Hard Use & my Lessons for the day

[not2sharp]

At least to my thinking, the way the handle is attached isn't the big issue for use; quality steel is quality steel & a well designed handle is comfortable. Perhaps it is more tricky to make a good folder handle comfortable because of the gap... ...,

I would disagree on two counts:
1) a folder can fold on your hand, even the best of them will unlock if the locking mechanism is shifted out of position.
2) Folders have surfaces which are harder to maintain, they are more likely to harbour bacteria then a comparable fixed blade.

n2s

 

[Ankerson]

Ank... I think your last sentence carrys logic, but a double standard...

A GOOD fixed blade vs. MOST folders... Most folders are junk. Most fixed blades are junk (IMHO) built like most fishing lures, to catch fishermen, not fish.
A Good fixed blade will beat most junk... fixed or folder
A good folder will beat most junk... fixed or folder

At least to my thinking, the way the handle is attached isn't the big issue for use; quality steel is quality steel & a well designed handle is comfortable. Perhaps it is more tricky to make a good folder handle comfortable because of the gap...
It does seem to me that more energy & money have been invested in making quality / comfortable working fixed blades... but there are exceptions to ever rule... Buck 110, Older Gerber Magnum folders, etc.

God bless,

With today's tactical folders most of them are built and cut like bricks with a few exceptions here and there, then even on a lot of those folders that aren't ground like a brick the handles are still built like one.

That said one should look at knives for what they will really be using them for so if they need a knife that will be used hard for long periods of time then that really needs to be taken into consideration.

Yes there has been more energy and time invested in making quality comfortable working fixed blades because they are the knives that really do see the most real work across a broad range of uses, that's both production and customs. One won't see a butcher using a 3" folder to cut meat all day long just because it looks cool, they just aren't made for that kind of work no matter how cool they look.

Most real working knives are fixed blades, that is the bottom line here, no they don't look cool and don't fold so those people can't sit around flicking them open hundreds of times a day.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Dakota, when you mentioned the Buck Alaskan Guide with s30v steel I thought you meant the Buck 110 version, that might have done a better job. Stag scales., too.

 

[jdm61]

Jim, remind me some time to tell you about Inbred Jed the hunting guide from Okeechobee and his insistence on skinning a hog using his Wal Mart kool blue Chinese folder instead of the PJ Tomes integral hunter that I offered to let him use. He managed to get through the hog only cutting himself 3 times.

With today's tactical folders most of them are built and cut like bricks with a few exceptions here and there, then even on a lot of those folders that aren't ground like a brick the handles are still built like one.

That said one should look at knives for what they will really be using them for so if they need a knife that will be used hard for long periods of time then that really needs to be taken into consideration.

Yes there has been more energy and time invested in making quality comfortable working fixed blades because they are the knives that really do see the most real work across a broad range of uses, that's both production and customs. One won't see a butcher using a 3" folder to cut meat all day long just because it looks cool, they just aren't made for that kind of work no matter how cool they look.

Most real working knives are fixed blades, that is the bottom line here, no they don't look cool and don't fold so those people can't sit around flicking them open hundreds of times a day.

 

[Ankerson]

Jim, remind me some time to tell you about Inbred Jed the hunting guide from Okeechobee and his insistence on skinning a hog using his Wal Mart kool blue Chinese folder instead of the PJ Tomes integral hunter that I offered to let him use. He managed to get through the hog only cutting himself 3 times.

Why does that not surprise me at all.

Hey You all watch this...... LOL

 

[Big Mike]

By the time it was dull, my hands were raw & club-ish from holding it.

The man takes a pocket full of folders to try to set a record on butchering a steer and then complains about his hands.



This whole story is too strange to believe.




Sure many of us have used folders for dressing game in the field,

...and most of us learn to know better.




But, this?





Big Mike

 

[Pete1977]

If you haven't used a fixed blade that has cut well except for what you said then you haven't used any really good ones that were made for cutting.

Convenience, yes because folding knives fold so they are easier to carry most of the time.

That said good fixed blades that are made for cutting will make MOST folders seem like you are cutting with bricks instead of a knife.

if you find a better fixed blade for cutting 500 cod or haddock in an hour than a Dexter Russel 7 inch boning knife let me know.

I've used a number of fixed blades and folders for cutting miles of rope, hundreds of cuts in a sitting, and not had an issue. I always have a folder on me. Not so a fixed blade. I've had 2 locks fail on me in 25 years of using knives. In fact, I've gone to using a slipjoint almost exclusively.

One won't see a butcher using a 3" folder to cut meat all day long just because it looks cool, they just aren't made for that kind of work no matter how cool they look.

Most real working knives are fixed blades, that is the bottom line here, no they don't look cool and don't fold so those people can't sit around flicking them open hundreds of times a day.

You won't see a butcher, or a commercial fisherman, or any real working person who uses knives every day using a high end super steel fixed blade either. The majority of butchers are using Vic, Forschner, or Dexter fixed blades. Ergonomic, easy to resharpen, nice thin blades made for doing the task at hand. But for versatility and convenience you can't beat a folding knife with a fixed blade.

 

[Dakota Dogman]

Big Mike, please forgive me if you read this as a complaint. I have no intention or interest in your simpathy. For that matter, save your insults. I'm a simple guy, country preacher, wrestling coach & Sheriff's department chaplin... not a butcher. I have got friends who are on the edge of eviction & my own kids to feed. When the call comes to get a free cow, I'm jumping & taking the best tools I have to hand. Sorry if the tools that a country kid inherited do not match up to your standards. I'm not trying to set a record, but I didn't have all day & sure didn't want that much meat to go to waste.

Believe it or not, I do not care. Not my problem. I've dressed plenty of game in the field... deer, elk, whatever. It ain't the same thing as a cow. Not even close. Last elk I helped with did with my Case stockman. Was better choice than the other guy had, which were all fixed blades.

Esav... the Alaskan was the Crosslock model. Was an "earn-herited" type thing. Looked like a good idea, but not my cup of tea.

not2sharp - I imagine you may be correct about the blades folding on the hand... never had that happen, but using pretty much high quailty / hunter type locking folders. Honestly there isn't much tweak put on the knife to bucher a steer right if you have a sawzaw for the bones, so the locks didn't take any abuse.

God Bless,

 

[jdm61]

You won't see a butcher, or a commercial fisherman, or any real working person who uses knives every day using a high end super steel fixed blade either. The majority of butchers are using Vic, Forschner, or Dexter fixed blades. Ergonomic, easy to resharpen, nice thin blades made for doing the task at hand. But for versatility and convenience you can't beat a folding knife with a fixed blade.

And they throw them away fairly frequently. Aren't these some of the same guys who wear chain mail gloves to keep from removing any more of their fingers? I can tell you from experience that charter fisherman do use thin knives made by the companies that you mentioned and a few others and from what I see, it is a good thing that they sharpen easily because they spend a lot of time sharpening those knives while they work. But then again, these are guys who also have been known to use pliers to remove the skin from dolphin (mahi-mahi for your tourist types)

 

[Big Mike]

Big Mike, please forgive me if you read this as a complaint. I have no intention or interest in your simpathy. For that matter, save your insults. I'm a simple guy, country preacher, wrestling coach & Sheriff's department chaplin... not a butcher. I have got friends who are on the edge of eviction & my own kids to feed. When the call comes to get a free cow, I'm jumping & taking the best tools I have to hand. Sorry if the tools that a country kid inherited do not match up to your standards. I'm not trying to set a record, but I didn't have all day & sure didn't want that much meat to go to waste.

Believe it or not, I do not care. Not my problem. I've dressed plenty of game in the field... deer, elk, whatever. It ain't the same thing as a cow. Not even close. Last elk I helped with did with my Case stockman. Was better choice than the other guy had, which were all fixed blades.

Esav... the Alaskan was the Crosslock model. Was an "earn-herited" type thing. Looked like a good idea, but not my cup of tea.

not2sharp - I imagine you may be correct about the blades folding on the hand... never had that happen, but using pretty much high quailty / hunter type locking folders. Honestly there isn't much tweak put on the knife to bucher a steer right if you have a sawzaw for the bones, so the locks didn't take any abuse.

God Bless,

Sorry my friend, I did not my intend to belittle your feat, I find it amazing.

And I have done lots of butchering though the years, so I know the scope of the task.


I guess that's why I'm so surprised by the Knives.


But I see now that you where really testing some high end steel,

...and during testing the handles did not perform as well as the steel.




DD, contact me through the forum.

I'd love to talk to you and let you test a few knives.




Big Mike

 

[Ankerson]

if you find a better fixed blade for cutting 500 cod or haddock in an hour than a Dexter Russel 7 inch boning knife let me know.

I've used a number of fixed blades and folders for cutting miles of rope, hundreds of cuts in a sitting, and not had an issue. I always have a folder on me. Not so a fixed blade. I've had 2 locks fail on me in 25 years of using knives. In fact, I've gone to using a slipjoint almost exclusively.



You won't see a butcher, or a commercial fisherman, or any real working person who uses knives every day using a high end super steel fixed blade either. The majority of butchers are using Vic, Forschner, or Dexter fixed blades. Ergonomic, easy to resharpen, nice thin blades made for doing the task at hand. But for versatility and convenience you can't beat a folding knife with a fixed blade.

There are some that do use high end customs in high wear steels, it's just not the norm, but there are some that most defiantly do.

 

[Dan57]

I have tested a lot of folders..... A lot of folders and I can count on one hand the ones I would use for extended periods of time without gloves.

So... what are they? I'm curious what your most ergonomic folders are.

 

[hank_rearden]

i don't know why a lot of knife handles have either sharp edges or strange textures that do little besides hurt the user. one look at the tool box will remind you that tool handles are supposed to be smooth, curved, often rubbery-soft.

 

[Ankerson]

So... what are they? I'm curious what your most ergonomic folders are.

That would be the Spyderco Military for production knives and Andrew Demko AD-10 in Customs, the AD-10 feels VERY close to a Fixed Blade comfort wise.

 

[Ankerson]

i don't know why a lot of knife handles have either sharp edges or strange textures that do little besides hurt the user. one look at the tool box will remind you that tool handles are supposed to be smooth, curved, often rubbery-soft.

Because they have to look cool so they sell better and the makers know most people really don't use their folders for hard work for extended amounts of time despite what some people like to think or say.

A good trick if one can hold a number of knives in hand at a time is to grip the knife and squeeze hard as you can, if it hurts don't buy it if you plan on really using it or you will really regret it later.

 

[jdm61]

Some criteria that I have thought about for a fixed blade handle (aside from the obvious ones like it is the right size for the knife and does it hurt when you use it?) Would you chop with the knife if you didn't have a lanyard and not worry too much about it flying out of your hand? What is the likelihood that the knife might twist in your hand and HURT? If it is a rounded handle and not just two flat thin slabs, when you pick it up, is the knife naturally oriented in the correct position for use. How many ways can you actually hold the knife and still have it be useful? Feel free to add more if you like.

Because they have to look cool so they sell better and the makers know most people really don't use their folders for hard work for extended amounts of time despite what some people like to think or say.

A good trick if one can hold a number of knives in hand at a time is to grip the knife and squeeze hard as you can, if it hurts don't buy it if you plan on really using it or you will really regret it later.

 

[Ankerson]

Some criteria that I have thought about for a fixed blade handle (aside from the obvious ones like it is the right size for the knife and does it hurt when you use it?) Would you chop with the knife if you didn't have a lanyard and not worry too much about it flying out of your hand? What is the likelihood that the knife might twist in your hand and HURT? If it is a rounded handle and not just two flat thin slabs, when you pick it up, is the knife naturally oriented in the correct position for use. How many ways can you actually hold the knife and still have it be useful? Feel free to add more if you like.

I don't chop without a lanyard anymore after my Busse NMFBM went flying, and bounced into my leg.

The rest is knife and handle design that can be tweaked until one is satisfied it's correct.

 

[festerfromnzed]

Very interesting topic...i too have done a lot of butchering,sometimes we prep enough wild and domestic meat to 500 plus people (funerals)....handle comfort is paramount in lasting all day cutting meat...i have found my DH Russell to be the most comfortable to use for extended periods....just my 0.2 worth.......FES

 

[Ankerson]

Very interesting topic...i too have done a lot of butchering,sometimes we prep enough wild and domestic meat to 500 plus people (funerals)....handle comfort is paramount in lasting all day cutting meat...i have found my DH Russell to be the most comfortable to use for extended periods....just my 0.2 worth.......FES

What kind of lock does that knife have?

Can you flick it open 200 times a day?

J/K...

Nice Blade.

 

[festerfromnzed]

What kind of lock does that knife have?

Can you flick it open 200 times a day?

J/K...

Nice Blade.

HaaaaHaaaaaa!! point taken sir!!....i was merely commenting on handle shape is all.....sorry for getting off topic.......................FES