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How to use a keychain multitool

Updated: October 2026

You have a small plate on the house keys, and the first job is usually a bottle, a parcel, or a screw. This is how to use a keychain multitool without turning the house key into the tool. The [multi tool key ring comparison](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/multi-tool-key-ring) is the table, and the [buying guide](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/multi-tool-key-ring/sub/multi-tool-key-ring-buying-guide) is how the shape was chosen. If a blade opens, the [UK carry rules](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/multi-tool-key-ring/sub/multi-tool-key-ring-uk-carry-rules) are the public-place question. Peter F. wrote this on 22 October 2026. This is not legal advice. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a small plate on the house keys, and the first job is usually a bottle, a parcel, or a screw. This is how to use a keychain multitool without turning the house key into the tool.

Our top picks

Gerber Gerber Shard (silver)

Best overall

Gerber Gerber Shard (silver)
9.6/10about £10.00
View offer
Nite Ize Nite Ize DoohicKey (black)

Best value

Nite Ize Nite Ize DoohicKey (black)
9.4/10about £6.00
View offer
Lever Gear Lever Gear Clip KT

Alternative

Lever Gear Lever Gear Clip KT
8.1/10about £17.95
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Get the keys out of the way
  2. 2.Bottle, parcel, and screw
  3. 3.A short pry, then stop
  4. 4.Garden and shed, in bounds

Get the keys out of the way

A bunch of keys is a bad handle. The plate sits buried, and the lever you thought you had is the key next door. DoohicKey buyers say the pry is almost useless while the tool is still on the ring. If the listing says the tool unclips, use that. The Lever Gear Clip KT says so: unclip for grip. Do not invent that feature for the others. The Gerber Shard has a lanyard hole, so slide it to the end of the ring until the bunch hangs clear of the tip. Open only the bit you mean to use. The GOWEILE listing says the parts open separately. A folding set near 105 g, the one-piece or folding choice, skips out of a screw if two drivers are proud of the handle.

Bottle, parcel, and screw

For a crown cap, seat the bottle notch under the lip and roll the plate around the cap. Keep the keys off the back of your hand. If the notch will not start, you are prying upwards with the tip instead of hooking it. For parcel tape, nick with the recessed box edge. If the tape will not nick, fetch scissors. DoohicKey reviewers say the box edge is often not sharp enough. Do not sharpen a locking blade to finish a parcel. Seat the flat or cross tip in line with the screw. The Shard's cross driver matches a cross-head. The DoohicKey is flat only and will cam out of a cross-head. A loose cover screw is fair. A rusted hinge pin is not.
Gerber Gerber Shard (silver)

Testsieger

Gerber Gerber Shard (silver)
9.6/10about £10.00
View offer

A short pry, then stop

Pry means a staple, a lid lip, or the corner of a packet, with the tip under the target and your other hand holding the thing still. The moment the plate bends, or the tip skates, you are done. There is no second gear in a 16.8 g tool. Fetch a real driver when the fastener needs more than your fingers. The DoohicKey's openings are 1/4 in, 5/16 in, and 3/8 in. If the bolt is metric, the plate rounds it.

Garden and shed, in bounds

Fair garden jobs are small: a cable tie on a compost bag, a label staple, a bottle after the mower is away, a cover screw that was already finger-tight. A mower blade, a strimmer head, a gas fitting, a ladder bolt, and a rusted padlock are shed jobs. Imperial openings will not become a metric jubilee clip. If the plate twists, stop. Close a folding blade before the keys go back in a pocket.

Common questions

How do I open a bottle without using a house key?
Hook the bottle notch under the crown and roll the plate over the cap, with the rest of the keys clear of your hand. DoohicKey buyers in the UK notes say they bought the plate for this, after a house key had broken. If the notch will not start, you are likely pushing with the tip instead of hooking. A short opener is slower than a bar opener. It still beats a snapped key.
How do I nick parcel tape without cutting a finger?
Use the recessed box edge, nick the tape, and keep the free hand out of the line of the cut. If the edge is dull, as DoohicKey and Orbitkey reviewers report, do not add force. Fetch scissors. A pry tip can lift a staple, which is what Shard reviewers describe, and it is a poor saw.
How should the driver sit in the screw?
In line with the screw, tip seated, plate in the palm, keys out of the way. Match flat to flat and cross to cross. The DoohicKey will not drive a cross-head honestly. If the tip cams out, or the GOWEILE-style bit is so rough it needs a file first, stop. That is a return or a different driver, not a harder twist.
Why does the pry do nothing while the keys are on the ring?
Because the bunch is the handle, and it is the wrong shape. Reviews of the DoohicKey say the pry has almost no leverage in that state. Slide the plate to the end of the ring, or unclip it if the listing says you can, as the Clip KT does. Then limit the pry to a staple or a lid. If it still will not move, the job is too big.
Which shed jobs are fair?
A bag tie, a label staple, a bottle, a cover screw that was already loose. A mower blade, a gas fitting, electrical work, and a rusted padlock are not. The plate is on your keys so you do not walk past a small job. It is not a second toolbox, and the 100 g folders are still not one either.
The edge is dull. Do I lean harder?
No. Extra force is how a dull box edge slips into a finger or rounds a screw. Reviewers who hated the Orbitkey cutter sent it back. One who sharpened a non-locking edge was describing their own modification, not a step you should copy onto a locking blade. If it will not nick tape, use scissors.

Related pages

Best keychain multi tool UK

Multi tool key ring

Keychain multitool buying guide: job before the tally

One-piece key tool vs a folding multitool near 100 g

Carry a keychain multitool in the UK: lock and edge

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings saved for this comparison. Listings last checked on 22 October 2026.

  1. GOV.UK: Buying and carrying knives (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 139 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, section 49 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. CPS prosecution guidance: knife and other weapons offences (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK: Work tools in hand luggage (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. CAA sharps guide (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Nite Ize UK: key accessories and multitools (retrieved 22 October 2026)