Can people not use slipjoints any more?

D

DeadManWalking

Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Messages
442
How many times has this happened to you?

"Hey DeadMan let me borrow that knife real quick."

"Okay Fictional Person here you go."

"Man this thing sure is dull-"

"You're cutting with the wrong side-"

SNAP

"YEEE-Ouch!"

Honestly can people not use a slipjoint knife any more? I daily meet many who can't open one even with the aid of a dime much less use one. Okay I admit I use a pick or a coin sometimes to open one :D

Come on people... the slipjoint is centuries old. Haven't you seen a 3 Blade Stockman before? How can people not be proficient in such an old and basic tool? People don't stare at a hammer stupidly and then try to drive the nail in with the handle.

It's not like they're outmoded. Slipjoints are capable of handling most people's modern needs. They probably do 50% or more of my cutting. I understand that not everyone has full articulation of their hands and that there are many jobs for which a slipjoint is not appropriate but come on!

Do people need to be taught? Well no one ever taught me how to use one. At seven years old my dad handed me my first knife and said "You're old enough to start learning how to use one of these things now" or some other fatherly speech. I was told not to stick it in my eye or take it to school and that was about it.

Yes I admit I cut myself being a kid but that's not because I couldn't figure out how to use it obviously :D

For some time now I've taken to carrying a "loaner" knife because people are always asking me for one and I don't want to give them something I don't want lost or ruined. I realized that for the past few years I've gone to carrying a small locking blade.

Well no more! I think I'm going to the Monster Mart and buying a Buck Cadet or maybe a Schrade and letting people borrow it until they freaking learn for themselves :p
 
Forget about knives. Safety Scissors are the wave of the future!!!! If the average person can't get to fictional object with a pair of safety scissors, they probably shouldn't be getting to it anyways.

Safety Scissors in a horizontal kydex sheath is definitely the way to go.
 
I have been waiting for years fore someone to make a post like this one.

Thank you DMW! :cool:

I have to admit that I keep my mouth shut when I hear that people (even on a cutlery forum :)) will not use a slipjoint because it is unsafe so here is my chance top open it. :D

If you cut with the sharp side of the blade, a non-locking slipjoint is perfectly safe ;). If you cut with the spine of the blade, a non-locking slipjoint is not safe nor efficient ;). It is pretty hard to have an accident with a multiblade if you keep the above in mind.
 
People don't stare at a hammer stupidly and then try to drive the nail in with the handle.
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Apparently you haven't met my younger brother.
 
Or mine. My Brother will use the tip of any knife as a Phillips screwdriver.
 
Posted by Bastid:

If you cut with the spine of the blade, a non-locking slipjoint is not safe nor efficient. . .
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People who use this method shouldn't be allowed near any sharp, shiny objects ! :D Not even the Kindergarten type "safety scissors !" :D
 
I prefer slipjoints and have carried one all the time for years, sure I have some "modern" stuff too, but I love slipjoints. My favorite EDC is an old Case XX 6333. I joke around sometimes saying I'm gonna field dress my next deer with it! I honestly think I may this year :D
 
Sheeple can't handle locking blades either. With a locking blade they cut themselves trying to force the blade closed.
 
Jeff - Ironic that you should mention that one of my officemates managed to that (with a double locking mech, no less!!:eek: )
 
I knew several older guys when I was a kid "they are gone now" who did everything with a slip-joint including field dressing and skinning a deer. One fella not only used his muskrat for hunting but used it to make handles for his garden tools. Muskrats and stockmen patterns seemed to be the favorites among those old guys with a few carrying trappers and jack's.
 
No, people rapidly have lost that ability to use a slippie. :( My grandmother carried a 6347 every day until she turned 85, then she let Grandpa take the slack. They don't make folk like that anymore.
 
I forgot to use the lockring when using the spine of an Opinel to strike a fire steel. ouch...
 
I've had the opposite problem; people who don't know how to close locking blades! I tell people that it's an IQ test, then hand them a liner lock and see how long it takes them to figure out how to close it. The results can be revealing.
 
Aren't SAKs slip joints? I thought everyone could handle SAKs?

I think it's all about culture - I learnt woodwork and metalwork (it was called "industrial arts) in school as a kid so am not so awkward around tools. But I could never sharpen anything until recently, after discovering bladeforums a coupla years back.
 
spyken said:
Aren't SAKs slip joints? I thought everyone could handle SAKs?
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Yes and GUESS WHAT THEY CAN'T!

People seem to have more difficulty with SAKs even if they don't look at them like murder weapons :rolleyes:
 
Or mine. My Brother will use the tip of any knife as a Phillips screwdriver.
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At least yours will try. Mine would just call a carpenter to come and remove the offending screw for him.

This is a man who has called an electrician to come and change a lightbulb for him.

He called me one day in a panic. A fitting on a radiator had broken and water was spilling out. He'd called a steamfitter, but he was a half-hour away. I had to talk him through going into the basement and turning valves in the general area of the boiler until the water stopped.
 
You've hit the nail on the head, DMW. And it seems to me that lots of people don't like traditional slipjoints since they're 'old fashioned'. That's their loss, as far as I'm concerned.

And regarding the issue of loaning your knife to folks... Used to be that when folks asked if I had a knife, I'd say no, just because I didn't want to deal with the whining when they cut themselves. Since then I've started carrying a Leatherman Sideclip to use as a beater blade, and I let people use the knife blade in it. It's not what I'd call acceptably sharp, but since I use it for things like wire stripping and battery terminal scraping, I really don't care.

James
 
Jeff Clark said:
Sheeple can't handle locking blades either. With a locking blade they cut themselves trying to force the blade closed.
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BTST--been there, seen that. I love it when other people can't even function on a basic level. Helps me maintain a healthy self-image :o
 
Slipjoints are the way to go as far as I'm concerned for most of your cutting needs. They will cut better then almost all other kinds of knives.

Sure sometimes there is a task that might require more force or a sturdier design, and thats what one-handers are for. Other then that though I EDC a Victorinox Camper and it cuts like a demon!!
-Kevin
 
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