Folding Pocket Knife

Selecting a folding knife can be a rewarding experience, whether it's your twentieth knife or your first knife. Now, whether this is a knife for collecting or for practical reasons there are some factors you should take into consideration. In no order of importance here are good ones to keep in mind.

Light Weight

A good point (no pun intended) is the weight of the folding knife. A lighter weight makes everyday carrying more comfortable, though you shouldn't forget about durability and strength for a lighter weight as the difference between light and heavy can be only a couple ounces.

Brand Quality

Choosing a good name brand knife is often the best way to go. When purchasing a knife, you want to make sure the blade is made from a quality grade of steel, so it will keep a sharp edge, and sharpen well it does go dull. Pocket knives are usually used on a regular basis and will therefore surely wear over time. Make sure the knife quality will live up to amount of wear you plan on putting the knife through. Consider Case folding knives, Cold Steel, or Benchmade .

Blade Locking Mechanism

You want a knife with a good blade locking mechanism. You want to keep the blade from unexpectedly closing on your hand. This is a safety feature that prevents the folding blade from closing unexpectedly possibly causing injury.

The Look

You want a nice exterior finish and an overall good look. This of course is in the eye of the beholder. Make sure you can always answer yes to the question “Do you like the look of the knife?” If you don't like they way it looks, don't buy it. Unless of course you collect ugly knives.

Pocket Clip

Though a certainly minor point, you may want a folding knife with a pocket clip. If you want to clip the knife to your pocket or belt. If you carry your knife in your pocket you can skip this one. Pocket clips that switch sides or can be removed may be something to consider.

Pivot

One of the more important factors is the pivot of your knife. The blade connects to the handle and swivels at the pivot where it also locks. For any knife to have a long useful life you will need a high quality and strong pivot.

A folding knife is a useful tool to carry. Primarily used for everyday cutting and prying tasks they are sometimes called into action for emergencies, such as cutting rope or self defense. So select wisely.

Swiss Army Folding Knife

Knives are often required for various purposes when outdoors. Folding pocket knives are designed to suit many of these outdoor uses. These pocket knives have often have one or more blades which can be folded into the handle making them easily fit inside your pocket.

Some History

Knives have been used since ancient times by early men for the purpose of hunting and safety. These early knives were completely different from the ones we have today. Originally made from bone, these knives have undergone a great evolution. The pocket knives we have today are designed with latest technology to suit many needs. They are light weight, compact, strong, well designed, and easy to carry. Schrade Knives is one of the oldest brands.

What Are They used For?

The quick answer... Whatever you want as pocket knives can be used for various purposes. Be it for slicing fruits, cutting ropes, opening boxes or safety. There are wide range of these knives available to suit different needs. For those who want to carry a pocket knife for simple tasks like slicing fruits or breads and cutting ropes, a simple pocket knife would be enough. While if you need one for fishing, a pocket knife with a gut hook would be essential. For safety or security measures, greater strength is necessary.

The Different Types of Folding Pocket Knives

Some of the different types of folding pocket knives are slipjoint knives, multitool slipjoint knives, locking knives and tactical folding knives.

• Slipjoint Knives are held by a spring device which allows the folding of the blade on the application of some pressure. Slipjoint knives have only one blade and are compact in size. Some of the well known slipjoint knives are Canoe, Barlow, Penknife, Peanut and Sunfish.
• Multitool Slipjoint Knives have more than one blade, which are of different types along with useful tools like scissors and bottle openers. These knives serve as a very useful tool kit.
• Locking Knives allow the knife to be locked with twisting rings into the folders and the rings need to be released before folding or unfolding the blade. This improves the safety of blades thereby avoiding accidental folding of the blades.
• Tactical Folding Knives are the foldable hunting knives which gained popularity due to restrictive gun laws in US. SOme examples are the Benchmade Tactical Knives and the Cold-Steel Tactical Knives.

Folding pocket knives are available in different types and brands. One must choose the knife depending on the requirement. Checking the local laws before carrying a pocket knife is necessary since some countries and states may have length and other restrictions.