Pocket Knives

[pallin Senior Member - Ventura Find all posts View Profile Close pallin]

This is possibly "Off Topic" because I don't recommend anyone use a pocket knife for carving or even whittling. Yes, I have whittled with one in the past.
Today I bought a new pocket knife - a Buck 503. I was recently traveling in Florida and had to leave my previous knife in order to fly home. We had travelled there via Amtrak, but they cancelled our return trip due to weather conditions in Virginia. The knife will "catch up" with me when the relatives we visited send it along.
The replacement process was also educational. I discovered that local Big Box stores do not sell pocket knives. They have some folding versions of utility knives. Likewise, our local Woodcraft store has only fixed blade carving knives and kits for making your own pocket knives by making scales of exotic wood.

[Nebraska AKA Ed Find all posts View Profile Close Nebraska]

I had a similar experience some years ago unfortunately discovering the deadly weapon as I walked through the airport. I walked up to a total stranger asked for a favor handed him my knife a slip of paper with my address on it and two bucks. Four days latter my knife showed up in the mail. My pocket knife of choice for the past 30 years has been the Gerber LST weighting in at a whopping 1 oz. I’ve gone through a lot of them over the years because I give them away when ever the situation arises that I’m with a young man who isn’t carrying a pocket knife and one is needed.

[Randy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Randy]

Hope you get your buck back soon pallin. I hate not having my daily carrie knife in my pocket. I just feel undressed with out it. Like carving tool we all have our own favorite pocket knife. I have had a number of different makes over the years, of all sizes,shapes and prices, But as a daily carry I kept coming back to what I call your basic boyscout knife. The last 25 or so I have carried a Victorinox Swiss army "Tinker". Just a versatile, handy well built little knife.

[Eddy-Smiles Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Eddy-Smiles]

Possibly the best choice of knives is going to be found in a sporting goods store like Bass Pro Shops or Cabellas. I have a number of pocket knives that are not for carving but the one that I carry with me all the time is a Buck Lite that I've had since I retired from the Government over twenty years ago. With a plastic handle it doesn't look like much more than a utility blade but it keeps an edge. My daughter bought me an Old Timer a couple of years ago ay Bass Pro. I save it for dress. I also have a full size Case Hunter with a bone handle that my wife bought me back in the 60's when I first went aboard ship; and a small sized Puma that I purchased when I first left the Navy. The new rules and regulations for when and where you can have a knife on your possession drive me crazy. I'm from the old school where a man always carried a pocket knife of some sorts. I've raised my kids that way and my son has raised his son that way.

[BobW Member Find all posts View Profile Close BobW]

Ace Hardware carries pocket knives. Local one has Case. Flex cut makes a "Whittling Jack" and at least one other pocket knife oriented toward carving. They fold and so are easy to carry.

[Brian T Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Brian T]

I've carried a SAK Prince Model for decades. Never been much for whittling but for most other (kitchen) jobs, I couldn't ask for more.

If I could pick only one carving knife to carry with wood, projects and sharpening stuff, it would be the big Kestrel 'C' bend crooked knife. A 'pocket knife' it is not. It's more of a J-shape than a smooth, even sweep. Buy the blade and make a handle that fits your hands.

[pallin Senior Member - Ventura Find all posts View Profile Close pallin]

Yes, Brian, I have a couple of Kestrel knives and they're not pocket knives. I use my pocket knife for light trimming in the garden and helping my wife open the multitude of Amazon boxes we receive day-to-day.

[Claude Super Mod Louisiana Find all posts View Profile Close Claude]

I got out of the habit of carrying a pocket knife when I started working for NASA and was often flying hither and yon. I started carrying a Kamp King knife at the age of 6 when my father gave me one. We took them to school in those days, also. No one thought anything about it. As an aside, in high school during the Fall, you'd see pickups in the school parking lot with deer rifles or shotguns in the window, as some of the students would go hunting for a few hours after school let out. No problem... When I was in the Navy, I carried a two bladed knife in my pocket (officers didn't carry a sheath knife on their belt like the Boatswain's Mates did - for the BMs it was a safety issue). When my father passed 20 some years ago, I inherited his Old Timer pocket knives. One sits on my workbench today. When backpacking with the Scouts up in the Sierras, I had a decent Swiss Army knife tied on a lanyard to my backpack, as well as one in my pocket. Very useful tool!

Claude

[rickm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rickm]

arleen zomer sells rough riders that she reworks into carving shape haven't tried one but Im thinking they are good personally I like a knife that locks back as I have had issues with the thing folding on my finger and it hurts