Buck’s ergonomic keyring pocket knife is better suited to lighting up keyholes than doing any cutting work. It’s small size and rounded shape will be unfamiliar to those accustomed to the conventional handle styles. The 1 1/4″ stainless steel blade locks in place when fully opened, but not when fully closed. Some users report that the blade opens in the pocket, on its own, something you never want to happen.
As a keyring knife it would make better sense if it were safe for pocket carry, and actually–since low price does usually mean a lot of variation in product–some buyers may get knives that work just fine and others may not. Buck extends its lifetime warranty to even this pocket toy, so if you do have one that won’t stay shut you should send it back.
The LED feature should be the main function of this little tool, and that actually is well designed, with a large activation button that won’t be easily set off in the pocket and an automatic shutoff button that turns it off after three minutes, even if it does get triggered by your keys and pocket change. The LED’s bright light and low power consumption makes this pocket light useful as an emergency flash, good enough for a quick check under the hood on a dark night. Just be careful when you reach for it.
