What's practical is to have tools that work. A Leatherman plus a dedicated camp knife and a hatchet are a good set for a dedicated camper. For day hikes and stuff, a Swiss knife is ok, but not so practical. To begin with, it takes two hands to open it, most have no locking mechanism and the blades are too small for any serious work.
Agree, multi-tools are generalized items that try to work in lots of different scenarios but are not really ideal in any. For one thing most of them are too heavy to be comfortably carried and used deftly. For example the leathermans are well made and I like how they open and lock but their usage is hindered because the handle has to be wide enough to hold all the other tools, you get this weird offset knife that has a great blade but doesn't feel as comfortable as a normal knife. I don't normally carry mine everyday as I don't have a need for all the different tool types it has. Instead i carry a really small 2 blade pen knife i picked up for 2 dollars a few years ago. They work in a pinch when the proper tool is not around. Like so many things in life if you want to fix a problem then you need to specialize.
Well except for the pliers every tool on a Leatherman needs two hands to open too. I also won't be going too heavy duty, I may be getting a decent hunting knife (from Gerber) to go along with it when camping/hiking, but you're right about practicality. most sak's aren't gonna get any big jobs done in one piece. It does have a toothpick though!
Nah, you can totally swing the blade open on a leatherman one-handed (use your thumb on the blade). There are some tools accessible from the outside of the leatherman that you don't need two hands to open but most of them are contained inside. It depends on which kind you get. My leatherman isn't going to help me hunt though I'll very much give you that. In fact on the page for the wingman it says everything can be opened and operated one-handed. I don't know it gets a little tough to get the interior tools out especially the correct interior tool (sometimes you end up pulling both out and then lowering the tool you don't need, this is really hard to explain without demonstrating) and some of the tools are stuff like "bottle opener" where yeah sure you can use it one-handed but your other hand's going to be busy) but anyway something to consider, i know for sure you don't need to use both hands to access all leatherman tools, given the right leatherman.
Ah okay. My claim was based on using my friend's Leatherman, and when you mention swinging it open I'm assuming my friend's was rusted or poorly maintained otherwise, because there was no swinging to be swung on that thing, more like wrenching to be wrenched.
Fun story the one time I thought I had killed myself on WD-40 it was trying to fix a friend's offbeat Leatherman that he had let rust into a very sorry state. For everyone who tells me not to use WD-40 on rust, yeah, okay, I know now guys. But did YOU know they have a national hotlife for WD-40 safety?
If my mom ever asks if I've ever gained anything from wasting time online, I'm finally prepared. That said, I respect your bravery in using WD-40 in the first place. I still struggle putting a sandwich together, I'm afraid the industrial-grade construction equipment will have to wait.
Camping, I meant camping. See why I needed to make this post? :D
Yep. I see. Look. When it comes to buying knives there's a lot of hype around certain companies and even around certain steels. Basically, 440A or 440C are pretty crappy stainless steels which take an edge ok, hold and edge ok and stay shiny. However, it is not super durable. If you're interested in buying a tool that will last you a good long time, I suggest you do some research or at least read some reviews of products you are interested in. In general, these reviews will tell you that Gerber kind of sucks and from what I've seen of their products, I am inclined to agree. If you are looking for a bare bones camp knife, I would recommend the Cold Steel Bushman (the standard style, not the bowie). Also, ignore the videos on that site because they are nuts. Anyway, this is an affordable camp knife, made of a single piece of good steel that has a nice coating on it so you only have to worry about taking care of the edge. Plus, the new version comes with a fire steel and a sheath. I had one of these guys for years and years and I could do everything with it: chop wood, chop veggies, cut cloth, cut rope, cut anything really. Plus, it has a hollow handle so you can turn it into a spear (as if that's something that happens to most campers). Anyway, when I bought it, it cost $37 bucks. Now it costs $42 and I still think it's worth it.