Remember what I said the other day, about how the best pocket knife is the one you carry? I meant it. If you cannot or will not carry a pocket knife or multi-tool, there are still quite a few keychain-sized multi-tools available. Any knife is (usually) better than no knife.
The Opinel keychain is 1-7/8″ when closed and 3-1/8″ open with the 1-5/16″ blade fully extended. The blade is made from stainless steel, and the handle is beechwood. Normally sub-$10 knives make me wary, but not this one.
While I do like keychain tools that have industrial-looking or mass-appeal designs, the Opinel knife really caught my eye as something different. Maybe it’s the wood handle. Yes, it’s definitely the wood handle.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Also available via Harry Epstein
There are a number of other mini knife options as well. At first thought the SOG Micron knife comes to mind, but it’s a little bit too small and flat, and so I regularly misplace it. I’m still not over SOG’s lousy customer service incident.
I know that it’s a tiny, keychain knife, but does it include the twist/ring-lock that the larger Opinels feature?
No, there’s no locking collar. Or at least I don’t think so. The slotted metal ferrule, if it can be called that, does not rotate.
I plan to slip an O-ring over the blade to avoid accidental deployment. Although, the knife doesn’t feel loose enough that it could open on its own.
Instead of finding myself in a jam before I do anything about it… I took what you said into consideration. Since my EDC usually consists of my phone, keychain with a flashlite, and my leatherman… I dont really have a backup blade to rely on if say my leatherman doesnt get remembered or switched over from the pants from the day before (thats happened). So I liked your keychain blade idea and did a little web surfing to find a suitable one for my needs. Found a Kobalt keychain utility knife that would save the day in a pinch if I didnt have my go to tools. Best part is, it was instock at my local Lowes and its already found a home on my keyset. Nice to have a lil piece of mind with a backup near by at all times.
Great suggestion. Thanks