I always carry my very small SA knife (its nearly the lowest of the Victorinox range with a main blade (a bit over 1" long), crosshead screwdriver / bottle opener, small screwdriver / file, & scissors).
I use it near enough daily, for a variety of tasks but it will get into packaging, open up a PC, let me change a fuse or a plug, take a wall plate off its backbox etc all without the need to concisely remember to take tools anywhere.
Now there is a niche the makers of Swiss army knives have missed ;-)
Liable to be seen as 'a knife' and get you arrested I suspect.
I bet you wouldn't be allowed to take *that* on an aeroplane :-)
I'm the same but with a Leatherman PST II 'multitool'.
Yup, me too, and as others have mentioned, other (who know I carry it) also do too. ;-)
Absolutely!
What constantly amazes me is the range of things you can cover with it and well. The number of times when the cross-head screwdriver on the PST for example has been better than the few proper crosshead drivers I have to hand. It also seems to handle screws smaller that it looks like it would fit up to screws you would think it would just fall into.
The needle nose pliers have undone and bent open things I was sure would break them and yet are still (after many many years of use) good enough to use as tweezers on the odd splinter.
I regularly use the scissors, file(s), knife, screwdrivers (3 x flat and crosshead) and even the rule built into the handles.
I 'lost' my trusty PST II a while back and because I was so upset, our daughter bought me it's current replacement, the Juice XE6 (and they aren't cheap). However, it was quite a bit chunkier and didn't really work in-use like the PST II (for me). Luckily, the PST turned up in the back of the car a few days later and so I was complete again (and have the Juice as a spare). ;-)
My Dad (an ex merchant seaman) used to say 'A sailor without a knife was like a ... ' well, I dare say there are quite a few endings to that. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
Not so. See second bullet point under "Basic laws on knives" here:
Hmm, only if the blade is less than 3" long, all the penknives I used to own (when I was a schoolboy in shorts) had blades longer than that.
None of the 'good reasons' would seem to apply to carrying a penknife just because it might be useful.
I personally think the law is pretty silly as it makes even kitchen knives rather 'difficult'. It's society that needs sorting, not more draconian laws. I don't believe most European countries have such restrictive laws on knives, you only have to see what's on sale in French shops to realise that.
Or more likely so not to fall out of the shopping trolley or basket.
Or 'locking' (even if shorter than 3").
"Lock knives (knives with blades that can be locked when unfolded) are not folding knives, and are illegal to carry in public without good reason."
Me too, especially when in the Scouts. ;-)
And that's the worrying bit isn't it ...
The thing is, nearly anything can be use 'offensively' as a weapon and of course you would fall foul of the law if you were to do so. It is my hope that my regular 'carry', a 'multitool' that happens to have a sub 3" non-locking blade would be considered just 'a tool' rather than just 'a knife' of the same spec.
Not that that would help if someone wanted to pull you in of course but you just hope it might help when trying to explain to the real powers why you had it on you.
Cheers, T i m
p.s. Years and years ago I went to see Genesis at Earls Court and went in my 'only' outdoor jacket. We were all frisked at the entrance and they found on me (to my own shock and embarrassment, under the circumstances) a modeling knife. They weren't interested in the roll of insulation tape, the 5 min epoxy or the glow plugs that I also carried when aero modeling. I didn't even consider carrying such a thing would be an issue as there is no way I would use (or even think of using) it on anyone.
I don't try to take mine on a plane,
I do, but they have no relevance to products not bought that way.
(though IIRC
With that sort of packaging, you can inspect the goods exactly the same way as you can in a shop without opening the packaging.
Precisely.
But I think the force of the
No they would not when you can do exactly what you can do in the shop with goods bought that way.
I already know about it. It isnt relevant to what we are discussing.
I noticed they now do 'aeroplane / travel friendly' pocket multitools without a blade.
And I also saw one for kids without a blade and the parent can add the blade later on.
I'm sure there are other makes and examples.
No connection etc, just very satisfied long-term user. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
All blade sizes here are less than 3":
They also do a small version which can basically be fitted to a key ring.
Unless you are going to carve up meat, a blade less than 3" long is ample.
I think you have misread the wording. It is illegal carry a knife in public without good reason, *unless it has a blade 3 inches or less in length, such as a Swiss Army knife*. There is no requirement for you to carry a Swiss Army knife "for a good reason". In fact, see the fourth bullet point: "it is illegal to use any knife in a threatening way (even a legal knife, such as a Swiss Army knife)".
What I find odd is that most knives have sharp points, but for most of the time they are used for cutting, not stabbing. For most purposes, a knife could have a rounded end instead of a point, and still be functional. And even when a point is needed, usually it only has to penetrate a cm or two to make a hole for something, not 10 or 15cm. It's the latter which makes knives so lethal - not the cutting edge (there are a few exceptions to that, of course).
Hey! One for Common Sense!
It sounds like the pilot of our tour 'plane as we crossed the Arctic Circle, he told us to look out for the dotted line across the tundra.
Bubble packaging usually comes with a weakened area up the middle of the cardboard its glued to. This is certainly true of toothbrushes, batteries and little clocks etc, so may well be true of your device. Normally I tend to use a small screwdriver to find this spot first, or it can be a bit like finding a needle in a haystack.
Brian
Nonsense. Blades 4" and less don't count.
Bill
AFAIAA, 3" is the limit.
Sssh, his missus has been telling him it's 4" :-)
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.