How To Use a Pocket Knife Safely

A knife, whether it's a pocket knife that has a folding blade or a fixed blade used for more serious tasks, is inherently a dangerous weapon. And so, it's very important that you know how to operate a knife appropriately, because you never want to injure yourself or someone else.

The first thing that you should consider when it comes to safety are the features of the knife itself. Does it have a serrated or non-serrated edge? Does it come with a sheath for protection? And does it have any kind of safety mechanism?

A lot of knives, especially folding pocket knives, while have some sort of opening or safety mechanism. A Gerber knife, for example, might have something called the SpeedSafe mechanism, which allows the user of the knife to open the blade with the push of a stud on the handle. If you loved this post and you would like to receive more information concerning great pocket knives assure visit the web-page.

At that point, the blade comes out smoothly and, once open and erect, is locked into position.

This is extremely important, because you need to be conscious of much more than just the sharpness of the blade. The fact is that, when you're out camping and need to apply pressure to your knife to open a can of beans or cut some rope or do some digging into the soil, you don't want the knife to fold back into its handle by accident.

The fear there, of course, would be that your fingers or something else of high value would get caught underneath the blade, leading to a very bad accident and potentially stitches at the hospital.

Beyond any built in knife safety mechanics is simply proper usage. When you were younger, your mother likely taught you about proper knife safety. When using a knife, even something as seemingly innocent as a butter knife, you are expected to cut away from your body at all times.

You also never pull the knife up towards your face, either. Sometimes, people have a tendency to cut something and swing the knife in an upward direction. This is extremely dangerous, especially if the person holding the knife is devoid of any safety goggles. And even if goggles were being worn, it's simply a poor decision to make when using a knife.

And lastly, very similar to scissors, make sure you never run with a knife. Due to the fact that more high end knives (from Buck or Spyderco or MTech) are extremely well made, people sometimes fall into a false sense of security. You sometimes feel that you can do things with the knife that you know aren't right or appropriate, but won't result in a negative outcome.

If it's absolutely vital that you need to get from one place to another while running, make sure you do one of two things. If it's a folding knife, make sure you fold the knife back into its handle. And make sure the knife is locked inside that handle.

And if you have a fixed blade knife, which means that the blade is always erect and cannot be retracted, please make sure your knife is safely placed and secured inside a sheath. That sheath should likely be on your hip, as well.

This way, when you begin sprinting, you don't have a dangerous, sharp weapon in your hands that you could fall on or accidentally hurt someone with, should you trip or fall to the ground.

In the end, knife safety is vitally important if you plan to own a knife, or teach someone else how to use one. If you can remember and implement these tips, it will go a long way to keeping you and your loved ones safe.