I carry a box knife, the kind that fold up like a pocket knife with a quick release blade, very handy I use it all the time. As for protection well hell, this bad boy can hijack planes, knock down buildings, defeat Pentagon defence and get Norad to stand down in the biggest manufactured crisis ever... talk about protection this guy can do everything including getting agendas moving, wars, lost rights, legal torture, expansion of power and coruption all from a simple 5 dollar purchase. Now I ask you can your guns and real pocket knives do that?