Is a Swiss army knife the ultimate CoolTool?

No! It's the Jack of all trades but the Master of none! A simple single blade, light weight, lock back pocket knife, 3.5 inch more or less gets it done.

No. If you want a durable and usable multi-purpose tool get a Leatherman or SOG. For a knive my preferance is a 2 1/2" 3 blade Uncle Henery #897 UN by Schrade. It sharpens easily and holds an edge very well. I use the large blade for utility work, keep one small blade razor sharp all the time and keep the other small blade pretty sharp. Actually I guess I keep them all pretty sharp all the time. I'm not dressed without this in my pocket and have no idea how anyone gets through a day without a good pocket knife. When I travel by air one of the first things I do after landing is find a place to buy an inexpensive knife that I can give away upon my return.

Get a decent (they're all pretty inexpensive) 6-in-1 screw drive and keep a knife or leather man on you. You'll use the 6-in-1 90% of the time if you work on machines in a facilities kind of job. Unless you ultimate tool is a knife the screw driver and nut driver combination will always win

Excelsior

The ultimate cool tool has got to be a Leatherman. My personal favorite is the Charge TTi and the Wave. The only possibly missing item is a flashlight but it's better to have a separate one anyway.

I have been disappointed with my recent Leatherman purchases. I miss the simple functionality of the original!

I did find an interesting bladed option recently that I really like though! It is a stainless steel box cutter blade holder (the blade slides into the holder which folds shut like a pocket knife. If the blade gets dull, slide it out and reverse it for another good blade!). The blade locks open, and there is a little LED light on a swing-out arm. It is really an overpriced piece of Chinese junk! (It was included in a "rip off" periodic tool mailing club that someone I know got roped into joining, but surprisingly this thing is great!)

I have never seen anything like it in my many trips to the hardware store (closest thing is a box cutter). I like it, and carry it now instead of my pocket knife. If I ever forget, and TSA corners me, I can simply slip out the blade and throw it away, and keep the rest for another day!

I guess it's time for somebody who actually uses one to speak up. I don't know about this "ultimate" business, but I'm willing to send a little love the Swiss Army Knife's way. "Jack of all trades, master of none"? Maybe so, but for what I can get in my pocket it ain't bad. Take for instance the "Farmer" model I had in my pocket yesterday-- I opened a can and a bottle with it, opened the mail, tightened a couple of loose screws, pried some pistachios open with the can opener, made a new hole in my belt, started a couple of screw holes, and sawed some sheetrock out so I could get some conduit through. That's just what comes to mind right away. I had access to a purpose-made tool for most of that, but the Swiss Army Knife was right there with me and I knew it'd do the job plenty well enough. For cutting that sheetrock it was the best thing I could use, because of the limited space. Now with a nice lockback single blade knife, you better stick to opening the mail. I make adapters for 1/4" hex screwdriver bits that'll fit on a Swiss Army Knife's cap lifter, or even on a straight screwdriver, and with one of those, I can drive any kind of screw with my Swiss Army Knife. Leathermans and such are nice, too, but I can stick a real pair of pliers like, depending on what I'm up to, a small pair of dikes, some little slip joints or even a Channellock 426 in my pocket with a Swiss Army Knife and there you are, Bob's your uncle.
Now if you start talking about one with scissors, or pliers, or a magnifying glass, or any of the other I-don't-know-how-many tools they can have, it can sure make a plain old pocket knife look anemic. I wouldn't want to skin an elk with one, but elk-skinning ain't on my everyday to-do list, either. I'd hate to know I had to go through the day without one handy.