It’s lasted me now 3 ish years, I carry and use it daily.
I’ve gone through at least two cell phones in that time. (Three if I count a refurbished one that I shouldn’t have purchased).
If it’s a tool that you use everyday… the daily use cost goes way down.
I used to use Gerber Evos, and Evo JR. They were only about $20, but I could get maximum of a year out of them before they were falling apart and worn out. (Not to mention the pocket clip would often fail, and on a few occasions I snapped a blade…, once just trying to cut a small piece of pumpkin. )
Cardboard, cable, carpet, drywall, twine, plastic packaging and tape, letters, tags on pet toys, pillows, - a good knife made of a modern super steel can be a revelation. Get a good one and keep it handy, and you'll find situations daily where it genuinely makes life easier. For tech people, something like Leatherman skeletool is the ultimate every day carry because of the multi tool, and you can buy custom blades made from powder steel.
For real. I have a tiny swiss army knife that cost like $10. I use it to open packages, and I keep it in my pocket's pocket. (You know, the little flap thing that's in your right pocket for storing loose change or whatever.)
Carrying around a knife that large seems miserable. I already wince when I wear pants that don't have a pocket-pocket (lol, I should probably find out the actual name). Carrying around a 4.5" knife is like ... why? Where do you keep it?
Carrying around a knife with a pocket clip… you won’t even feel it’s there. I also have a leather man wave + in the same pocket. I sometimes notice that.
It’s more comfortable in Jeans vs dress pants, but both work.
The little pocket on the right side of many pants is called the watch pocket. It was originally used to carry pocket watches. Because people don’t commonly carry pocket watches anymore it’s not as big as it used to be.
Open packages, cut boxes… various projects. Strip wires in a pinch. Improvised tool if one of the motorcycles I own from the 1980s breaks down.
I do also commonly keep a leather man wave + in the same pocket.
Other pocket tends to have car key, chapstick, streamlight, and a mala.
Edit: I will say I’ve brought the flash II with me to at least 5 countries, and have used it to also once cut some chambira while on a boat on an offshoot off the Amazon river.
https://carbideprocessors.com/flash-ii-folding-knife-black-t...
It’s lasted me now 3 ish years, I carry and use it daily.
I’ve gone through at least two cell phones in that time. (Three if I count a refurbished one that I shouldn’t have purchased).
If it’s a tool that you use everyday… the daily use cost goes way down.
I used to use Gerber Evos, and Evo JR. They were only about $20, but I could get maximum of a year out of them before they were falling apart and worn out. (Not to mention the pocket clip would often fail, and on a few occasions I snapped a blade…, once just trying to cut a small piece of pumpkin. )