Do you use your knife for opening letters, and if so, which blade?

I use a Case Desk Knife. 154 CM Steel
Similar in size to a Case SBJ
The sheath lays flat ... no loop on back
It sharpens up nicely and the 154 CM makes it useful for much more than letters and packages

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Like Pistonsandgears said, opening mail for me is often the only use I have for a knife on a daily basis. At work I feel strange sometimes pulling my knife out to open the mail. I usually just use the thumb/rip method unless I am actually in my office. Then I actually get to take out, use, and enjoy my knife...
 
Usually the clip blade on my stockman (my most-carried favorite pattern). But a razor-thin sheepsfoot works very well for package/mail-opening as well, especially for boxes and those un-tearable, composite paper-esque 'envelopes' that parcels are sometimes delivered in; a sharp tip on the sheepsfoot unzips those in a flash.


David :)
 
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Since the only folders I carry on a daily basis are single bladed Buck 484s, I use that for letters. For packages, I shift to which ever fixed blade I'm carrying at the time - Kabar 1232, 125x or 126x, BK11.
 
Old Hunter said:
Most of the knives I carry have Clip main blades - that's the one I use. I also have this IKCO advertising knife/letter opener - if I'm at my desk that's the one I use. OH

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Oh Cool! I have one that is identical except its from the "Aames Bureau of Employment". It was my father's and dates from the 1950's.

You should please pardon my lousy photo as usual:
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I have a nice letter-opener knife sitting on my desk, but generally I use my pocket knife to open mail. As others have said, if I think about it, I'll use the secondary or pen blade, but if not, I'll just use whichever blade I open first.
 
When opening a letter or package I like to reach around up into the kitchen cabinet where I keep the old box-o-case's. By default I usually grab a case slip joint, a peanut perhaps. The case slip joint is my preferred traditional letter opening blade, I have several. I hope this helps. G-d bless America.

---cinna
 
I really use whatever knife is lying around. Main blade is great because that's the one I'll end up sharpening the most anyway.

Only when it's cardboard or tape do I think about using a beater knife.
 
Frank, wonder how many thousands of those Advertisers must have been made and given away in years past? Nice hand down from your Dad too! OH
 
I generally use the wharcliffe blade on my improved trapper when opening letters. My avatar knife also gets to open a lot of letters and mail of all kinds. It's a wharnie, too.

Ed J
 
I use whatever is riding in my pocket or is handy at the time, and since most of mine are single bladed, I don't have a preference there.
 
For a standard business envelope, I'll use the spey blade. Packages, the sheepsfoot.
 
Whatever is on me works fine but I find that the Case Baby Doc blade or the secondary blade on my GEC Boys knife works best for this.
Any razor sharp, thin, and pointy blade should suffice though.
 
I use whatever knife is handy and that usually is either a modern that I keep on my desk, or my SAK. SAKs are easy to sharpen. I seldom use something like a GEC, Queen, or Canal Street blade to open mail or boxes.
 
A single blade Doctor's Knife, long narrow pointy blade is just the job. Never found much other use for this pattern, except cutting the odd pill and it's by no means the best knife for that task anyway...so it's become the folding desk knife:cool:
 
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