Hard Use Folders?

Tyson A Wright

Tyson A Wright

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Jun 9, 2020
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I think I generally know what people have in mind when they talk about 'hard use' fixed blade knives - chopping, batoning, stabbing boots full of pork chops, whatever. But what are you doing with your 'hard use' folding knives? I see some people who are very concerned about what kind of lock they have, because they're really worried about lock failure. I've seen the same thing with blade thickness - 'hard use' folders seem to have really thick blades, so they don't break.

I have carried both locking and non-locking folders, and I don't really worry about the knife folding up in use either way. I don't need the extra weight or worse ergonomics of a hard use lock, because it doesn't offer any benefits (to me) over a more basic lock (or even a slipjoint). I've broken one blade on a pocketknife in my life, when I was a kid, and it's never happened since then, no matter how thin the blade is. But thick blade steel sure does make for a worse slicer.

So, for those of you who like 'hard use' folders, what are you doing with them? Is there a real use case that makes these tradeoffs useful? Or is it just because they're cool?

Thanks,

-Tyson
 
I actually put some thought into tip strength. Like it or not, I pried with my knife tip before (I know! Cringy!) And will probably pry more lol.

Hard use? Not so much, you cant convince me to hard use a folder, not even cold steel.
 
I primarily focus on using my hard use knives towards deforestation of the Amazonian rainforest. Sometimes felling sequoias in yellowstone.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
My first piece of advice would be not to spend too much mental energy on what other folks are doing with their knives.
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Not worried about what anybody else does, not criticizing them, I'm just curious what it is that requires a hard use folder. I can't quite envision anything that would actually necessitate this, so I'm open to hear what it is.
 
For me it's not so much what I do, it's more of a worst case scenario. I open boxes and letters and cut the occasional loose thread. It's also the only option for a self defense tool where I live. I want something overbuilt in case I ever need it, but I probably/hopefully won't. There's a balance of hard use/overbuilt and EDC friendly.

I've been fortunate enough to buy and try the Chris Reeve small Sebenza 21, small Inkosi and Umnumzaan, Medford Slim Midi, Strider PT and a few Hinderer's. I guess they're all considered hard use folders. I bought/sold/traded until I found the right fit. All of the ones mentioned above are gone, except the Hinderer's and a small Sebenza 21 WC.

For me the XM18 is the best balance of EDC and hard use, not because it's "cool", but because when I pick up a knife or gun, either it "talks" to me or it doesn't. This did. The others didn't.
 
"Tactical" and "hard use" are things I really don't care about in a folding knife. No matter what, it's still a folding knife. I appreciate a strong lock but anything that would "test" the lock strength is not something that should be done with a folding knife in the first place.
 
Tyson A Wright said:
Not worried about what anybody else does, not criticizing them, I'm just curious what it is that requires a hard use folder. I can't quite envision anything that would actually necessitate this, so I'm open to hear what it is.
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This would make you the first person out of several hundred to open a thread exactly like this without intent to criticize. If that's the case, I commend you, but whenever I see threads like this they are almost inevitably an attempt to stand out as more practical and realistic minded than those poor, benighted folks that buy hard use folders.

Not trying to be hard on you, I went through that here as well, but rather than effortlessly efficient slicers I find most of my folder purchases have come back around to hard use folders because I enjoy them and they do everything I need them to well enough. It can be fun to pry apart furniture with them on occasion, but the vast majority of my cutting tasks require neither particularly efficient slicing, nor overbuilt brawn and since I don't need either I just buy what I like.
 
This old guy, which I have posted before, has seen some hard use but I got it in the 1670s before I was into knives (which I am now getting out of). My recent stuff was like most of the pics I see of pricey knives barely used for letter openers or just kept on a night stand.
I have used this one for everything from scrapping paint to digging in the dirt to cutting fiber drums.
Again, this was well before I thought knives were cool.
fGHTZDDl.jpg
 
Insipid Moniker said:
This would make you the first person out of several hundred to open a thread exactly like this without intent to criticize. If that's the case, I commend you, but whenever I see threads like this they are almost inevitably an attempt to stand out as more practical and realistic minded than those poor, benighted folks that buy hard use folders.

Not trying to be hard on you, I went through that here as well, but rather than effortlessly efficient slicers I find most of my folder purchases have come back around to hard use folders because I enjoy them and they do everything I need them to well enough. It can be fun to pry apart furniture with them on occasion, but the vast majority of my cutting tasks require neither particularly efficient slicing, nor overbuilt brawn and since I don't need either I just buy what I like.
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So I prefer a good slicer and a lightweight EDC, but I get the aesthetic of the massively overbuilt knife, too. I think it's interesting that prying and cool factor seem to be the things people are citing so far. Makes sense to me, although I think even with a hard use knife, I'd be cringing the whole time if I used it for prying (but that's more about me than about the knife). I occasionally carry a pocket pry tool, when I think it might come up, just to avoid using my knife for that sort of thing. But, if you don't need slicing, a heavier knife means you don't need a pry tool, I guess.

As far as the cool factor, I get it, I kind of like heavy duty fixed blades, but I just never got into that for folders. When I look at those I think I can't get past thinking "wow, that would be too bulky and heavy to be comfortable to carry". :D But, if it works for you, awesome!

-Tyson
 
Venice said:
This old guy, which I have posted before, has seen some hard use but I got it in the 1670s before I was into knives (which I am now getting out of). My recent stuff was like most of the pics I see of pricey knives barely used for letter openers or just kept on a night stand.
I have used this one for everything from scrapping paint to digging in the dirt to cutting fiber drums.
Again, this was well before I thought knives were cool.
fGHTZDDl.jpg
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I can't quite read the stamp ("Craftsman", maybe?) to tell what brand that is, but it looks like a TL-29 Electrician's knife, which is one of the all-time classic folding knives. I've used the screwdriver on a Camillus-made TL-29 for prying, and it was fine. This isn't what most people seem to have in mind when they talk about "hard use" knives though - there's no lock on the blade, and the blade isn't a particularly thick piece of metal. Great knife, though.

-Tyson
 
They also replace a roll of quarters when you need to administer an attitude adjustment. (Or so I've heard.)

Just kidding...

I buy what I like as well, as Insipid Moniker Insipid Moniker so aptly expressed above. My much larger than necessary collection of blades runs the gamut from the ordinary to the sublime, from knives which could take or give a beating to knives which are as sharp as sharp can be. I love 'em all.

I think most of us have that passion in common...obviously to greater or lesser extent.
 
Venice said:
This old guy, which I have posted before, has seen some hard use but I got it in the 1670s before I was into knives (which I am now getting out of). My recent stuff was like most of the pics I see of pricey knives barely used for letter openers or just kept on a night stand.
I have used this one for everything from scrapping paint to digging in the dirt to cutting fiber drums.
Again, this was well before I thought knives were cool.
fGHTZDDl.jpg
Click to expand...

Those TL-29/electrician knives are some of the most real world "hard use' knives around. I know because I saw them in action being abused daily while serving in the army engineers. The supply room had both the 'demo' knife and the TL-29s that they handed out like lollypops, and young GI's who paid nothing for them used them harder than the knife nuts on this forum can envision in their worst nightmare. If it broke, they just took the pieces back to the supply sergeant and got another one.

My Uncle Charlie was a WW2 GI, and he had one in his pocket when he wadded ashore at Normandy, and still had it when he got out after walking to Germany. It was his prized possession. It was very worn in the 1960's, so when I came home on leave, I brought him a new one. You'd have thought I'd brought him the holy grail. He used that knife until his passing at age 89.
 
Venice said:
This old guy, which I have posted before, has seen some hard use but I got it in the 1670s before I was into knives (which I am now getting out of). My recent stuff was like most of the pics I see of pricey knives barely used for letter openers or just kept on a night stand.
I have used this one for everything from scrapping paint to digging in the dirt to cutting fiber drums.
Again, this was well before I thought knives were cool.
fGHTZDDl.jpg
Click to expand...
Sorry for the typo. Obviously I meant 1970s (I'm not quite that old).
It is a Craftsman and only the screwdriver locks.
Thanks for the comments.
 
I used to be quite enamored of the "hard use" folder. These days, their "use" is to take up space in a box until I get around to selling them.

I eventually realized that it was a kind of "Dumbo's feather" for me, and as my confidence in my own skill and experience (maybe also a little more emotional maturity?) increased, I felt less need for something large and overbuilt.

I still think they're fun, but the amount of pocket real estate they tend to take up eventually gets them put away for good.
 
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