A pocket or folding knife has untold uses, from helping with camping to hiking to woodworking to first aid. Anytime you need scissors and you do not have one available, a pocket knife will do the job for you.



Since the early days of pocket knives (mid-nineteenth century), men and boys typically carried pocket knives everywhere they went. And now, women and girls are carrying pocket knives as well.

Blade Making Process -

The blade making process has been the same for many years, with two ways to finish a blade - the crocus and glaze finish. They are similar, yet leave the blades looking different from each other.

A glaze finish has an abrasive glued onto the final polishing wheel. The edges and lines look clean. Inexpensive blades are polished by drum tumbling.

Glaze finish has the abrasive glued onto the final polishing wheel, which is a very fine powdered emery. This is sometimes called a 'blue glaze', and when finished looks like a series of very fine, parallel lines at right angles to the main cutting edge of the blade.

Different Kinds of Pocket Knives -

There are several pocket knives with only one blade and a nail file or screwdriver at the other end. However, there are pocket knives with up to five or six different styles and sizes for your every cutting need. However, this makes the knives a little larger and less able to discreetly hide.

Pocket knife handles come in thousands of varieties. From wood of every type and celluloid plastic to animal tusks, which are becoming more and more rare as the endangered list grows longer and longer. Elephant tusks are being banded as pocket knife handles because hunters are not allowed to hunt them any longer. Walrus ivory is also on the endangered list and can only be found in the Russian artic and Alaska.

Mother of Pearl Handles -

One way to make the 'mother-of-pearl' handled pocket knives is by using the 'nacre' - a natural substance produced within the shells of many species of mollusks throughout the seas of the world. Nacre is composed primarily of calcium carbonate, in crystal form, which is secreted by the mollusks during their lifetimes. Slowly plated on the inside section of the mollusk shells is a thin layer of material, a protein that binds the calcium carbonate into a thin layer which hold the nacre together. The production of these thin layers is a natural byproduct of each individual mollusk's attempt at building a home, or shell, strong enough to withstand outside predators. As these layers gradually build up, they form thin sheets of mother-of-pearl and the sheets are shifted and plated on each other as the mollusk shell grows and enlarges.

Since the mollusk shell is curved, there is no way to cut a straight piece of it for a pocket knife; therefore, it must be pieced together giving each pocket knife a unique look.

Great to Own -

Pocket knives are great to own because they can help you in different emergencies, and can replace other tools when you wouldn't normally have them on you. It's a good idea to keep a pocket knife in your purse or pocket, one in the glove compartment of the car, the boat, the RV, the first aid kit, tool box, the tackle box for fishing emergencies and in a box you take hunting with you. You can get one for every use and hobby you have.

Great as a Gift -

It is a good idea to give younger adults - teenagers, and older adults a pocket knife. Show them the proper way to use them in case they need them for an emergency. These little knives are sharp enough to cut through rope and seatbelts if you are in an accident. Cutting twigs for a fire while camping or if you are lost in the woods, rope to tie something down in the trunk or on top of the car, yet the pocket knife is gentle enough to peel an apple or other fruit.

A pocket knife is a great little tool to have around. It is not just the blade that can help you - it is all of the other built in tools such as nail files, nail clippers, corkscrews, a screwdriver, and so much more. You can even find someone to customize a pocket knife for you if you want. The many uses of the pocket knife can help you out in ways that other products just can't.