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- Jan 8, 2013
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- 1,354
I decided to look into friction folders. They’ve been around since at least the Roman era, perhaps longer. They’re mechanically simple, without a spring like a slip joint or locking folder. In a world of complex technology, it’s nice to pursue minimalism in the little bits of life where it’s possible.
This is a Michael Morris friction folder. The small Sebenza is for scale. It’s small, but you can get all 4 fingers on the handle in a hammer grip. But who uses a hammer grip on such a small knife? In a normal side grip it’s a comfortable three and a half finger grip, where your pinky wraps the end of the handle. Feels secure that way.
The blade has a fantastically proportioned drop point. Nice flat edge up until a generous belly, leading to a swedged tip. The tip is thicker, you can drill wood with it. It’s more like 0.030” behind the edge, rather than the 0.021”-0.025” of the rest of the blade. It’s hollow ground, which is nice to balance the thick spine. It gets to a usable thinness at the edge.
Closed, the extended tang makes it longer than a regular folder. But the tang is rounded and thick, not sharp or pointy. I didn’t notice it poking through the pocket at all.
And yes, that’s a bottle opener. A very good one.
The included pocket slip is nicely made, fits like a glove, and makes the knife sit vertically in the pocket easier. It’s optional, but I’m glad I got it.
The blade, made from a file, is thicker than you’d normally get in a 2.5” blade. Here it is next to a Victorinox cadet. I would not use this knife to cut deeply into stuff where the spine would bind, like cardboard. It’s great for light everyday tasks other than that.
It sharpened up nicely. Being some unknown-to-me carbon steel from a file, it doesn’t take diamonds to sharpen it. You get used to diamonds with all the 3-4% vanadium steels out there now, so it was nice to break out the Norton Crystolon C/F instead. I reprofiled it to be more acute and it took only a couple of minutes to bring up a burr. Once done on both sides of the stone, I cleaned up any remaining burr on a 1 micron basswood strop. Took almost no time at all and was sharp as anything. I love sharpening lower carbide content steels.
This isn’t the most practical knife in the world. On paper, I shouldn’t like it: thicker than any of my non-locking knives, smaller than my locking ones. Not stainless. No lock. No pocket clip. It “deploys” slowly and with two hands.
But I do love it. The drop point blade shape is aesthetically perfect. Just enough of the file cuts are left to give it a nice texture, but not be rough. Every corner is chamfered or rounded. It’s tempting to use it as a worry stone because of the blade texture. The micarta is comfortable and pretty. It’s a small work of handmade art. And you can get it super sharp very quickly on modest sharpening gear. Sturdy and capable beyond its size.
Haven’t seen anyone talking about these recently, so thought I’d put up my thoughts. Anyone carry a friction folder long term?
This is a Michael Morris friction folder. The small Sebenza is for scale. It’s small, but you can get all 4 fingers on the handle in a hammer grip. But who uses a hammer grip on such a small knife? In a normal side grip it’s a comfortable three and a half finger grip, where your pinky wraps the end of the handle. Feels secure that way.
The blade has a fantastically proportioned drop point. Nice flat edge up until a generous belly, leading to a swedged tip. The tip is thicker, you can drill wood with it. It’s more like 0.030” behind the edge, rather than the 0.021”-0.025” of the rest of the blade. It’s hollow ground, which is nice to balance the thick spine. It gets to a usable thinness at the edge.
Closed, the extended tang makes it longer than a regular folder. But the tang is rounded and thick, not sharp or pointy. I didn’t notice it poking through the pocket at all.
And yes, that’s a bottle opener. A very good one.
The included pocket slip is nicely made, fits like a glove, and makes the knife sit vertically in the pocket easier. It’s optional, but I’m glad I got it.
The blade, made from a file, is thicker than you’d normally get in a 2.5” blade. Here it is next to a Victorinox cadet. I would not use this knife to cut deeply into stuff where the spine would bind, like cardboard. It’s great for light everyday tasks other than that.
It sharpened up nicely. Being some unknown-to-me carbon steel from a file, it doesn’t take diamonds to sharpen it. You get used to diamonds with all the 3-4% vanadium steels out there now, so it was nice to break out the Norton Crystolon C/F instead. I reprofiled it to be more acute and it took only a couple of minutes to bring up a burr. Once done on both sides of the stone, I cleaned up any remaining burr on a 1 micron basswood strop. Took almost no time at all and was sharp as anything. I love sharpening lower carbide content steels.
This isn’t the most practical knife in the world. On paper, I shouldn’t like it: thicker than any of my non-locking knives, smaller than my locking ones. Not stainless. No lock. No pocket clip. It “deploys” slowly and with two hands.
But I do love it. The drop point blade shape is aesthetically perfect. Just enough of the file cuts are left to give it a nice texture, but not be rough. Every corner is chamfered or rounded. It’s tempting to use it as a worry stone because of the blade texture. The micarta is comfortable and pretty. It’s a small work of handmade art. And you can get it super sharp very quickly on modest sharpening gear. Sturdy and capable beyond its size.
Haven’t seen anyone talking about these recently, so thought I’d put up my thoughts. Anyone carry a friction folder long term?
Always nice to see a lack of bells and whistles.
