Changes in carry habits

Paradiggum

Paradiggum

Joined
Jul 4, 2001
Messages
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I'm sure I'm not the only one that's had this happen. I've carried a knife since I was a kid and as soon as I was old enough to start buying my own I was buying knives by Spyderco, Benchmade and the like. I carried a Delica for well over a decade and never really carried much else. Other than the keychain knife I had. First it was a Gerber LST and it was replaced by a small SAK.
I still carry a Spyderco, Benchmade, CRK or some such one handed opening knife but....
I just looked at my last few purchases and what I've purchased were some Opinels, Case Peanuts and a mini toothpick, Vic Secretary and pocket pal and now I carry a slippie along with whatever locking folder I grab for the day.

Anyone else find yourself buying smaller knives over the pocket clipped knives you generally carry? I just thought it was interesting how I'm getting into yet another realm in this "hobby".
 
very much so. I went from a "mid sized" folder (~3" blade) to toting a fixed blade and small slippies. currently my favorite is a CS Master hunter in Carbon V and a Case Sway back jack. If that combo cant handle it, a knife isn't the right tool
 
Most definitely!

As I got older, my edc pocket knife got more compact. I find that if a 2 to 2 1/2 inch blade is not enough, then a 3 or 4 isn't much better. I carry a Case peanut most of the time as a sole edc. If I'm gong off canoeing or hiking, I'll carry a 4 inch fixed blade or a folding saw in my day pack. The funny the is, now that I'm retired and doing more fishing and outdoor stuff than ever, I find I just don't need a large knife 99% of the time. Not to mention a small knife leaves more room in the pockets for other stuff that comes in handy.

Carl.
 
I too am finding smaller knives are getting carried more, I have always carried a SAK of some kind, unless the knife of the day was thought beefier was better, then something along the lines of a SRKW rat Trap or a BenchMade of some type. I had a meyerchin full size rigger that was very nice, but it was left behind in a hotel room, and never recovered. over the years my grail knife edc has been evolving, and now it seems I want a smaller beefy folder, and tomorrow I am hoping it will be on mail order- a smaller version of the Meyerchin rigger, with titanium scales. We will see.
 
Yup - from the mid '70s to present day:

Small pocket knives/SAKs ➔ small/medium pocket clip knives ➔ large pocket clip knives ➔ back to small/medium models w/pocket clips ➔ medium pocket knives ➔ back to (mostly) small pocket knives.
 
I tend to flip-flop between large-medium folders and fixed blades. For me its more about what knife i am obsessed with at the time. There are knives like the Emerson karambit that have seen pocket time on and off for nearly ten years now, and then there are knives that i buy on a whim, that i never carry.
 
My carry habits are in the process of changing. Since last summer I started carrying two knives, both being about 3.5 inch blades and 8 overall. Not too much blade or too much weight in my opinion, just too much bulk. About a week ago I happen to be in Wal Mart and I find myself in the knife section as i usually do, always hoping to get lucky and see a Skyline. Then I see a pair of Buck's that looked like they could cure my need for a smaller knife. Been carrying the 373 Trio in the small pocket of my jeans since. Small and light enough that I forget it's there. Now I eventually want some kind of three bladed Case.


Still have the one hander on me, so does that mean I now carry four knives? :D
 
Well this isn't the first change. A few years back you never found me without a folder and a small fixed blade. Usually a Spyderco Delica and a Busse Heavy Duty. My hobbies and habits changed and I found since I was spending less time off the beaten path I didn't really have as much use for the fixed blade.

Not sure why it took me so long to start getting into slipjoints. I think some of it is experience from when I was really young. I only had cheap slippies and well, they were junk. Now that I'm buying them I can get quality. I'm really digging my peanut. :)
 
I took out a Boker slipjoint, which I purchased used, at church to cut a tag off a sweatshirt for my kid. It's probably smaller than a Peanut. A couple people turned their heads, but they were smiling. One said "That's a nice little knife.". I go to church in a pretty nice neighborhood.

Medium slipjoint in my back pocket at work, a Barlow is about perfect.

Little slipjoint in my watch pocket after work.

Ya, I used to carry a much bigger knife in a pouch.
 
I've gone from cheap locking folders to expensive locking folders then to small fixed blades and I think I'm happiest where I am now: small slipjoints. Having actually given this topic quite a bit of thought, I now see no reasonable use for a locking folder (for me). I live in a pretty knife-unfriendly place and the last thing a cutlery aficionado wants to do is get caught with a "gravity knife". I've squirmed around and been annoyed and uncomfortable for a while, and I started carrying small FB's in lieu of my locking folders, but I just never could see myself opening the mail or boxes or eating an apple at my desk with an Izula. I now enjoy the Victorinox Soldier 1968 that I've had for years to the fullest, doing correspondence at my office, pulling staples, opening tasty beverages, peeling things; it's about the most useful implement I've ever owned, I'm discovering. Sometimes it sits open on my desk and not one person walking by has so much as batted an eyelid, except to say "that's a nice knife". I couldn't imagine a similar response from an open 110 or Para-Military, and I don't think the apple-excuse would quite cover those knives.

Currently waiting on a GEC #71 which, I think, is the most exciting knife development for me, ever.

In the "woods" I still like a simple fixed blade (e.g. Mora) - something cheap and light and comfortable to use.
 
I have carried in such ranges that make it impossible for me to remember. I know that somewhere in my past line up, there was a Benchmade Onslaught and even a small Case of some type.
 
Well I used to work in a factory and there were too many times where the tape used to bind the fiberglass we made would get caught up and you had to cut the tape with one hand while holding the bail with the other so it didn't drop on your head. After I saw it almost happen to a co-worker but he pulled his Spyderco, cut the tape and had it back in his pocket in a flash so he could use both hands to remove the bail before the next one came I decided I needed such a tool.
But I work in an office now so I don't have that issue. While I still carry that type of knife I added slipjoints to my EDC in addition to my clipped knife.
 
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