Written by Kyt Lyn Walken
Introduction
“A woman who goes around wearing a knife is obviously looking for trouble.” She reached deep into her pocket and brought out a long, slender piece of metal, glittering all along one edge. “However a woman who carries a knife is ready for trouble. Generally speaking, it’s easier to appear harmless. It’s less trouble all around.”
― Patrick Rothfuss
The prepping, survival and bushcraft scene is now quite crowded by women carrying a knife and employing it for several functions. Beside the popular imagery, this essential, reliable object has been selected as one of the best weapons of choice. And, obviously, a tool too.
Modularity and versatility will be the keywords of this article.
As a necessary premise, women who love the great outdoors should always carry one knife. Or even more than just one.
Women who live in overpopulated areas, with a high crime rate, should carry a knife in their handbag.
It’s not only safer. It’s smart.
In fact, if you read to the article that Olive Pometsey wrote for CQ back to 2019, August 12th, you will get some interesting data on it:
“[…] the BBC reported that 1,509 knife possession offenses involving women were recorded last year, a figure that has been steadily increasing by at least 10 per cent year on year since 2014 […]”.
If such statistics do impress you, well, that’s not all.
From a more “worldwide” perspective, the reasons why women started to carry knives aren’t just strictly connected to safety. We don’t consider it a male thing. Not anymore, perhaps!
Knives, in fact, can be considered precious multitools. Especially in an emergency situation which may require you to use blades to cut, to open, to scratch, to shred. In a worst case scenario, to defend ourselves.
This could happen anytime, anywhere, from the great outdoors, to metropolitan or even within a domestic scenario. It could be a matter of you and any kind of possible predator.
Needing to have a blade within easy reach could be determined by different motives and circumstances. They do not necessarily involve offense or self defense.
Cutting, stripping, opening, shredding are elementary actions and they are part of our everyday life. I prefer to resort to using a blade than other tools. Like scissors, for example. A knife is multi-purpose. Period.
Specifically, a foldable knife happens to be the most important piece of gear in our EDC (Every Day Carry).
All the women I am familiar with carry at least one foldable knife. Many of them have several stuffed in different pockets.
As a matter of fact, bushcraft/survival/prepper girls show a more “male oriented” approach to life, but… City girls do quite the very same. Usually they have pepper spray in one pocket and a foldable knife in the other one.
Again, it’s a matter of safety and smartness.
The sheer fact of having a blade with us make us feel more secure. But do we know how, when, why and where to use it?
It’s mandatory to know how to deal with a blade and how to take care of it.
I highly recommend you attend courses and in-person workshops to learn the basics, not only to understand how to use a blade, but also to learn how to proceed with the proper maintenance.
Why pick up foldable knives? Let’s dig a bit inside these topics from a female perspective.
On foldable knives
“I am not anti-gun. I’m pro-knife. Consider the merits of the knife. In the first place, you have to catch up with someone in order to stab him. A general substitution of knives for guns would promote physical fitness. We’d turn into a whole nation of great runners. Plus, knives don’t ricochet. And people are seldom killed while cleaning their knives.”
―Molly Ivins
There are no safe environments and scenarios. There are just tools which could – potentially – make your life easier, no matter in which context you find yourself in.
Beyond the reason why foldable knives there are two basic concepts.
K.I.S.S. Principle
and
“The more we know, the less we carry.”
There is no doubt that a mighty fixed blade can do all the dirty jobs by itself. But the best among them are bulky and complicated to conceal.
In few words, your wardrobe and consequentially your outfits should be accurately selected and put together in connection to the fixed blade you want to carry (if attached to your belt).
Or you should stuff them inside a belt pouch, a rucksack, a handbag, or placed inside our jacket pockets.
Foldable knives make everything easier.
They are conceived to be small sized, to be light and handy.
They can be clipped inside quite any trousers’ pockets or settled inside a chest pouch.
Personally speaking, I used to carry my Sebenza from Chris Reeve inside a Hill People Gear Recon Bag.
A foldable knife deals with different purposes and it can be employed from offgrid to urban areas.
Needless to say that foldable knives aren’t good for heavy batoning!
That said, we should make sure to take advantage of them in the right way and for the right aim.
Features of foldable knives for women
“But have a care! It is a bitter blade, and steel serves only those that can wield it. It will cut your hand as willingly as aught else.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien
Foldable knives have always had specific attributes which make them unique and very handy.
Versatility is their principle characteristic. One tool which could be used even without necessarily unclipping it.
• Smallness
• Foldability
• Lightness
• Resistance
• Durability
• Solidity
• Maneuverability
A woman will pay much more attention to maneuverability and for a reason.
Generally speaking, women have a smaller hand size, and different grip, especially if compared to sturdy men.
Additionally, long nails play a huge part in the selection of the right handle.
What I find comfy could be a nuisance for another woman who’s more into nail care than me.
The selection of the right foldable blade could be time-consuming as there are thousands of different foldable pocket knives on sale.
It is not easy at all to instantly pick the best for you, according to the seize of your hands, your necessities, and, last but not least, the place you want to carry it.
My personal advice, especially for a first time purchase, is to go to a knife shop and make sure to try it in person. Forget about websites. You need to feel the knife, not to watch and imagine it.
Personally speaking, I have held in my hands more than 73 different foldable knives but I tried on field very few. I thought a lot before placing my final purchase.
Once you are in the shop, don’t be shy. Ask for advise and don’t forget to make questions about the current government regulations in your area.
My expectations versus foldable knives
“I never leave the house with just one knife. Seriously. Do I look like a one-knife kind of girl?”
― Ally Carter
According to my personal experience, a solid foldable knife for women should be easy to carry, quick to clip, immediate & safe when it comes to closing.
In relation to seize, durability, resistance and reliability I have my own standards and guidelines, developed from years of dirt time gained in the outdoors.
Shape and general features
My preference go to those to slim, flat pocket knifes which present a more “rectangular” configuration.
I can easily put them even inside the most narrow places.
Aesthetically speaking, I can’t hide I am a fan of traditional knives.
Handle material
Even if I have a thing for wood, it’s not my top choice for a foldable knife.
6AL4V Sandblasted Titanium is my fave, along with TPR InlayHandle.
They both suit the grip of my tiny hands.
Total Length (open)
No more than 8,6 inch (220 mm)
Total Length (closed)
No more than 4,8 inch (123 mm)
Blade Length
Around 3,6 inch (93 mm)
Steel
Related to Titanium, I go for a CPM-S35VN.
D2 for Carbon.
Off-set
I go for a soft “click”, which mean less acustic visibility, and a clip design to ensure complete offset.
My selection of the best women’s pocket knives
I underline the fact that the selection below is absolutely personal. It is made of a list of foldable knives I actually own or I had the chance to test in the last years.
As you can notice from the pictures, I use my foldable knife for several activities and duties like processing firewood, starting a fire, cutting paracord, along with everyday uses.
The links below will lead you directly to the specific pages which contain all the features you look for.
Victorinox Swiss Army Nail Clip 580 Swiss Army Knife
About the author:
Kyt Lyn Walken is Official Representative and Instructor for Hull’s Tracking School (Virginia) and Antipoaching Certified Ranger for Conservation Rangers Operations Worldwide Inc. (Colorado).
She’s a long time Prepper and Survivalist and she wrote several articles and essays on this topic.
We are an affiliate of Amazon.com, which means we received a small commission if you click through one of our Amazon links when you shop, at totally no cost to you. This helps keep the lights on at the blog. Thanks!
Photos by Kyt Lyn Walken
Fun review of knives. I personally would discourage carrying any self-defense item in a purse. It’s the first thing grabbed by evildoers. The topic of how to carry is huge, a good one to review here after careful research.
JFB, That is a great subject to discuss, I’m adding that to a future article. Thanks for the idea and comment!