Little secondary blades- do you use them?

Big Dave

Big Dave

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 18, 1998
Messages
548
Hi fellers,

It's been a while since I was active on the forum. I got heavy into shooting revolvers for the last few years (and raising a family, work...)
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In my absence I have always carried a traditional. I was bummed that I missed out on the Beer Scout. To make ammends I just paid for this one today from Curtis :thumb:
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The Beer Scout seems to have a very useful secondary "blade". I was wondering how much you guys use the smaller secondary blades on the multi blade knives. My primary blades are wharncliffes and they do a number on envelopes (work in an office). I haven't found much of a use for the smaller blades. What do you folks use the small secondary blades for?

Thanks,
Dave
 
I usually put a different edge on a small secondary- usually a more polished edge with a more acute angle. I will use it when opening somthing that requires that extra bit of sharpness:)
 
I like a small secondary for use on tough materials where I need leverage.

Heavy blister pack material comes to mind with the recent holiday past.....I used the smaller blade of my new Ka-Bar dog's head Barlow to cut open a few packages - it gives me more control and, at least in my mind, less chance of accidentally cutting myself -

Nice wheel guns - I like S&W myself, and have a couple.

best

mqqn
 
Yes, I use them. I don't really give it that much thought. I'll often use whichever blade's nail nick is facing me. I suppose if I do think about it I tend to use the smallest blade that meets the particular need. I don't need a pocket knife that often so it usually doesn't make much difference anyway.
 
The pen blade has always been the sharp blade, string, fishing line, surgery on a splinter. That kind of stuff, with the main blade or blades doing everything else.
 
I usually sharpen the secondary blade to a much more obtuse angle and use it for scraping and other nasty stuff.

I'll often "sharpen" it on a buffing wheel thus getting a secondary edge which is essentially a small radius thus toughening the edge further.

I like to keep my main blade nice and sharp.
 
Small blade comes handy when little but precise cut is needed (removing tags from cloth, opening letters or packages). I am undecided whether pen or wharncliffe is the more practical shape for such use. Size of 2" or just under 2" seems to work fine for me.
 
I use the secondary frequently. My favorite is the Coping blade. I use it for opening the mail, packages or any precision cutting. The main blade is for tasks requiring a more sturdy or longer blade.
 
I use the small blade to sharpen my pencils at work. I like my knife for this more than a pencil sharpener, because it gives me a minute to slow down a bit while working.
 
Different blades are useful for different things. Ignoring the secondary blades on a multi-blade knife is a bit like ignoring the right click mouse button on a PC computer... remember those old Mac mice that only had one button (back before gestures)... actually, do you guys remember computers or are all of you using smart phones? ;)

I like having a clip or spear blade main and a sheepfoot secondary. The sheepfoot is great for controlled cuts, especially starting cuts in the middle of something. Usually that blade combination is on a 3-blade knife and the third blade is a spey or pen blade. A pen blade is great for precision work. I don't use a pocket knife for skinning game so I either reshape the spey blade or use it for scraping and other mildly abusive tasks.

 
Generally I prefer a secondary tool/blade like the caplifter on my GEC Beer Scout, or Awl on my Vic Farmer. As for an actual blade, I prefer a sheepsfoot secondary like on my GEC Eureka Jack.
 
I love a coping secondary on something like a spear main that sucks at draw cutting, everything else a pen blade is super useful for packages or just keep lazor sharp for little field surgery kinda stuff.
 
I'm retired and get bored so I tend to do a good deal of whittling so secondary small blades get as much use time as primary, sometimes more.
 
davek14 said:
I usually sharpen the secondary blade to a much more obtuse angle and use it for scraping and other nasty stuff.

I'll often "sharpen" it on a buffing wheel thus getting a secondary edge which is essentially a small radius thus toughening the edge further.

I like to keep my main blade nice and sharp.
Click to expand...

This!

I like to keep my main blade nice and sharp, so my secondary blade is the one with a steeper angle on the edge. Like Dave, I use it for stuff that I know will screw up the slicing edge on the main. On peanuts, this works out great.

Oh, by the way, nice revolver!:thumb up:
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supratentorial said:
Different blades are useful for different things. Ignoring the secondary blades on a multi-blade knife is a bit like ignoring the right click mouse button on a PC computer... remember those old Mac mice that only had one button (back before gestures)... actually, do you guys remember computers or are all of you using smart phones? ;)

I like having a clip or spear blade main and a sheepfoot secondary. The sheepfoot is great for controlled cuts, especially starting cuts in the middle of something. Usually that blade combination is on a 3-blade knife and the third blade is a spey or pen blade. A pen blade is great for precision work. I don't use a pocket knife for skinning game so I either reshape the spey blade or use it for scraping and other mildly abusive tasks.
Click to expand...

This, exactly this. ↑
 
sometimes, i remember as a teenager buying the Victorinox pocketpal cause I was looking for a single blade, and the tiny pen blade was on it. Actually managed to give my index finger a tiny nick because I wasnt careful closing it. Nowadays, if its part of a knife, I may have it removed, for example a gec 15 with a clip and pen that I sent to Glenn. I prefer it much more without the pen blade.
 
On my Marbles "Army Utility"/Scout knife, I use the punch/awl to open the seal under the caps on anti-jell fuel additive, power steering fluid, and so on. the screwdriver/cap lifter for screws and light prying of electrical connector tabs, the can opener for opening cans.
The canoe's pen for trimming fuel receipts so they fit the dang TransFlo scanner, cleaning under the fingernails, opening a can of chew, and so on.
The stockman's sheepsfoot is sometimes used for trimming receipts, opening a can of chew, and for turning an empty liter soda bottle into a funnel.
I use the stockman's spey for cutting the "Sarran Wrap" the shippers use to hold boxes on the pallets, when (a) the loaded pallet is too tall to fit in the door or (b) The shipper has pallets that for one reason or another cannot be stacked, and some of the freight has to be de-palletized to fit on the truck, because more than ten (4 foot x 4 foot) pallets (unstacked) won't fit.
 
Almost never. I have a Buck 301 and the spey and sheepsfoot never see any action. When I carried an SAK Huntsman I never uses the little blade. The SOG Paratool has a serrated sheepsfoot and that gets use for really tough cuts like nylon rope or strapping or fibrous plant stalks. Otherwise, not much.

Zieg
 
I use the little secondary blades, generally a pen or spey more than any other. I keep them as sharp as possible for the minor surgeries I tend to need. For some reason I get a lot of slivers/splinters etc.
 
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