What are your daily folding knife uses?

lambertiana said:
Cutting fruit and opening boxes. For fruit it is an Opinel #8 that resides in my lunch bag. Boxes will be any of a number of knives.

And yes, the overbuilt knives are poor slicers. You can test that yourself - cut fruit and cardboard with an Opinel or similarly-thin blade, and with a heavy duty super thick blade with a thick edge bevel. You will quickly find that the thin blade cuts SO much better.
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You're definitely right that something like an opinel will cut fruit and cardboard better. My point was that for most of our needs (shallow cuts) it doesn't matter, the thick blade will take more effort to slice but it will still get the job done and in return you can comfortably use the thick blade for light to medium prying. Not all knives have to be great slicers, I think many people that scoff at thicker blades aren't being realistic about common pocketknife uses.
 
Back to work.
Cut up some styrofoam boxes to craft a makeshift thermal box for microscopy.

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Food and opening and breaking down boxes, and food are my most common uses.

For the food duty alone, it's worth it to have a good slicer.

We like to imagine we're bushmen, but most of us aren't.
 
I was reading some where. Knives are meant to cut and if the person needs to pry they should use a pry bar. If they need to hammer they should use a hammer. In a perfect world i could carry all the tools with out the weight. The person doesn't get to choose the situation they're in. The knife should be the tool to handle it all. Food for thought.
 
Usually just food, boxes, light duty slicing these days. I usually carry a simple traditional folder, lower end of the price spectrum.
In days long past, I carried a ZT 350 and used it to open/cut everything from industrial packaging to metal tape. ZTs are great knives for medium industrial day-to-day use.
 
At this stage in my life, I have no reason to EDC. In my State, carry permits are impossible, so a knife gives me a limited feeling of security. Besides which, I just like to have one with me. Don't need a reason.
 
Smaug said:
Food and opening and breaking down boxes, and food are my most common uses.

For the food duty alone, it's worth it to have a good slicer.

We like to imagine we're bushmen, but most of us aren't.
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When you say food duty, do you mean like peeling an apple or chopping up meat and vegetables at home for dinner? Never really understood why people use pocket knives for "food prep", why use a small folder that will get covered in food and will have to be carefully washed and dried when you can pull out a regular kitchen knife? The though of someone going to their kitchen, pulling out their sebenza and chopping carrots is kinda funny to me.
 
ribeyemediumrare said:
When you say food duty, do you mean like peeling an apple or chopping up meat and vegetables at home for dinner? Never really understood why people use pocket knives for "food prep", why use a small folder that will get covered in food and will have to be carefully washed and dried when you can pull out a regular kitchen knife? The though of someone going to their kitchen, pulling out their sebenza and chopping carrots is kinda funny to me.
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Well, normal people think it's funny that we knife knuts use our knives for these everyday things when they would just pull the scissors out of the drawer that's only a couple steps away.

Likewise, the multi-tool people get some flak for their multi tools instead of just going and getting a real tool out of the toolbox.

At some point, I think we all bask in the glory of pocket knife when it is not really necessary. It's only a matter of where we draw that line.
 
For those of us that don't spend all day in the kitchen, or home...and don't eat fast food every meal, our carry knives sometimes pull duty slicing food.
Tools separate us from animals. Personally, I don't claw at boxes or rip food apart with my fingers to get a bite.
 
I have really enjoyed this thread, thanks . I use an Opinel No7 for everything from whittling walking sticks, catapults etc but mostly I whip it out when Im prepping food if my Vic paring knife isnt nearby. I even use the Opinel for dressing small game and game birds and have even used it to cut the throat of quite a few Warthog and antelope out in the field to bleed them. I was gifted a Rebar for Xmas and am still trying to get used to wearing a pouch but its a great tool but will never replace my Opinel ! Thinking of getting a Vic Farmer for everything but even that wont replace my Opinel.
 
I use knives all the time.

Like, when I open a package from BladeHQ or KnifeCenter.

Sorta like Inception, but for knives.
 
My everyday knife use varies at work its usually food and packages, but when I'm in the field on ranches and farms I go out to it can be a little bit of everything from cutting woody/lignified plant samples that might need to be ID'ed to things like rope or zip ties. Even skinning some animals in the other Wildlife Biologist positions I have worked before my current job. On the weekends around the house that just varies from carpentry, mechanical, leather work, or anything else that could pop up along with some food prep.
 
EDC Knife uses:
Mostly it helps me feel superior to others who don't carry awesome knives. Other than that, I flip it when I'm watching TV, Show it of on Instagram, Open mail containing other knives, shave arm hair to check sharpness, More Instagram pics, disassemble to clean and lubricate, sharpen when hairs don't come off easily enough, Show it off to my friends who can't figure out why I'm always showing them knives, Sharing in Facebook knife groups, Trading and selling to get other knives, Cutting up apples for my kids (just kidding I use a kitchen knife for that I don't want juice in the pivot), Cutting up cardboard (actually I use an OLFA knife for that do you have any idea what cardboard does to an edge), Cutting steak (Nope, not on a ceramic plate, no way sometimes I do put my knife on my plate for an Instagram pic),
 
so far today
open the coffee
cut loose string on sleeve
trim wild hair from beard
cut the cheese
cut the sausage
 
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