The practicality of multiple blades

I almost always have a folder on me in my pants pocket.

In the winter, I may have a second folder in my coat.

I have an extra folder that I keep in my laptop bag, in case I ever forget my blade.

I have a folder I leave at work in my desk.

And lastly, I leave a decent sized folder in the glove box of my car. My wife has the car 99% of the time. Having a blade in the glove box is the closest I will ever get to having her carry a knife. Much of her commute is on roads that have fairly deep ditches so she likes the idea of having a blade that can cut through a seatbelt if need be.
 
MAKnifenut said:
Hey guys, so right now im studying for my psych midterm (reading the news and texting with my notes infront of me) and i came across this story of a 72 year old hunter who was lost for 2 and a half weeks in the woods. He had hit his head and the only thing he had with him when he woke up hours later was his rifle. He had had a knife on him along with a lighter but lost it in his fall. People always give me crap for carrying multiple knives in different locations on my body but i feel that this is proof that it is a perfectly good idea. What are your thoughts on ddc redundancy especially with your most important tool, your knife.
Phil
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Classic lol...I do the same thing. It's when an exam comes around when I feel the desire to clean my room, do laundry, and ANYTHING that doesn't involve studying.

Good luck on your exams.

Oh, and I usually have a knife on my belt and one in my bag.
 
Blades said:
So what happens when you hit your head and wake up naked? :)
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The party may be already over if you're female. Time to call 911.

I carry two knives with me most of the time and if you count the small SAK on my key chain, then there are three. I typically use a large 111mm SAK the most and have that in my pocket every day. The other knife is a large slip joint that I am trying to depend on and work it into my psyche as something I want to use over the SAK. But in general, one knife is enough around town. Keep a spare in your car or office desk or whatever if it bothers you to be knifeless for a portion of a day if you lost your primary.

In the woods, I will always have two and one is likely to be a fixed blade of some kind. I still use the folder (SAK) the most since that is my habit, but the fixed blade is there if I need something stronger.

The story about the 79 yr old man surviving in the woods is interesting. I haven't seen anything new on that story and don't know how he hit his head. I don't believe he was ever naked. That was the woman in the Big Bend area state park which is kind of screwey to me.
 
Spyderco mule on my hip folder in my pocket. In my backpack I have a LM and another fixed. I like knives :D
 
one only for me. no need for more unless you use your knives extremely hard and need spare sharp/clean ones.

generally have one in my car or seat bag on my bike. usually just in case I forget to put one in my pocket.
 
If the justification for "practicality" is that you might hit your head in the woods and lose a knife, it is extremely implausibly impractical. Honestly stuff like that so rarely happens that you are far more likely to be harmed in some way by the extra knife than helped in that specific realm of practicality. That being said, there are practical reasons to carry more than one knife. If you favor large folders, it may benefit you in social situations to have access to something a little more traditional and less intimidating. I EDC my XM-18 in my back pocket (I think it must be a regional thing, but I grew up doing it and most guys around here carry back pocket), but I've been known to throw a traditional in my front pocket. It isn't necessarily practical in life saving terms, but it has come in handy for situations that maybe I wouldn't be as appropriate to use a large modern folder. Of course, in those situations I could have just opted for that traditional, but I'm not leaving home without my big toys unless I have to :D.
 
well first off i always have my hawkbill ladybug on my keys (clipped to a belt loop) so I really don't even think of that as carrying a knife, furthermore I don't have to worrie about loosing it either cause its attached. Usually I'll be carrying a ~3" folder in my front pocket and a >3.5" folder in my back pocket and if I'm going out I'll either grab another larger folding knife for my other back pocket or a mid size fixed blade on my belt.

If I'm going somewhere around alot of people, a restaurant or family type gathering I'll still carry 3 or 4 knives but I'll downsize them some, usually a spyderco dragonfly in my front pocket (my main use EDC), a ~3" folder in my back and a Vic Electrician or Pioneer in my front left pocket (and as always my LB on my keys). In that scenario the dragonfly gets the most use followed by the Vic.

I never go anywhere with under 3 knives, even around the house in pajama pants or runnig in jogging shorts, unless I'm actually going to bed I'll almost always have my ladybug on my keys clipped to me and my dragonfly in my pocket, I did at one point but I don't think I could make it threw the day without a minimum 2 blades.

Another point that fits the story- when I'm going outdoors hunting or hiking or whatever else I don't carry anything loose in my pockets, everything either gets clipped to me or my bag/gear or gets a lanyard attached to a NLB carabeaner.
 
The caving guys carry thread lights into a cave: One main headlamp, one backup headlamp, and a flashlight, because if you lose light when you're deep in a cave, you slowly starve to death.

I don't think most of us in an urban situation will slowly starve to death without a knife, so it makes sense to carry only one.
Some people miight slowly starve to death while trying to decide which one to carry, in which case it makes sense to carry more than one, though. Sometimes I carry two for that reason.

Toshi
 
bmilla35 said:
Classic lol...I do the same thing. It's when an exam comes around when I feel the desire to clean my room, do laundry, and ANYTHING that doesn't involve studying.

Good luck on your exams.

Oh, and I usually have a knife on my belt and one in my bag.
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Thanks man, alot of studying to do and it starts in 3 hours lol. Right now i just want to drive home and break out the whetstone lol
 
I carry 3 on duty (firefighter). Triage in my uniform pants, use for daily tasks and EMS calls. Spyderco Assist in my bunker pants, and Gerber Hinderer Rescue on my radio strap. I carry 2 in my gear in case i get caught up in something and can't reach one. But when I am off duty I only carry one.
 
People have asked me the same thing. Do you really need more then one knife? No, but it's better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it. Two is one, one is none.Today I will be going to school with my Ritter Grip, Leatherman Wave, SAK Classic, and an Endura 4 in my backpack. I also have a Leatherman Blast and a Rat 1 in the truck.
 
Lately in my normal EDC I have three knives with me. A modern one handed folder clipped to my right pocket, a traditional slippy in my back pocket next to my wallet, and a swiss army knife on a carabiner with my keys clipped to a belt loop. Hopefully between those three one would manage to stay on in case of a fall.

If Im out in the woods I usually go one hand folder on the pocket, fixed blade in a bag, and a leatherman wave in my other pocket.
 
powernoodle said:
It doesn't hurt to carry multiple knives, but the odds of any of us truly needing them are almost zero. I think we do it because it makes us feel good, and that's a plenty good reason. But why not two flashlights? Three cell phones? Have a cardiologist and a criminal defense lawyer on retainer? We can go bonkers contemplating life's "what ifs". So lets carry more than one knife if we want (I have a large Espada, Victorinox Classic SD, and a Leatherman PS4 on me), but will any of us really need more than one knife? I say probably not. If you are a wilderness guy or going out on a hunting trip, the potential need goes up. But even then you won't be desperate for a secondary or tertiary knife except under the most extreme, life-threatening circumstances which are highly unlikely to occur. Just my take. Rock on.
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I am guilty of carrying multiple cell phones. It's my nonnegotiable redundant EDC item. That phone call at a critical moment could be the difference between life and death, or could make a minor situation much more manageable.

There is some overlap in the knives department too since I carry a SAK on the keychain for the scissors and a folder of some sort in my pocket. I guess in the lights department there is also overlap because my phones have lights built in.
 
This is interesting, I have been talking to friends and such lately about the fact that most of them dont even carry even one blade, now here is a thread extolling the virtues of carrying multiple blades...... people are funny.
I cant go anywhere without at least one knife and usually have 2: a 3" or larger folder or fixed and my leatherman micra on my person. If i have a bag there is at least on more in there: a full sized leatherman and probably a folder if there is a fixed on my belt or vice versa. If i am in my car there is at least 3 more blades in there including a hatchet or my wifes car there may be one or two floating around. I have a serious condition when it comes to knives, i dont feel right unless i have at least 1 "on me". Most times if i am sick and wandering around the house from resting spot to resting spot i still have a blade with me clutched in my hand or some such.
All that being said, and maybe i just seek out opportunities, but i use my knives everyday and more than a few times a day......
 
I carry more than one knife because I can and because I like knives.

Also, I have never really gotten the silly big knife versus small knife, best all around knife, if you could only have one, type debates. The fact is I am not required to only have one, ever, and I don't. I usually carry a large one and a small one. How large and how small is dictated by what I am doing that day, say shopping with the wife versus fishing versus hunting.
 
Great responses above. Count me as another vote for "two is one". In my world, redundancy becomes your friend just when you thought you wouldn't need it.
It's helpful if your backup is lightweight and not bulky. For backup flashlights I have a Fenix LoD with several different lumen settings, about the size of an AA battery. My normal night time/hiking 'flashlight' is a Black Diamond Storm 100L headlamp. I carry a black Vic Champ SAK as my EDC pocket knife and that covers a lot of options. Not having a light after dark is a much bigger/more likely problem than not having a knife when I want one. But still.
If I grab my daypack from the car trunk to go day hiking, it has its own 2nd backup SAK in it along with the water, protein bars, lighter etc. It's hard to really 'need a knife' in a semi-suburban <10,000 acre park, but it feels good to have one. When I'm going camping I bring a 7' fixed blade KaBar USMC or an Ontario SP1 plus my SAK/s. If going kayaking or boating where rope or fishing line might be involved I might add something serrated. I'm leaning toward getting a Vic Fireman with that in mind. And a lanyard on your SAK is a very good way to not have to break out your backup knife.

That female reporter in Big Bend must have had a long error chain. Taking off her clothes might have been heat stroke, dehydration dementia, who knows. Took 100 volunteers and some helicopters to undo she and her reporter husband's poor planning for that tough terrain. From reports I've read they did everything wrong and made every possible decision chain mistake possible at every step, but we'll never know. I've gotten totally disoriented in wild, totally unpopulated country but never yet had to be helicoptered out naked. So I guess I should put that one on my Bucket List.
 
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MAKnifenut said:
especially with your most important tool, your knife.
Phil
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A knife isn't your most important tool and if it's the story I think it is, he made it without one. ;) If you're relying on a knife to get you through, you've already made several mistakes.
 
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