| So you want to buy a knife but you are not sure | | | | tasks. But since they are bigger, they are |
| if you want to buy a pocketknife or a folding | | | | normally carried in sheaths, not in the pocket. This |
| knife. What is the difference anyway - don't they | | | | locking mechanism makes the folding knives a little |
| both fold?? Well, yes - that is true, but there are | | | | safer because the lock prevents the blade from |
| differences. | | | | accidentally being closed. These knives come in |
| Pocket Knife - According to Wikipedia, "a | | | | many styles and usually have only one blade. |
| pocketknife is a folding knife with a blade that fits | | | | Before you buy a knife, you should check local |
| inside the handle and that is small enough to fit in | | | | knife carry laws. Most pocketknives are legal to |
| a pocket." Most modern pocketknives are for light | | | | carry (except in places like courthouses, schools, |
| duty - and are a convenient tool for those many | | | | etc). Whether a knife is "legal" to carry is usually |
| little tasks you might run into when other knives | | | | determined by blade length - from my limited |
| are not handy. Pocket knives have blades that | | | | research, knives with blades of less than 3 1/2 - |
| are held in place - open or shut - by a spring | | | | 4 inches are usually legal - but do check your local |
| mechanism, allowing the user to open and shut | | | | laws. |
| the blade easily. Pocketknives come with single or | | | | IN SUMMARY - A small personal knife is a valuable |
| multiple blades and some have additional tools and | | | | tool that has many uses - I actually carry two |
| even forks and spoons - many options depending | | | | most of the time - no matter what purpose you |
| on your purpose. One drawback to this type of | | | | have for a knife I know there is a knife just for |
| pocketknife - since the blade does not lock open, | | | | that purpose - whether it is a pocket knife or |
| it can be closed inadvertently. | | | | folding knife - the choice is virtually endless - |
| A Folding Knife, on the other hand, is usually a little | | | | enjoy the shopping - find the right knife for you - |
| bigger, stronger, and has some sort of locking | | | | buy it - and take care of your knife so it will |
| mechanism to hold the blade open. Because of | | | | serve you for many years. |
| this added strength, they can handle heavier duty | | | | |