What do you use the pen blade for?

sogflash

sogflash

Joined
Aug 28, 2011
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On knives with one large blade and a small pen blade, what to you use the small one for?

Right now I only have one knife with two blades, and I never use the pen blade. I like how it makes the handle wider, but that's it.
 
I use it for striping wires and opening packages . It is also usefull for sharpening pencils .
 
i use mine for the dirtier work that might damage the main blade...keeping the main blade sharp for cutting my fruit at lunch :D
 
Sarah nice job on finding the links here are both my post from the links Sarah provided

I like pen blades, on my peanut I use it when whittling, opening things, trimming fishing line and save the clip for food or gutting fish. I find it to be a good all purpose blade, strong point and some belly, I find on Jacks I use it more than the main blade.

I tend to use my pen blade for most task, like Steve it is the blade I use most for carving, short blade close to what you are working on for control, strong tip and some belly. I use it to sharpen pencils, as a scribe ( unless I have a awl ) cutting string, fishing line, scraping, pretty much what everyone has stated above, but I keep both blades sharp, just a slightly steeper angle to the edge.

In addition I use it as a scraper so the main blade remains sharp, it makes a good general purpose utility blade, I recently picked up a Case Eisenhower cheap to throw in my left pocket, and use basically as a general EDC utility, partly because as a boy I had a Case 6201 that I used for everything and it's pretty small, smaller than a peanut, I still have it and it survived everything I through at it as a kid minus the bail that I lost along the way, and I used it pretty ruff in my youth.

Pete
 
I use it for detail work, like splinters or cuticles. Also handy for mail. The main blade usually gets kept for food or just where I need more reach.
 
I used to wonder the same thing. I read the threads above and tried it out. Basically, it's good for detail work. I find myself using it to trim the seed pods from apples after using the main blade to quarter them. Opening packages, cutting out splinters, whittling a toothpick.... small stuff.

All I need now is a good main blade and a pen, but I like variety too.
 
I own a couple "small pocket knives" and I find that I seldom use them and in most cases go for a slightly larger pocket knife that I can grip nicely in my hand. That said, I've wanted to shift away from my traditional large 110mm SAK as an EDC and go with a large folder and a small SAK. I'm thinking Bantam. But still thinking... Bought a Classic, but that may be too small.

In terms of multi-bladed pocket knives, I tend to use the large blade most of the time and use the small one for delicate tasks. It tends to stay sharp, very sharp. But like I said, I am in the midst of making some changes. I find that I tend to EDC one knife and not rotate very often. The knife that I want to EDC contains two large blades and I will generally use one of those most of the time and the other will be for special tasks.
 
The majority of the old knives I have seen and have, the pen blade has the most wear. Which would indicate to me that they were used far more than the main.
 
I've found pen blades useful for small probing cuts into softer materials, as a fruit-testing knife would be used to cut a cone or core from a melon or similar. The pointier the tip and the narrower the blade, the better.

I don't use any of my blades for cleaning fingernails anymore. If they're 'safe' for doing such things, they're too dull for my liking, and I won't be patient until get 'em sharp and pointy again. :D


David
 
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I purposely dull them and use them for things like seperating my boys' legos and other random things like that where sharp isn't really needed.
 
I use mine the same ways as others have posted, but lately I have been using the pen on my Peanut to remove staples, it leas a little scratch, but its well worth it. It makes it easy to remove the staple when you unfold the bent ends first. Its the blade I miss when I trade my peanut for my large stockman too,
 
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