How long will each knife last?

J

jasperjb

Joined
Jul 24, 2012
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Talking about how many years till the lock goes or something else breaks.
Anybody got some estimates?
I know it all depends on how much you use it, how much you care for it, if you flick it :p
I just want some numbers :)
 
I have a few Schrades that are 80 years old and still going stong. Use them for knives, maintain them properly, and they'll outlive you.
 
jasperjb said:
Lets see
mini grip:
Delica:
ZT350:
ZT560:
XM-18
Strider SnG
Sebenza

I think that is a good outline from bottom range to top range :)
Click to expand...

If taken care of and used properly (not abused) every single one of those knives will last several generations.
 
mkjellgren said:
If taken care of and used properly (not abused) every single one of those knives will last several generations.
Click to expand...

How about a spyderco military? Will the liner lock eventually reach 100%? Same goes for the frame locks I mentioned
 
Conservative estimate for the 'Grip is two generations; say, fifty years for you, and another thirty for your son.

The Delica will probably last about the same. The metal parts will last longer, but the plastic handles will start to wear.

The ZT's? Give 'em a hundred years or so. My guess is that the titanium lockbar will be the first thing to show wear. Eventually, it will lock up so late that it will be difficult to unlock the knife. At that point, make a sheath for it, and carry it as a fixed blade for another hundred years!

The XM, Strider, and Sebenza? Two hundred years of continuous use is not unreasonable for these knives.
 
How are we achieving these estimates? I know that I've seen lot of slip joints that are several generations old and they're going strong (with narrow blades though)
How do you estimate how long a lock will last?
 
Mr. Pierce, I pulled those numbers out of my ass!

But I believe they're worth a little more than that.

There are examples of eighty year old slipjoints which are still going strong.

The knives the OP listed have blades which are twice as thick as the ones on a typical slipjoint. Two to three times as wide. As long as somebody doesn't screw with a grinder, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that such a knife will last more than a hundred years.

But, like I said, I pulled those numbers out of my keister, so feel free to tell me I'm wrong!
 
Several factors contribute to the death of a folding knife (other than abuse). Two basic ones are-

Lock surfaces wear causing insufficient lock-up (or no lock-up) and blade-play.

Over-sharpening and/or improper sharpening will grind away the blade.

It's impossible to predict how long a folder will last because everyone "uses" their folder differently. The lock of a knife that gets "flicked" open repeatedly by a guy sitting on the couch watching tv, or a folder that gets used a lot (frequent opening), will wear out a lot faster than a folder that only gets opened/used once in a while.

If you want a folder to last longer, don't repeatedly "flick" it open just for the fun of it like it's a toy. And if you don't already know how, learn the proper way to sharpen a knife.
 
The biggest shortener of knife life span is improper use (screwdriver, bolt cutter, etc), and over zealous sharpening. I have a Buck Scoutlite I carried for 20 years. It is still a capable cutter, though I also practiced my sharpening skills on it and the blade is much narrower and shorter than when I got it. I have slipjoint knives I expect my kids to give to their children, so long as they are used for cutting, and not the above examples.
 
jasperjb said:
How about a spyderco military? Will the liner lock eventually reach 100%? Same goes for the frame locks I mentioned
Click to expand...

In use for cutting stuff, I doubt it. The lock on my most used Military basically never moved outside of extra hard use, but even then that was the rest of the handle making space for the blade to move more, not the lockbar wearing. Regardless, all you have to do is slightly re-size the stop pin (or weld a lump onto the blade tang?) and it's as good as new. As mentioned, if not abused I don't doubt a knife could be carried for many generations, it would probably be hundreds of years before the blade actually got ground down too much to use.
At the turn of the next century I expect modern knives to be treated similar to the 1911 right now (though probably not getting quite as much attention).
 
SO, it begs the question. When at what point are we going to have too many knives? If all these knives will last generations, at what point can we tell the knife companies to knock it off?
 
Chris Pierce said:
SO, it begs the question. When at what point are we going to have too many knives? If all these knives will last generations, at what point can we tell the knife companies to knock it off?
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Hmmm... well I'm 14 and just starting my collection now, so I guess... never?

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I can collect for much longer. Australia is cracking down on knife laws and no folders can get through customs any more. I might look into making a basic fixed blade and one day making a folding knife, but that would be years away. I just purchased the ZT560 and the Spyderco Cricket and I already have a Delica 4 (Not FFG, stainless handle and it's fully serrated, it was my first knife... I guess we all start somewhere), a Salt-1, a Military and a ZT350. I'm looking to pick up a second hand Sebenza shortly after Christmas and that's me done for folding knives- onto fixed blades!

That's a lot of rambling. My apologize. :)
 
killgar said:
The lock of a knife that gets "flicked" open repeatedly by a guy sitting on the couch watching tv, or a folder that gets used a lot (frequent opening), will wear out a lot faster
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Stop looking at me like that!
In all seriousness, I try not to "flick" my knives. Would opening them in a controlled manner be okay? It still makes the lock activate.
 
I just found my first Emerson Commander, its just shy of 14 years IIRC... it's a bit beat up, there's some rust on the blade, all the screws are pretty much frozen blade is about as sharp as a baseball bat... but the lock still functions as it did when I lost it a few years back. Mine was a daily use blade, got tons of use opening boxes and being used for stuff it shouldn't have been... like a screwdriver.

I was actually thinking about sending it out to get refinished. So yea I guess with the proper maintenance a liner locker will last a while.

I would just break down the knife every month or so give the bits and pieces a good wash with some very mild dishwashing soap or simple green, oil it up and put it back together. I think I only had to do 1 adjustment to the lock but that was early on...
 
Any decent knife should last just short of forever.

If you outlive one of your blades, you probably did something really, really wrong with it along the way.
 
I still have the first knives I ever owned. I got them used and they are better than they were when I got them. My first Spyderco is still EDC'able, as are the other brand knives I have. I just take care of my tools and it seems the knives, even inexpensive ones will outlast me with correct usage and a little care.

The place you can see wear on mine is the blade from sharpening. I tend to be a bit ham handed with that, but none are near unserviceable.

I've been using and collecting knives since about 1968? My first Spyderco came in 92, and it's almost new looking. I'd grade it out as very good.

I take care of all my tools, vehicles, etc. My last car I sold went another 140,000 miles with oil changes, belts, and a starter motor. It was well over 10 years old when I sold it and I only got rid of it because I needed the room, had three other cars.

Joe
 
jasperjb said:
Talking about how many years till the lock goes or something else breaks.
Anybody got some estimates?
I know it all depends on how much you use it, how much you care for it, if you flick it :p
I just want some numbers :)
Click to expand...

just pick a number out of your butt. That will be about as accurate as any thing else. :D
 
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