself effectively.
Got my Victorinox hiker Swiss army knife. Carry it every day unless I happen to forget it. Use it most days for opening boxes, blister packaging etc, the hiker comes with a saw and Phillips screwdriver instead of scissors and corkscrew which I have found very useful. I’ve even used the can opener a few times. The bottle opener gets plenty of use too.
I have one on my keys, a Victorinox one. I’ve always carried one for at least 25 years, only time I don’t have it is if in going to town, just in the off chance I get patted down going into a pub which is rare nowadays. It comes in handy very often.
I’ve carried a Victorinox Cybertool nearly every day for over 20 years. I’m in a techy line of work so have justification for having it if I’m stopped. Even if someone attacked me it would never occur to me to use it as a defensive weapon, it’s a tool! There does seem to be a certain amount of hysteria about knives in this country.
Always carry a Swiss Army knife for just in case
I have a small knife on my keys that is only about 20mm long. It does come in handy every now and then.
I have a Gerber multi tool on my keyring, a nifty little device.
I have a multi-tool in my work bag. Used to have a nice Leatherman, lost it, now I’ve got a copycat one from Lidl which is alright. If I don’t have my work bag or any other plans to use it then I don’t have it with me. I reckon I use the screwdriver more often than the blade.
If the blade locks – and they do on Leathermans and clones – then you need a good reason to carry it. Work is a good reason, taking it somewhere for a specific (lawful!) task is a good reason, but a vague idea that “it might be useful” probably isn’t. I think Swiss Army Knives might still have non-locking blades.
Yes i carry a normal pocket knife, a short non locking blade.
No not for any reason, if i had one i’d be carrying something bigger but for general use.
I used to always carrry my leatherman skeletool until I realised it was illegal due to the locking blade. Now I have a mini leatherman on my keys. They’ve come in handy countless times.
I always have a Swiss army knife or Leatherman with me.
My husband has a pocket knife for work
I have a small swiss army on my keyring, lost count of the number of times it’s come in handy. That said, it’s easy to forget it’s there and I have been disarmed at both the HoC and the Old Bailey 🤪
I’ve carried a small Swiss Army knife with me all the time for 20 odd years. It’s even got through airport security a few times when I forgot it was in my bag!
I have always carried a small swiss army knife on my keyring. Super useful. Probably use the scissors more than anything. Cutting labels, packaging, trimming little things here and there. Use it all the time.