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Traditional Pocket knife vs. Utility knife

What knife is that?
I have no idea. Something Chinese which is probably a clone of something much nicer. I just went to Amazon and typed "mini utility knife" or something like that to get a picture of what I was thinking of. I like it, though. It was like $15 if I remember right.
 
Yup and like us retired LEOs, most of the guys I worked with are gun/knife guys to some extent, also. But, I do like to follow local law to a "T" when I go through these jurisdictions just in case. Things like this "less than 2 inch blade" makes it much harder. That's your Vic Classic knife and almost nothing else.

I agree, and obviously I would never encourage anyone to knowingly break any law.
I always look into the laws before I travel, but it can be very vague and much is up to the judgement of the officer. If I’m unsure I just err on the side of caution, but still exercise common sense if I’m confident I’m within the law. If a local law limits blades to under 3” I wouldn’t want to carry a Delica at 2.87” and argue about it. Better to just carry a sak with an appropriate blade length and keep it out of sight. If I’m going to some kind of event I’d just go without.Most of those laws seem designed as charges that can be added on to more serious charges when officers deem it appropriate anyway.

I don’t want to knowingly break any laws, but in most places I find myself a small to mid sized sak isn’t going to result in any drama. Honestly I don’t think a box cutter would go over any better in areas where one would.
 
I always look into the laws before I travel, but it can be very vague and much is up to the judgement of the officer.
Here's one for you on the vague factor- my home State of Florida:

It is unlawful to conceal carry any knife except a common pocketknife.

Various municipalities and cities have knife ordinances.

Now that's vague! :D
 
I have no idea. Something Chinese which is probably a clone of something much nicer. I just went to Amazon and typed "mini utility knife" or something like that to get a picture of what I was thinking of. I like it, though. It was like $15 if I remember right.
Thank you!
 
Funny about the information out there on State restrictions on pocket knives. I'm Law Enforcememt, and my state generally doesn't regulate any knives other than switchblades or large bowie knives. Even then, a bowie knife would have to be concealed to be illegal. Common pocket knives are perfectly legal statewide, with the prevailing belief that Bunkley v Florida largely defines a "common pocket knife" as a folding knife 4" or less. A 4" folding knife is actually on the rather large side! I had no clue some states were so anal about this.

I understand that Bunkley v Florida does not prohibit states from making bans on smaller knives. It just defined "common pocket knife" as it applied to Florida Statute.

Still I didn't know there were places that seriously restricted common folding pocket knives. Some of these giant gaudy tactical knives, yeah that wouldn't surprise me... but a Case slip joint? And yes I obviously advocate that we follow all laws. Laws on pocket knives are dumb to me though. (Of course there are plenty of other dumb laws)
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
We're in Florida and truth be told, I've never thought about pocket knife laws. I just measured my Spyderco Native 5 with the spear point.. I was a bit surprised it measures 3".... I always have it clipped into my right front pocket. We are traveling to Bali in April and well into May. I always have a knife with me..... a habit since I was 6 years old and my grandfather gave me my first pocket knife for my birthday. I won't be taking my Native 5 spear point since they are no longer made. I will take my Manix 2 with me... but in checked luggage. It looks a bit menacingly with the combo blade so I do wonder about that. I took it last trip to Bali for a month. It isn't always the safest place to be and I would use it for protection if needed... but we try to avoid getting into any dangerous situations. Bali is much safer than most places in Indonesia.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I have a few knives with replaceable blades, but they very rarely get used. I don't do so much cutting that sharpening gets tedious, nor so heavy that a blade may be damaged.

Honestly, the vast majority of my pocket knives, sheath knives, and multitools are redundant these days. They are kept more for the memories than the function. A simple traditional pocket knife is perfectly adequate for me, although I do like to have scissors and pliers handy too. As such, a Victorinox Deluxe Tinker is a perfect daily tool for my needs.
 
Nobody is going to be excited to inherit your box cutter, and a pocket knife blade will generally be more versatile.however if you’re in a position that you may have your blade confiscated, the inverse is true as well. Losing a boxcutter would p!ss me off, attempting to confiscate my Grandpa’s pocket knife would probably end in my arrest or loss of a job at least.

Last note, I’ve seen many people switch to replacement blade systems as a solution to never having learned how to sharpen a knife.
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
Fear of confiscation going into places like courts and the Capitol made me change my EDC from a Swiss Army to a small physician's knife. Ain't nobody scared of it.
 
I'm a collector of pocket knives, but in reality, my Leatherman Wave goes with me 100% of the time because I need pliers quite a bit at work. I usually do carry a dedicated knife to go along with it, but researching these smaller utility knives got me thinking about replacing the pocket knife.
I'm a Leatherman Surge daily on my belt guy, and usually my modded Spyderco K2 as the cutting tool. It has the upsweep ground off and the edge brought to .007" behind the bevel. Its a great combination, I get a 4" pocket knife with serious cutting ability if needed, and the blades on the Leatherman for abusive "cutting" chores... LIke where I might hit stone or concrete. The K2 does the rest, and its tough and hard (Rc 65.5, tested) and cuts most things. Currently have a pocket fixed blade from Northern Knifeworks in Rex 121 thats supposed to be Rc70. Will be testing as soon as I get a chance.
 
Here's one for you on the vague factor- my home State of Florida:

It is unlawful to conceal carry any knife except a common pocketknife.

Various municipalities and cities have knife ordinances.

Now that's vague! :D

Florida defines an ordinary pocket knife as one with a blade length of less than 4". Which is why I carried my 3.75" Endura.

In Merrillville, you can only carry pocket knives with blades shorter than two inches. In addition, it is illegal to conceal-carry any other knife in public within the town."

But speaking of the 2" blade laws in certain areas, a standard utility knife blade is longer than 2".

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This is a standard Personna utility knife blade.

The blade length is listed as: 2.458"
 
I usually carry either a utility knife or a regular folding knife. Not super strict here. If I carry a utility knife I like the compactness of the Workpro utility knife. It is also super affordable and comes in a 3 pack. If you loose one no big deal. However, my favorite EDC carry is my ESEE Zancudo D2 steel. Holds an edge very well and is affordable. It is not super expensive, but I still would hate to loose it. I prefer to carry a regular knife. Maybe because I like to sharpen knifes. Who knows? D2 steel takes some work to sharpen though, but it holds up.
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-Boris
 
Glad this thread popped back up. When I started it, I was planning on a new career as an over the road driver and thinking ahead of the different state laws. Things change in a heartbeat, though, and I was hired as the Public Works Director of my little town. After the first couple of days in the field, I realized that my "pride and joy" Victorinox and Case collection were going to get abused much more than I wanted and went with the inexpensive folding utility knife with a pocket clip. I don't even carry the Wave now because I have a full toolbox in my city provided truck and the less things I have in my pockets makes the job easier and more comfortable.

Practicality won out in my case. I'll enjoy my pocket knife collection at home and on my days off. :)
 
These are two of my replaceable blade knives:

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The first is a Gerber utility knife that doesn't get used much anymore. It's tiny, has a pocket clip, and is priced under 20 bucks on line. The bad: it requires a screwdriver to change the blade. If you drop the screw outdoors, goodbye. The good: it requires a screwdriver to change the blade, and positively locks the blade into place. Many smaller utility knives have overly complex blade locking systems, and many don't hold the blade securely. It's a solid little box cutter with a sturdy pocket clip.

The second is my 3.5" Outdoor Edge EDC. I beat the hell out of this knife, using it every day for any cutting task, and toss the blade when it dulls. I have other "nice" knives, but this is my beater.
 
These are two of my replaceable blade knives:

View attachment 1659988View attachment 1659987

The first is a Gerber utility knife that doesn't get used much anymore. It's tiny, has a pocket clip, and is priced under 20 bucks on line. The bad: it requires a screwdriver to change the blade. If you drop the screw outdoors, goodbye. The good: it requires a screwdriver to change the blade, and positively locks the blade into place. Many smaller utility knives have overly complex blade locking systems, and many don't hold the blade securely. It's a solid little box cutter with a sturdy pocket clip.

The second is my 3.5" Outdoor Edge EDC. I beat the hell out of this knife, using it every day for any cutting task, and toss the blade when it dulls. I have other "nice" knives, but this is my beater.
I have one like your Gerber and that was my pet peeve with it as well. Who in the right mind want to have to use a screwdriver to change a blade. That is why I switched to the workpro ones that I mentioned above.
 
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