I suspect many people have stopped carrying them because they have to go through security checkpoints. I had a tiny penkniife (keyring size)confiscated at the courthouse, I had trouble getting into the Reagan building once, and IIRC, Victor had trouble getting into MCI Arena with his.

In the words of Ted Nuggent;"You don't carry a pocketknife and you call yourself a real American?" Mine goes everywhere with me.I've even carried mine into concerts.The second I have trouble is the second I stop going.That includes everywhere else that might have a problem with it.
Another must have of mine is a lighter.Even when i didn't smoke I still carried one.What kind of a man would go somewhere without some fire?
In case you're wondering yes,I was a Boy Scout.
BTW,my Swiss knife is in my tackle box,soon to be moved to my range box if I remember to.

I've never had a problem because I carry a pocketknife, including some places that rather surprised me. I'm aware enough to put it into checked baggage when I fly and such, but other than that it's *always* in my pocket.

My SAK has been around the world with me. Once in France I left it behind; I never checked the initials, I just grabbed it threw it in my bag. Turns out I had a friends instead. Several years later the friend showed up at my house with MY original knife and we switched back. During that time he had also traveled much of the world with my knife.

That thing has seen more of the world than most people ever will. I love my SAK.

Just like Nic, I've stopped carrying mine because I regularly have to go through security with it and the security people hate it when you try to bring a knife in. Even a little knife.

I carry an SAK with me as often as I can...but I had to leave it at work when I went to a hockey game straight from work. Once I forgot, and they held it for me until the end of the game.

If I should ever lose my knife, I panic and I buy a new one as quickly as I can. OF course, I've since found some of them...but those are just backups now.

At the last rocket launch I was using my knife while building a motor, and got called away to help someone. When I returned I couldn't find my knife and was pretty upset about it. I hated to think that someone had stolen it. I found it a couple of hours later tucked into a binder where I'd laid it to hold the pages down in the breeze, and didn't notice when I closed it up again.

*whew!*

Would you say that having a pocket knife is a southern thang? We have a guy at work who is from up north and FREAKED out when one of the guys pulled out a pocket knife and used it to open a box. He mumbled something about policy said you can't have a weapon on company property.

I don't think it's a southern thing so much as an generational thing or maybe urban vs rural (I was born and raised in Northern California). Mr Freakout would get a pissed-off lecture from me about the difference between tools and weapons. A pocket knife is a tool that can be misused as a weapon. So's a pair of scissors, or better yet, needle-nose pliers. Needle-nose pliers make an excellent stabbing weapon, but you'll never find someone muttering bullshit about carrying a dangerous weapon because you whip out your pliers. He's an idiot.

The first person who told me "You should always carry a pocket knife" was my grandfather, raised in Brooklyn. The sentiment was echoed by my other grandfather (lifelong Washingtonian) who promptly gave me my first knife. Definitely not rural guys.

Some people (Mr. Freakout, perhaps) are just nuts regardless of age or origin.