Why do you carry multiple knives?

[PointedlySharp]

For those who routinely (or even occasionally) carry multiple knives, what are your primary reasons? Is your second knife a backup in case your primary is lost or fails or do you carry a second knife (or more) for specific tasks?

Personally, I usually carry a multitool (typically a Leatherman Skeletool), which is also my package opener (which keeps tape off my nicer blades) and a pocket fixed blade of some variety. I'll probably have a small SAK somewhere too, just for a little extra insurance.

 

[coolbreezy37]

I carry a SwampRat Ratmandu. One of the toughest knives for its size and ultra comfortable to use. Does not excel in the finer tasks department, so I also carry a Buck 110 slim in lieu of that.

 

[TheFactor]

I love Wearing carpenter pants with them having extra pockets for more knives
If I have an empty pocket a knife goes in it and it’s something I’ve always done. I don’t think you can ever have too many knives on your person within reason of course. And if I did I’d rather have to many then not enough lol.
If ever I forget and have a empty when I’m out I think what a waste

 

[GCG199]

I carry three knives at work:

A small Swiss Army, mainly for the can opener for using at lunch.

A plain edge wharncliffe or drop or clip point, mainly for opening food wrappers and bags.

A Spyderco Endura 4 or Rescue 3, mainly for rough cutting materials, such as cardboard. Also for scrapping tape off of metal rods used for holding small tubes for polishing.

 

[irsh]

I wonder this as well. Seems like overkill to me but I'm interested to know if I'm missing out.

 

[Blues]

I don't anymore...but did when I was still working. A folder and a neck knife. That combo supported most of what I would encounter during the course of my day.

 

[slim tissue]

Slicey & Pokey

 

[J. Doyle]

Because I have multiple pockets......and multiple hands.

 

[Carl_Havoc]

Folder, small fixed blade, multitool. The folder and the fixed blade change but the multitool has been the A.S.K. for the last year.

 

[jc57]

SAK and "something else". Really depends on what I have planned. For just general daily carry so I have a pocket knife just in case, with no particular use cases in mind, it's usually a thin Victorinox Alox Cadet and some medium-sized slipjoint - Case or GEC jack or stockman. If I have specific work I'll be doing that needs something bigger, then I'll add in a Griptilian or ZT folder, either in addition to the other two, or in lieu of the slipjoint.

SAK is a constant though.

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

First and foremost, it's because I like knives. I collect them, make them, use them.

But if I were to try to logically justify it further, I would say that I have pocket knives I carry that I expect to use strictly as cutting tools, and I have knives that I carry specifically to abuse when I know a knife isn't the EXACT right tool for the job, but my Leatherman Rebar just doesn't have that right tool, either.

 

[Kettleman]

When I carry my Zaan at work I also carry my Mnandi because for some reason that harpoon blade on the Zaan scares the office girls and other sheep.
They don’t seem as disturbed by the Insingo inkosi however but most days the Mnandi still rides along.

 

[Skar]

I usually carry 1, sometimes I put a salt knife on me in case I go swimming or water sports arise.

 

[Keyopp]

Normally a folding knife and a SAK. The knife for its blade and the SAK for everything except its blade.

 

[JC972]

I carry a jumbo stockman and a folder. The folder is usually either a beat up 3-dot Buck 110 that looks like it went through the Gulf War tied to the tracks of an army tank OR a recently re-bladed 551 Griptillian. I reserve the stockman for finer cutting tasks and use the folder for the heavier stuff and I baby the Benchmade much more than the Buck. I like to keep one knife with that thumbprint-grabby sharp edge(s) and use the other for anything and everything. If I had to cut a truck mudflap or use one for something that’ll most likely badly damage or flat ruin the knife, I have a Leatherman Wingman(?) and an el cheapo fixed blade in the road tractor. I have cut muddy grimy mud flaps with the fixed blade and it held its edge surprisingly well. I don’t use any knife as a screwdriver or anything like that though, even the cheap ones. I keep a good supply of tools in the house, the two cars, the pickup, and my Peterbilt. One specific reason I keep a very sharp knife on me is that I see at least one if not multiple wrecks each week driving the amount of miles that I do, and I want to have the ability to slice seatbelts should the need arise. That way I can have a user on me and a not used as much and still very sharp knife on me as well.

 

[pholder]

Some things don’t need explaining

 

[rileycoyote]

Why not?

 

[ms3902]

I usually care a "big" and "little" knife. The big knife is usually some type of locking pocket clip knife that gets used for the harder jobs like cardboard and tape. Then the small knife is usually some type of slip joint that gets used when around my coworkers, more often than not the slip joint gets used for cutting my sandwich, or left overs, at lunch. I've done it this way for so long that when I leave the house with only one knife it feels like I left something important behind.

 

[carnifex knifeworks]

I like having two blades.
One handles dirty/rough jobs, while the other is used for clean work or jobs that need a keen edge that hasn't been affected by impact forces. Maybe like batoning wood and chopping tree roots with one and cutting up some summer sausage with the other.

 

[Locutus D'Borg]

I don't like a single point of failure. So basically, the 2nd knife is a back-up, and usually a Damascus one (like a Mnandi or William Henry) that I like to admire when at the doctor's or dentist (yeah, I'm that guy) or sitting near the beach.