I favor cleaver style blades. Pocket clip, right rear pocket. It's a tool and that's what my knife has to do. I just don't have any use for pocket knives with pointy blades that are made for stabbing.
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1) Klein tools. This is my standard everyday work knife. Made in Japan, it holds an edge very well and is built tight.
2) Gerber Quadrant G-10. My dress-up/impress the ladies knife. 😐
3) Gerber Flatiron. My around the outside/woods knife.
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The flatiron is a freakin ax. The blade is thick and tough. This is the largest knife I'll pocket carry.
The Quadrant is nicely balanced and small enough to not look stupid in nice jeans or slacks. The design mimics an old straight blade razor. It's very light. This would be a great edc knife too.
The Klein is perfect for all day at work. It's tough but small.
All of these knives are thin. The handles are just wide enough to hold the blade. That's the most important feature in a pocket knife for me. Some of these clip knives out there are absurd. Handles as thick as my G41.
@Engineerguy30 all of these are great for boxes, a regular task for the Klein. Far less likely to slice what's inside. And excellent at stripping wire, the cleaver blade is well suited for that. I only use them for large wire though, #8awg and larger. 4/0 to 500 mcm is where they really shine. Anything smaller than #8 and I just use the wire strippers.
I used to favor the Tanto style like you, but I've found the cleaver to be even better for real-world stuff. I think they're safer to use also.
Lastly, these guys that can afford to lose or break a $300 benchmade, more power to them. Cause that's what's gonna happen when you work for a living. That's my 4th Klein knife, the other 3 I lost on the job.
