Do you actually need your knives?

Do you need your knives? (excludes food preparation/consumption)

  • Yea

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Nay

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
Most likely we do not need as many knives as most of us have. But carrying a knife or two gives us some convenience in the life. We do not need to run around in a search of cutting tools, when we need them.
 
I have only begun to see the joys of a SAK. On vacation, there are times when that's the only legal blade.
 
I can't exclude food preparation being in my profession. I need a knife and probably have on in my hand at least 9 hours a day.
 
I wouldn't carry them if I didn't use them! I open packages and boxes daily, and other needs arise like cutting string (like yesterday to tie something down in the bed of my truck) or trimming things in my yard.
 
Yes, I honestly need my knives.

As one woman said to her man when she saw him trying to use his bare hands and failing miserably.... "You're not an animal, use the right tool for that job."

Why risk hurting hands or fingers trying to rip a box apart when I can cut it open?

I don't walk around with scissors. My keys get covered in sticky tape, it can build up and cause my keys to jam up inside my door lock. And, they're not as sharp as a knife.

I go camping, a multi-tool with a stubby blade on it simply isn't going to cut it. (No pun intended.)
 
Yes I do, either to hold and admire the workmanship and enjoy the fruits of my labor, or to use my knife as a tool it was intended for. I truly believe in the right tool for the job at hand.
 
Of course I don't actually "need" a knife. I don't "need" a car or bus pass either. But walking 20 miles to work isn't exactly efficient or convenient, just like using my teeth to open hundreds of boxes at work. You only truly need things like food and water - it's all about how much an item improves your quality of life, and the vast majority of my possessions are probably less useful than a good knife.

That said, I certainly don't get much use out of having a big collection compared to having just one decent knife - that part is almost entirely for my own personal gratification.
 
cncpro11 said:
Even animals use tools in their day to day lives, so it stands to reason that humans would use them as well unless we consider ourselves lower than animals.
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Humans are animals.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Subclass: Theria
Infraclass: Eutheria
Order: Primates
Suborder: Anthropoidea
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Hominidae
Genus: Homo
Species: sapiens
 
I needed my knife to cut vines off my fence today. Garden sheers would do, but a knife is faster and easier IMO.
 
Blues Bender said:
I needed my knife to cut vines off my fence today. Garden sheers would do, but a knife is faster and easier IMO.
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According to some here you could have just ripped through it or chewed through it, or used your keys or you really didn't even need to get through the vines in the first place.
 
leghog said:
According to some here you could have just ripped through it or chewed through it, or used your keys or you really didn't even need to get through the vines in the first place.
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Because opening packages directly correlates to garden work. :rolleyes:

I feel some misunderstand me and took my topic post out of context. Without a doubt having knives make a multitude of tasks easier. There is already a consensus as seen across 5 pages of posts that knives are indeed useful and come handy. That is a given and posts regarding that matter really bring nothing to this thread. My question was more of a matter as to how needing them comes into play. For instance I just used my sebenza no less than 5 minutes ago to cut of tape and cloth padding off an aluminum rod so that the rod could be used in a trellis like structure. Yes the knife came in handy, but the same task could have easily been done with a old swiss army knife or utility blade. In addition such a task that demands the use of a knife does not appear frequently.

Referring to Blues Bender's post, I truly believe that the use of a knife to cut vines are faster and more efficient than that of a garden sheer. But say you only need to cut vines once every few months when they begin to grow thick. (not that I know how often Blues Bender need to use his knife, just hypothesizing) Does that warrant the need for a good quality knife--at least one of a higher monetary value?

Don't get me wrong guys. I love my knives and finding a use for them whenever applicable. This is as mentioned before a debate between need vs want and is still a highly subjective matter. To each his own...and please don't stone me to death. :thumbup:
 
Bladenoobie1 said:
Referring to Blues Bender's post, I truly believe that the use of a knife to cut vines are faster and more efficient than that of a garden sheer. But say you only need to cut vines once every few months when they begin to grow thick. (not that I know how often Blues Bender need to use his knife, just hypothesizing) Does that warrant the need for a good quality knife--at least one of a higher monetary value?
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For me, yes. I used my spyderco Gayle Bradley to cut the vines and the CPM-M4 steel holds an edge through all the abuse I put it through. I need to cut vines 1-2 times (minus winter) a month since they have spread across my entire lawn and have become invasive. They are grape vines and do a number to a knife edge. I'd consider this "hard use".

In the past, I've used 1095, 154CM, D2, CTS-204P, S35VN, and D2 to cut said vines. CPM-M4 is the only steel (so far) that will hold up without losing its edge. I can cut vines for hours and still pop hairs right afterwards.

I don't need my spyderco GB to cut vines, I need my GB to cut vines fast and efficiently...
 
leghog said:
Humans are animals.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Subclass: Theria
Infraclass: Eutheria
Order: Primates
Suborder: Anthropoidea
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Hominidae
Genus: Homo
Species: sapiens
Click to expand...

Ok, so when is knife rights going to start representing goats and chickens?
 
I think everyone's comments bring merit to this thread. You mentioned using your Sebenza for a task that could have been done with a lesser blade. You also mentioned the need for a good quality knife. Until you experience a lesser quality knife failure, you wont understand the need for a quality knife that is dependable from cutting a thread from your pants to cutting vines. I've had them to snap off with little effort and give a nasty scratch, the most memorable was the failure of a liner lock and it closing on my finger, cut it to the bone. What about the upkeep of a knife? Have you ever experience a lock back getting pocket lint and not locking because the knife is pinned and cant be taken apart? A good quality knife such as your Sebenza will require less maintenance than a lesser quality knife. Sharpening will be easier, taking it down for cleaning will be faster and most importantly, having a tool that will be dependable and usable without fear of failure will be a given.
I've had my share of lesser quality knives and the scars to prove it. Now a days whether I use my knives once a day or once a month, I know I have the best tool for the job.
I use my knives most every day for work, sometimes it's no more than cutting a box, sometimes it's cutting insulation or rubber sleeves off copper or trimming burrs off PVC and sometimes I need to do a little prying. I have to have a knife that will perform the task at hand and I must say, the Umnumzaan fits the bill rather well.
 
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