5 Alternative Ways To Use Your Swiss Army Knife's Toothpick Slot

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A Swiss Army Knife is a dependable product to have in your pocket wherever you go. It comes with a variety of tools, making it easier to complete certain tasks. You might not use every available feature in it, such as the toothpick slot. Because of how little use some make of the toothpick, Swiss Army Knife fans are always on the search for a new item to swap in place of it. We've scoured the internet to find a few alternatives to the toothpick that you should consider. Because many of these items are custom and not offered by the company that makes the tool, Victoronix, how good these items are for your Swiss Army Knife may vary. For those who enjoy this item, it also helps to learn the brief history of the Swiss Army Knife and how it became one of the most recognizable multi-tools in the world.

These tools are also helpful in specific situations. You should consider how often you use your Swiss Army Knife, where you take it with you, and how you like to use it. Regardless of who you are, though, we've listed out at least 10 different Swiss Army Knives for every type of user. Now we'll take a look at five alternative ways to use your Swiss Army Knife's toothpick slot. 

A great thing about a Swiss Army Knife is how often its tools come in handy, regardless of where you go. Many find it immensely helpful when they go camping, as there are several small tasks you can use it for while you're prepping a campsite. An important task you want to do with any campsite is making a fire, and there's the Firefly Firestarter that you can swap out with the toothpick slot on your Swiss Army Knife.

The Firefly Firestarter is a third-party attachment specifically designed to go right into the toothpick slot of a Swiss Army Knife, created by outdoor company Tortoise. You don't need to make any special tools, saw anything down, or whittle a piece so that it can fit. All you have to do is remove your existing Swiss Army toothpick, put in the Firefly Firestarter, and bring it camping.

When you bring it with you, remove the firestarter from this slot to hold in your hand and use it to create any quick fire at your campsite. You will have to swipe the blade of your Swiss Army Knife across the firestarter to make the sparks, but it should catch nearly any flammable objects on fire. You don't have to limit yourself to a campsite fire, either. This can work for igniting coal, candles, or even a fireplace back in your home. It's a versatile tool that you can expect to use far more than the standard toothpick.

For anyone who's ever had to deal with attempting to dig out a pesky splinter or has wanted to dig into anything carefully from a delicate spot, a pair of tweezers is a great tool to have at your side. These don't traditionally come with the standard Swiss Army Knife. After purchasing the knife you're planning to use, there's an option to go out of your way to pick up a pair of tweezers to swap them with your toothpick.

There's a pair of replacement tweezers you can pick up on Amazon for $8.95. These are an official set, which means you don't have to worry about them not fitting, as they should slide right into your toothpick slot without any issue. This particular pair has received over 2,311 reviews from consumers and has a 4.7 overall rating, with 82% being at 5 stars. Consumers who pick them up praise the quality of these tweezers, the increased value they find in using them over the toothpick, and how many they get for how much they spend, as the set comes with multiple pairs, in case you lose them.

Alternatively, there's a YouTube video created by Felix Immler that shows you how to make your own. For anyone who wants to tackle a project like this, you can add a personal touch to the pair you make, and never have to buy another set online. We also have steps breaking down how to replace your Swiss Army Knife Tweezers.

When you know you're going to spend time outside and away from your tools, having a drill bit at the ready to make small, precise holes can be helpful, especially when you're camping. Unfortunately, you traditionally need to bring a drill that uses these bits with you, and they take up a lot of room. Rather than getting your drilling equipment with you, there's the option to add a drill bit to your Swiss Army Knife, allowing you to turn simple sticks into a make-shift drill. These won't replace your garage tools during a project, but they could come in handy when you're camping or backpacking.

This modification comes from YouTuber Felix Immler. He shows a step-by-step process on transforming a small piece of metal into a useful drill bit that fits within the toothpick slot of your Swiss Army Knife. It's not a drill bit you want to use in your at-home drills. Instead, it's something that would fit between a small stick that you could turn into a hand drill, allowing you to cut small holes in wood or other surfaces while you're outside, away from your garage. Plus, it doesn't require any electricity or batteries, meaning it should always be ready for you to use.

How you use this drill bit is up to you. Having a drill like this outdoors is always helpful, especially if you didn't happen to bring any power tools that we recommend would work great camping.

A needle can be a helpful accessory to have at the ready if you need to repair your pants, shirt, or any equipment that could get a rip in it. A sewing needle is a small tool, and it's easy to lose it when carried around by itself or even in a small kit. Rather than bring that along to take up more space that you might not have, this is an item you can add to your Swiss Army Knife's toothpick slot.

A YouTube video posted by MasterSpotlight shows three ways a sewing needle and a small amount of string can fit inside a Swiss Army Knife. For those who are intent on using it in the toothpick slot, they show how sharpening the toothpick or a toothpick replacement provided by Victorinox could turn this into a needle capable of threading through thin material. You can either cut a hole through the end of the toothpick or make a customized one with the same notch to keep it in the toothpick slot. We also show how you can sew with a Swiss Army Knife without adding any tools.

Alternatively, MasterSpotlight also shows that a small pair of tweezers that fit in the toothpick slot can hold onto a genuine sewing needle with thread in the same video. While holding the sewing needle, drop it into the toothpick slot, and now you have two tools there instead of one.

For anyone who enjoys taking notes, making a quick drawing while they're wandering around, or wanting to notch on a piece of wood during a project, a ballpoint pen is endlessly helpful. Cheap ones are always nice to have in your pocket, but they can easily fall out or break when you're outdoors. A good replacement could be a ballpoint pen that you can use in the Swiss Army Knife's toothpick slot.

You can find a ballpoint pen that fits into the tootpick slot on Etsy, made by uaMOON. They offer to make a 70mm or 50mm pen, but you'll need to double-check which size you want, depending on the type of Swiss Army Knife you have in your possession. These pens are available on Etsy for between $5 and $12, depending on the size and color you choose, plus shipping costs that vary by location.

Consumers who have purchased this item from uaMOON have provided over 334 reviews, with an average 4.8 out of 5-star rating. The reviews praise the pen's quick placement inside the toothpick slot, its high-quality detail, and its efficiency of use. For many Swiss Army Knife fans, this could be an incredible find, as a pressurized ballpoint pen is one of the few tools that only a few Swiss Army Knives have had. Not many have this addition, and this makes it available for more models.