5-yr. test

S

sidecutter

Joined
Nov 28, 2008
Messages
898
i've been EDC a schrade 340T at work (construction/electrician) for appx. 7 yrs. great knife . still tight, sharpens easy, strips wire fantastic. seems to me this is best "test" i know. so can you guys give an evaluation of a knife that you have EDC for at least 5yrs. oh yeah, any knife that gets a reccomendation goes on my " buy" list. might take a while tho. thanks paul
 
Hi,

Your few words probably mean more than most reviews written here! A real workingman's tool that's been used as such everyday.

I've owned more than one Schrade over my life. Never was able to wear one out either. Always lost it first.:( So I would just recommend another. If you want to try another brand or pattern, I now carry a Case Canoe with CV blades. CV seems to take a fine edge and hold it well for me. And I'm a machinist and I sometimes do bad things to a blade. But Case seems to not make so many CV models anymore.

So I'm now trying out a Boker Copperhead in carbon steel. I'm not a real big fan of the pattern, but the blades seem OK so far.

Thank You for a real review!
dalee
 
^ My late Father (R.I.P.) was also a machinist and tool & die maker. He was pretty hard on blades as well, but never had any issues with his trusty Camillus. It's one of my most trusted possessions.

I agree, it's great to see 'real world' reviews of knives, not just comments about knives that were just removed from the box for the first time. Knives that have been around the block a time or two and can still hold an edge and lock up tight (if it's a folder) are the ones that people keep and pass down.
 
Used daily a single Kershaw Boa for 4 or 5 years straight.Torsion bar finally wore out - didn't realize how easy these were to replace - so sent it back to Kershaw - they sent me a brand new knife.
Great tool!
 
i have carried a vic huntsman on a lanyard for almost 10 years now. this is my sheeple knife if you will. the one that gets used in public while my primary stays hidden.

i did notice there is upgraded models out that has the needle behind the corkscrew which would be nice for splinters. it also has the corkscrew screwdriver for eyeglasses. i robbed this off of a swisschamp because it does come in handy.
 
My father carried a single blade alox Victorinox for 30 years and I carried a Wenger SI for 5 years. Both held up remarkably well under all kinds of conditions. Now I can't seem to get by without at least 8 knives in the "daily rotation".
 
A Colonial Electricians knife in carbon, with a spear blade and locking reamer blade got daily use for many years. It is over 30 years old.
I no longer work as an electician, but it is still clipped on my tool pouch!

I have a SAK that is over 35 years old and still going strong, I use is as my camping knife.
How many bottles of wine that that knife opened :)
 
This is slightly off topic. I hunt farm yards with a metal detector. I have found numerous Barlows at them. They just seem to be the old time farmers knife of choice.
 
This is a great thread! Thanks Sidecutter.

My first Spyderco Delica was bought in 1998. I carried it everyday til May 2007 when I bought a new Spyderco Delica 4. My wife edc's the older delica still. It is going fine. Never sent to manufacturer, never a failure.
 
I'd say 5 years of daily labor on a construction workers belt for a knife is a lot better hard use test than most.
 
I used to carry an Uncle Henry stockman on the farm, which sounds like it would basically be a stainless equivalent of the OP's Old Timer. I carried it to school and such daily for a couple years before the newness wore off and I turned it into a full fledged "farm knife", and then carried if for a couple/3 years more.

I was never really happy with how soft the steel was. (I believe the carbon versions are harder?) The edge would roll and get dinged readily when doing the sort of stuff a knife was normally called upon to do around the farm. But, I carried it anyway, and just sharpened out damage as it occured. The shape of main clip point blade and sheepsfoot blade had changed noticeably by the end. To its credit it never really loosened up, but it did have trouble with galling where the tangs rubbed against the springs. I finally did some grinding on it to improve the swedges to provide more clearance for the blades to close, and after I'd sharpened it significantly to where the edges were getting to thick for my liking, I reground the primary grinds on the sheepsfoot and spey blades.

Finally one day the thing must have fallen out of my pocket on the driveway, and it got ran over by the tractors a bunch before Dad found it back. The liners & pins got bent to the point the blades don't open and close freely any more, so I retired it from service. I still keep it on my workbench for cutting stuff I don't want to waste a better edge on. So in all, I really loved the versatility provided by the 3 different blade shapes and edge profiles, but wished it was harder, had thinner grinds, and had a little better execution in design. FWIW.
 
My work knife is a Ken Coats 3 1/8" folder and i have been using it daily for about 6 years. I am a refrigeration tech, so it gets used pretty hard, for being a small knife it holds up well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top