Are you taken in by "overbuilt" marketing?

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It's a balance and everyone has their idea what overbuilt is. I don't really consider knives like Reeve, 0560, Striders etc. as "overbuilt" though I do agree that most factory edge profiles could be much better for everyday cutting tasks but it's probably a trade off to have a durable edge for the average customer (none of us are the average customer).

What's really impressive about the trend is it's convinced so many people to buy a product that's so poor for their actual needs in order to "prepare" them for something they are most likely never going to need, and if they do, it's STILL going to suck! 98% of the "overbuilt" folders I see have an edge profile that's horrible for doing anything other than prying a car door open or digging rocks, and any 8" knife sucks for those uses compared to the proper tools.

The big jacked up truck is a perfect example. 90% that I see are probably worse off road than the stock truck was, you can't get into the cargo area without a ladder, they devour gas and tires, and they suck to drive on the pavement. Very few I see are actually built in a way that really improves the vehicle for off road/rock crawling use, and most of those are not daily drivers. It's all just an ego statement to get attention for something that is a crappy solution to both their everyday and possible extreme situation need.

It's like the old saying, a knife is the most expensive worst screw driver, axe, and pry bar you can buy.
 
I have never had an interest in ''over built'' folders in general, as I can find no real world application for them... (for myself). But to each their own. I do however like my Becker BK-2, which suits my outdoor FB needs at times. I also realize that practical use is not always a priority with our purchases. I play with my Cold Steel Rajah now and then, which I have never applied to any outdoor use.
 
The Strider SnG folder is overbuilt in the sense of the design; a milled one-piece G10 handle slab, nut and bolt construction plus the huge pivot screw. With the hand firmly on the RIL, aka frame-lock, this folder will not fail.
rolf
 
I actually like some overbuilt knives. I feel that there are some designs that are great and have excellent qualities and are unique, neat, and are built perfectly. On the other end we have some overbuilt knives that are.... Well the definition of "overbuilt" and are a bit ridiculous and more of a collectors piece than a useful tool for some but it's all opinions
 
I would confess that I enjoy a thick, heavy duty folding knife, with the caveat being that the ergonomics and aesthetics have to be pleasing to me as well.

I work in a white-collar office environment and there will be whole days that go by, from the time I wake up, to the time I go to bed that night where my knife wasn't needed, not once.

But that doesn't mean I'm not carrying my Spyderco GB, which arguably is overkill for an EDC pocket-knife. Doesn't matter, I love it, so I carry it.
 
Everyone has their different tastes in knives. Its just funny how some people get soo upset at people who like crusader forge or medford knives. I mean whether or not something is practical for edc or cutting tasks is subjective. No one has the right to say "oh thats totally not necessary when it comes to anything you buy". Its all about what you like. If you want to buy an overbuilt tank folder and thats what you like and it makes you happy screw what anyone thinks buy it. Remember everyone is entitled to their opinion and its just that "their opinion". You don't have to justify anything you buy to anyone. Why should anyone judge me for what I like? I could argue the same exact thing for people who like light gentleman carry type knives. If you like overbuilt buy it.
 
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Quillan said:
I would just LOVE to see one of these people yank out a mirror-polished, micarta-handled BK2 around a firepit populated by real bushcrafters. I can hear the giggles now....
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Why would they care? First of all, "real bushcrafters" aren't the end-all, be-all of knife judgement. Secondly, most of the bushcrafters I know aren't little schoolgirls, so they wouldn't start "giggling" when someone took out a knife. Hell, most of my bushcraft survivalist friends would just be glad a newcomer to their campfire HAD a knife.
 
XEcko721 said:
Everyone has their different tastes in knives. Its just funny how some people get soo upset at people who like crusader forge or medford knives. I mean whether or not something is practical for edc or cutting tasks is subjective. No one has the right to say "oh thats totally not necessary when it comes to anything you buy". Its all about what you like. If you want to buy an overbuilt tank folder and thats what you like and it makes you happy screw what anyone thinks buy it. Remember everyone is entitled to their opinion and its just that "their opinion". You don't have to justify anything you buy to anyone. Why should anyone judge me for what I like? I could argue the same exact thing for people who like light gentleman carry type knives. If you like overbuilt buy it.
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I think you exaggerating when you say they get "upset." Calling something unreasonable or ridiculous is maybe not cool but i bet everyone does it from time to time. I agree though that you should buy what you like regardless of other people.
 
Quillan said:
The Becker BK-2 and ESEE 5 stand as mute testimony to the lemming-like lure of professional marketers - who clearly - based on the sales success of those two jokes of a knife - have found a market niche in those with Freudian complexes that correlate spine thickness with a thickness of a different sort.
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so what you are saying is that anyone who has a blade longer than 4 inches or over 5/32nds thick they have a Freudian complex?
 
I love overbuilt tank folders. People say "If you need something that big, get a fixed blade".


Disagree. I like having a knife that can handle any task, be it big or small. It's better to have a big Adamas which can handle anything from cutting strings to cutting drywall than to have a tiny little Leek or Delica that can only handle small things. What happens when you have to use your knife for a tough task? You gonna go home and grab your fixed blade?
 
Honestly the overbuilt marketing is for stupid people. People with a good base understanding of engineering would understand that a knife can be nearly 6" thick, but if the cutout on the lock bar is extremely deep, and if the pock geometry is bad, and if the pivot is thin... Well that knife is pretty garbage.

Good example, my ZT 550 is very beefy, hut my Domino has thicker titanium on the cutout, a steel insert (much lower chance of deformation on impact), and a roughly as thick pivot. The Domino is probably stronger than the perceived "hard use" folder. If you know what to look for, hard use is nothing more than a marketing ploy. Few people would call a Mini Grip a hard use folder, but structurally that is a damn solid knife.
 
He's stating his opinion. Everyone has one. There is a market or they wouldn't sell.
Everyone in business is trying to find that edge that gets the customer what he wants or thinks he wants.
 
XEcko721 said:
Everyone has their different tastes in knives. Its just funny how some people get soo upset at people who like crusader forge or medford knives. I mean whether or not something is practical for edc or cutting tasks is subjective. No one has the right to say "oh thats totally not necessary when it comes to anything you buy". Its all about what you like. If you want to buy an overbuilt tank folder and thats what you like and it makes you happy screw what anyone thinks buy it. Remember everyone is entitled to their opinion and its just that "their opinion". You don't have to justify anything you buy to anyone. Why should anyone judge me for what I like? I could argue the same exact thing for people who like light gentleman carry type knives. If you like overbuilt buy it.
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That's a very good point, maybe this overbuilt folder trend is really more of a fashion statement (even if it's only the user making it to himself) instead of a real functional/useful purchase. I have no problem with that as long as the user accepts it for what it is and it's limitations for typical everyday cutting tasks, in other words they didn't get sucked into the marketing.

Perhaps it's like expensive watches. They don't tell time any better but they make a fashion statement (again even if it's only the user wearing it because he/she likes it and not as a way to get attention from others etc.) These days you can spend under $100 for a casio G-shock with daily radio time corrected solar powered backlit watch that has more accurate time and features than most $1000+ watches that never needs winding or a battery and will take any abuse you can throw at it and not feel like a boat anchor on your wrist.
 
Never met a "real" bushcrafter. The whole shebang is a fantasy.

We all know what Freud thought about knives...that's why big overbuilt ones can be so popular, but others say size doesn't matter, but how it's used does :)

I agree..."don't buy no ugly knife..." That leaves a host of overbuilt knives by the road.
 
dkb45 said:
Honestly the overbuilt marketing is for stupid people. People with a good base understanding of engineering would understand that a knife can be nearly 6" thick, but if the cutout on the lock bar is extremely deep, and if the pock geometry is bad, and if the pivot is thin... Well that knife is pretty garbage.
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why are you insulting your fellow forum members? I agree that thickness does not have much to do with how tough a knife is.
 
dkb45 said:
Honestly the overbuilt marketing is for stupid people. People with a good base understanding of engineering would understand that a knife can be nearly 6" thick, but if the cutout on the lock bar is extremely deep, and if the pock geometry is bad, and if the pivot is thin... Well that knife is pretty garbage.

Good example, my ZT 550 is very beefy, hut my Domino has thicker titanium on the cutout, a steel insert (much lower chance of deformation on impact), and a roughly as thick pivot. The Domino is probably stronger than the perceived "hard use" folder. If you know what to look for, hard use is nothing more than a marketing ploy. Few people would call a Mini Grip a hard use folder, but structurally that is a damn solid knife.
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So are you saying only stupid people buy these knives. Then you talk about your overbuilt folders? I think I'd walk away whistling.
 
mjolnir74 said:
So are you saying only stupid people buy these knives. Then you talk about your overbuilt folders? I think I'd walk away whistling.
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Internet high-five right here, up top! :thumbup:
 
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