A knife must not be essential because I don't carry one. I do carry scissors.

I don't need a knife to cut moleskin because I don't bring mole skin.

There could be a time when I need to make a sling from a corner of my footprint. Scissors would be a lot better for that. I could need to cut up a shirt for a bandage. Scissors would be better for that. Scissors are fine for cutting 550 line.

The one thing scissors are not good for is accidentally cutting myself. I like that feature.