Besides Batoning whats the advantage of a fixed blade over a folder

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dd61999

Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
692
I love my rat knife, but it is just easier to clip a folder to my pocket when going in the woods. I am not really hard on my knives anymore. So whats the disadvantage besides batoning wood?
 
dd61999 said:
I love my rat knife, but it is just easier to clip a folder to my pocket when going in the woods. I am not really hard on my knives anymore. So whats the disadvantage besides batoning wood?
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I just worry about sods law buddy, if something can go wrong then chances are it will go wrong and at the worse possible time.
With a fixed blade there ain't really much that can go wrong eh.
 
Strength under use. Far less liklihood of a fixed blade breaking or failing on you in harsh or emergency use conditions.

Safety. A fixed blade wont fold shut on your fingers causing serious injury and blood loss. In wilderness survival conditions this is not only inconvenient it is potentialy life threatening.

In the outdoors I use folders only as a backup to a larger fixed blade knife, and such other tools as are prudent under the circumstances.
 
wildmike said:
Strength under use. Far less liklihood of a fixed blade breaking or failing on you in harsh or emergency use conditions.

Safety. A fixed blade wont fold shut on your fingers causing serious injury and blood loss. In wilderness survival conditions this is not only inconvenient it is potentialy life threatening.

In the outdoors I use folders only as a backup to a larger fixed blade knife, and such other tools as are prudent under the circumstances.
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STATED PERFECTLY!!!!

:thumbup:
 
Most fixed blades will be more comfortable than folders by nature. Especially if you're not using gloves. For me, that's actually the deal breaker in the woods. I always end up whittling, making feather-sticks or whatnot.
Mind you, I always take a folder with me also.
 
A folder is fine 90% of the time when you have a pack with the supplies you need. It's that time you don't have all your gear that a sturdier blade comes in handy.

Say you're lost in the woods and there are few if any natural shelters around. You can baton limbs off of conifers for a shelter or say you found a downed cedar. You could pry bark off much more easily with a sturdy fixed blade than with a folder that might break.

In a normal situation, I use my folder mostly but I take a fixed blade.
 
A fixed blade with a friction sheath like a Mora Clipper is easier to reach than a pocket knife. I do a lot of fishing and canoeing often have one hand available. Large pocket knives are uncomfortable in a pocket.
 
If it breaks or you have no tools to disassemble it to clean sap and gunk out of the pivot, your SOL.
 
No gunked up actions full of guts and blood or sand or dirt or grime, no maintaining multiple working parts, no working parts to fail, no blade play, no confining the design of the knife to a profile that allows for convenient folding... I could go on but any one of these would be enough to do it for me.
 
wildmike said:
Strength under use. Far less liklihood of a fixed blade breaking or failing on you in harsh or emergency use conditions.

Safety. A fixed blade wont fold shut on your fingers causing serious injury and blood loss. In wilderness survival conditions this is not only inconvenient it is potentialy life threatening.

In the outdoors I use folders only as a backup to a larger fixed blade knife, and such other tools as are prudent under the circumstances.
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+2

A folder has parts that can, and will mess up when you most need your tool. Don't let that happen, and have a fixed blade :thumbup:
 
dd61999 said:
I love my rat knife, but it is just easier to clip a folder to my pocket when going in the woods.
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This I don't understand. A walk though town, yes, a folder is convenient and easy to carry. But in the woods, a fixed blade is no problem at all.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
This I don't understand. A walk though town, yes, a folder is convenient and easy to carry. But in the woods, a fixed blade is no problem at all.
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I see what he's getting at. I wear my shirts untucked so sheathing and unsheathing a knife is a two hand affair and you have ot make sure you look when resheathing so you don't stab yourself. With a tactical folder that whole operation is one handed and you can do it blind. Also you don't have to worry about undoing your belt to strap on a sheath. However, I prefer fixed blades. ;) I'm even doing a fixed in-town at the moment.
 
I agree with the OP with comfort and ease of a folding knife. It is for this reason that most people opt for a folding blade or no blade at all. Unfortunately, it is human nature to not be very good at preparing for the future, and it is possible future circumstances where a fixed blade could be very useful. That being said, an axe, a tool kit and a prybar could all be useful as well, so we have to draw the line somewhere.
 
Your question is backwards. The only advantage of a folder is convenience/portability.
 
AF said:
Your question is backwards. The only advantage of a folder is convenience/portability.
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Yep, I agree with this.

As an aside, I used to not wear belts until I started getting more involved into bushcrafty kind of stuff. The belt is a great item for a fixed blade but also to hang off other belt pouches and such. Plus the belt, if lacking threads, can be used as a strop to keep your blade edges tuned, a sling, turniquet, use it to hang things in trees, a clamp, the needle of your belt is a good little pokey thing, the buckle cage can be used to aid snapping wood or leverage bending stuff, use it to carry your knife baldric style. Heck, if you were desperate enough, I bet you could make some emergency footwear from your leather belt. I think a belt is one of those too often overlooked items that serve a million and two uses. Never use a fondness for elastic waist bands and leisure pants as an excuse to put off wearing a belt!
 
Strength and ergonomics.

Strength has been more than covered.

Ergonomics -- the fixed blade does not have to accommodate the blade and folding/locking mechanism in the handle, so you can have a better handle shape.
 
Personally, aside from what others have said, I don't like folders for anything but light use (opening boxes, cutting meat/cheese/apples, peeling off labels, etc) because they are uncomfortable as heck. I have yet to ever hold a folder that doesn't dig into my hand or fingers. Either the handle is too square, or it's a frame-lock and it's too thin and sharp, and no matter what there is is that slot in the front of the handle for the blade that is uncomfortable, and the same goes for folders with an open spine. I use them at work (an office setting) but in the woods I always have a fixed blade too.
 
why not just get a smaller fixed blade with a slim clip sheath?

and really if a folder works for you why reinvent the wheel?
 
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