Do you carry a pocket knife?

[Growler]

Leatherman Kick. It was cheap, and carries the default necessary tools - phillips screwdriver, knife blade, slotted screwdriver, plier, wire snipper... think light utility tool. For anything else, I'd bring the tools for the task.

Smuggled a Swiss Army knife all the way through OSUT at Ft. Knox, when such things were considered contraband, but it was a gift and I wasn't turning it in during the amnesty. I think Top knew I had it, but he never called me on it.

[GoldenRivet]

Those leatherman tools are great, i used to carry one years ago. Switched to a pocket knife though because i found that many of the tool accessories on the leatherman tool were used very infrequently.

given the bulk, and that i most often used the blade or the pliers, i just switched to a pocket knife and threw a pair of needle nose pliers in the truck.

[Ducimus]

hehe my leatherman was issued to me. I acutally had (edit: HAVE) two of them. A regular leatherman, and a super leatherman. Had Gerber's version of a multifunction plier tool issued to me too. Being into construction and maintanence, they were VERY handy.

That's what happens when there's money left over at the end of the fiscal year, and the powers that be are worried about getting the same budget allotment for next year.

[STEED]

Against the law here in the UK unless you got a damn good reason and I mean a damn good reason. Knife crime here is a major problem.

[Betonov]

always, Victorinox is the only brand I carry

[Skybird]

Since all my life.

First it was a Victorinox Something, then it was a Victorinox Champion, now it is the Victorinox Champion plus a Fenix PD30 plus a Samsung GT1150. I look like a cop.

[Armistead]

Originally Posted by Morts

i wish i was, people are afraid of everything over here

Geesh, I know hundreds of trades that require sharp tools, paperhangers, carpet layers, builders, etc... Certainly you have these trades there and somehow they have to carry the tools to work and back.

I have lot's of pocket knives, my son loves using them out in the woods or backyard. Years ago in the 4th grade, he put on pants with a small pocket knife and went to school. He gave it to the teacher and explained, but was suspended for a week anyway, never been in trouble of any kind.

When I was in high school, late 70's, we didn't carry guns or knives into school, but many a pick up had a gun rack loaded with guns in the school parking lot, we all went hunting after school. They did finally stop it in 1980. Good thing, busing crap started about then and a small white rural school became mixed with the inner city an hour away. All hell broke out for two years and I guess we finally got use to each other. I still got several scars from being cut up with a box razor.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Armistead

Geesh, I know hundreds of trades that require sharp tools, paperhangers, carpet layers, builders, etc... Certainly you have these trades there and somehow they have to carry the tools to work and back.

Carrying one in public "just in case" is a different thing than carrying one in public while working.

[Armistead]

Originally Posted by Dowly

Carrying one in public "just in case" is a different thing than carrying one in public while working.

Yea, but who judges the difference. I use to work 20 paperhangers, they all carry sharp razor knives. Course, I've seen some bad fights on jobsites in my 20 year in the business and believe me the trade workers know how to take advantage of their tools of the trade. Nothing like 10 paperhangers with razors taking on a group of illegal mexican framers with hammers...

[jumpy]

In my pocket always is a victorinox swiss army knife: 2 blades, scissors, can opener, bottle opener/screwdriver, cork screw, metal saw/file, awl.

Hands down it is the most useful thing I own. I've had it since I was about 10 years old.

If I'm out hiking I always have a folding saw and a cheap fixed blade knife (mora craftline allround or bushcraft force) also I sometimes carry my billhook in my rucksack. You never know

To me they are tools. Though I'm sure pc plod would like to prove otherwise.... pathetic country I live in.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Armistead

Yea, but who judges the difference.

I believe the officer at the site makes the call. Like Morts and I both said, if there's no good reason to carry one in public it's deemed illegal, I'd say being at work where tool as such is probably needed is a pretty good reason.

[Penguin]

Leatherman Wave. Actually blades, which you can open with one hand and are lockable, are forbidden to carry here unless you have a reason. I do use it for my work, however I often forget that it's still attached to my belt.
I hate the grip of the (older) bigger leatherman tools, nearly impossible to use force on the pliers without carrying gloves. The Wave grip is more rounded.

Only once some BKA guys (german FBI) wanted me to take it off, when I worked with a politician. So I carried instead a set of pliers and screwdrivers... This gave me actually more choices which tool I could use to stab him

Question to the UK folks: Is it also forbidden to carry a multitool - given you have a work reason to use it?

[tater]

I used to always have one... this conversation makes me want to go out and buy a new one just to stick it to the man (or celebrate that I can).

Should not be a problem as I can carry a pistol if I like, LOL.

[Oberon]

Rarely do. No real need to, I wouldn't use one for personal protection, too easy to get it reversed and used on you, my mother told me that and she did used to carry a knife (Bowie knife to be precise) and be rather good with throwing knives, but that's Deptford for you.
At work, if something needs cutting, I usually steal a bread knife or a steak knife. Plenty of knives in the kitchen, but at the moment the kitchen is boarded up so, no, no knives.

EDIT: That being said, the other half does have a pocket knife, a flick one, which she uses for her model kits. So there is that. It's not spring loaded (I hate those...always think they'll flick out and take your finger off ). but it's a nice design, and quite light. Blade could do with a spot of sharpening though.

[jumpy]

Generally the rule of thumb here is you can carry a penknife/multitool without 'good reason' (other than it's useful) with a blade not exceeding 3 inches in length and which does not lock - leathermans and penknives can fall into this category. But this is subjective to how you might be 'using' it and the zealousness of the officer present.

Everything else you have to have 'good reason' for otherwise it's trouble if you get stopped with it.

But then again, having a screwdriver in your car door pocket could be seen as carrying an offensive weapon, or say a hatchet in your car boot and you're not using it for work or going some place to use it, like camping etc.
Fixed blades/locking blades and blades over 3" are verboten! unless you can prove reason to have it. Needless to say, so are flick/butterfly/fist knives as, apart for 'collectors', their only use is viewed as offensive.

Where I go hiking, I don't tend to see anyone about, but my other tools stay in the rucksack, unless I have to use them, all the same. Different if I'm camping in the usual places. I don't go waving them about, so the likelihood of me getting searched is minimal. And given that I have spare clothes/food & water/fire-lighting kit/canteen/waterproofs/tarp and other stuff in the pack, it's not like having a saw and a fixed blade knife is for use in anything other than mooching about in the great outdoors.

Most of the time the cops are interested in the chav with his small cheap kitchen knife shoved down his trousers, in town on a friday night. If you don't look the type of troublemaker it would be unlikely you'd be stopped in the first instance and given consideration for your reason to carry such an item, in the second.
On balance, I'd rather have it away on my toes, than use any of my knives as a weapon - it's just not how I see them at all and never has been.

However, there has been somewhat of a knee-jerk reaction regarding the laws about knives/firearms and anything else the nanny state thinks might possibly be dangerous, mainly due to some high media profile cases involving idiots and nutters, who obviously make up the vast majority of the population here... if you believe the papers