Quality knife with bottle opener?

[trevitrace]

Michael Morris friction folder.

 

[pinnah]

Is there something wrong with the DPx HEST that people are trying to talk me out of it. Or is it because you don't want a knife with a bottle opener I shouldn't either? And that is a real question I am curious why there is so much talk against it.

If the HEST strikes your fancy, get it. You don't need people on forums to make you feel good or bad about your purchase.

While I can't speak for the others, I suspect one reason why some of us balk at this type of knife is a) there are so few knives with integrated tools and b) our taste in knives tend to shift. As a result, committing to a single combination knife/tool means sticking with that single choice, which is constraining.

My solution for a very long time was to carry a Leatherman Micra on my key ring. That allowed me to carry any knife I wanted while having access to the tools I wanted. A buddy at work encouraged me to carry the Micra in my LFP, opposite my knife. I *HATED* that suggestion because, frankly, I thought that knife freaks who carried more than one knife were creepy. Seriously. I still do.

One day I was a wedding in Vermont. I was carrying a nice Buck 500 and was grabbing a beer from the wheelbarrow full of beer and ice (we're talking Vermont, here) and somebody had run off with the bottle opener. Like you, I didn't want to scratch my 500, which is a nice looking knife. So, I schlepped my way back through the house, found my pack, dug out my keys, took the Micra off the key ring, opened the beer and put the Micra in my LFP, where it has ridden ever since.

I've told that story a bunch of times here because it was a pivotal day in terms of my relationship to knives and tools. In the many years that have followed, the Micra has become a constant companion and something I rely on literally every day. I use the screwdriver, bottle opener and biggest of all, the excellent scissors all the time. All the time.

Some additional benefits I find from this approach... The Micra's small pen blade makes a decent whittler with the Micra opened up full length. There are tasks where the pen blade is better and whittling is one of them. The Micra is my expendable loaner for all of those "Can I borrow your knife" requests. And with the tool issue solved, I'm free to swap EDC knife of the day based more on whim.

Usually I carry this.

EDC Pair by Pinnah, on Flickr


Today, I'm carrying this.

image by Pinnah, on Flickr

I've found that the lanyard really helps with pocket carry for the Micra. Helps minimize pocket ejects and makes it easier to dig out of the pocket.

None of this is an attempt to talk you out of the HEST. It really isn't. I'm really just trying to answer your question. Let me try to put it another way... Personally, I wouldn't buy the HEST because it has a bottle opener. My Micra covers that. I would buy the HEST if and only if I liked the HEST as a knife. With the Micra in my off pocket, I have the luxury of picking the knife I like best and changing that choice depending on the situation or whim.

 

[Shao]

Are you guys scared to scratch your knife or what ? I can open a beer bottle with ANY knife , I don't get the problem


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HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS !

I use a cigarette lighter, car key... heck.. anything rigid enough that will provide some leverage. They're so easy to open, I don't see the point of carrying a tool for it.