I guess I'm just a dusty old fart

dogstar said:
The majority of stuff being sold today just doesn't appeal to me. If I go to Knifecenter and scroll through their carousel, none their showcased items really excite me. The current aesthetic of sharp angles, CNC machining, torx screws, and slab construction just seems so dead to me. Pretty soon, they will have AI design this stuff, because it is all looking very similar. Also, I don't need my knife to run on ball bearings, drop shut, or fly open in a millisecond.

I just need my knife to cut well, feel good in the hand, and be easy to maintain. A knife is a tool to me, not an object d'art. The more it looks like a human hands made it, the better. If you are a DOF like me, chime in and commiserate.
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Try Joker from Spain they have many traditional looking folders you might like.
 
OCEquestrian said:
Yeah...a tank, a tank destroyer, a couple halftracks and a APC. What can I say, AFV's were on my bucket list from all my years killing brain cells sniffing glue as I built models in the basement when I was young.
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okay.....thats just pure awesome there.
 
I am 43 and prefer more classic designs overall. But I do like some of the modern steels and materials. So, I guess I like a mixture…

My daily carry consists of a folder and a fixed blade. My preferences are more or less…

Fixed Blade:
*Carbon and tool steel
**Durability and easy to sharpen
***1095, O1, A2, 3V (this being the “fanciest”)

Folders:
*Slip joints and lockbacks
**Stainless steel
***Convenience, edge retention, and stainless
**** 420, s30v, xhp, lc200n, h1, Abe-l

I have not found anything out there that I like any better for my needs that Becker, Buck, ESEE, and LT Wright doesn’t already make. I have a couple of Spyderco and Benchmade knives that I like and they aren’t really a classic design, but they are a simple design. Anyway, my two cents.
 
I'm 45, so I ain't too dusty yet. I like traditionals more than modern knives and kinda always have. My favorite modern knives usually have a traditional aspect. Like a small sebenza with wood inlays, Benchmade north fork, Cabela's 940 with the wood and carbon fiber scales, the Buck vantage from Cabela's....stuff like that. I try to find the best of both worlds....
 
I'm a simple guy, I tend to prefer simple, more old-school knives. I don't begrudge anyone liking what they like, but buzzwords containing "zirc-" & "-mascus" pretty much guarantee that I have no interest in a knife.. I actually really appreciate that a majority of the "hip" new designs don't appeal to me.. well.. my wallet does anyway..

For reference, I'm only 37, but I've been called an "old man" for as long as I can remember.. actual olds have accused me of being "too curmudgeonly." Age is just a number; being a "dusty old fart" is a state of mind..
 
Old fart here. Don't really need/use a knife as much now. Still use a few that I bought back in the 70s and a more recent buy. Well (ab)used but function well.
Worker:
AxlgQ1Bl.jpg

Pocket sometimes:
hOAJfKHl.jpg

Several years ago:
chkPc1rl.jpg
 
dogstar said:
The majority of stuff being sold today just doesn't appeal to me. If I go to Knifecenter and scroll through their carousel, none their showcased items really excite me. The current aesthetic of sharp angles, CNC machining, torx screws, and slab construction just seems so dead to me. Pretty soon, they will have AI design this stuff, because it is all looking very similar. Also, I don't need my knife to run on ball bearings, drop shut, or fly open in a millisecond.

I just need my knife to cut well, feel good in the hand, and be easy to maintain. A knife is a tool to me, not an object d'art. The more it looks like a human hands made it, the better. If you are a DOF like me, chime in and commiserate.
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Sounds like Becker and ESEE are the way to go, friend. Pre-GSM Cold Steel too.

You know what, heck. We really had it all during the Thompson/Demko era.
 
dogstar said:
The majority of stuff being sold today just doesn't appeal to me. If I go to Knifecenter and scroll through their carousel, none their showcased items really excite me. The current aesthetic of sharp angles, CNC machining, torx screws, and slab construction just seems so dead to me. Pretty soon, they will have AI design this stuff, because it is all looking very similar. Also, I don't need my knife to run on ball bearings, drop shut, or fly open in a millisecond.

I just need my knife to cut well, feel good in the hand, and be easy to maintain. A knife is a tool to me, not an object d'art. The more it looks like a human hands made it, the better. If you are a DOF like me, chime in and commiserate.
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Sounds familiar. My two most carried knives these days are a Delica and an Endura.
Too many current knife designs seem more like figit toys instead of tools to me.
 
At 66, I still feel like I'm a lot younger than a lot of the folks here!

Several years ago I decided I needed to go back out in the field and leave the desk as a contractor. It was harder than I thought. But I realized one of the things that I was missing was a good, large work knife. My search was what led me to BF. I was astonished there were so many different knives I had never heard of or seen before.

I never quit carrying a traditional regardless of what other work knife I had with me. (I still do, a two knife guy.) I found some really nice large folding knives for work from Cold Steel, Ontario and ZT.

I still love a great work knife and have more than I could ever wear out. But now, they all look the same to me. I've said it many times before and haven't moved off of the fact that most of today's offerings look like a pile of pieces screwed together by some talented guy who took the time to sand the edges off that stuck out after assembly.

I really enjoy carrying some of my older folders from CASE, Buck, Schrade, etc., but I am only truly fond of my ZT 0909, my Spyderco Valloton and my first American Lawman in my work knives. Even my CS SR 1 is an excellent hard work knife, but it is as ugly as a mud fence.

To me, most of today's knives are simply variations on a theme.
 
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A.L. said:
You don’t have to be dusty old fart to see that knives have started to look so familiar to each other. Some sort of social media hive mind?
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No one has limited you to modern knives. You can chase down any variety of older knife. They are all out there waiting for you to hunt them down.

n2s
 
1961
I get it. I remember.
Old Timer was the bomb.
deploying, using, returning to pocket, With one hand.
I find it helpful, efficient, pleasing.
As we cross to the modern steels, On My.
 
I am a coffin dodger aged 74.

Been carrying knives since i was a lad. I have always loved folders , lockers especially. I did not like the way tradirional folders can close on you. Hence I carry my Benchmade Mini Bugout , and in my other trousers , my Spyderco Wolfspyder.

Use to carry a PM2 and Para 3 - S110v steel blade .

I feel naked without a blade on me. I also have a SAK , and other lockers in the car , and stashed around the house.

Thanks for the chat here .
 
not2sharp said:
No one has limited you to modern knives. You can chase down any variety of older knife. They are all out there waiting for you to hunt them down.

n2s
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I know. I’m not saying but I’m saying you know what I’m sayin?
 
A.L. said:
I know. I’m not saying but I’m saying you know what I’m sayin?
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It’s a fad. We have gone through the Iron Mistress/Bowie/fighters, the Rambo/hollow handled/survival, the Chris Reeves /titanium knives/slab sides, and now we have Flippers/assisted/autos. Give it a little time and styles will move on. As the technology advances, factories will eventually go from CNC to fully machine printed knives. The only limits would be what we can imagine and digitize.

n2s
 
I go through phases, some have been over a year where I don’t buy a knife. I just bought my first Case knife, an antique bone Copperlock.
 
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