Which of my knives should I not carry on me?

V

VallesRobertsonII

Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Messages
35
Hello, I am new to the forums, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. I currently have 7 blades that are either on me (5 or 6) or close by (1 or 2) and although I have the various knives I do for specific reasons (I will explain) I am unsure if I am carrying too many. Also, because they all make sense for me to carry, I figure it makes more sense for me to ask you all which ones I shouldn't carry (and why) rather than which ones I should; however, if you prefer answering in the positive rather than the negative, it won't bother me. So here goes. I have an 8in custom bowie with the back half of its spine being saw teeth, and the bottom 3in of the blade closer to my hand (sorry I don't know the terminology for that location) is a scandi grind: this is my main 'survival knife' (it is on my belt in its sheath unless I am somewhere that is not ok and then it is in my car). I have a Condor Bushlore in my left inside jacket pocket: this is my bushcraft primary knife. I have a Kabar Mule (Tanto, half serrated) clipped inside my right pants front pocket (I would call it my secondary 'survival knife'). I have a Condor Otzi neck knife around my neck, under my shirt (its a small blade utility knife). I have a John Deere multitool in my right inside jacket pocket. I have an 'Omniblade' in my backpack which is a kukri/saw/hatchet combination. And lastly, I have a Boker Magnum Rustic lockback pocket knife loose in my left pants front pocket (this is the one I usually let others use when they ask if someone has a knife). In a lot of ways this doesn't feel like a lot to me, and its not uncomfortable, but also, I do sometimes think it is excessive... what are the thoughts of you who are reading this?
 
Welcome to Bladeforums.

I'd say you are the only one in a position to determine what knives you need, or might need on any given day, or for any given reason. Or if you are carrying too many.

As long as the knives you are carrying do not pose a hindrance to you, and as long as there aren't going to be any negative repercussions for carrying them, then hey, do your thing.

Lots of people (including on this forum) carry more knives than they really need in the course of their day. Nothing wrong with that. All part of being a "knife enthusiast" I'd say. ;)
 
You can never have too many knives, but I generally only carry one at a time. Lately that's been a Gayle Bradley 2.
 
Only you can answer if you’re carrying too many. Do you use them all or are they just weighing you down?
 
Lee D said:
Only you can answer if you’re carrying too many. Do you use them all or are they just weighing you down?
Click to expand...
They don’t weigh me down, and I do use them all... I could use some more and not have others but I do use the ones I have with a preference for them over my others for what I use them for ... I guess that’s part of my wondering, I don’t need them all, but I do like each specifically for how I use them, even if I could do the same with a few less blades
 
Welcome.
As others have said, too many or not enough is up to you and your needs.

For me, I tend to carry what i need for a particular outing. Most days, a multitool will cover 100% of my needs. Still, I usually carry a small pocket fixed blade or dedicated folder/out the front automatic because I like having options.

What I have found is that as I get older, I can make due with less. And I do mean older and not old ;) I'm a pretty brawny 40 year old guy, but all the hassle of carrying everything that I might maybe could possibly what-if need just got to be too much.

I just toss in a 3.75" blade fixed blade in my pocket. It will cut anything I need it to most days, and if I were to land in parts unknown I would have a very practical knife. Life isn't all about chopping, and that's coming from a khukuri guy ;)

Like I said, I'm probably better derived with the multitool if I REALLY needed to think outside the box.

At the end of the day, you do you :) carry zero knives, carry 50. Whatever makes sense to you is the right answer.
 
VallesRobertsonII said:
Hello, I am new to the forums, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. I currently have 7 blades that are either on me (5 or 6) or close by (1 or 2) and although I have the various knives I do for specific reasons (I will explain) I am unsure if I am carrying too many. Also, because they all make sense for me to carry, I figure it makes more sense for me to ask you all which ones I shouldn't carry (and why) rather than which ones I should; however, if you prefer answering in the positive rather than the negative, it won't bother me. So here goes. I have an 8in custom bowie with the back half of its spine being saw teeth, and the bottom 3in of the blade closer to my hand (sorry I don't know the terminology for that location) is a scandi grind: this is my main 'survival knife' (it is on my belt in its sheath unless I am somewhere that is not ok and then it is in my car). I have a Condor Bushlore in my left inside jacket pocket: this is my bushcraft primary knife. I have a Kabar Mule (Tanto, half serrated) clipped inside my right pants front pocket (I would call it my secondary 'survival knife'). I have a Condor Otzi neck knife around my neck, under my shirt (its a small blade utility knife). I have a John Deere multitool in my right inside jacket pocket. I have an 'Omniblade' in my backpack which is a kukri/saw/hatchet combination. And lastly, I have a Boker Magnum Rustic lockback pocket knife loose in my left pants front pocket (this is the one I usually let others use when they ask if someone has a knife). In a lot of ways this doesn't feel like a lot to me, and its not uncomfortable, but also, I do sometimes think it is excessive... what are the thoughts of you who are reading this?
Click to expand...
Yes, it's excessive. Let me try to word this delicately. In my experience, when I have encountered someone that carries too many of something, be it knives, firearms, lighters, etc., they are often paranoid and/or a little more mentally unstable and unpredictable than I'm comfortable with. I'm not saying that's the case here, I'm just saying that's what I've seen before. So remember that might be the first impression that someone has of you, which can lead to awkward or tense situations. What do you do for a living that you need to carry that many knives?
 
unwisefool said:
Yes, it's excessive. Let me try to word this delicately. In my experience, when I have encountered someone that carries too many of something, be it knives, firearms, lighters, etc., they are often paranoid and/or a little more mentally unstable and unpredictable than I'm comfortable with. I'm not saying that's the case here, I'm just saying that's what I've seen before. So remember that might be the first impression that someone has of you, which can lead to awkward or tense situations. What do you do for a living that you need to carry that many knives?
Click to expand...
Or god forbid you get pulled over or stopped by LEO......
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top