20 life hacks when carrying a knife every day
Any pocket knife owner has probably experienced the situation of having to pull out a knife in a public place to perform some mundane task, such as opening a package or cutting off unnecessary thread. And people passing by began to look askance at you in disbelief, and some might even ask: “Why do you need a knife?
You can sternly look the person who asked this question straight in the eye and quietly answer: ” There are 40 reasons why I need a knife .”
1. Opening parcels, packages, boxes
This is probably the main use of most pocket knives. In the modern world, we often order various purchases via the Internet and most of them are packed in cardboard or cellophane, which have no value. Therefore, they can be easily and quickly cut with your knife. And people who do not have a knife spend much more time and nerves on it, in agony trying to tear off the adhesive tape tightly glued to the bag with their hands.
2. Slicing fruits (vegetables)
Sometimes, biting into a juicy apple, pear, or celery (why not), you run the risk of pouring juice on yourself, the table, the keyboard, and those around you. To prevent this from happening, you can use a knife, cutting off small pieces from the fruit. Do not forget that some blade steels are sensitive to acidic juices, so the knife must be washed and wiped dry after use.
3. Cutting off labels on clothes
Tags and labels on new clothes are pretty annoying. It would be nice if they were not on the clothes at all. A pocket knife is just right to get rid of them once and for all.
4. Removing staples
If you do not have a special staple remover with you, you can easily lift the ends of the staples with a knife to remove them without damaging important documents.
5. Releasing a person from a seat belt inside a burning car
Seat belts can become a trap inside a car, even if they saved your life during an accident. A person may be walled up inside a car that has started to burn or sink. At such moments, it is important not to lose your temper and use the knife to free yourself or other people.
6. Sharpening pencils
Let’s say you’re an artist, or just faced with the need to sharpen a pencil, but there is no sharpener nearby. In this situation, a Damascus pocket knife will undoubtedly help. By the way, many professional artists prefer sharpening with a knife to sharpeners of all stripes.
7. Tie cutting
The only way to remove most types of zip ties is to cut them. These inexpensive fasteners are mainly used to tighten ropes, cables, or various cables and with the help of a knife, you can easily get rid of the cable ties.
8. Performing an emergency tracheotomy
Yes, you read everything correctly. People quite often suffocate while eating or from anaphylactic shock. As a rule, it is enough to use the Heimlich method, but in critical situations, the only thing you can do to save a person is to cut a hole in the neck so that air begins to flow into the lungs. Naturally, you need to know the nuances of such an action. The use of a tracheotomy knife is not uncommon. In 1990, two doctors performed a tracheotomy on an airplane using a Swiss army knife. In 2008, the knife was also used to tracheotomy a man who had a swollen throat.
9. Bill holder
It may happen that the wallet was lost, and you have paper money with you, which there is nothing to hold on to. A folding knife clip will handle this with no problem. By the way, there are special knife clips for money.
10. Cutting excess threads
Over time, clothes wear out and threads can appear on the sleeves or collar, which can unravel a decent piece of fabric if they are not removed in time. With a knife, you can cut off unnecessary threads, wherever you are.
11. Shaving
Hm, why not? The knife can be sharpened to razor sharpness and used in the same way as a razor. The question of convenience and safety remains open. But if an important interview or a sudden date is suddenly planned, and you have a three-day stubble, then you can try using a knife. Just be careful.
12. Sharpening other knives
Of course, it’s more about editing, it’s impossible to sharpen a knife normally with another knife. But if you use the butt of a knife, then it is quite possible to straighten another knife a little, if necessary. Of course, the knife with which you edit should be made of harder steel. Better yet, use special devices.
13. Opening bottles
It’s also a pretty common use case. A regular knife can open beer bottles, and if you have a Victorinox Swiss Army knife with a corkscrew, you can also open wine bottles.
14. Wire stripping
There are special tools for stripping wires, but in a pinch, you can use a pocket knife. Some knives (especially multi-tools ) already come with a wire stripper.
15. Wire cutting
There are special wire cutters for cutting off the wire, but a knife will also work well in most situations. Naturally, you can cut the wire at your peril and risk, as there is a high probability of spoiling the cutting edge.
16. Cutting ropes / cables / ropes
We constantly encounter ropes and cables in everyday life. And if scissors can handle thin twine quite easily, then when it comes to thick braided ropes, only a knife will help here.
17. Untying knots
Everyone has had a situation when a knot of laces or wires turned out to be too tight to untie it with your fingers. Then knives will come to the rescue, with the help of its tip, you can easily pry off the loops to untie any knot.
18. Cleaning and cutting nails
Just like with the shaving situation, how can you say with certainty that this cannot happen to you? However, if cleaning nails can be done quite easily and safely, then cutting nails is still better with scissors and nippers.
19. Cutting off a dog’s leash in an emergency
There is information about several incidents when the dog ran out of the elevator at the last second, and the owner, along with the leash, remained in the closed rising elevator. In this case, the collar can easily suffocate the dog. As far as we know, there is no information about deaths, but it is better not to increase the statistics. Having a pocket knife with you can save the life of a dog in this situation.
20. Starting a fire
In the wild, fire can save your life. There are special survival knives, but if you have very ordinary folding knives with you, you can try to make fire with the help of blade steel strikes on flint. It is important to prepare a flammable and dry material, such as moss or birch bark.
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