Ah I forgot we had that section! Last post was in December I see, but some must use it.

qjs

I am an amateur radio operator. We address every female as "young lady".

One of the standard ploys in urban survival is to flee to the countryside (carrying tea and vodka, of course) with a big, gnarly blade to fend off critters....

To be more specific, I joined because I had a question on knives. Why is a knife needed in an urban environment? I never got an answer.

I EDC EMT shears.

Jeanette Isabelle

That's a valid statement. I don't know how a person from the city is expected to survive without McDonald's, 7-Eleven or a vending machine.

Jeanette Isabelle

EMT shears are a good choice, but even better would be a selection from the vast array of multitools available. Leatherman has a vast array, especially. For urban use, I would go with a PS4, hands down - small blade, scissors, screwdrivers, file, etc. Tiny and very useful, especially the scissors.

Larger versions are available.

Spring action scissors are not as good as a pair of EMT Shears.

There have been situations in which a screwdriver is good to have. Otherwise I don't see a purpose in a multi tool.

Jeanette Isabelle

I find I use my multi-tool almost exclusively in urban environments. My SAK gets some use too, but I almost never need a fixed blade for anything other than cooking or playing. Screw drivers, pliers, awl, file and blades all come in handy for me. Many an adventure has been put back on track thanks to those babies! In fact, at one point, I was tempted to carry two, after several mechanical failures on bicycle trips around the city.

To Jeanette Isabelle's point, I also have a small pair of EMT shears in my urban edc. I added them when I flew to Saskatchewan in the summer and had to leave my Leatherman at home. I took them out a while ago because they seemed redundant, but put them back in a couple weeks ago after my daughter took an ugly tumble of the playground slide stairs while we were on a family road trip. My Wave scissors just didn't cut it.

What really sets a multitool apart is good pliers, like those on the Wave. I have added a Bit Kit, in order to deal with all the fastenings that are out there now, along with a bit extender, and a home made awl. I fill up the sheath with a four inch crescent wrench, resulting in a pretty decent small tool kit on my belt, where it is kind of heavy. I typically place it in my car or bicycle, environments where I am most likely to use it. Out in the woods, I am very happy with the Skeletool, usually. It all depends on how likely it might be to tinker with something mechanical.

I carried a SAK for a short while. The only thing on it I ever needed was the screwdriver.

Jeanette Isabelle