Background: I have been EDCing a Leatherman for over 13 years now. At first I had a Wave, currently a Charge TTi.
This tools have always served me fine and that *could* be the end of the story, but apparently German legislation has recently (that is to say about 10 years ago... I might have ignored that one) blessed us with a new paragraph that states that any and all folding knives that are a) usable single-handedly and at the same time b) able to lock the blade are forbidden from being carried outside of your property. This includes multitools, so if I were to carry my Charge and a policeman were to notice that somehow, I would lose the tool and face charges. Sadly, this scenario grows more probable by the day, with security measures ever increasing due to terrorism and whatnot, so I decided it might be prudent to adapt.
My preference would be a knife (or multitool if possible) that is operable with one hand and does *not* lock the blade, as I value deployability over stability considering I'm mostly doing light work with my knife like cutting cardboard boxes, letters etc. Also a clip would be nice to fixate it inside my pocket.
Is this - given the circumstances - a sensible compromise or does anyone prefer two-hand blades with a locking mechanism? Or even two-hand / no lock? I'm open to suggestions.
I'd also appreciate any pointers to reliable knives or tools that meet the aforementioned requirements. Also AMA, I guess.
I'm afraid the hole in the blade counts as "deployable with one hand", so this is - sadly - not an option at all...
Jose Fisher
email leatherman, they might have a EU/German SKU for one that is legal for you to carry. if you arent sure look for the lol english or danish ones.
Does Victoronox make one for Germany without locks?
Hudson Ward
Remove or cut down the locks from the Leatherman.
Kevin Rogers
Get a juice they lack bladelocks and are like the blades on a swiss army
Thomas Miller
Ah yes, the disarming of the Germanic man under the Reich of Merkel. What a fucking shame. I hope someone works up the nerve to blow her brains out one day.
Carter Cruz
what i do is i use zip tie to secure the blade when i'm at places like that. if i have to i can remove it with two hands or teeth and use my tool but it can't be used for shanking someone.
You could buy one of those, and then carry a small separate knife that's legal.
Juan Hernandez
This might be an option (and a gruesome one at that), but I fear it might be quite a hassle to explain my makeshift modifications to a cop who goes by make/model of the knife in question
I've also thought about Juice or Swiss Army Knives, but I'm somewhat reluctant to give up one-hand-capability as well as a locking function.
to clarify, the knife is actually the element I use most on my leatherman, so blocking it or leaving it out entirely is not an option.
I'd rather have a one-handed knife without lock. Any suggestions?
Eli Allen
pocket knives that don't lock are called slipjoints, and there are a ton of options out there if you do the research my suggestion is a victorinox swiss army knife, since you seem to value practicality quite a bit
John Collins
>Charge 300 in oxide. HAd one for over 10 years and it's still my favorite. I have or have had most of letterman's full size set over the years. The 300 is my jam.
Charles Reed
I just got the Leatherman Rebar, it's pretty nice
Jaxon Turner
If you have a leatherman im sure you dont want to step down in quality. The leatherman PST if you buy used is good or buy a leatherman rebar for new, the blades dont have a lock besides the slip joint aspect. Another option is the swiss tool which usually have non locking non one handed opening tools. If you want just a regular knife get a great eastern cutlery or case one i guess. spyderco also offers some slip joint knives.
Lincoln Phillips
You don't have a TON of options to choose from, but there are definitely still some good ones. Unfortunately I'm not aware of any one hand opening knife on a multitool that has no lock. I don't know what you prefer for blade length, but I hope you don't mind if it is under 8cm. Most modern one-hand opening/non-locking knives will be under that because of UK laws that require it, and a lot of older slipjoint knives are usually shorter too.
One of the best designs is the Spyderco UKPK. There is a premium version with S110V steel if you want that; or a REALLY cheap version called the Byrd Tern, but I suggest the regular UKPK unless you are super broke.
The Viper Knives DAN is pretty good. It comes in a couple blade shapes, and there's a bunch of handle materials to choose from. It doesn't have a finger choil to stop the blade from hitting your fingers if it closes, so it might be a little less safe, but in light use it would still be pretty great.
The Kizer Zipslip is a little expensive, but it is really well made with great materials. It has a S35VN blade and solid titanium handles. It's a really great choice, if you can deal with the price. Sometime soon (maybe a few months?) They will release a cheaper "Vanguard" version with VG-10 steel and G10 scales, which would also be a great choice and should be about the same price as the Spyderco UKPK, but for a heavier-duty knife.
If you want a super premium option, there is the Hinderer XM Slippy. It's definitely great, but probably not worth the price, even with a 20CV blade.
cont.
Bentley Scott
Böker (a German company) makes a few options. The Böker Plus XS is good. It's really tough, and has a really strong backspring, which would be good if you are looking for a more tactical knife. It's also priced similar to the UKPK, but in Germany it might be lower. The Böker Plus Kansei Wasabi is good, but only for really light duty tasks. Böker also makes "42" version of some of their normal knives (named after article 42 of whatever shitty weapon law you guys have). Some of the 42 models are slip joints with the normal one-hand opening, but most of them keep the lock and they make them nail-nick opening.
If you still want a multitool there are a few great ones without one-hand opening that still lock. Despite what others said in the thread, the Leatherman Rebar DOES have locks on every tool. There is also the larger Leatherman Supertool 300. Victorinox makes butterfly opening multitools with locking blades as well. The Swisstool and the Swisstool Spirit are both really great, but they cost a bit more than the Leatherman options.
I definitely agree about favoring one-hand opening over a lock. If you change your mind though, there are lots of "traditional" two-handed opening knives that would be legal, and you can get a "Kwik Stud" that adds one hand opening to a slip-joint with a single blade.
Best of luck.
Gabriel Flores
All of mine lock but the Verinox does that weird slide on the side. I always thought the blade locking was a safety feature.
Thanks a lot for your post, it was insight like that I was looking for!
I have already stumbled across the Böker XS (OD and drop) and I like the way your index finger fits in a dent in the blade and provides some sort of "lock" on its own.
Also the price is quite nice and about half of all the Spyderco UKPKs I found so far (excluding the really cheap models, but I don't really consider buying one of those)
Luke Evans
German legislation (gesetze-im-internet.de/waffg_2002/__42a.html, apparently official and in-date) apparently states that if it used for legitimate purpose such as for a job or a "generally recognized purpose" (not self defense) then certain restricted weapons (one handed opening knife with locking blade for instance) can be carried outside of property. >Ein berechtigtes Interesse nach Absatz 2 Satz 1 Nr. 3 liegt insbesondere vor, wenn das Führen der Gegenstände im Zusammenhang mit der Berufsausübung erfolgt, der Brauchtumspflege, dem Sport oder einem allgemein anerkannten Zweck dient. Though I guess it'd be on you to prove that you need it for a rightful use.
Tape over the blade hole? I'm not sure how much that would impair its ability to open one-handed since I haven't tried it on my leatherman but as long as it isn't one handed opening it can still be locking and not fall under the definition of restricted weapon.
