Occasionally I will get a nice knife as a gift, but like expensive sunglasses they are lost within months. I have an old Buck multi blade that has served me well for over thirty years. No horseman should ever be without a pocket knife.
Leather man or something similar.
Specific suggestions for a pocketish sized tool with a good wire cutter (or only wire cutters)?
Leatherman.
[QUOTE=cowboymom;7326036]
Leatherman.[/QUOTE]
Wimpy me would be able to get through wire with relative ease with one?
Yep, I’ve used mine for cutting all kinds of wire. On barbed wire I cut one wire at a time. I used it once on a horse that was caught in barbed wire in a field I was driving past-stopped and ran down and was able to cut the horse out no problem. Use it here on our electric fences all the time. I have a Wave like I said before and that has a short handle-you would have more leverage with a longer leatherman but I like that my wave is small and will fit in a pocket and the cutters are sharp enough that I’ve never had any problems. It won’t cut both strands of barbed wire (or a smooth wire) at once easily at all. but for the size, weight and convenience I like it really well.
Thanks Cowboy mom. I just told my dad what to get me for Christmas
Oh no, too much pressure! :lol: I really love mine, I’ve had it for maybe ten years or so? I lost it in the chicken coop for about a year and I was so happy when I got it back! I hope you enjoy yours as much! And if you don’t, I’ll buy it from you! 
Merry Christmas!
[I]Thank you all very much for your suggestions.
[/I]My husband reviewed a thread and … I got a Leatherman Wave and some quick blade Gerber.
(We are celebrating Christmas my old country’s way this year, so we have already gotten to unwrap the packages and just waiting to go out for the Midnight Mass.)
Merry Christmas to you!
Congrats, fellow Wave Owners!
Well, I specifically requested Leatherman, but I got something else. This shocks me, as my dad is Mr Tool (taught ag mechanics for 30 yrs & owns Stanley stock) & I thought he would follow directions
I can’t remember the brand & it is packed in my suit case to go home. He claims it is good steel. I had a hard time opening all the gadgets. I imagine if I play with them they will loosen up.
I ride with this knife.
http://www.benchmade.com/products/9052
Mine is the SBK, auto open, tanto, combo edge, coated blade. It is a flat black color.
I call it “my butterfly”. They have a butterfly on the blade. Awesome knife. It is not slick in the hand but grippy, with a flat powder coated feel to it. It also has a heavy metal tip on the end, for smashing a window or glass, or perhaps a head.
I was very specific in what I wanted for a knife for the trail, and to carry with me. I went to the knife shop and looked/held at alot of knives. This one just fit perfectly to my hand. I carry it with me at all times. Fits in my purse easily, and I carry a little bitty purse too.
American made.
The two knives I carry for trails/packing are a Kershaw folding knife that is about 3" long when closed and 6" long when opened and a Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn folding knife.
I have the Swiss Army equestrian knife someone linked to earlier in the thread. They must know equestrians well…in addition to a hoof pick it has a bottle opener and a corkscrew. Absolute necessities when horse camping, lol.
I also carry a lockblade. A bigger knife is essential if you have to cut a rope (and yes, I’ve had to use it, not while riding, but to cut a rope that a horse in camp had managed to tangle his leg up in.)
