Do you like single blade or multi-blade traditionals?

CJZ said:
I like two bladed jacks best
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This is my feeling as well. Now, I will admit to having my share of single blade traditional folders which I like. To me, the feel of the blades not being used is an important consideration. Most traditional trappers work well of me including the "Improved trapper" I carried today. Then there's jack knives like Case's Texas jack and the GEC 66 jack that have become favorites. But, you will notice the single blade bare head canoe pattern in my avatar picture....

Ed J
 
I like multi's but have, as part of my EDC combo, been carrying single bladed trappers almost everyday since Christmas. I'm really enjoying the pattern. :thumbup:
 
I find myself going towards two blade knives. Jackknives specifically. Opinels are cool too, but I understand the more practical appeal of multiple blades. Really my 301 Stockman is more knife than I need, Stockmans are superb, if you need to do multiple jobs with a single knife, very versatile.
 
I too like the look of a single blade, especially the Mini Copperlock, but most of the time I carry a stockman of some sort.
 
Other than whittling, what do you guys use the extra blades for on a multi-blade knife? Cleaning your nails doesn't count.
 
csisland said:
Other than whittling, what do you guys use the extra blades for on a multi-blade knife? Cleaning your nails doesn't count.
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I put a fairly toothy edge for the spey on a large trapper if I want to be able to skin squirrels easier and have a more refined edge on the clip for general use.
Or maybe you like one blade with a stout convex edge and the other with a thin edge
 
I have done a complete 180° on this over the last 5 years or so. For the first 30-35 years of my adult life I carried a single blade locking folder (Gerber Silver Knight, BuckLite, Queen #06L), but since then have appreciated the utility of multi-blade traditionals much more. Now at least 90% of the time I carry a two or three bladed slipjoint. Different blades for different jobs is where I'm at, now.
 
I like the single blade trapper best. But I find myself with a two blade trapper occasionally. I'm looking for a muskrat and (gasp) a sowbelly stockman!

The reason knives are better than wives is that my wife would get jealous if I stepped out with another -- my knives jes dont care
 
csisland said:
Other than whittling, what do you guys use the extra blades for on a multi-blade knife? Cleaning your nails doesn't count.
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I am finding lately that almost any blade will work for any task. It really comes down to efficiency for blade selection. When I was working for a fast paced remodel company, this was very important. I carried a stockman and found I really only used the coping and spey blades for work. The nice long clip was kept clean and razor sharp which was great for food or the off chance my other two blades where not up to a task. I kept a fine sharp edge on the spey and the belly worked great at cutting sheetrock and foam for templates. The coping blade was kept a little toothy and would rip through cardboard. Used it the most cutting open caulk tubes, scoring plastic panels, shims, rags. If either blade got too dull, the other picked up the slack. I started the job carrying a 3.5" jack knife with clip main and pen secondary.I used a utility knife a lot then and thats when I purchased the stockman. It was an experiment to see what blade I used most and like others have stated, the coping blade was the winner. I rarely cut food with my pocket knife and if I do its usually a piece of fruit. I can easily peel an apple with a small coping blade.

Being back in my trade as a stone fabricator my cutting tasks are far less in a day and usually not time sensitive. I took my experiment with the stockman a step further and purchased a single wharncliffe blade to try out. I wanted to see if I could A. Stand to carry a single straight blade and B. Find out what that fine tip of the wharnie could stand up to. I have enjoyed the single blade and how I can not tell its in my pocket. While I have broken the very tip off, it was less than 1/32 loss and still much more pointy then a sheepsfoot or coping.

I have found what I prefer for sure. Could I carry a Charlow and make do at either job, absolutly (and I did ;) ). It really just comes down to what you like and what your daily tasks are. If I am in the shop my 55 houndstooth is more then enough. If I know im going out to install I will try to carry a little bigger knife as I like more handle when I need to score sheetrock or notch wood trim. I get caught all the time going out in the field with only my 55, it handles those tasks just fine ;)
 
A few years back I had more single blade jacks than multiblades but lately it has swung the other way. With single blades I tend to go for more specialized patterns like a rope knife or pruner and don't duplicate. With multiblades I seem to fall mostly in the area of two blade jacks around 3 1/2". At times I've tried to figure out if there's an overarching motive to it all but it doesn't seem to yield much. ;)
 
rockgolfer said:
I am finding lately that almost any blade will work for any task. It really comes down to efficiency for blade selection. When I was working for a fast paced remodel company, this was very important. I carried a stockman and found I really only used the coping and spey blades for work. The nice long clip was kept clean and razor sharp which was great for food or the off chance my other two blades where not up to a task. I kept a fine sharp edge on the spey and the belly worked great at cutting sheetrock and foam for templates. The coping blade was kept a little toothy and would rip through cardboard. Used it the most cutting open caulk tubes, scoring plastic panels, shims, rags. If either blade got too dull, the other picked up the slack. I started the job carrying a 3.5" jack knife with clip main and pen secondary.I used a utility knife a lot then and thats when I purchased the stockman. It was an experiment to see what blade I used most and like others have stated, the coping blade was the winner. I rarely cut food with my pocket knife and if I do its usually a piece of fruit. I can easily peel an apple with a small coping blade.

Being back in my trade as a stone fabricator my cutting tasks are far less in a day and usually not time sensitive. I took my experiment with the stockman a step further and purchased a single wharncliffe blade to try out. I wanted to see if I could A. Stand to carry a single straight blade and B. Find out what that fine tip of the wharnie could stand up to. I have enjoyed the single blade and how I can not tell its in my pocket. While I have broken the very tip off, it was less than 1/32 loss and still much more pointy then a sheepsfoot or coping.

I have found what I prefer for sure. Could I carry a Charlow and make do at either job, absolutly (and I did ;) ). It really just comes down to what you like and what your daily tasks are. If I am in the shop my 55 houndstooth is more then enough. If I know im going out to install I will try to carry a little bigger knife as I like more handle when I need to score sheetrock or notch wood trim. I get caught all the time going out in the field with only my 55, it handles those tasks just fine ;)
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Like you said it all comes down to what you like or prefer. When I'm working with sheetrock, foam, vinyl, or installing windows, I use a utility knife with replaceable blades and never use a folding pocket knife. So whatever works for that person.
 
I always used a utility knife before the stockman. I hate carrying a lot of things and hate redundancy. I found the 1095 steel in the cuban stockman could last up to two weeks without resharpening at the remodel job. I did all those tasks I mentioned several times daily. I settled on a week so that I knew they where always sharp. I didnt have to buy replaceable blades anymore and enjoy using the knife I sharpen. I never shyed from any hard use and the knife never let me down.
 
rockgolfer said:
I always used a utility knife before the stockman. I hate carrying a lot of things and hate redundancy. I found the 1095 steel in the cuban stockman could last up to two weeks without resharpening at the remodel job. I did all those tasks I mentioned several times daily. I settled on a week so that I knew they where always sharp. I didnt have to buy replaceable blades anymore and enjoy using the knife I sharpen. I never shyed from any hard use and the knife never let me down.
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Sounds like it works for you but I'll stick with my utility knife for those kinds of jobs I do. :thumbup:
 
jujigatame said:
A few years back I had more single blade jacks than multiblades but lately it has swung the other way. With single blades I tend to go for more specialized patterns like a rope knife or pruner and don't duplicate. With multiblades I seem to fall mostly in the area of two blade jacks around 3 1/2". At times I've tried to figure out if there's an overarching motive to it all but it doesn't seem to yield much. ;)
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I've gone through exactly the same progression. Starting out big on single blades. But lately now I find that the knives I have are now a majority of 2-blade jacks like the 48 Trapper, Pemberton, 92 Eureka Jack. Nothing I have has more than 2-blades. I don't like a "fat" pocket knife.
 
Multi-blades. Half the reason I carry a traditional is to have a selection of blade shapes in my pocket so I can use a blade with a shape optimized for what I am doing. I have single blade traditional knives, but don't carry them very often.
 
There is something about the single blade that makes knife better, aesthetically and ergonomic wise. I do know that multi-blade may be better as tool, but I like single blade best.
 
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