Are the big folders simply great all-round tools?

Crayola

Crayola

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
Messages
3,831
Hey forumites!

I've been thinking about the large folders out there, and reading stories about them. It seems to me that knives like th eBuck Strider, MOD Deiter CQD, TOPS Magnum, and others cut like other knives. Well, actually, it is probably best to say they can do your cutting tasks, but they aren't as good as somethig thinner. A Spyderco Military with it's full flat grind will outcut a Buck Strider, I'm sure.

But the advantages of the large knives, as I see it, are many. First of all, they do cut, so you aren't simply purchasing a folding prybar. Secondly, you cna really chop with these things. With the thick blades/stout grinfs and long handles you get leverage and mass enough to chop with. Thirdly, you can use them for hard tasks. I have heard stories here of guys prying off hubcaps, prying door dams open, you can use the tanto tip on the Strider for hard scoring, and so on. In addition, the thicker stock and thicker grinds means the blade will take impacts better. I am thinking about weapon use here. I'd hate to take a stab at a POS rapist with a thinner knife (say my AFCK or Spyderco Centophane) only to miss and hit a brick wall and bust the tip. It looks like the MOD, Buck Strider and TOPS cold take these impacts much better.

I guess my guestion here is two, really. has anyone lese noticed my observation that the big folders are more versatile than their "standard" cousins? They seem to be much better tools than, say, my AFCK. Secondly, what uses have you put your big folder to? Please, any response on this one is welcome. I want to know how well a TOPS Magnum in tanto point handles in the kitchen, if that is what you do with it!

Thanks!
 
First off, if you want a big, tough folder, go with the Cold Steel Gunsite. This monster is a whopping 11 inches in overall length!! I'll tell you, CS needs more support around here. :D
(1) They are more versitle in several ways. With a longer blade you obviously have a longer edge, thus less resharpening. Sometimes a longer blade is better for the task at hand, for example: filleting fish, carving turkey, slicing muggers, etc. Long blades create more "reach" in combative situations as well. I have always liked big blades and the SIFU advocates out there will tell you the very same.
(2) I feel big folding blades have as many uses as their smaller counter parts. Like the old saying goes, a five inch blade can do everything a three incher can, but a three inch blade can't do everything the five incher can. I think I just made that up, but it does have validity.

You should get some good answers from the Cold Steel Vaquero Grande, Gunsite, Strider AR, and REKAT SIFU people out there. Long live long blades!
 
All of the knives mentioned thus far are expensive pry bars with an edge.
For true cutting utility a thinner blade is required. I suppose that is why
so many people carry a Multi Tool of some type AND a knife. True do
it all utility in a folder has always been a camp knife or an SAK. Attempting
to do it all with any folding knife just will not work for long. The movies gave us the
"Rambo" knives along with the illusion that one could get by with just one knife.
That might be possible with a fixed blade but not a folder.
 
The REKAT Sifu has a HUGE "piss your pants factor", when shown to a "bad-guy", and I feel that I could cut myself out of my car with it in a wreck if I had to!.:D.:D.
 
I don't like the idea of a 'sharpened prybar'. Knives are made to cut, that is all I ask mine to do. I appreciate a sharp edge, and don't like doing things that damage that edge. As for a folder, not only the blade, but the pivot, lock, and handle scales have to hold up as well. Over-engineering a tool for an unintended task ain't my cup o' tea.
 
Mebbie it's just me, but I find cutting open peanuts and opening letters to be easier with smaller knives... quite simply, when there's fine work to be done, a big knife can get real unwieldy, just my opinion.
 
too bad the local blade limit is 2.5". i guess no monster blades for chicagoans.
 
The bigger GODZILLA type folders that are of high quality certainly serve a purpose for those that need a knife like that.., and of course lots of larger men just like a knife with meaty handles.

As far as hard use goes.., for people that really need a "hard user"..., I've always wondered whey they just wouldn't carry a fixed blade.., but that's just me.



"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
I personally own a Gerber Applegate Fighting Folder and yes they do work for scaring the hell out of a street thug. I personally like folders, but when you start getting a blade length of over 4 inches, your starting to sacrafice carrying comfort as well as pants pocket space. I own Cold Steel Recon I folder and it's 4 inches. I prefer to carry this own over the Gerber because of the pocket clip. Don't get me wrong, both knives are good. You might look into getting a fixed blade with a custom made sheath. Your draw will be faster and you definately won't have to worry anymore.
 
I routinely carry a REKAT Sifu. My experience has been that it does quite well at most standard knife tasks, like cutting food, opening boxes, and so on. (And how many other knives can completely slice a bagel in one pass?) There are some tasks where the size of the knife is inconvenient, although I haven't found one yet where it made the task impractical.

--Bob Q
 
I suppose that if you're only referring to prying, stabbing, and chopping I would agree that a bigger blade is superior.
But for fine delicate work the small blade is much better, IMHO.

So, when I consider how I use my knives on a daily basis, I don't find alot of need for a large blade. After all, I'm an X-ray tech, not a wilderness survival instructor.

Besides, the most useful knife is the one you have with you when you need to cut something. The larger the knife, the greater the odds that you will not carry it all the time.

I've got quite a few large knives that I love but they mostly collect dust, and some have never even been used, while my swiss army knife looks like its been through a war-zone.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
Bigger is better. Check out the REKAT Sifu but be aware that some will have QC problems with the lock so handle it before you buy it. It is an impressive knife. I have a Cold Steel Gunsite too. The Gunsite is not smooth opening but it is afforable and the tanto blade is nice. I have not checked out the MOD Deiter CQD yet but I've read very good things about it and I am considering getting one.

Any one have a MOD Deiter CQD? Does the black finish rub off easy? Is it Boron Carbide finish?
 
I like big folding knives. I got hooked several years ago with an XL Cold Steel Clip Point Voyager. I then bought the Cold Steel Vacarro (I know that is not spelled correctly.) Then I got into SIFU's and Buck Striders and I just ordered (UPS hurry up):mad: TOPS CQT Magnum.

I am from the train of thought that a big knife can do just about anything a small one can do and do it better. I am not a BIG guy and I have not found a folder yet that is uncomfortable to carry. Ok, back -up, I have this Spanish Folder that is HUGE and it wouldn't carry well. But there is a difference between large folder and folding sword. Some because of weight don't carry well in dress pants but for heavy jeans they work fine. I think if someone is going to buy a knife as a defensive tool there should be a minimum size for blade length. As far as using one as a utility tool a bigger more "stout" blade just makes scense.
 
imho the best mega folder (production) is the blade forum special edition smooth handle sifu, designed w/the input of BF members 'back in the day' when REKAT had a presence here - i also like my CRKT KFF, and like my crawford KFF even better - ya cant beat a custom imho

just make sure the sifu doesnt have lock probs (LOL)


sifu
 
As per the post that started the thread, if you take a stab at a bad guy and hit a brick wall, breaking the tip on your AFCK is going to be the least of your worries. If the knife does not close on your hand, it will STILL slash and probably penetrate the attacker with the adrenaline you will be pumping. That is if in the mean time the attacker does not kill you, having missed your chance at him.

Big folders have their place. But you have to be carrying them to use them. I carry my Spyderco Endura or Calypso lot more than my Sifu, XL Voyager, or even spyderco Chinook. They also do not work for small delicate tasks as their edges tend to be thick. (though they can be thinned down nicely.) They are hard to work with inside a confined space such as reaching into a hole to cut something. If you carry one, carry something else as well that is little with a fine edge.

Big folders can pry more though with no risk of damage or have their blades beaten through a tough material. But for most of that stuff you better use a fixed blade. A knife like the livesay woo neck knife will take more punishment than most any folder of up to 4 inches blade length. Or better yet, the Busse Assault Shaker. They are all small easy to carry as well. Pocket sized actually. That said Big folders have their uses. I think their best use is defensive. Longer blade length longer reach, tougher locks with less flex in some cases. Edges can be thinned to give better cutting as well. The edge on my Sifu will slice dust suspended in air. Just stand there and I will show ya :-)
 
The answer is yes.Oh course fixed blades are stronger and better suited for heavy tasks,and if we could always carry them we would.I love big strong heavy folders because I can't always carry a fixed blade.Most guys I know who use a knife in a blue collar type job will use it for things its not made for,you use what you got at hand.

If your a white shirt and just cut paper ect.well you can get by with weak knives.As a firefighter I have all kinds of bars,axes ect. to cut pry and smash with,yet there have been times when the unexpected happened and all I had was a folder.Once at a "child struck call" the latches on the trauma box were jammed,I was a ways from the truck(and tools) so I jammed the tip of my CS tanto into the latches and pried them open,I was very glad I wasn't carring my AFCK that day!!

If you see your blade as an emergency/rescue tool,something to get you free,pop a stuck latch, hack your way free from entrapment or work in a rough and tumble job then you need a big strong knife,if all you want is to slice an apple into really neat thin pieces,you don't.
 
You can have your cake and eat it too. If you want TOUGH, you do not need "large" or "thick." Okay everyone, what knife am I referring to?

The BM 710 with M2 steel is the best of both worlds. Although not as heavy and thick as the Buck Strider, Chinook, TOPS, etc...it may be just as tough. The blade is certainly tougher than those models, simply because it is made of M2 tool steel. The lock is proabably as tough as those models, certainly more reliable than the liner locks mentioned. Where does true toughness come into play? If you are talking about prybars, then I guess it is the pivot point and the handle construction. Because of the Axis lock construction, I would assume the pivot area to be pretty rugged. Now I know the handles on the 710 are thinner than on the other knives, but the liners are just as thick as on the mighty SERE 2000. They are not quite as solid, however, as they have cutouts in them to facilitate a lighter weight. Overall, I would say the 710 is just as tough as the other knives.

But on to its cutting ability: the 710 is about as good as they come with its blade design. Its recurved 3.9" blade is a true cutter, and it is less than 1/8" thick. This blade is thinner than the AFCK.

I think you can come close to the best of both worlds with the 710, which is already a classic. The only other knife I would think would be better at both would be the Sebenza, and that knife is a couple dollars more.
 
Thank-you for all your input. I like the diversity of ideas here. This is exactly what I was looking for :)
 
I personally judge folders on their ability to cut, and nothing else.

Knives and prybars are two very different objects that are used for very different purposes. In fact, I think that they're so different from each other that we shouldn't try to combine them into a single object.

Trying to make a fixed blade act as a prybar is bad enough, but using a folder as a prybar just leaves me scratching my head. A folder, by definition, is inherently ill suited for that task. And that can never change; no matter how stong you make the folder, it will always have a joint.

People talk about how tough the Buck Strider is, but I've heard that its leading edge isn't even sharp. If so, they're taking the "sharpened prybar" idea to an even more absurd level - now the knife is an unsharpened prybar! Pretty soon we'll start to see knives that can't cut in any manner whatsoever. The next Blade of the Year will probably just be a solid block of steel, and everyone will marvel at how tough it is. :)

If we start to judge folding knives on things other than their cutting ability, then where do we stop and draw the line? For instance: Say I have a folder that has a little cell phone contained within the handle. Could I claim that knives which can't be used as a cell phones are inferior to mine? What if I post a story about how I was hiking in the woods by myself and broke my leg and would have probably died if I hadn't used my cell phone knife to call for help. Could I then make an argument like: "You might be able to get along without a cell phone knife if you just use your knife to open letters or cut up cardboard, but if you want a real emergency knife, you need a cell phone knife"?
 
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