Go get me a knife!!

gnique

gnique

Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Messages
59
I have been working on this problem for as long as I have been making knives (about 20 years). Suppose for a moment that someone urgently told you to go get a knife. In the non-urgent environment of this forum you would probably casually ask: "what do you need to do with it?" My answer would be "Anything! Go get me a knife!" It's kinda like the motorcycle helmet designer said: "Tell me what kind of accident you are going to get into and I will design the perfect helmet for you." I saw a video on YouTube recently where some people on a boat were cutting fishing net off of a whale. The whale had been entangled in yards and yards of nylon fishing net and was near death. Among four or five people they had one small knife that looked like it came off of someone's key chain. I am like you - I'm a knife guy and couldn't help but cringe watching those people suffer through that process with such a useless knife. So, yeah, one of the things that I might want the knife for is to free up an entangled whale!!

But mostly I am going to want to cut string, rope, slice cheese, slice an apple, open a box, shape some leather, remove splinters, remove stitches, cut cardboard, clean my fingernails, remove insulation, cut a rose, whittle a stick to a point. I want the very first knife that would come to your hand at the urgent: "Go get me a knife!" I actually have pretty good examples in my kitchen (I didn't make either one). They are both made from about 1/16" steel and about 0.50" blade height. One is cheap stainless and the other is carbon steel. One is 5.5" OAL and the other is 6" OAL. Both are flat ground. Both come to a point. Neither knife has a choil or a grind line. They both are sharpened to 20 degrees. Now I know that this flys in the face of every combat, hunting, skinning, camp, survival...... knifemaker reading this but I have done all of that. I have made all kinds of knives over the years and the only ones that I am proud of are the ones that actually get used. If there is any interest in this topic I will post pictures of the two knives that I have. I don't have attachment privileges but I will fix that if any of you are amused by "Go get me a knife!"
 
Anyone that wants a generic knife can buy one anywhere at any price point. They certainly don't need one of my ridiculous knives.
 
Can't say I've every had it put quite like that to me, hahah. I figure that most people spending the money for a custom, handmade knife, are going to want to be at least a LITTLE specific on what their hard earned money is going for.

I've had plenty of guys say "I need a necker!" or "I need a skinner!" or "make me a hunter!" etc... but that's about as general as it gets for me thus far. I'll simply then just ask what size blade, and draw something up.

I'd like to see those two users, by they way. :)
 
Seems like the "get me a knife" guy doesn't really care what kind of knife you hand him. Probably if it's sharp, it'll do whatever he has in mind. But that's not what most of the people who purchase our knives are after. They want something special, made with attention to detail and craftsmanship.

My wife doesn't care. She's a "get me a knife" type of person. She'll grab the chef knife or steak knife or my pocket knife if it's nearby to open a box or cut off a snag on her shirt. However, when she's cutting up veggies or chicken breast, she'll grab the chef, because she knows it's sharp and it'll to the job.

"Get me a knife" means they don't particularly care. "Get me a skinner" means they have something pretty specific in mind.
 
I may not have been entirely clear. It is not my intention to produce a generic knife and I in no way want to impugn any type or shape of knife. I also know that custom, handmade knives are most usually made for a specific purpose. I always have a knife in my pocket so I don't believe that I have ever said: "Hand me a knife!"

My quest is to develop a small (ish) knife that can go anywhere, come to hand comfortably, perform most tasks well, carry well in a truck glove box, carry well in a motorcycle tank/tail bag, carry well in a bicycle pouch, process food. I have made lots of (free) combat knives for Marines and soldiers in Afghanistan. I have made hunting knives, skinning knives and WHO knows how many kitchen knives. This knife will be for me. I want one in each of my four motorcycle tank bags. One in my knife block. One in my truck. And maybe a few for some of my hoodlum friends (wanna be hoodlums - we are too old and broke down to be REAL hoodlums!)

I am thinking 1/16" O1 steel and Desert Ironwood scale. What I haven't finalized is the shape. The two knives that I am looking at are not pretty or exciting or interesting creatures. Their main virtue is that the get more use than any of my 27 kitchen knives and (I ain't even gonna tell you how many) pocket knives! Anyway, this has tumbled around in my head for quite a while and I thought there may be more fools like me that might be interested in this little conundrum.
 

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I see knives as tools. They can be weapons. They can be art. They can be a lot of different things, but in the end, they are a tool - an implement with design intent to complete a specific set of tasks, even if that task is only to be pretty and novel.

That said, many tools are made to do many different tasks, intentionally or not. If you put me in a non-survival situation where I could only bring 1 tool and no others existed, it wouldn't even be a knife. It would probably be a file, because with a file I can make a knife, and a saw, and more files, etc etc.

So my "get me a knife" edged multitool is something like a typical Mora. A 4-5" blade puukko like knife that can dress game, cut twine, drill holes, and whatever else, without being obtrusive or heavy.
 
I had a sort of "get me a knife" situation. I was fishing with a buddy an I tossed out the anchor an he immediately starts saying get a knife get a knife. Have you got a knife? Of course I had one an immediately handed it to him. He just says thanks an lays it beside the anchor rope. Hey man what's the deal why did you want the knife just to lay it down there? He says oh I don't put a anchor out without a knife handy. He goes on to explain that he once was fishing below a dam an they turned the generators on an before they could get the anchor pulled the boat was swamped with water they lost everything. They did find the boat a couple miles down from the dam a few days later. We didn't end up needing the knife to cut the rope. Always smile when I think of that fishing trip. The way he was going on just short of a panic.
 
kuraki said:
So my "get me a knife" edged multitool is something like a typical Mora. A 4-5" blade puukko like knife that can dress game, cut twine, drill holes, and whatever else, without being obtrusive or heavy.
Click to expand...

That may be to closest to the all-around knife as any. Very utilitarian and very reliable. I'd be tempted to recommend that or one designed very much like it for a "get me a knife" kind of knife. The Morakniv is one of those general users that pops up on all kinds of forums when people ask for a good all-around knife.... after the requester is mercilessly bashed for not knowing there is no perfect knife for all situations ;)
 
Mike22 said:
I had a sort of "get me a knife" situation. I was fishing with a buddy an I tossed out the anchor an he immediately starts saying get a knife get a knife. Have you got a knife? Of course I had one an immediately handed it to him. He just says thanks an lays it beside the anchor rope. Hey man what's the deal why did you want the knife just to lay it down there? He says oh I don't put a anchor out without a knife handy. He goes on to explain that he once was fishing below a dam an they turned the generators on an before they could get the anchor pulled the boat was swamped with water they lost everything. They did find the boat a couple miles down from the dam a few days later. We didn't end up needing the knife to cut the rope. Always smile when I think of that fishing trip. The way he was going on just short of a panic.
Click to expand...

That makes me think of the FBI agent in the Miami shootout that unholstered his revolver in anticipation of needing it and laid it on the car seat beside him. Then crashed his car when he came under fire, revolver goes flying and he has to scramble to find it while being shot at.

Handy, is in the holster or sheath for me.
 
I agree with Brock. Up until about 100 years ago, there was only one basic knife design. It was a sheath knife for hunting and protection. Size and shape may have varied a bit, but most were of the same basic design. Even most cooking knives were of this basic style. This didn't really change until after WW2.

If I was to make a "knife" for someone where I had no idea what it would be used for, I would make a 3-4" blade drop point hunter in 1/8" steel. You could do almost any task with that.
 
I was just about to say Stacy that it makes me think of a 4" drop point in 1/8" to me also.


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in the second paragraph of your original post, in my opinion you seem to describe what most people call and EDC. every day carry. something with a 2 1/"2-3 1/2" blade, overall length somewhere around 6-7" will do everything you describe. actually a 2 inch folding knife will do all of that stuff. but i prefer something sturdier, i have been carrying small fixed blades since the 90's. most blade shapes will do fine, but i personally prefer something with more point. many times i have needed to make a hole in something by pushing and turning the knife like you would use a screwdriver. seems like many blades have more of a blunt point in recent years. another important thing for me is ease of use, i use kydex sheaths for edc because they can be deployed and returned with one hand and no keeper straps or snaps to worry about. kydex leaves scratches on the knife which i hate, but because of those reasons i overlook it.
 
I think an EDC knife is a "get me a knife" situation, IE: A good folder (ZT0200 as an example). When you get into a high end custom your looking at stuff thats more specific, something for a particular task. Bushcraft, combat, camp etc.

I'm no expert, it's just my opinion.
 
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