Are we carrying tougher knives than are needed?

Are you carrying more knife than needed?

  • Yep. I admit it and I'm fine with it. It gives me pleasure.

    Votes: 115 65.0%

  • Yeah, now that you mention it...

    Votes: 19 10.7%

  • No, I use all the capability I carry

    Votes: 35 19.8%

  • Other

    Votes: 8 4.5%
  • Total voters
    177
We should never confuse needs vs. wants. I don't need a new knife. I have enough for many years. However, my wants can and would bankrupt Bill Gates. A Buck 307 stockman or an SAK will realistically handle all of my cutting needs, but where is the fun of using my accumulation. I enjoy using my overbuilt knives.
 
DocJD said:
Country driving , in no hurray . I was taught to drive this way . Minimal reliance on brakes , not no use ! ;)
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Same here, except the word taught is a bit of a stretch. I was in the second grade, got a quick tutorial on how to use a stick shift and clutch, and then was turned loose with the only instruction from my dad being "keep it between the ditches" 🤪

It was the norm for the kids to do the majority of the driving when we were out in the woods on the old dirt roads, and quite a few of the old vehicles turned into buggies had no brakes at all. Slow down with the gears, coast, and pop the clutch to stop.
 
I was just talking about this with a friend of mine, another knife nut.
Quiet said:
If we only carried what we needed, most people wouldn't carry a knife at all. Oh wait, that's already true, oops. As is, this is a hobby, and it's supposed to be about enjoyment with a hefty side of realworld use and utilarian purpose. If you start applying the "Need" qualifier, then roughly 99.99999% of this hobby wouldn't make any sense (not to mention all the companies and makers making neat stuff for us to enjoy). It's ok to like, and own many things, even if there exists a simplified version of that thing and one is all you need. 🤷‍♂️

As someone who still has a couple of old knives owned by my Grandfather. He used a knife most days of his life as a railroad man and of note is this. I own one of his old worn out Sears traditionals....and I also own the last knife he carried, which was an old Kershaw with a thumbstud and a pocket clip. Extrapolate from that what you will.
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This is so true. I go days and days without cutting anything. Sure, I open boxes and packages daily but even then I use a box cutter because I don’t want to dull the edges on my good knives 🙄. And yet I have hundreds of knives and many many overbuilt monsters ready for the zombie apocalypse. This is the most irrational hobby I’ve ever picked up. And I wouldn’t change a thing 🤷‍♂️
 
"The man who sleeps with a machete is a fool every night but one"

I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. If I need to fend off a dog or some freak show while I'm out riding bikes with my kids, I want an overbuilt monster in my pocket that will make the task easier.
 
Sig from a certain watch forum: “When was it ever a question of need?”

Not a woodsman or any sort of avid adventurer myself. I just happen to like knives. The extra degree of toughness is nice to have compared to the opposite, yes?
 
Smaug said:
I was just perusing the EDC thread and came across this daily carry pic. Back in the day, my dad and granddad would carry either a traditional slipjoint or a SAK and that would address all of their needs. I was thinking that old Buck slipjoint would do most of what I need, and whatever's missing would be done by the SAK.

We now carry a heavy-duty locking folder + fixed or + SAK or multi-tool. The companies selling these to us advertise them as being capable of heavy-duty cutting all day long. Who among us are really doing that? (and it doesn't include LOOKING for things to cut, just to use our knives!)

I find myself going through these phases where I carry a tactical folder for awhile. I use it rarely, and realize a simple SAK would do me fine and be less conspicuous and take up less room on my clothes. Then, I carry a SAK for months or years. Then get the itch for a tactical folder again. Makes me realize that (for me at least) it is a hobby first and foremost, one that occasionally has another use.

Am I surrounded here with warehouse workers, farm workers and guys who spend all day in the woods?
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Yes, absolutely, I have plenty of overbuilt folders some of which have horrible edge grinds simple because of how thick the blade is. my favorite cutters are my simple spydercos or cold steel blades that have thin blades and excellent edge geometry and that is what I carry.
 
My SA Alox Pioneer and my Opinel #6 see most action, followed by MAM. Also my Ontario old hickory folder. Most are light weight and do tasks just fine. I own expensive ones, but use the lighter ones for my needs. I have Also found smaller bird and trout size knives quite capable, filling my fixed blade desire.
 
Better to have just enough knife so that way when your knife completes the task you can take pride in knowing you didn't have any extra to give, you'd done your manly duty.

Kids these days have it to easy. Back in my day we knapped our knives and if you dropped it they'd break. Steel? That's to much knife in my opinion.
 
My vote was yes and I’m good with it.
For a good while now I have carried a Carothers EDC 3” fixed blade along with a small Sebenza. Carothers hammers his blades through a 1/4” bolt and concrete blocks with very little damage to prove their capabilities. Do “I” need that level of performance? HELL no. Does that mean that what little use mine sees in comparison to that will result in a longer duration between sharpenings and less chipping or rolling as compared to a lesser blade? I think so.
I believe in the right tool for the job whenever possible. Under normal circumstances My blades get used for cutting, period. I use razor knives, pry bars and screwdrivers for their intended purposes and only in an emergency would risk my blade on their tasks.
Are there people on this forum who use a knife hard and want one that will hold up to extreme use? Indeed there are.
I carried a slip joint for many many years and was perfectly happy. Then came the internet and with it unimaginable options I didn’t know existed.
There is no right or wrong answer.
Carry what you want.
 
440c and 154cm have both experienced the tribulations of my life.

I've dulled and have snapped 440c. All by my fault. Then the 154cm. 154cm put up with my stupidity. As with that time, I decided to stab tempered glass.

I was around a bunch of junk. There was one of those rectangle flood lights. You commonly see lighting a business sign. The devil whispered in my ear, "Bust that glass". So in grand fashion, I stab at it in one stroke. Well, the glass didn't break and the very tip of the blade. Less then 1/16 went bye-bye.

I really put 154cm through the paces. It's a steel I earned to trust.


The steels today are ridiculous. Overkill, that most will never push to their limit.
 
I think it's really a matter of personal taste, I myself have a limit, I don't need a brick in my pocket that sometimes cut stuff. I like to know that the knife I carry will be able to do everything I ask of it, including some stuff I havnt asked of it yet, because it really sucks when your knife fails on you when you need it most, and I don't hulk smash through wood --- so I'm more than happy with a full tang or even a 3/4 tang knife in ranging spine thickness of .10 to .14 in stainless and now carbon, now that I spent some exclusive time with the steel and found it relatively easy to maintain
I really don't have a need for a pocket tank, essentially a knife needs to be able to cut and cut well and I find some intentionally over built knives struggle with the basics, my opinion of course
 
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