Folders

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

Slipjoint Addict
Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
20,039
I know that this subject has probably been done to death, but here goes. I have really gotten away from using folders. I've pared most of my folders down, to pay and trade for gear, and outdoors oriented fixed blades. I have a few slipjoints, SAKs, and various one hand openers left. The only ones I really carry when hiking or camping are my SAK's. I find myself leaving the tacticools at home, or in the car. A Vic Farmer and Soldier (new liner lock), are really all I take.

What do you guys take, other than SAK's? Do you own any folders? Right now, they definitely have their place, their utility etc. I just prefer to use a small fixed blade for all of my "chores".
 
For the longest time I had a mild addiction to Stockman patern slip joints. I probably still have a half dozen. Like you I've cleaned out my folder collection.

I still get one of the Stockmans out once in a while but a SAk is still the go-to folder.
 
I often in summer carry a folder for EDC when around town. Generaly either my ZT 0300 or my Harsey t-3 Ranger. The folder I take into the hills as a backup blade is the Harsey t-3 Ranger, though the ZT 0200 or 0300 are both strong and durable enough to have my confidence as well.

That being said folders in the field are only a backup for me. Most all of the work in the field for me is done by my large and small fixed blades.
 
I do carry a folder all the time, but when I am in the woods, it rarely sees any use with the exception to a SAK. I find that using a fixed blade works better than any folder would work.
 
Spyderco Tenacious, Vic Farmer, and now a ZT 0300 when I'm feeling frisky :D. The ZT 0300's blade shape is suprisingly useful. I imagine the 0100/0200 are too

 
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The new flat-grind Spyderco Delicas are pretty great for light woodsbumming. They're wickedly efficient little slicers. I always carry a folder, there's no reason not to! As cool as fixed blades are, not everyone can carry one all of the time. A folder is way, way better than no knife at all. And if you know what you're doing, you can do a lot with a folder.

It's currently fashionable to bash on folders for outdoorsy use, but truthfully, folders now are better suited for working outdoors than they have ever been in the past. Better steels, better designs, better workmanship, better heat treat etc. make for some pretty great little knives. As long as you don't try to pry with it, or baton improperly, folding knives can do almost anything a fixed blade can do, within the limitations of blade length.

I plan on trying to do some simply bushcrafty stuff with an Emerson CQC-7, just to see for myself how "horribly unsuitable" it really is, with its tanto tip, and chisel grind. :eek::foot: I'm not expecting spectacular results, but I bet it would work in a pinch. My bet is that less-than-optimal design and geometry can be overcome with finesse and persistence. If our forefathers could get things done with sharpened bits of stone....
 
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I've taken this one a lot as my only knife in the wilderness:
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Mostly for deer hunting.
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I carry a little SOG Flash in the woods. It weighs next to nothing, so I don't even notice it in my pocket. I mostly use it for cutting line and gutting small lake trout; a larger fixed blade or axe does all my real work. I just like having the folder there in my pocket for convenience and ease of access during small chores.
 
I have a mild obsession with large "outdoor" folders, or used to. To be honest I've found the weight of the big folders to be a big draw back for actually carry on the trail. Some weigh the same as a comparable length fixed blade. As long as it'a a planned trip to the woods and you won't run into any legal problems carrying a belt knife in your area, I just don't see the reason not to do so and just add in a multi or SAK.
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to bash folders. I still carry the occassional one hand opener, like my Benchmade Ritter Grip or Spyderco Bob T, but not in the woods. I work in an urban area, and fixed blades are not "kosher". When the chance presents itself, though, I use a small fixed blade.
 
I don't carry a folder for woods use. Heck, sometimes I even carry a small pocket fixed blade for edc. I like the simplicity of a nice small sheath knife. One, made by Mike Miller of Oklahoma, is shaped like a small chefs knife, and is about the size of a opened barlow knife. Another knife I carry a lot, is a Rosselli grandmothers knife, or a Busletto Balder. They do most of what I need to do. In fact, I fell so much in love with the Balder, I bought a spare just in case something happened to my main one.

I have little use for folders these days, preffering a small puuko type of fixed blade, backed up with a folding saw or small hatchet for camping.
 
I always carry a couple of folders out of habit. My two most common backpacking/woods folders are Emerson and Spyderco...here's my Emerson CQC-10 and Spyderco Para-Military:

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ROCK6
 
ZT 300 because...

1. It's just awesome.
2. It's legal for me as opposed to a fixed blade.
3. It does just about anything other fixed blades its size can do IMO.
4. Did I mention it's legal for me? :D
 
I've always carried a Spyderco, usually an Endura and now I have a Miliitary. For car camping, I'll sometimes carry a Cold Steel Voyager XL. I like folders.
 
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My Zebu folders see some good dirt time. I like the larger ones for bush craft tasks.

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The smaller ones make great kit knives.

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I made up belt carrier that also holds a Doan tool. It make a great companion to a machete. Mac
 
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