We need pocket knife kits

[mklotz]

Why doesn't someone market a kit that would allow you to assemble a pocket knife with a selection of blades useful to your life style?

I have numerous Swiss Army knives. They're beautifully constructed, nicely finished and strong. But I have yet to encounter an unopened bottle of wine in the wilderness so the corkscrew is just extra weight*. I have a fish scaler in my fishing tackle box but I have yet to need one while fixing the plug on the shop vac. That little hook - I'm told it's to be used to hang your shopping string bag so the knife provides a comfortable handle. Come on, give me a break! Even the can opener is a bit puzzling. Is the bottle of wine lying on the trail next to an unopened tin of pâté de foie gras? Ask yourself, when was the last time you opened a tin can outside of the kitchen (where, presumably, a can opener resides) using one of these WWII openers? One of my watch pocket version knives has a cuticle pusher and another has a specialized fruit peeler. Have you ever felt the need to peel your fruit with anything other than the long blade on the knife? The one with the cuticle pusher has a seam ripper too. I can't tell you how often I've felt the need to renovate my clothing while out for a walk.

None of these knives have a 1/4" socket capable of accepting the myriad fastener driver bits (slot, Phillips, Pozidrive, Torx, Robertson...) available today or slots in the scales to accept the bits the buyer uses more frequently.

I know no company is going to supply the perfect knife that exactly matches my needs. OTOH, that's probably true of lots of folks. The obvious solution is to market a knife skeleton and a variety of blades that can be easily fitted into that skeleton by the user sufficiently talented enough to operate say an Allen wrench.

Yet no one, at least to my knowledge, does this. It's a market niche that's dying to be filled.

[Leatherman tools come closer to what I want but there are still problems. My expensive Wave model has a WWII can opener and an eyeglass screwdriver. It has a socket to take flat, proprietary driver bits; the commonly available ones won't fit. Oh, and it's way too heavy to carry in one's pocket; a belt pouch is essential. It does have a metal file though, which most of the Swiss knives lack.]


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* The Fieldmaster...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

which I recently bought has replaced the corkscrew with a far more useful Phillips screwdriver but the hook is still there.

[Frank S]

I carried a TL 29 lineman's knife for years about all I really needed at the time then someone gave me a Leatherman when they first came out nive handy tool but like you say some less than useful tools on it I've only owned 1 swiss army knife but that must have been 40 years ago I wasn't all that impressed with the blade quality and for the rest of the gadget tools in it I could have done without many of them. The leatherman as I recall didn't last all that long maybe the newer ones are better I know the last one I looked at had many different tools than what I remembered my first one having. I have carried this Kershaw every day since sometime in 88 it was given to me well it cost me a copper penny by a man I had known since I was a teenager the bone handles finally gave up the ghost about 15 years ago

Additionally I carry these 2 items in my pockets the Gerber Stratta which I like as well or better than any Leatherman I ever owned but it even has a coulple items I don't recall ever using I have used the can opener a few times though and it does real good the saw blade is not made for cutting steel but will hack off a good sized branch fairly quickly I've used the scissors for cutting gaskets and for cutting brass shims the Philips head needs replacing though and I somehow lost the screws that held the carbide cutters after I messed up and shattered them trying to cut a piece of stainless wire

the other little folding box cutter I picked up at tractor supply a while back I find that I use it more than either of the other 2 except for the pliers on the Gerber
I don't care to have one of those million change bit tools in my pocket because then I would want to carry the million different bits and sockets that fit them.

[Jon]

This is an incredible idea. Even if you're not so well positioned on the cutting edge of DIY culture and tools, it's obvious to see the advantages of such a tool. Of course my first move was to Google it to see if it had already been invented, and I couldn't find anything.

Such a pocketknife would represent the confluence of a lot of trends that are popular right now:

-everyday carry (recall the Scalpel Jones Kickstarter)
-replacing commodity tools with higher-quality ones (the "buy it for life" theme)
-modularity (add/remove/replace specific tools)
-the rise of 3D printing of metals and desktop metal fabrication; people could make their own pocket tool add-ons at home, and share design files online.

You could sell a base unit with say, six attachments for tools, plus twelve tools that can be attached. Flying commercially? Just remove the knife. Hardware store? Add stuff like your pocket tools.

This solves the Swiss Army Knife conundrum - we all want more tools, but we just don't want to carry them around all the time:

[mklotz]

Some other thoughts on the subject...

The scales of the knife could be part of the package. Exotic materials for the vain and useful ones for the practical. Clips to hold stuff better-used detached from the knife, e.g., magnifier, hex bits, compass, or pockets to hold tiny stuff like eyeglass screwdrivers or sewing needles. Or scalpel blades to fit the scalpel handle blade. And, of course, 3D printing of user-specific scales not sold by the maker.

Some of the tools could be multipurpose... A fold-out hollow rod. Unscrew the end, dump out the hex bits contained inside, mount the end other way around to expose the hex receiver for the bits. Or use the rod to house a fire starter or a cylindrical diamond sharpener (fish hooks and scallop-edge knives). The point is that the "tool" could be a container for smaller tools and still be usable itself.

Electronics...a thumb drive (one of the Victorinox models already has this), an audible continuity tester

A brainstorming thread on this forum would probably turn up a whole basket of useful ideas.

BTW, do I see a cigar cutter on that Wenger in the picture? [The end of the Allen wrench is sort of pointing to it.] If it is, it's a perfect example of useless blades.

[Toolmaker51]

This is an incredible idea. Even if you're not so well positioned on the cutting edge of DIY culture and tools, it's obvious to see the advantages of such a tool. Of course my first move was to Google it to see if it had already been invented, and I couldn't find anything.

I've looked it over. it seems to be missing the fifth wheel or pintle hitch and towing lights...

[Frank S]

Well the cigar cutter may not be as useless as all that I'n sure it could be used as an amputation device for one's pinky finger. Any cigar smoker I ever knew juat bit the tips off the cigar but they chewed more than smoked them any way..
I didn't notice a mariner's spike though so as a riggers tool this hand full of multiple choice tools would not be any use to yachtsman nor is there a turnbuckle key
But for sure the ubiquitous cork screw is there although it would be far too short to pull the cork out of a battle of vintage Merlot but you would have plenty of handle for leverage

[Jon]

I don't even know if this is a joke or a clever idea:



Regarding a pocket knife kit - seems like the critical part would be the tool attachment method. Tools need to attach and detach fairly reasonably, but still be very secure during use.

[mklotz]

I've seen plenty of people finger-farking-fones while eating so the idea of attaching a spoon to the smart phone makes sense. (Most smart phone users aren't smart enough to use a fork nor careful enough to be trusted with a knife.)

As to attaching knife blades, I would consider something like a male-female nut system, e.g.,...

https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...897481361.html

or just an Allen bolt with suitable spacers sold with the blade.

I'm assuming that one wouldn't reconfigure his knife often so a bit of fiddling to do it wouldn't be a deal breaker.

[Jon]

This would be a potentially epic Kickstarter project. It has all the elements of not only a genuinely useful tool, but a strong potential for virality. It's also reasonable to manufacture the first 100 units one-by-one, so that there is no momentum-losing delay after the project is funded but before the first round of funders get their tool. Just needs a cool name.

[mklotz]

Just needs a cool name.

How about "Switch-blade"?