There’s a reason many people always carry a pocket knife on them: it can be a handy multi-tool. This completely ignores the fact that some pocket knives have multiple tools built into them; you can use the knife blade itself in a variety of ways.
While this article won’t detail every last thing you can do with a pocket knife, we wanted to review some of the most useful applications. That way, if you decide to get one for yourself, you’ll get the most out of it.
General Cutting and Sawing
This first point seems a bit obvious, but we wanted to go into further detail about it. The main purpose of any knife is to cut through objects. Some common examples are cutting through rope, branches, and fabric. However, depending on the type of blade you have, you can also use a pocket knife for light sawing.
Serrated blades have teeth that can cut through many things with a sawing motion. While you won’t be cutting down trees this way, sawing with a pocket knife can be handy in many other outdoor activities. If you want the best of both worlds, you can buy a combo blade that has both types of edges. However, there are many differences between plain, serrated, and combo knives, so make sure you learn about them before buying one.
Whittling and Carving
While like cutting, the act of whittling or carving is much more delicate and precise. Many people like to do this in their free time when relaxing outdoors with a knife. While most people simply carve away at a stick until the end of it is sharp, you could create intricate designs or sculptures with a piece of wood.
Removing Splinters
You’re bound to get a splinter when working with wood. Fortunately, pocket knives are perfect tools for removing them. However, you shouldn’t just go digging into your skin to get the splinter out. In most cases, a piece of the wood will be sticking out from your skin. When that happens, you can use your knife to slide the blade under the sliver of wood, making it easier to pull out.
Opening a Bottle or Can
The final entry in our list of things you can do with a pocket knife is open bottles or cans. Pocket knives are great tools for opening bottles or cans when you don’t have the proper tools lying around. Most people already know that you can use a knife’s spine to open bottle caps, but with the right technique, you can open corks with a simple blade.
Cans are a bit more straightforward. With a sharp enough blade, you can easily cut into the top of a can to open it up. Just be careful when doing so.