A pocket knife is a folding knife that includes a blade. The purpose of the knife is to be carried in one's pocket, hence the name. The reason for carrying such an item is practicality and utility; it can be fashioned into many different tools that are commonly required in daily activities.

The design of the blades varies depending on how they are intended to be used: some blades are designed for cutting (slitting or slicing), while others may have uses with gripping or piercing functions. Many designs feature multiple blades, which allows them to perform more than one task at once when required, as well as providing redundancy when one fails another.

The earliest known knives date back to ancient Egypt about 3,000 years ago. Simple spikes, spears, and arrowheads were common designs for the early cool pocket knives. Ancient Greeks and Romans also had their versions of this knife. Some Romans used folding knives that contained several blades that would fold into a handle: quill knife, bladed buckle knife, hairpin knife, razor-edged gimlet, blunt awl, and toothpick. With the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD, pocket knife designs vanished for hundreds of years.

Features of a Pocket Knife

If you’ve never owned a pocket knife, it can be difficult to know where to start. There are so many knives out there, all with different sizes and shapes. If you’re looking for something specific like a “pocket clip,” things can become even more complicated! Below we explore the features that make or break a good knife:


1. The Lock

The lock is the part of the knife that holds the blade in place. It is what keeps your knife safe when you are using it by locking it in place. Some cool knives have an opening lock pattern where you push a button, flip a lever, or move a slide bar to open or close the blade. Others have the classic “bar” style lock where you squeeze or stab with various pressure points to open or close. 

2. The Blade

This is what most people think of when they consider a knife as an “edge tool”. A knife has to be able to cut something. If you want an edge, it must have at least some kind of cutting edge. The more quality steel in the blade, the sharper and longer lasting it will be. 

Quality steel is better than cheap steel because of its superior sharpening capabilities and better resistance to wear and tear. This is why knives like Henckels are considered by many to be the best knives in their price range!

3. The Handle

The handle - or handle scale - holds the majority of your fingers while you are using your knife. The handle must be comfortable and durable so that you will not have to constantly adjust your grip. You will also want a pocket knife with a good handle as it allows for easier control of the knife. The handles on most spring assisted knives are made of hardwoods like walnuts, pear, birch, or mahogany. 

Some, especially those from Victorinox and Wenger, are made of Micarta – a material that is much stronger than other non-metallic materials that consist of solid carbides of magnesium and iron in sheets or thin plates; this gives Micarta great durability.

4. Tools

Almost all of these knives come with at least one feature called “Tools.” These are basically extensions of the handle. Some brands offer as many as twelve tools on their knife. Personally, I want a knife that is more about the blade than anything else, so I prefer knives without too many tools.

5. Pocket Clip

This is a small extension that allows for easy access to your knife while it is in your pocket – and it also keeps your knife from falling out of your pocket! The most popular part of a pocket knife is the “pocket clip,” which slips into place on the edge of the handle using a spring-loaded mechanism.

How to Easily Sharpen a Pocket Knife?

Sharpening a pocket knife is an easy thing to do, and you can do it three different ways. Here are three ways:


1. Use Sharpening Stone

 A sharpening stone is a conical rock made from natural materials that can be used to sharpen round edges. You can get one at almost any grocery or hardware store. Cheap ones work well, but you should invest in a higher-quality stone if you want your blade to stay sharp longer. You can glue a stone to the side of your knife, or you can use a rubber band wrapped around the blade. The stone has to be placed in a certain way for the sharpening process to be effective, however. There are several different stones on the market that will work well with your knife.

2. Use Diamond or Ceramic Wheels 

If you have an electric hand drill, you can buy diamond or ceramic wheels that fit over your pocket knife blade and drill it into place without having to touch it with any physical materials. This is usually done if you have a larger blade (like a hatchet) that would fit on the wheel. There are different types of wheels, though. Make sure you buy the right ones for your knife.

3. Use a Belt 

If you don't want to invest in stones or any other sharpening agent, you can sharpen your pocket knife using a belt. A belt sander will get the job done for you as well as any of the other methods described here, but it tends to be more expensive. You can either hold your knife in place over the motor and let it go or hold it in place yourself and manually turn the motor on, but both methods have their own risks and benefits.

If you don't want to invest in any of the above materials, which is recommended, you could use a belt. This would be your cheapest option. Be sure to buy one that's strong enough to handle the amount of force you will be applying. There are belts that specifically fit right over your pocket knife blade and can handle thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch. 

Make sure your belt can support this amount of power. If you've ever dropped a heavy object on concrete (such as a bowling ball) and watched the cracks spread across the surface, then it's safe to assume that most belts will work fine for this purpose as well. If not, then try something else.

Why Keep Your Pocket Knife Sharp?

When you are outdoors and need to prepare a good dish, there is no substitute for an efficient knife. Your knife may be comfortable to use, but it's useless when it comes to chopping vegetables or even removing the bones from a chicken. 

Even though you may have invested a lot of money into your knife, treating it with respect and maintaining its edge is vital so that every time you use it for culinary purposes, your mission success rate will be much higher. Below we share why it's important as well as some tips on how you can maintain its edge without having to spend hours in front of the TV waiting for the weekend:


1. To Make the Knife Useful

After the first few months of owning your knife, you may already have come to the conclusion that it is not very adept when it comes to chopping vegetables and removing them from bones, but this may be an illusion. By keeping your pocket knife sharpened you will maximize its longevity because it will efficiently cut through the materials you will use for which it was designed.

2. Good Tools Make the Work Easier and Safer

Everyone has a different story when it comes to how they cut themselves with their kitchen knife, but for the most part, the story begins with one letter - S. "S" as in sharp. A sharp knife is safer to use than a dull one because, let's face it: accidents and injuries with kitchen knives will happen if you use them frequently.

3. Dull Knives are Dangerous

When you are in the woods and need some food preparation work done, a dull kitchen knife becomes dangerous as it is more likely to lead to an accident.  It is important to keep your kitchen knife sharp so that you can start chopping and preparing food as well.