It’s time to graduate from cutting up boxes and opening up envelopes. If you own a Spyderco pocket knife - more importantly, if you carry one - that is a real tool and a potential lifesaver in your pocket. A knife is a tool that was designed to take on far more than simple chores, even the ones at which it will excel. Here are a few skills to master with your favorite Spyderco knife.

Remember, a knife is a tool that can be dangerous if handled improperly. Always exercise caution when performing any of these tasks, and handle your knife extreme caution. Never exert excessive force while holding a knife, especially against the lock in the direction which the knife is designed to fold. Never exert pressure on the liner, and do not twist or force the knife. If you have to struggle, you are trying too hard or the knife is not sharp enough. Regroup and try again; it’s worse to fail on the first attempt to perform one of these jobs than it is to injure yourself. Then you’ll have new skills to master.

Get a Razor’s Edge

This might seem like a matter of course, but there are a lot of people out there who probably need a refresher on this. Also, without a razor’s edge, you won’t be able to perform the following task on here.

For this, you will need a stone that is higher than 1000 grit. You can get a decent edge with a 1000 grit stone, but not a razor.

Open and lock your Spyderco pocket knife. Hold the blade against the stone at or only slightly higher than a 20 degree angle - some say 23 degrees is perfect, but if you perform this part properly and evenly on both bevels, it won’t matter. Draw the edge away from you, pushing it over the stone as though you are trying to shave off a small sliver of the stone. As the edge becomes more consistent and finer, the process will offer you less and less resistance.

Repeat the process on both sides of the blade. When you are no longer able to feel a burr on the edge, strop the blade by drawing the blade flatly along a smooth surface. A strop is ideal for this but your pants will work in a pinch. Place the blade flat against the surface and draw the blade, spine first, backward along the material. If your blade is sharp, a fine fluff of lint will form along the top surface of the blade. If you truly have a razor’s edge, the ridges of your thumb or finger will catch on the blade.

Remove a Splinter in the Field

To do this, you will need a razor sharp edge and a very thin blade. The flat grinds on many Spyderco pocket knives work very well for this. Just be very sure to be careful and take no risks while performing this task. One more thing - this will only work if a portion of the splinter remains above the surface of the skin. Under no other conditions should this ever be attempted.

Let’s say you have a splinter on a fingertip, and a portion of the splinter remains above the skin. If you have no tweezers, it’s no big deal, since you do have your trusty Spyderco, and since you read this article you knew how to give it a razor sharp edge.

First locate the splinter, then take your pocket knife and press the flat of the blade against your skin next to the splinter. To remove it, you will need to wedge the edge between your skin and the portion of the splinter that remains above it. Do not use force. If you cannot easily slide the edge of the blade between the splinter and your skin, wait till you have tweezers. It’s not worth the injury.

Now comes the tricky part. You can use your finger, your fingernail or a small stick to help with this. What you will need to do is apply pressure to the portion of the splinter that is above your skin and pressed against the blade of your Spyderco. With the right amount of pressure and leverage, you can use your knife blade and whatever else is pressed against it as a pair of makeshift tweezers. With the right grip, you will be able to pull the splinter free of your skin.

After that, be sure to disinfect the wound and observe all other reasonable precautions and procedures to prevent infection and further injury.

Like these tips for tasks you can perform with your Spyderco pocket knife? Check out our Spyderco collection and be sure to check back in our blog for more great tips and tricks.