“This is Clothing!”
The non-clothing clothing that could save your life.

1. Get a quality knife - don’t skimp here. Generally the quality will be in direct proportion to what you pay. The $6.95 “14 function Swiss type knife” with red plastic sides and a symbol on them will function very well as an emergency fish-line sinker, but little else. Don’t waste your money on an imitation-quality pocketknife.
   
   
2. Always have it with you - make it a habit to have it with you all the time. You have probably heard me say that I’d rather teach a class without my pants than without my knife on me (and I don’t teach classes without my pants, so you know what that means about my knife). This is the first reason that I call my knife “clothing,”  I wear it all the time.
   
   If it is not with you all the time, then the time you need it the most could very well be the time you don’t have it. You can just imagine how I feel riding on the airlines now that since 9/11 my knife is required to travel baggage class. If you don’t know already, in the next section I’ll cover the second reason why I call a Pocketknife clothing.
   
   
3. Keep it sharp - you must also have the ability to keep the blades sharp. In other words, own sharpening “stones.” The best sharpening stones are not really made from stone anymore, they are diamond impregnated metal plates. They sharpen blades quickly, are virtually indestructible, last a very long time, can be used wet or dry and are now relatively inexpensive. You should have several different grits, and have backups. Learn to sharpen your blades properly and keep them sharp all the time
   
   
4. Have stones will travel - just like having you knife with you all the time, you must also have your sharpening stones with you. It is when you need your blades the most that you will truly need to keep them sharp.
   
   
5. Tie it to you - your pocketknife must have a ring, loop, or whole where you can attach a lanyard. Tie you knife to you so it cannot be lost, this is especially important in the snow, or over water where dropping your knife could well mean that it is simply gone. With your knife on a lanyard, if you set it down and walk away, it automatically follows you. It is also handy for grandchildren camping with grandpa and they want to carve with your knife (do not unhook the lanyard). The first big benefit is that they must sit by you to use the knife, and the second benefit is that they won’t wander off and set the knife down someplace (which they surely will do).
   
   Also, when using the knife repeatedly on a project it can just hang by you side, with blade extended, waiting to be quickly snatched up by the cord for immediate use. I’ve also found it very handy when sitting (especially while seat-belted in a car) to use the lanyard to pull your knife out of your pocket
   
   
6. More is better - in the case of having backup knives. Things happen in spite of all you can do, so have several spares. You will want to have duplicates of your primary multi-function knife if possible (more is better), but there is cost to consider. Therefore, you may choose to have a number of high quality, but less feature-rich and, therefore, less expensive knives.
   
   One of the main advantages of having a number of these less expensive quality secondary knives is that you not only have a true fallback knife if your primary knives are gone, but you can afford to buy more of them. This will more easily allow you to bless the lives of others in a time of real need by lending / trading / giving knives to others who are in serious need. In long-term survival situations knives will be worth their weight in diamonds. Be sure and store extra sharpening stones for all of the same reasons.
   
   
7. Get the right features - more is not always better, in reference to the number of blades/tools/gadgets/features. More in this area means: more money, more size, more weight. This translates to more difficulty in having several knives or more likely to not have it with you because its like carrying a small brick in your pocket. Yes, you do want more than just a blade, but what is the minimum and most functional tool set to always have in your pocket or purse? I’ll address this detail in the next section on what I do and why. Of course draw upon your experience and do what is best for you.
   
   More, as in a big blade has its limits, too. You want your primary knife to fit into your pocket. A big blade that straps on the outside has its place (obviously not in your pocket) and we’ll discuss the big blades at another time, but first, start with the knife for the pocket.
   
   
8. Practice, practice, practice - have it with you and learn to use it often. The basics of knife use are fairly simple and quite obvious. Blades cut, slice, chop and whittle. Openers open, saws saw, files file, punches make holes, and scissors cut. Practice means yours pocketknife skills get better and you will be able to do things quicker and more safely.
   
   Learn basic knife handling safety. One of the ways you might learn is by cutting yourself a few times, however, using basic blade safety practices will keep you from doing any real harm. I’ve carried a knife for over 50 years now and I use it daily. I will on rare occasion nick or cut myself, not often, but it happens, and it is okay. I keep getting better, too.
   
   
9. Learn more - after you get the basics of the many things your knife will do, hang around people who use their knife to do more than the obvious. With constant use you start trying things, some will work, some won’t. You might even break a blade (good thing you have a back up, good thing you have Victorinox because they’ll rebuild it for you).
   
   Study what others do and become exposed to more advance skills and additional uses of the various blades on your pocketknife. Then experiment and practice and use your knife often. It could save your life or the life of someone else one day.
   
   
10. There is no substitute - what about the multi-tools, such as the Leatherman? They are great and I have several of them (Leatherman, Gerber, Victorinox). However, they do not substitute for a pocketknife. Get a really good knife first, get a few backups, then buy your multi-tool-box-on-your-belt gizmo.
    
    Here’s a low cost tip. Years before the Leatherman and its competitors came on the market I carried a small (as in 4-inch) pair of pliers or Vicegrips in my pocket. This combination (a quality multi-function pocketknife plus 4” pliers) will do almost everything that the Leatherman and the like will do. All for the addition of only about $6-8 dollars, and everything still fits in the pocket.

• Key ring – Number 5 above explains the importance of this feature, be sure and use it.
  
  
• Large blade – This is the workhorse blade that I use several times a day for the obvious tasks of cutting, trimming and slicing. It is my go anywhere staple remover. It opens boxes and packages. I use it all the time to cut up cardboard and other packaging materials to either recycle them or dispose of them.
  
  In the garden I use it for pruning and harvesting. I cut off large splinters on fences and posts to prevent injury, and it’s great for cleaning the dirt from under my fingernails.
  
  When camping it makes wooden utensils, shapes and sharpens guideline tie-down stakes, cuts string/cord/rope, shaves little feathers of dry wood to quickly start fires, splits small sticks into even smaller kindling to get the fire going quickly, and with a medium sized stick as a mallet to drive the blade through larger pieces of wood splits larger kindling to really build the fire fast.
  
  
• Small blade – I use this blade for precision work. The blade is shorter, thinner and has a sharper point. I keep it extra sharp and ready for those special jobs of removing splinters and fine detailed cutting and trimming.
  
  
• Wood Saw – Not one that you’ll use for cutting firewood. It is ideal for when you want a square butt end on an item you are carving such as making wooden utensils, tie-down stakes, etc. The saw is much faster and easier for this task than whittling off the end with a blade. I use it regularly in my campsite cutting and carving. Also this saw is the fastest way to cut through larger rope as it is much quicker than trying to saw through the rope with a blade.
  
  
• Metal saw & metal file – On earlier versions of my knives I did not have this blade, and when I got one with it, I wasn’t sure if it would be all that useful. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. The metal saw and file have been very useful. I use them quite often to file and de-burr metal edges, or cut grooves and notches in mild steel, copper and aluminum. I’ve used it to fashion points on emergency needles I’ve made from heavy gauge wire. Of course, it will also function as a nail file.
  
  
• Reamer / punch – Very useful for boring small holes in leather, plastic, soft metals and wood. I’ve used it to drill a hole for the eye of an emergency sewing needle. The punch itself has an eye in it so it can be use for sewing heavy duty threads in leather or rubber.
  
  
• Can opener – Of all the different knife can openers I’ve had or used, this one works the best of all. It also has a small flat-blade screwdriver at the tip. It is also an excellent box staple puller, (you know, those big steel staples that hold box flaps together). To pull them out, slip the can opener into the crack between the flaps, hook the can open opener under the metal staple, and jerk it out. (CAUTION – turn your head and close your eyes, because sometimes they pop out and go flying.)
  
  
• Large Screwdriver – This large flat-blade screwdriver also has a wire stripper notch and bottle cap opener. The screwdriver feature is most useful for screws and as a wedge to pry things apart.
  
  
• Scissors – Very handy for the small cutting and trimming jobs on paper, plastic and fabric. I’ve used them very often as a fabric slitter when full-sized scissors are not handy or you don’t want to take the time to hunt for them. They do well on fingernails and toenails, too.
  
  
• Corkscrew – Most of us don’t pull many corks, but once I stopped looking at it as a corkscrew for which I had no use and saw it as a hook to catch things with it, became very useful. For one thing it makes a wonderful thread pick. The fine point on the end lets you snag threads, string and soft objects very nicely. There is also an optional very small eyeglass screwdriver that is stored by twisting it down into the corkscrew.
  
  
• Tweezers – I’ve pulled a lot of splinters out of myself and others with these handy tweezers that tuck into the side of the knife.
  
  
• Toothpick – When you’ve got something really stuck in your teeth that is bugging the heck out of you and there is no regular toothpicks in sight or not even a twig to whittle one, you’ll be glad you have this handy plastic toothpick slipped into the side of your knife.
  
  
• Wood chisel – A small but handy little chisel and gouge for digging down into wood that you may be shaping. It’s also great for cutting notches, grooves and larger holes in wood.
  
  
• Fine screwdriver – I don’t remember ever using it as a screwdriver, but it has been useful as a wedge when trying to pry small things apart. Just slip it in the crack and twist.
  
  
• Hook – I have an older model of this knife that does not have the hook on it, however, I look forward to getting one and trying it. It looks like it would be useful at times when trying to snag strings and small cord. Using it instead of your bare hands to pull heavy duty threads and small cords tight could prevent cutting your skin. I’ll bet with experience a number of uses will show up for it once I have one.
  
  
• Life time warranty – I’ve never had a knife break, but I’ve worn blades out after many years of use and they rebuild the entire knife.
  
  

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