How do you take advantage of multiple blades in one knife?

[number9]

I've carried a pocket knife since Cub Scouts. But for the last few decades most have been modern locking folders with a pocket clip. I have a few traditional pocket knifes that I like carrying, too. Particularly a Canoe and a Barlow.

Do you use the different blades for different jobs? Or use the main blade primarily, then the smaller one until you have time to sharpen?
I'm not doing a lot of whittling or castrating farm animals.

 

[Hatchet_Jack]

Food / not food is my general divide.

 

[black mamba]

My preference for multi-blade knives is to have at least one each of bellied edge and straight edge. I generally use the straight edge for opening mail and cardboard and plastic packaging, plus for precision cuts on a cutting board. The bellied blade is used mostly for food and/or slicing. Favorite patterns are stockman, Wharncliffe trapper and large jacks.

 

[yablanowitz]

Being a whittler, I use different blade shapes for different cuts.

 

[SVTFreak]

My preference for multi-blade knives is to have at least one each of bellied edge and straight edge. I generally use the straight edge for opening mail and cardboard and plastic packaging, plus for precision cuts on a cutting board. The bellied blade is used mostly for food and/or slicing. Favorite patterns are stockman, Wharncliffe trapper and large jacks.

I echo this almost 100%.

 

[ZHoovie]

Do you use the different blades for different jobs? Or use the main blade primarily, then the smaller one until you have time to sharpen?
I'm not doing a lot of whittling or castrating farm animals.

Yes, everything has its purpose & it's niche. The main blade can be focused on the usual work & the secondary blades can be sharpened for other tasks, a rough & fine version perhaps. Others have different points, sizes & curves that can all serve separate purposes.
It all depends on the exact knife model & blade shapes.
I don't do much whittling & haven't had a need to castrate farm animals either but I do enjoy options on various cutting angles.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I use the main blade for general cutting and the secondary blade for packages and various tasks where I only need that short blade.
Especially when that secondary blade is a coping or sheeps foot blade.
Many times though, especially with a pen configuration like my beloved Buck 305's and Case 08's I'll often just use whichever blade is in the right position to be opened when I pull the knife out.
That's one good thing about a pen, with a jack I may need to flip the knife around but with a pen knife there's always a blade with it's nail nick facing your opening thumb.

 

[hornetguy]

I have developed the pattern of using the main blade as a "food" blade. The secondary blade(s) are used for utility tasks... I like having a sowbelly stockman, with its extra blade, but my favorite pattern is the two blade jack... preferrably with the nail nicks on the same side.
The Case Texas Jack is a favorite, mainly because of its heft, but my go-to is a smaller jack like the Bunny knife, or the slightly larger 78...

The Texas jack


the Bunny, then the 78

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Yea, I'm against using a blade for dog, plumbing, or toenail operations and then later cutting food.

I've done it, but I don't like it...

 

[1911bphil]

I carry a Buck 307 large stockman everyday for work. The blades have different purposes for me. I use the large blade for most jobs and the smaller blades I use for food (apples, salami, etc).

 

[guy g]

Looks like I may be the oddball. (Odder than usual)
I have medium stockmans , and a few twin blade patterns. Case small coke bottle, Peanut, Uncle Henry, Western, SAK, etc. They all have one thing in common.. I rarely, if ever use the secondary blades. I like the looks and the feel.

 

[RickHuf]

With the stockman the sheepsfoot is general use, the clip blade is for food and the spey blade is usually to beat on like skinning wire and stuff.

 

[oldmanwilly]

With the stockman the sheepsfoot is general use, the clip blade is for food and the spey blade is usually to beat on like skinning wire and stuff.

I prefer the 3-blade stockman pattern and follow this philosophy, although I do my best to keep the sheepfoot as sharp as possible with a thin bevel so I can count on having at least one dedicated laser beam in my pocket. The clip is for food, game, and general tasks while they spey is kept sharp but used for potentially damaging tasks.

 

[JM2]

I use the different blades for different purposes normally. For a stockman, I use the main blade primarily for daily tasks like opening letters or boxes, or cutting a steak. The sheepsfoot is used for carpentry and things that need precision, like scribing a line on a board, or sharpening a pencil. The spey is used for whittling, and for things that I don't want a sharp point for fear of stabbing myself. I use the large blade the most, because it's the most useful shape and size.