Pen blades- am I the only one??

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

I have really no use for pen blades. I don't get it, other than they are too general. I like multi bladed slipjoints, don't mind a strong spear master, but never seem to use my pen blades. I would much rather have specific blades- straight coping/wharncliffe, lots of belly on a short Spey, concavity in a hook blade/pruner. I guess my thought is why have a general use blade on a knife with blades of specific configurations or purposes- seems redundant to me.

It won't stop me from buying a knife, but I have to admit a guilty pleasure when I pick up a stockman for sale and see a well used Spey and Clip, but a pristine pen blade, like I found last year. Made me feel affinity for somebody possibly not with us any more.

Just wondering if anybody else ignores the pen blade, and those that use it- what does it offer you that say a similar sized clip blade wouldn't. No right or wrong, I just would like to understand further what I don't. (next is same sized blades on a knife!!)

 

[Railsplitter]

Interesting topic. I can't say that I dislike pen blades. I do like them but now that you mentioned it, I don't use a pen blade much. Most, but not all, of my EDC knives don't have a pen blade.

I am probably the minority here but one problem that I have with pen blades is that there is so little steel between the spine and the edge. My problem lies in opening the blade, not in using it. I like to get a blade started with the nail nick and then grab the blade between my thumb and index finger to open it the rest of the way. There is barely enough room to do that on most pen blades.

 

[richstag]

If the above is a pen blade, then no I actually like them a lot

I use it the most actually when I carry my Henckels MOP whittler.

 

[Core Knife Co.]

I REALLY like a nice pen blade on a knife. Too bad I don't own a knife currently that has one.

When I did, I would keep it a little less sharp that I would any other blade and use it to get grit from the shop out from my finger nails mostly. I just found it really useful for smaller tasks, splinters, etc.

 

[bobusx]

I like em as a backup edge, especially in knives like my SBJ that have non clip main blades. It doesn't seem quite as useful on my Peanut, since it has a Clip main blade. It is a good utility blade on the SBJ precisely because it is not specialized like the main blade. I really like them on my Jack/barlow patterns.

 

[quattromori]

Interesting point...and I'm not sure I will be able to give a decent answer
Only recently I have taken my first steps into multiblades knives, but I've been using SAK's (and their secondary pen blade) for a pretty long time.
I grew up using single bladed knives, so the use of a secondary blade is something I had to get used to.
Personally, I use the secondary blade for small trivial tasks, or when I prefer to handle a smaller blade (like when other people are waving their hands around me...happens at work sometimes). For those tasks, I don't really care if the blade is a pen, a small clip or a wharncliffe, since there would basically be no difference in use, as long as it has an edge and it's vaguely pointy. Maybe, if I could choose, I would pick a straight edge blade (wharncliffe/sheepsfoot) as small secondary blade, but that's no big deal.
The truth is, for some reason (I have no idea why), most traditionals offer a pen as smaller blade...so that's not really a choice, it's just the way it is. Otherwise, the secondary blade is more or less the same size of the main blade (like in a Trapper, Muskrat, and so on). And even knives with three or four blade seem to always offer a pen as "smallest option". I find the idea of having a "big" and a "small" blade a good thing, so that ends pushing me towards knives with a pen blade, but it's not that I love them.
Sidenote: I just opened the pen blade on my Canoe and realized I open it exactly as Rick described above

Fausto

 

[jackknife]

I love the pen blade.

I use the one on my peanut darn near everyday. It has a little thinker point than the clip blade, nd I use it for general cutting. Twine, cardboard, sharpening the golf pencil I keep in my pocket for writing notes, plastic blister packaging. Especially the plastic blister packaging. The shorter blade gives me more control and not cut myself. I keep it little less sharp than the clip, which is very thin at the tip. My other most used knife, the little Vic classic on my key rig is a small pen blade.

I find the small pen blade a lot like a .22. Not perfect, but can be pressed into service for a wide range of things, and get it done.

Carl.

 

[Peter Parker]

I find the little pen blade a useful little blade. The pen blade cuts great for little delicate jobs, and for best example on a real thin one like on my #85 doesn't to do bad as a punch blade....

 

[mdsmith]

I don't mind them being there, but I almost never use them. I guess I could see it being used as a "dirty work" blade, for scraping and such. I'd much rather have a sheeps foot blade as a secondary.

 

[bladeblabber]

a pen blade is a great addition to a knife IMO. I dont use mine nearly as much as my main clip blade but it comes in handy when opening up thick plastic packaging, when whittling on a stick and many many more!

 

[Bastid]

I really use the ones on my knives more often than the larger blades. Like Carl, I have found that nothing I have encountered can zip through a stiff plastic blister pack faster or with more safety than a sharp pen blade.

 

[popedandy]

Just wondering if anybody else ignores the pen blade,QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure you are probably the only person on the planet, if not in the universe. There will be other folks who say they don't use them, but they will just be trying to make you feel better

A pen blade isn't essential for me, but when the knife I am carrying has one, I use it for opening blister packs and envelopes, trimming my fingernails, and that sort of stuff.

 

[OzarkCreekWalker]

A wharncliffe pen blade would be 1000000x better than the "standard" pen blades in my opinion
I don't use them much, but i'd probably rather have one than a spey blade

 

[Stelth]

Pen blades are down my list a ways but I don't hate them. I do hate when a stockman has a pen blade in place of the spey blade, though.

 

[johnny twoshoes]

I like a pen blade.
I had a peanut that I used the pen on almost exclusively, I don't know why, but it just worked well.
Generally I just sharpen the pen blade till it is extremely sharp and I save it for the meaningful cuts, or the delicate work.

 

[Nixelplix]

I use the pen blades on my knives all the time!

A wharncliffe pen blade would be 1000000x better than the "standard" pen blades in my opinion
I don't use them much, but i'd probably rather have one than a spey blade

You'd like the pen blade on Case's tuxedo knife then. It's not quite a wharncliffe, but it is close, and I find it to be a very useful profile!

Here's mine:

 

[brandonc]

I really like case pen blades on jack knives, because they are a compromise between a sheepsfoot and spearpoint. I use the master blade for most work, and then I always have a razor sharp pen knife if I need it.

 

[markpmc]

I don't avoid pen blades, but the stockman's that I carry daily have the usual clip,sheepfoot,spey configuration. I did just pickup a dogleg jack w/ a clip,pen config. I plan to carry it all next week when out of town. I suspect that I'll use the clip quite a bit.

 

[oldrifleman]

I am of the pen blade fans. I find I use the pen oe small blade most of the time, in fact the clip is normally a backup . Steven

 

[Javelin]

Huh, now that you mention it I rarely ever use my pen blades. I love a good spear point but the pen blade, if present, is just my sharp edge if I lack a spey blade. On my boy scout knife it serves just that purpose, while i keep a slightly thicker general-use edge on the main blade. Usually the main blade is sharp enough to cover almost all tasks thus mine only comes out to be stropped now and then.