How "traditional" is your collection?

[Old Engineer]

Wow! We might be near the same age Harry, cuz I can relate to all of them. Nice group shot sir!

Thank you sir !! We might be close to the same age if you can remember seeing new WWII fighter planes taking off from your local airport and flying over your house when you were a kid. Or if your basketball coach tried to teach you to shoot foul shouts under-handed. Or if you can remember following a team of horses behind a plow.
Or if you can remember why you never threw away a Sears , Aldens , or JC Penneys catalogue. Or if you helped your Dad wire the electric to and through your house.Or if you can remember when Micky Mantle was a rookie . Or if you can remember playing Spilts with knives and nobody had a heart attack about it.
Now some old bugger is running on .
If I may ask : What Great Lakes State do you live in Sir ???

Harry

 

[jsg71]

I have many traditional knives and that is where my interests tend to be. That being said there are times where I appreciate being able to open a sharp tool with one hand so I have some of them.


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[gdpolk]

My only folders are leatherman multitools and a Buck 110 of my grandfathers. However my fixed blades are fairly average and traditional in style but they use modern steels.

 

[jsg71]

I have many traditional knives and that is where my interests tend to be. That being said there are times where I appreciate being able to open a sharp tool with one hand so I have some of them.

While the traditional knives feel like more the others are only tools.


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[rishma]

At this point, the closest thing I have to a non-traditional is a morakniv mora companion fixed blade. I did carry modern folders for a very long time but lost interest. I honestly don't know why. My last modern folder was a Mnandi, beautiful knife. Only traditions interest me these days.

I also don't have much a collection. I gifted and sold all knives except 3 traditionals this year. Amazingly, 2 traditionals were gifted to me this week, so the collection increased considerably. Lucky indeed.

 

[knarfeng]

I own a mixture of modern and traditional knives. I frequently carry one of each.
I'm more interested in function than in form.
My motto: If it works good, it is good.

 

[AlwaysTomboy]

When I hear "tactical" with regards to knives, it makes me think of black coated blades and knives that were designed primarily for self defense or combat. For that definition of tactical, I don't think I have any that qualify. If "tactical" just means modern, one handed openers with pocket clips, though, I have a fair amount of those, mostly Spydercos.

At this point, going straight by the numbers, my traditionals outnumber my moderns, but a lot of those are SAK project knives for parts or inexpensive brands that I bought just to try out different blade configurations (or that I impulse bought because they were green or had a horse on the front ). I have no sense of attachment to those and expect I'll eventually give them to friends or family or Goodwill or leave 'em on a park bench for someone to find and hopefully be pleased at finding a free knife.

As far as money invested and number of knives I plan to keep, though, my moderns take the lead over my traditionals. That said, I've been collecting Spydercos for more than a decade and I've only been collecting traditionals for about a year. It takes time to accumulate a quality collection so there's no telling where I'll end up.

I've gone from only ever carrying a SAK and a Spyderco, to carrying those plus a traditional. I barely need one knife for every day use; I certainly don't need three, but the SAK is mostly for the tools, and traditionals are often more office-friendly and inconspicuous than even a small modern knife. I like having variety and different options. I also like having a sort of sense of connection to the past by carrying a knife similar to what my granddad used, or what my dad used when he was younger, if that makes any sense.

For photos, I'll just post the two traditionals I've had the longest and the three that I've bought most recently.

These are the two that I inherited from my grandfather after he died.

And these are my newest traditionals and the humble start of my GEC collection.

 

[Jack Black]

We might be close to the same age if you can remember seeing new WWII fighter planes taking off from your local airport and flying over your house when you were a kid. Or if your basketball coach tried to teach you to shoot foul shouts under-handed. Or if you can remember following a team of horses behind a plow.
Or if you can remember why you never threw away a Sears , Aldens , or JC Penneys catalogue. Or if you helped your Dad wire the electric to and through your house.Or if you can remember when Micky Mantle was a rookie . Or if you can remember playing Spilts with knives and nobody had a heart attack about it.
Now some old bugger is running on.

LOL! Good stuff Harry :thumbup: I can remember the last one (in fact my mother taught me to play)! :thumbup:

 

[Jolipapa]

All my folders are trads, except maybe three : Tatoo, Military Tatoo and Tatounet though they are made with trad steel. I have another earlier version but could not find neither knife or a picture.

 

[Rookie82]

All 100% traditional for me, nothing modern or tactical. Every handle is either stag, bone, horn, wood, or ivory. Every one of them is a slipjoint.

 

[Pàdruig]

So this is probably going down a rabbit trail so forgive me if it is off base. I figured I would elaborate a bit on the term "tactical". As I mentioned in an earlier post, the "tactical" term has largely become a marketing gimmick. In this day in age where slick functioning black knives and scary black guns proliferate our media, the best term that our benevolent (or not) reporters can come up with is "tactical". "Tactical clothing", "tactical looking knife", "tactical gear", the list can go on an on...

Though the term has largely taken over as the go-to descriptive for anything black and dangerous looking, the fact remains that anything can be used in a tactical manner. The term "tactical" is defined by careful planning and strategy, particularly involving combat operations. So tactical is generally not the appropriate term for "static" objects, it is the action being done with said item that defines it as being "tactical". For instance: I can wear my black BDU pants out in public because, well.... I can, that does not make them instantly "tactical pants". However, if I were a member of SWAT, and black BDU's served a tactical purpose, such as remaining somewhat unseen in an urban, low light environment, then all of the sudden, the pants are being used "tactically".

This definition from the Urban Dictionary pretty much sums it up....

A commonly misunderstood word. Pretty much anything can be tactical provided you are using it in a tactical application.

A word used by firearm, cutlery, ammo, or clothes manufacturers to make their products more appealing. The advertisement for said “tactical” products usually includes pictures of the armed forces, fire, explosions, people dressed up like SWAT members, and American flags

These tactical products tend to cost a lot more than regular products and usually offer nothing other than tacky looks. Usually the guns are black and have folding stocks. Blades tend to be menacing looking. Usually they will have large serrations, an awkward grind , and most likely painted black or camo.
Idiot: Look I just bought this new knife. The Nocturnal Special-Ops US Marine SAS Killer.

Me: What do you plan to use it for?

Idiot: Everyday tactical carry.

Me: Good luck trying to convince a jury you weren’t planning to hurt anyone when you decided to star carrying that.

This definition is obviously tongue in cheek for those of you who are unfamiliar with Urban Dictionary.

So really, in the end, it is not the blade, but how you use it that appropriately defines it as being tactical. I think that there are clear defining characteristics that distinguish traditional knives from their modern kin and it simply comes down to materials, form, and function. I have a very high appreciation for craftsmanship and the attention to detail that is implemented in any knife. Though I have a huge soft spot for wood, brass, and carbon steel, I also like G10, titanium, and S30V so my collection has quite a varied mix.

That being said, since I have arrived here, I have been spending most of my time in the Traditional sub-forum. Fantastic group of guys here and the knives are incredible. It is certainly motivating me to skew my collection in the traditional's favor...

 

[ecallahan]

I grew up with traditional (in my 50's now) but went through a long stretch of modern types. For the past year I have gravitated back to traditionals. I do like and use all my knives but carry a traditional about 85% of the time. A smaller traditional type knife is usually all I need and they remind me of my youth, loved ones past and present, and I like simple and understated things.

 

[Jack Black]

A smaller traditional type knife is usually all I need and they remind me of my youth, loved ones past and present, and I like simple and understated things. ]

Nicely put :thumbup:

 

[Duper]

I run 50/50 right now. The modern style folder with pocket clips etc. I do not find as attractive as traditional knives but the locks are what I find most appealing. Gong forward I plan to look more closely at traditional lockbacks. Case, Grohmann, GEC and more.

I do make a strong effort to purchase knives made in the USA or Canada or other countries where I respect their laws and traditions.

If Grohmann (Canadian) produced their R340S model in a beautiful red bone handle I would be all over that.

,,,Mike in Canada

 

[btb01]

My collection is 91.7% traditional, 8.3% modern.

As for my least traditional traditional knife, it's this little Gerber. (LST, I think it's called? It's the small one.)

 

[Pomsbz]

My folders are all slipjoints/traditionals with the exception of two Leatherman's (Charge AL & Skeletool) which to be frank provide a very different tool set and a CRKT Swindle which is my desk knife and certainly leaning far more to the 'gentleman carry' than tactical. I have a fixie (shown) that may perhaps tend towards the modern but I believe that it is still far from the label 'tactical'.

 

[major_works]

My small knife collection is heavily dominated by traditionals. I have three "modern" one-handed folders (Benchmade/Boker/Kershaw) and about 15 Case/GEC/RR/Camillus/SAK. More Case knives than anything else at this point. I rarely carry the modern knives anymore.

 

[Gaston444]

Let me try a "stab" at this. For fixed blades:

1-Survival: Large, wood chopping capable, and has associated items for shelter building, some rope or at least fire making. I would say 8" blade/16 ounces minimum.

2-Fighting: Very pointy ended, quite narrow blade with unusually secure grip (finger grooves or surface texture). 6 to 8".

3-Combat: Like fighting knife but much broader bladed and with a point more suitable for prying.

4-Tactical: To me, means it adds a concealment aspect to 2- and 3-, while retaining some speed of deployment. (On folders, clip plus one hand deployment.)

5-Traditional: Anything not aiming for any of the above, or with an emphasis on decorations, abstract engravings or natural materials.

Gaston