Hard use

[blade dude]

I don't exactly know how to put this. Because everyone would agree that cutting 8 guage wire is hard use. What do you guys use your hard use knives for and what is the hardest uses/most abuse your edc knives have seen. To some hard use is cutting cardboard and to others cutting wires is normal. I'll start. My idea of hard use would be prying nails or prying pine bark off logs. My delica sees a lot of prying but nothing as abusive as the time I pried bark. I'm not trying to copy that knife for prying thread. Oh and post pics of knives that you do hard use with as well if you want


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[Comeuppance]

I would say "hard use" is anything that is -likely- to damage the blade or edge noticeably. The hardest use my knives typically see is cutting through fiberglass-reinforced plastics, which will tear up an edge pretty well. Sharpening nicks out of my blades is why I made the jump to 3V for my recent knife purchases.

I work retail and don't go camping or hunting, so my knives live a pretty safe-but-frequently-used life.

 

[The Aflac Duck]

Cutting 8 gauge wire is hard use? I thought that was pretty normal

The hardest/dumbest things I've done are:

Scrape spray foam out of a masonry gap

Which resulted with:

Stab into steel studs with this 4V Mule Team (why not?!? It makes a good coat hanger)

Cut about 200' of old silt fence with a fresh-out-the-box Seb' 21

And a whole bunch of other stuff I probably shouldn't have done Sure, a knife isn't the right tool for any of this, but a driving a Ferrari 15mph in traffic is no fun either...open that throttle up a bit

 

[Maven]

I don't normally see wires past 14ga.
Aramid reinforced rubber belts
Aramid braided hoses
Plastic sheet
Fiberglass and carbon fiber cloth
Cardboard
Sandpaper
Zipties
Etc.

 

[EChoil]

I sometimes define 'hard use' as much from an ergonomic standpoint as a physical one.

To me, hard use is not only prying nails and scraping bark, it's cutting through branches that are maybe a 'little bit' thicker than what you always thought you'd cut with that folder. And shifting large hot rocks around the fire....hooking the handle of that heavy cooking pot to bring it off of said fire...peeling crevices on a rock face...making cleat and clevis niches in rock faces for belaying pins....chopping through ice....testing an electric fence and watching the teflon coating melt....batoning knots even though we know we shouldn't....hammering it into a coconut...shuffling a blade through river gravel attempting to slow a canoe....beating flint...freakin' yard work.....

....but especially repetitive tasks lasting several hours that don't result in cramps, hotspots or blisters on your hand and where you don't dread doing it all again after that ten minute rest.

That's a hard use knife.

 

[SW-EDC]

I've used a couple for prying, cutting temporary fencing, cardboard, etc.

 

[killgar]

I judge "hard use" somewhat subjectively by the amount of force that is applied to the knife, either torque, lateral stress, or impact.

The knife below (Wilson Tactical model 25) has been used for a lot of prying. Including prying off the nailed-down lids of several wood packing crates (too many to count). I've also used it to pry apart old rotted pieces of wood in houses I was remodeling, as well as other related tasks like prying drywall, and prying old electrical/outlet boxes away from wall studs.

I've also used this knife to cut heavy rope (1/2"- 3/4" thick) by placing the rope on a piece of wood, placing the edge of my knife on the rope, and whacking the back of the knife hard with another piece of wood. I'm often able to cut through cleanly with a single whack.

I also once used it to pry off the front under panel from a woman's mini van after it came loose and was dragging on the road as she drove. I pried apart the rivets that held the panel onto the undercarriage of the vehicle.

And on one occasion I used a folder (Benchmade Darkstar) to pry my bathroom door away from the door jam so I could get out after the doorknob broke. But that was more a matter of necessity rather than choice. I never would have used that knife for that purpose if I had a choice.

That's been my experience with "hard use".

 

[blade dude]

Cutting 8 gauge wire is hard use? I thought that was pretty normal

The hardest/dumbest things I've done are:

Scrape spray foam out of a masonry gap

Which resulted with:

Stab into steel studs with this 4V Mule Team (why not?!? It makes a good coat hanger)

Cut about 200' of old silt fence with a fresh-out-the-box Seb' 21

And a whole bunch of other stuff I probably shouldn't have done Sure, a knife isn't the right tool for any of this, but a driving a Ferrari 15mph in traffic is no fun either...open that throttle up a bit

Dude I love seeing knives that are clearly used. Never seen a sebenza that dirty makes me happy actually.

 

[whitty]

I think a night of drywall with my ZT0630 was one of the most abusive nights for a knife I have had. It held up like a champ though!

https://flic.kr/p/zxeKZr https://www.flickr.com/photos/57703464@N02/

 

[JR88FAN]

I've done a lot of interesting things with my knives that they where not designed to do.

I am not going to make a list, but my simple point is, I have a folder in my pocket 24/7, so whatever I need to do, it's going to have to do it.
It's going to get used, and often for tasks it was not necessarily "intended" to perform.

 

[AusLoX]

The 110 gets more action than a village bike. It's a shop knife. The BM has cut chain link fence, carpet, wire. Don't have a pic of my mora but it's wrecked.

 

[SW-EDC]

One that has seen the hardest use.

 

[FullMetalJackass]

Most recent:

Tripping on a small rock
Being pissed off and start digging out said rock with the fixed blade I had on me that day Dustar Dimona)
Small rock happened to be a 50 lbs or so massive round stone, about 12 inches wide
Prying said rock out of the ground using knife as a lever, using foot on handle for maximum strength
Knive is alive and well tho!
Just used it 2 days ago as a machete to clear a path through a pile of dead trees. D2 steel did not even had a dent, and I was banging on 2 inches thick diamond willow branches. Which is much more than most famous brands machetes can sustain.

 

[Maven]

 

[blade dude]

lord knows where that back pin is


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[Teppojutsu]

Gota love spray foam

One of these days I'll post a pic of my catcherman with 10 plus years of construction hunting and fishing .

When my sereations where little rounded nubs I had a buddy buzz the edge to a plain I finally broke the clip off. Then part of the tip.

It was my father's knife and I have retired it since he passed.

So I just found a usn catcherman to replace it with dad would be pleased

 

[Riley12]

Hard use to me is like batoning a folder or heavy prying, anything up to that should be fair game for a knife.


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[whitty]

Might be the best looking hard use knife I have seen! Love it!

 

[mqqn]

I consider any use that is designed to damage the knife incorrect use, as opposed to hard use. Prying with a folding knife is begging for trouble, and it's not a great idea even with a fixed blade. That is just my opinion.

Now - for fun, check out this "abuse passaround" that JK Handmade knives did a few years back with one of his 01 steel fixed blades - the knife took a real beating and, until someone did something that was patently designed to break the knife, it held up fine.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/913609-JK-Knives-Torture-Test-Passaround

As to cutting wire, if that were something you knew you were doing a lot of, why would you not have wire cutters/strippers? I have cut the odd wire with my knives, but if I am doing some wiring, for instance, I have wire cutters with me.

Probably the hardest use things I do involve yard maintenance. For instance, I cut the balled up trimmer string out of the spool on my old weed-wacker with my AG Russell Acies, which involved some cutting and twisting. No harm done.

I have scraped with the edge of knives before, but now if I have some scraping to do, I have a razor scraper.

Probably the dumbest thing I have done was hammering in a tap into a maple tree one year with an Emerson CQC7 - but all that accomplished was boogering up the g10 of the scales.

best

mqqn

 

[Jabe1]

My daily work carry Blur has been used for some drywall, wiring, insulation and a bit of "carpentry". The 14c28n holds up fairly well, not as well as whatever Victorinox uses, but close.