Beefy Folders vs. Fixed blades...

T

The_Guide

Joined
Feb 1, 2009
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Hey everyone, I have been thinking about something lately... I have been getting into hard use folders as of late... I just scored a ZT 551, and I plan on picking up a real hinderer one day (XM 24 is my grail with textured titanium scales :drool:, life intervened and left me unable to afford the one I had on hold) but it got me thinking,

Can even the beefiest folders stand up to a fixed blade? Do folders offer any advantage other than they are easier to carry/conceal?

I am extremely drawn to beefy folders, but the cost over a fixed blade is often quite high.

In all honesty, if I were looking to buy a work knife, an XM 24 would be the top of my list, over any fixed blade. (Been using an Umnumzaan as my EDC for almost a year now)

Any of you share this sentiment?

(and i apologize if this has been discussed before, I just wanted to ask it in my own way)

Cheers!
G
 
No two pieces of steel can ever be stronger at the junction than a single solid piece of steel.

And IMO folders offer only 3 advantages: they can be more legal, they are easier to conceal, and they allow you to carry a knife with the same length as a fixed blade in a smaller package

That said, I think in any normal tasks, you should be fine with a heavy duty folder.
 
My actual "work knife" is a small FB, either an Izula or a BRK Little Creek. Occasionally I'll try another small FB and carry that for a while, but I keep coming back to these two. When I'm not at work I do carry a folder but I don't like heavy or clunky ones. A small Sebenza, a Native 5, or a Para 1 are the folders that I carry almost exclusively. For work, I prefer the FB because it's small and light, it doesn't have to be opened and closed, and it rides out of sight on my belt or in a pocket sheath. I've found that a small blade often works better for what I cut in the warehouse and my garden than a larger blade does and for a small blade (less than 2 3/4"), I'd rather have a FB.
 
I do believe that a zt300 series could be stronger than some fixed blades. But usually if it ain't broke, its stronger. ;)
 
I was in the same situation a while back . Realizing that my folding knife (good as it is) could be broken easily enough if used hard in an extreme situation , I bought an expensive and rather bulky folder . Unhappy with that I started looking at small fixed blade knives. I wanted to be able to carry it IN my pocket like a folder , so I ended up buying an ESEE Izula (because of it's length) and made a sheath for it with a pocket clip . it fits nicely inside my jeans pocket right where my folder did and only enough sticks out to catch it to pull it out . At .163 or 5/32" thick it is very strong and ESEE has a lifetime warantee .


HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS !
 
It would seem to me that even a simple one-piece fixed blade like the Izula would be a lot stronger than almost any folder out there. The main reason I carry a folder is because they're much more comfortable to carry in the pocket and much more convenient, and for me, that's worth more than the additional strength provided by a fixed blade.

Additionally, they're more discreet and much easier to justify to a police officer. Carrying a sheathed fixed blade, while not technically illegal, would raise a lot of eyebrows where I live, and if I were to conceal a fixed blade it might be considered a concealed weapon.
 
I still like big folders, though they stay in boxes and see no pocket time. They are too bulky and too heavy - while not adding any value for me.
But I do not baton and do not chop - actually simply not interested in any kind of knife testing. And I have a hatchet from Fiskars, couple of good quality hand saws, reasonable set of power tools. So even my fixed blades are never have to do any "survival" work. ;)
 
I've actually been wondering the same thing, so I'm glad you brought it up. While the ZT0550 looks great, I keep thinking that with a knife solid I should probably just get a fixed blade. I've got a folder to handle the smaller cutting tasks already. So approaching it from a user point of view, I'm not seeing the use of a large folder.
 
Big, thick, and heavy folders are, and have been, my cup of tea. I have gravitated towards this type knife from my single digit
years, up to my current age of 55. So for 45 years I have relished this style of knife, and don't think I will change from it.

Just got my BM 275 Adamas w/combo blade and have 2 more of these heavy duty folder's on order, plain edge tan handles, and the all black LE. My whole list of edc folder's are all what I would call heavy duty knives; ZT0200 x 2, Boker Titan Defender, JWS SD-3 x 2, ZT0500, BM Bone Collector(large), Lion Steel SR-1, Spyderco Vallotton Sub-Hilt, and so on.

The funny part of this all is that the work I need a knife to do, on a normal day, can ALL be handled by the medium sized slipjoint I always have. It is just something about these HD's that draw me to them.
 
When you get right down to it, a very large heavy folder has no advantage over a small to medium sheath knife except for the convenance of folding up to carry out of sight. In our so called civilized society, the open carrying of a sheath knife may be looked down on if not out and out against the law. So, we carry knives that are broken in the middle.

I've never quite understood the big folder idea anyways. I feel, if my pocket knife is too small, then a bigger tool is needed. I think the whole big folder idea got going in 1963, with the Buck 110. Before that, people has a small pocket knife, and if they went hunting or camping, they carried a sheath knife on the belt. A better tool for the outdoors job.

I still feel the same way, and never really understood the popularity of a knife that weighed as much as a small boat anchor. :D

With a 4 inch bladed sheath knife, you get a stronger knife, an easier to clean knife, an easier knife to get out and into action, and hanging out there on the belt, it's way easier to take out and use with heavy gloves in either cold or work conditions. Heck, the sheath knife is the original one hand knife if you want to look at it that way. Not to mention a Buck 102 woodsman is half the weight of a 110 folding hunter.

Carl.
 
I love big folders. I think it's the only way to get the most out of your edc. Like others have said, I can pocket a folder that opens up to 8 or 9 inches, and not get any funny looks. If I belt carry a 4 or 5 inch fixed, different story. To be honest though, if it was the zombie apocalypse I was preparing for, I would want a good fixed for survival. I don't think ANY fixed blade is tougher than any folder. You get what you pay for. POS china steel fixed with crap heat treat, vs a CRK or something like that quality? Easy decision.
 
I've never been drawn to beefy folders. To me the sole function of a pocket knife is to cut. The beefy folders are sometimes 3/16" thick which makes them horrid at cutting. Sure they work but put them up to something 1/2 as thick or less and there's no comparison. I really think people like them for the cool factor rather then how well they work. A 50 dollar multitool will out "hard use" even the best "hard use" folder at 8 times or more that price point. If you like them buy them but no, I don't think they're better then even some of the cheapest fixed blades. Mora, green river, etc
 
I just carry my big, beefy folders and look for reasons to use them. I only ever use all the horsepower in my station wagon on track days, but I love driving it around whenever I can.
 
Sometimes folders deploy better than fixed blades, but that said I like fixed blades for hard use. Hard use includes not only battening, chopping, and other tasks that test the strength of the blade and lock, but also tasks that are dirty, sticky and nasty like gutting animals which I would infinity prefer a fixed blade for. Is it possible to get a gunky filthy, folder clean enough without disassembling it?
 
Extremaratiousa RAO...would like to see some tests and data than just some of your assumptions...
 
My humble opinion is that the only way a fixed blade looses anything to a folder is if your comparison is flawed (i.e. do not compare a fixed fillet knife to an overbuilt folder in a prying contest).

Take a well made "survival" or "tactical" or "hard use" folder and compare it to a similarly well made fixed blade in the same category and the fixed blade will be stronger and should cost less. None of this should be a surprise to anyone...there are less parts to make, charge for, or break.

Regarding concealment and legality...that depends on location and personal needs. I can legally carry a fixed, and do. I could conceal it easily if needed (but the bottom of the sheath is visible to all...because I do not fear others knowing about it, nor should they fear me having it and using it responsibly).

Regardless of everything, I rarely do anything that would break most well made folders because I choose not to pry/baton/chop everything I come in contact with...but that is a personal choice...just like my choice to prefer a fixed blade.

Sure there are some folders that perhaps no one will ever break...for every one you can show me, I can probably show you 5 fixed blades that we would say the same thing about. The problem is, when you succeed in creating ANY knife that probably can not be broken without a vice and a long cheater pipe, is that you have also created something that is really lousy for what MOST people want a knife to actually do (cut stuff).
 
There are only 3 conceivable tasks I can think of that a fixed blade handles better than folders, and might break them:
-Batoning
-Chopping
-Prying

Even then I would expect the blade to break before the pivot or lock. Though that depends on the construction. If I were carving wood, a Buck 110 would be more than strong enough for me. But outside of toughness I also like fixed blades because 1) they're faster to deploy and 2) they're easier to clean. I have yet to encounter any rough tasks that couldn't be accomplished better with a hatchet or prybar rather than a fixed blade. For me, the consideration would be cutting food.
 
Jacknife and Unit expressed my thoughts exactly, so that saves me a lot of typing ;).

I went through a "big folder" phase some years ago (Tops Magnum, Lone Wolf Harsey) and regret it. That's a total of $500 I'll never see agin.

It's legal to openly carry a fixed blade where I live. And though it took me a while to overcome my aversion to doing so, I eventually started doing it (screw what people think), and do so where ever I can.

Though I carry a folder for simple knife tasks, I carry a fixed blade for heavy-duty cutting chores, dirty jobs (easier cleaning), and other emergency situations that I hope I never find myself in (like self-defense). I also really like the low maintenance of a fixed blade. Nothing to disassemble and lube, no detailed cleaning.

PS. There's no need to apologize for bringing up a subject that has been discussed before. Bladeforums has been around a long time and I'm sure EVERY possible knife topic has been discussed several times already. I'm sure one more won't hurt.
 
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When I am really using a knife, I absolutely prefer a fixed blade due to many of the above listed reasons. My main woods carry is a Fehrman Hoodhunter and Peacemaker, and I often carry a saw and small axe on top of that...

For me thats the main distinction. I would never take a folder into the woods, and I may or may not carry a fixed blade to work. A tough folder can handle all the jobs it faces during a day of work.

What got me thinking about this, is I have been EDC'ing a Murray Carter neck knife for a little while now, and I quite like it...

So ultimately, unless its going to be a woods knife, I judge it on a knife to knife basis and have no specific preference to fixed or folded. (Though I am more drawn to folders for EDC at the moment, and yes, just ordered an Acies ;))

Cheers!
G :thumbup:
 
Until recently I hadn't been interested in any folder bigger than a Kershaw Skyline. Then I got a Kershaw Storm II for Christmas. It's not crazy big but pretty big and I really like it. Then I got a Cold Steel Recon 1and it's getting a lot of pocket time as well. I can't carry them as easily or as often as my Skyline or Leek but there's something about them that I have to admit is kinda awesome. I still prefer a fixed blade for heavy outdoor work but a really stout folder is probably more practical for s/d in an urban environment.
2¢ worth no charge :-)
 
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