I recently wrote an article about the 5 best pocket knives under $50 in 2018. The article got a lot of attention, so in addition to that post, I thought it necessary to provide the 20 manliest uses for a pocket knife.
Enjoy!
1. Opening boxes
This is perhaps when a knife is most needed and used. With the influx of Amazon Prime packages going to 64% of the households in America, a knife to quickly open your next bluetooth headphones or speaker is crucial and perhaps one of the best uses for a pocket knife.
2. Opening plastic “clamshell” packages
Those hard plastic packages are impossible to open without anything other than industrial scissors or a pocket knife.
3. Cutting a seatbelt
Hopefully you never find yourself trapped inside a burning car. If you do, a pocket knife to cut the seatbelt might be nice.
4. Starting a fire
Knife + Ferro Rod = Fire. Check out this video to see how it’s done.
5. Self defense
Again, hopefully you don’t find yourself in a situation where you need to defend yourself. If you do, a knife can be a good weapon to protect yourself. There are definitely better options for self-defense, which we will discuss in a later post. Just remember, if you bring a knife to a fight, it becomes a knife fight. If you lose your knife while fighting, it can be used against you. The following video talks about some important points when choosing a pocket knife for self-defense.
6. Opening a letter
I am notoriously terrible at opening letters. I can never open an envelope properly, which results in me tearing off the end and hopefully not damaging the contents inside. A pocket knife helps to open letters properly, leaving Grandma’s Christmas check in pristine condition.
7. Cutting fruit
My earliest recollection of using a knife to cut fruit came when I saw the 1993 version of “Dennis the Menace” for the first time. The homeless guy, played by Christopher Lloyd, walks up to a small boy who is sitting in his yard and holding an apple. “Switchblade Sam” asks the little boy what he’s eating, and the boy responds “a apple”. “Sam” proceeds to stab the apple with his switchblade, and pulls it out of the boy’s hand. Sam then cuts a piece off the apple, holding the apple piece between the blade and his thumb before putting it into his mouth, all while the little boy looks on in horror.
Cruel, but pretty badass nonetheless.
8. Cutting a splinter
Splinters suck. It’s even worse when you pick at splinters with your fingernails with no luck. A pocket knife can save time when cutting the splinter and provide much needed relief sooner.
9. Adding a new hole to a belt
Whether it is to make a belt tighter or make a belt looser, a knife is a perfect tool to help keep pants on.
10. Opening bags
Tearing open plastic bags looks juvenile and primitive compared to pulling out a pocket knife and slashing through them. Also, it looks manlier and is bound to impress your significant other.
11. Cutting loose threads
Remember when mom said to never pull the threads off clothes, which caused runs in the fabric? Well, now that you are paying for your own clothes, following the same advice ensures you don’t ruin them. Listen to mom; always cut, never pull threads.
12. As a screwdriver
Ideally, you won’t have to use the tip of a knife as a screwdriver, but sometimes, you don’t have a choice. If you can, use the spine of the blade to tighten or loosen a screw head if needed.
13. Opening beer bottles
Check out this video for different techniques to open beer bottles.
14. Whittling
Like using a pocket knife to cut an apple, whittling is a relaxing way to pass the time. Sitting in a forest on a wooden deck with a glass of whiskey, smoking a pipe, while whittling away is easily the manliest thing anyone can do. Period. Arguably one of the best uses for a pocket knife.
15. Cutting off tags
Similar to cutting threads versus pulling, it’s definitely best to cut tags off clothes to prevent holes and runs in the fabric.
16. Cutting zip ties
Literally impossible to get off unless you have scissors or a knife, especially if they are tight. Since I doubt anyone carries scissors in their pocket regularly, a pocket knife is ideal.
17. Sharpening pencils
I know we aren’t in the third grade anymore and are not required to buy yellow pencils in bulk, but sometimes a pencil is still used for projects around the house. A pocket knife is ideal to sharpen dull pencils.
18. Fishing
A pocket knife can be used to cut bait, trim line and even fillet fish. Learn how to fillet a flounder with a pocket knife in this video:
19. Opening a can
If you don’t have a can opener or Swiss Army knife, don’t worry, a regular pocket knife can be used to open an aluminum can.
20. Cutting off clothing to access a wound
Fairly regularly, I see this in my job. Wounds are not usually the culprit, but if someone is unresponsive and not breathing, the first thing EMS does is remove the clothing to get to the chest. This allows access for AED patches and better CPR. Using a knife to cut the clothing before EMS arrives can save crucial seconds and may be the difference in saving a life.
Saving lives is pretty manly and one of the most practical uses for a pocket knife.
Thanks for reading!
-Chris