Hi guys, new to forum and bought my first knife!

[sabre cat]

I work in a small office with total of four staff members and three doctors. The doctors don't have an issue with what I carry so I have had the chance to try all sorts of stuff. What I have discovered is that a thin, lightweight knife works very well around patients because it does not "print" in the pockets of dress slacks or coats. I would also recommend that you avoid anything "tactical" or with a black finish on the blade. Strike any knife off your list for office carry that you will really miss if it gets lost, misplaced or lifted. You have no control over the morals of your fellow co-workers, delivery personnel or patients.

I have a set of three knives that I normally take to work: First, is some sort of SAK. You will not find a knife that is accepted more by patients or staff than a Swiss Army knife. I am testing out a Vic Cadet that I recently picked up and that is working out very well for me. Most of the time, though, I have a Victorinox Mechanic (amazing how often I use the pliers).

Second, a Gerber EAB box cutter. It takes up little room in your pocket and works well if you have a bunch of boxes to deal with. Both of these knives normally stay in the lab with the rest of my gear.

I could get by at work with just those two but what is the fun in that? The last knife for work is what ever I have on me as an EDC. Most of the time it is a Kershaw Zing 1735 and I admit, I would hate it if that knife came up missing. That is why I own three. Made in the US with Sandvik steel, it holds an edge well and is one of my all-time favorite budget knives. Kershaw now offers an all stainless version that features different blade steel and their Speed Safe system if you like that sort of thing. I have seen the SS model sell for $15 and up. You should not have a problem finding one for 20 bucks. A good knife for 15-20 dollars, I might add.

If your office is like mine, a knife or a decent pair of scissors is not to be found outside of an exam room.

 

[MonkeyWithAGun]

Guys, you have been amazing. I feel so accepted in this forum, especially being really new to knives. Last night I just figure out how to open my knife without using two hands or moving my thumb in that circular motion. All i needed to do was push my thumb up! It makes it look like im opening it really fast haha.

anyways, i had a little bit of trouble with closing it... the locking mechanism felt a little "sticky" but once i figured out how to use both sides of the unlock thing, I havent had that issue.

As far as the office goes, they dont mind me carrying it around, and I dont deal with patients (medical records), so that isnt much of an issue. Now if i started coming in with a big fixed knife that the navy seals might use, then I have a problem and by then I should know that i'm really addicted to collecting knives.

I really envy those that have a sebenza, but then I also thought that I wouldnt want to carry a knife i'd be afraid of using... so im really happy with this purchase cause i can see it being a knife that I can use for anything!

thanks again for being so accepting and i'll keep using the search function for all my questions, but dont yell at me if i say or ask something really stupid.

Now i gotta look up how to keep it clean and sharp.... I do like some of the suggestions about knife sharpening - like getting some cheaper knives to practice on.

 

[basb]

Welcome to the boards.
Only one knife? That would be my large sebenza, granted I can bring at least a hatchet and folding saw to the woods. You really don't need a big knife if you have other tools to take care of larger tasks. Heck, a cheap Mora will be plenty knife.
If I can choose one knife for each purpose I'd take the sebenza for edc and the Fällkniven F1 or ESEE-4 for the woods.
All three are wonderful knives.

In the scenario where i'd have no knives and had to buy only one, I'm inclined to go with a Sebenza or the Fällkniven S1.

 

[basb]

Guys, you have been amazing. I feel so accepted in this forum, especially being really new to knives. Last night I just figure out how to open my knife without using two hands or moving my thumb in that circular motion. All i needed to do was push my thumb up! It makes it look like im opening it really fast haha.

anyways, i had a little bit of trouble with closing it... the locking mechanism felt a little "sticky" but once i figured out how to use both sides of the unlock thing, I havent had that issue.

As far as the office goes, they dont mind me carrying it around, and I dont deal with patients (medical records), so that isnt much of an issue. Now if i started coming in with a big fixed knife that the navy seals might use, then I have a problem and by then I should know that i'm really addicted to collecting knives.

I really envy those that have a sebenza, but then I also thought that I wouldnt want to carry a knife i'd be afraid of using... so im really happy with this purchase cause i can see it being a knife that I can use for anything!

thanks again for being so accepting and i'll keep using the search function for all my questions, but dont yell at me if i say or ask something really stupid.

Now i gotta look up how to keep it clean and sharp.... I do like some of the suggestions about knife sharpening - like getting some cheaper knives to practice on.

A spyderco sharpmaker does a good job for a decent price. Add a leather strop with flexcut gold compound and you are set.
If you don't mind getting a convex in the long run, a mousepad with wetordry sandpaper works great for a few bucks.
I prefer leather over a mousepad but that's just me.

 

[Rondel]

If you look for something else for your EDC rotation, a little less "threatening" due to the nature of your job, I'd recommend the Kershaw premium skyline.

Small and sleek, carbon fiber handles make it that much lighter to carry, but the 3" s30v blade is still enough to tackle most any task... It really gives me the feeling of decent sized knife disguised as a much smaller knife...

If I could buy one knife, regardless if cost to EDC, if it meant not being able to carry my other Knives, I wouldn't... If it was to add to my current rotation, it would be a Boyd Winged (bds) Prophet with custom scales and an etched blade...

I have the skyline premium and I do love it, carbon fiber and S30V make all the difference in the worls

 

[ebidis]

A Benchmade Mini Griptillian would be a good choice. If I could only have one though, probably a CRK Sebenza (small or large, depending on personal preference, but I would think a small would be a bit more "office friendly").