Using knife as prybar/screwdriver?

tommyg805 said:
Does anyone else here use their knife as a screwdriver or a prybar? ... Isn't that the whole point of carrying a knife?
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Yes. As needed. Isn't that the whole point of a "hard use" knife? I prefer to use the right tool for the job, but the tool I have on me is usually a sharp single blade knife. Usually, if it is a screwdriver/prybar job, I know it in advance and bring one with me or get it out of the tool chest at home.

I used the tip of a Benchmade 930 the other day to tighten the battery contacts on my Wave Runner. It fit the slotted screws nicely and did the job with no impact to the blade. Not ideal, but the alternative was a trip home. It IS a better idea to carry a multitool, though, and I keep one and a few tools in a my car. Had my wife's SUV that day, though...
 
Rick Marchand said:
If you want to go the extra mile, you can take a propane torch or use the coil burner on a stove to spring temper the tip. Heat it slowly (the slower the better) until the bare metal turns brownish/blue. It will go yellow first. Don't heat the edge but rather the spine and let it creep up to the edge. Have a bowl of water nearby to quench it when you get there... if it begins to go to bright peacock blue, QUENCH... much past that, it will turn grey and soft. Don't be afraid to quench, nothing will crack at such low temperatures.

Rick
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Good ideas. I had thought of that, but hadn't planned on doing it. As the blade on the 710 feels like it's somewhere around 57-58 HRC, softening it us the was you describe makes a lot of sense. Thanks the the tip!
 
Folderguy said:
Good points, and good perspective.

Actually, I'm thinking that I'll have only a small part of the blade mentioned above be really sharp, perhaps 1/2" at most, probably up near the tip, although I'll have to think about it a bit more. Using a small folding knife for twisting and so on needs to be looked at more carefully.
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I've had a Camillus Electrician's knife since I was an apprentice. My first boss used to use one of these all the time in a pinch. It has a secondary knife/screwdriver blade which can actually be useful but I never bothered sharpening it (It was used and dull when I got it) I figured sharpening it would be asking for trouble.

It was a very popular knife in it's day, I think it is a Camillus TL29?
 
marcinek said:
Wait just a second....for prying....you use a prybar?!?!? :eek: That's crazy talk! Madness!

Next thing you're gonna tell us you use a hammer to drive nails!
free-confused-smileys-327.gif
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No, I use a rock because hammers are expensive and break too easily... Just trying to provide my 0.02 cents. :rolleyes:
 
I am pretty confident that my razel could do some decent prying in a pinch. as for the screwdriver... If i have the razel on me i have a SAK (got to clean gunk out from under your nails somehow).
 
As has been said, they are your knives...do as you wish.

You asked, so I will answer. No, I do not use my knives that way. I have other tools for those jobs and my knives are for cutting.

Nothing to see here....move along....
 
Tony8179 said:
So you risk cutting yourself by prying open your frozen gas cover with a knife rather than taking the whole 60 seconds it would have taken to open your trunk and get a small screwdriver that could have opened it without risk of slicing your hand open? That just sounds like laziness to me my man. Most people only learn a lesson once they cause pain to themselves or another.

In my opinion you should always have a multi tool of some sort in your center console, glove box, ashtray, or somewhere that you can get to it in the car.
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Anyone who cuts himself prying open a gas tank cover should have his drivers licence revoked.

But I really should get around to buying a multi-tool for the glove box. I suppose I will put that on the top of my list.
 
"...Using knife as prybar/screwdriver?..."
- tommyg805

well the whole point about a folding knife or any knife,
lays in it's edge.
i normally would weigh in the risk before going ahead with any abnormal application.
if it's built like a tank, it doesn't mean that it won't break either.
eventually any undue prolong stresses will see to the early demise of what's left in a "sharpened pry bar".
a folding knife may not suffer from a clean break, but it could lead to problems with parts which make up, or is connected to the pivot area.
(one may refer to the cold steel proof videos on such matters)
frankly, i would rather pry with a fixed blade.
bayonets have been used to pry ammo boxes (nailed wooden crates).
knife prying will go on until the unforeseen moment when luck finally runs out; having pushing the limit with severe sense of wonton misjudgment.
think of any breakage as sorta like biting off more than one can possibly chew.
and personally learn how uplifting it is to see that an important job was finally done at the cost of an arm and a leg .
 
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mat_890 said:
Anyone who cuts himself prying open a gas tank cover should have his drivers licence revoked.

But I really should get around to buying a multi-tool for the glove box. I suppose I will put that on the top of my list.
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It's not all that hard to slip and cut yourself, when the conditions are right, dark cold, rainy/snowy nights come to mind first, lets say ya ran outta gas and just walked 2 miles in the freezin' rain to get a can of gas to fill your empty tank, you're wet, cold, maybe a little tired and shaky, possibly stressed out cause you're gonna be late for a flight maybe?

Back then we didn't have cell phones to call for help and I didn't need a knife to open my gas door when I got back but I can tell ya if I did, I'd have had a hard time.

I was cold, tired and wet, my fingers were numb, the road was ice coverd by the time I got back.

I don't think I should've had my licence revoked, although I don't see what one thing has to do with the other.:confused:
 
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mat_890 said:
Anyone who cuts himself prying open a gas tank cover should have his drivers licence revoked.

But I really should get around to buying a multi-tool for the glove box. I suppose I will put that on the top of my list.
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I'm on the other side of the fence. What I was thinking was that anyone who is careless enough to use a sharp and dangerous instrument to pry open their gas cover probably shouldn't be driving a two ton vehicle, especially in cold and icy conditions. If you no regards for your own appendages then how can you have any regard for other drivers on the road?
 
i use my edc knife as a screw driver/ pry bar.... ofcourse its a camillus electrician knife with one of the blades having a tip for that purpose :P
im sure most of you know the one ;)
 
Planterz said:
A knife is a cutting tool. A screwdriver is a tool for driving screws, and a prybar is a tool for prying. Tools like screwdrivers and prybars are made from different steels at lower hardnesses because toughness is a priority. Knives are made from steels that are wear resistant rather than tough, hard rather than soft. Using a knife to do the job of a screwdriver or prybar is inviting damage and breakage.

I'd never play baseball with a golf club, I'd never use a laptop to run a server, I'd never go off-roading in a Ferrari, and I'd never use a knife as a screwdriver or prybar.

As said above, a SAK or multi-tool should handle whatever task a knife shouldn't. My Cybertool 29 can pry with the caplifter/flathead and has several screwdrivers.

However, if you insist on mis-using/abusing a Kershaw, Spyderco, or Benchmade, I thank you for your support of American companies by breaking their products and re-buying them.
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+1, couldnt have put it better myself. I say pry and screw away and then buy new knifes! there is no shortage of knife and our economy could really use the boost. It's like when I saw JayZ and his ghetto buddy strip apart and mutilate a brand new maybach mercedes for their music video. Its their money and even though that particular car isnt made in america, they did spend their own money and at least some of it went back into our economy thru taxes. Anything to get the rich to spend their money instead of squirling it away is great for all of us!
 
I don't ever use my knives for prying or as a screwdriver. I carry a Leatherman ST300 for all the really nasty stuff that I may come across, I don't care what happens to that tool because it is a real workhorse and much cheaper than my EDC.....but my knife is a cutting tool, period.
 
Maybe the OP got a point anyway. Many of us buy expensive folders just to flick them open in front of the pc/tv over and over again. Our §100+ knives never, ever get used, just admired and sharpend to a hair popping/splitting stage that every other knifenut will admire. But maybe we should start to use our knives as tools. Cut, pry, stab, slice what ever you want. No silly abuse but put it in hard labour. Don´t think twice, use it and fix it or use it or leave it for another one if it´s really broke (we got plenty). After all, a knife is just another tool in your toolbox. Or is it?
 
of course u can use a tool for something that it is meant to be use. but if u snap ur blade, don't complain about it, because u know better. the only time i will pry with a knife is when i have no other options. if thats the case, u will do watever u can to save ur life and breaking ur knife is prob the least of ur worries. otherwise, i would use my multitool.
 
Don't pry with fine edges...bad things are sure to happen. If you have to pry with a knife (for whatever reason), use a stout one and don't forget to don a glove during the exercise. Breaking a sharp edge under pressure can have some amazingly BAD consequences. As I've chimed in a million times...yes, preaching to the choir...use the right tool for the right job. Common sense rules here, just use the brain. The problem is, some folks have impaired processing skills.
 
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