First modern knife vs. a traditional

[onojoe]

If you are like me, you split your BF time between General Knife Discussion and the Traditional Forum. Every once in a while the topic of what is the difference between a modern knife and a traditional. I don't think there is a clear line that distinguishes a traditional vs. a modern. A traditional pattern with carbon fiber handle. Is it traditional or modern??

So what do you think the first modern knife was. To me it was the spyderco Delica, my first modern knife. But that cant be the first, or the one that started it all.

Was it the Fairbain combat knife, 1941, that used man made handle materials
Was it the Spyderco Worker? 1981
Was it any of the WW2 metal scaled folding knives.
was it the buck 110 in 1964

Whats your thoughts?

 

[Hickory n steel]

I think spyderco started what we now think of as modern ( a one handed opener with a pocket clip ) but the buck 110 was the first real folder that could do what a fixed blade hunting knife could do. ( though it's still a traditional Knife , because it uses traditional materials and has now been surpassed by new knife designs, and it's not an exact configuration/ style still being developed an new modern ways ) the lockback is still being used, but there's nowhere else that a buck 110 can really go ( because it's not a modern knife that lends itself to change ) and nobody in their right mind would want to change the buck 110.

 

[Urban redneck]

^^^^^^ Sums it up perfectly!

 

[jc57]

Gerber bolt-action folder pre-dates Spyderco. No pocket clip but a modern style folder with a pre-cursor to the axis lock. Designed by Blackie Collins.

Well, on checking, I may be wrong. I didn't know that Spyderco's first knife came out in '81. That's close to when I bought my Gerber, but the Spyderco may have come first.

 

[strategy9]

I think the 110 was the og grandfather to what we now call "modern" folders, which, while still seen as a traditional today was very modern for it's day, and many copied the basic design there after with clones or their own renditions.

 

[onojoe]

I think the 110 was the og grandfather to what we now call "modern" folders, which, while still seen as a traditional today was very modern for it's day, and many copied the basic design there after with clones or their own renditions.

Yes, I wonder if the buck 110 was considered something different than a traditional knife, or is just lately that we have put these labels on different knives. It is certainly now considered traditional, but back in the day was that the case.

 

[Lee48]

Yes, I wonder if the buck 110 was considered something different than a traditional knife, or is just lately that we have put these labels on different knives. It is certainly now considered traditional, but back in the day was that the case.

Having been in high school at the time the 110 was born, I can assure you that this new fangled Buck knife was something different. Most of us were used to standard slip joints like the Barlow or various Old Timer patterns but few of us had seen anything as futuristic as the 110. I can recall having owned a switchblade in the 1950s but even it was pretty much a traditional with a button whereas the Buck 110 was a design from outer space.

 

[Shotgun]

I don't believe there is such a thing as a traditional knife. Knives have always come in all shapes and sizes. Old or nostalgic would be better descriptors.

 

[Lee48]

The Spyderco Delica and Endura were both new design ideas as far as the blade hole and molded clips but I don't believe they were the first modern knives. There were already knives available with many of the features Sal incorporated into his knives. The main attraction of the Spyderco in 1990 when the Delica and Endura were introduced was the oddball blades and the ergonomics. I bought one of those early Spydercos soon after introduction but by that time I had already been carrying an Al Mar Quicksilver that had many of the features we today consider modern.