I'm curious.

These days, I can't say I need my knife all that much. Mostly to open boxes, trim threads, maybe cut up lunch.

I spent 15 years working offshore. You only need to see how quickly bad things can happen ONCE before you start
getting ideas about how to get yourself out of sticky situations. I decided early on that I needed a knife that could
be retrieved, opened, closed, and put away with one hand. Sometimes I needed this capability just because my other
hand was busy... sometimes it was because I needed to have my knife out in a HURRY. I doubt that being able to
deploy my knife quickly ever saved my life, but I'm certain it saved myself and others from injury on more than one
occasion. Another factor was that sometimes I needed to cut something NOW and the only tool on hand was my knife.
I wanted a knife that could stand up to those situations.

When I stopped working offshore, it was still often fairly handy to have a one handed knife. Perhaps it wasn't such an
urgent requirement, but it was still useful. These days, I carry a "tactical" knife because it's what I'm accustomed to and
what I'm comfortable with.

I am generally of the mind that it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
 
I love the mechanics the go into a "modern" folder. I'm fascinated by all the different parts and steels and materials and that's really the main reason I carry a "modern" knife. I'm carrying a Kershaw junkyard dog 2.2 composite right now because I love to play with it and I'm amazed by the two steels bonded together. Could i perform all of my cutting tasks (Excluding heavy outdoor stuff) with a small slipjoint? Most definitely. I have way more slipjoints than modern knives and still carry them but I'm just fond of the mechanics and cool steel that comes with the bigger guys sometimes.
 
I like variety. I have a SAK Tourist and a Queen mini trapper I like to carry along with either a ZT 0350, Spyderco lefty Military, Gayle Bradley, Sage 2, or sometimes I'll go with the Case Premium Stag Trapper. I don't have a need to EDC a fixed blade or a huge folder. I don't need my knives to lock and I don't need a heavy knife with G10 or carbon fiber. I like having a large knife I can clip in my back pocket and smaller knives in my front pockets. As it happens the few traditionals I own are small aside from the Case prime stag trapper. I have a variety of modern, one hand opening folders from small to large, but I prefer ones with a 3-4'' blade.

None of this is about need for me. It's simply because I like the experience of carrying and using different knives. I could do 95% of my cutting tasks with a mini trapper or SAK Tourist.
 
I've gone back and forth on this in my mind before. I've always liked traditionals and still do. However, the slipjoint folder I carry the most now is a Vic Executive, carried every day. The larger knife blade rarely gets used, though the smaller blade and the other tools are used all the time. I really like one-handers, and the ones I carry most at this point are my CRK Umnumzaan in a belt pouch, and a Spyderco of some type inside my pocket, often a Tasman and/or a Dragonfly Salt. If going into salt water, I carry my Pacific Salt. These I really do not consider to be "tactical", although they can be. They are just very useful knives to me.

If I want to carry a slipjoint folder, I really prefer a SAK. Preferably one not too thick, where all or most of the tools are ones that I actually use. I much prefer to carry a SAK over, say a stockman, because for its size it's usually lighter in the pocket, and the other tools get used so much, instead of only more knife blades. I also like the SAK's more consistent fit/finish over most other multis I've experienced, though I still like those, too.

At this time, I use my knives for pretty much normal, mundane stuff. I could do most or all of it just as well with a multi-bladed slipjoint, but I like the ease of use of one-handers for most cutting tasks. I'm not too hung up on 'super-steels' or the 'latest-greatest' like some; I simply like what I like and choose accordingly. It's not a juvenile mentality to like one-handers. I'm 49 years old. I remember when I was a kid, most boys I knew (including myself) carried some type of multi-bladed slipjoint folder. That's when I realized I liked knives. So I see it from both sides, and don't see a need to classify my knife preferences as exclusively modern or traditional.

Jim
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I don't think the slipjoint community "hates on" locking mechanisms as much as the fact they point out that if you use the knife properly they're rarely a necessity. Sort of like seat belts. But for those rare times they sure do save you! :D
Click to expand...

Well put.

I can't figure out why when someone prefers X over Y, "hates on" or "hater" invariably gets thrown out on the table.

I don't happen to find locking knives useful. I've found that though my experience with knives.

There's no blind, mindless hatred involved. I don't know why one would imply that there is.
 
I really don't understand the big beefy overbuilt tank of a knife trend either. I do however carry almost exclusively carry a modern folder, it's just more convenient for me. I do carry a case peanut in the bottom of my pocket, but as others have said it just kinda gets lost in my pocket and usually only gets used in situations where I need to fly under the radar.

I don't think modern knives necessarily make tradionals obsolete but there is definitely a role for modern one handed knives.

To me modern does not equal tactical. Modern does not equal pocket tank. Modern knives can be thin, light, and classy (spyderco chaparral for examole) or they can be obnoxiously aggressive looking and cheesy.

Discounting a knife simply because it has a lock and is one hand opening is just as ignorant as discounting one with multiple blades and no lock. They both have their uses and many of us carry both.
 
mkjellgren said:
I don't think modern knives necessarily make tradionals obsolete but there is definitely a role for modern one handed knives.

To me modern does not equal tactical. Modern does not equal pocket tank. Modern knives can be thin, light, and classy (spyderco chaparral for examole) or they can be obnoxiously aggressive looking and cheesy.

Discounting a knife simply because it has a lock and is one hand opening is just as ignorant as discounting one with multiple blades and no lock. They both have their uses and many of us carry both.
Click to expand...

Bingo. :thumbup:
 
Open boxes, trim nails, cut open plastic packaging, cut off loose threads, pry out staples, cut paper, cut food (when I have steak or pork chops at work :)), cut tape...that's it normally. Use one to make a beaker holder out of plastic for a round bottom beaker at an organic chemstry lab, and to cut the rubber tubing for the suction when the solvents wrecked the ends, but I don't work there now.:(

In the woods the folder gets used to strip bark, and finish off skewers for sausages, and make the ends of spears better.

So, I guess I use them for knife type uses.:)
 
I carry my Willumsen Tuco for "serious" work and a Sodbuster for general work.
 
I'm not sure where the dividing line is between 'tactical' and 'modern'. I think of knives as tools that could be used as weapons- same as a hammer.
I like to carry a folder I can open and close with one hand. Something like the Buck Vantage. I also carry a Spyderco Merlin. It's a serrated hawkbill folder that some folks find scary looking, but it's great for cutting plastic zip ties and and ropes and tarps. I've even used tanto blades- they are useful for scraping paint and glazing off glass.
 
I like tactical knives for their design. I don't consider them from the aspect of 'de-animating' someone or something, rather I see the good ones as tough, multi-use knives. I find it convienent to have a one-handed knife, so I don't have to set down what I want to cut and fiddle with opening a blade. Sure, there are times when I take out my Buck 110, just for the joy of using it, but my focus for the immediate future, lays in collecting Emerson knives, which puts me firmly in with the 'tactical' crowd.
 
Carl, I'm 52 years old, no spring chicken by any stretch of the imagination, I grew up with slip joints and was in my early 20s when Spyderco burst on the market.

I got caught up in the tactical fever, knife patterns and materials were evolvin' at an unbelievable speed, seemed like every other week a new company and a new magazine would pop up, I was there for th evolution of the inteweb knife community, (hell some of these guys probably remember me from the recknives.com days).

I carried a one hand tactical syle knife because as a mechanic in the production manufacturing field and as a an EMT, time was of the essence when it came to getting a knife out.

I've always carried a traditional pattern as a back up in my pocket but at work I needed a beefy, fast deploment large knife for opening crates, cutting fan belts and the one modern pattern, (although not really, the tanto style blade is older than most knives) was a SOG Autoclip with a chisel ground Tanto Blade, this knife is unparalleled when it comes to scraping gackets off of anything.

Now a days I still carry a medium sized tactical clipped to my RFP for a quick grab knife but seeing as how I'm semi retired I don't find the need for a big a** tactical, as far as for protection, nuthin' beats a gun at a knife fight. ;)
 
As an eighteen year old I'm pretty sure that I fall under the "new generation". I'm personally am a supporter of traditional and modern styles, I mean, who said we had to choose?....

Traditional non locking folders are excellent for the plethora of tasks which are presented to us in our day to day activities. Used correctly a non locking knife is no more dangerous than a locking one and can fufill a variety of needs. Personally I've found that this utilitarian tool is best paired with others of it's kind, and that is why you will find all of my non locking blades on either a multitool or SAK. These travel everywhere with me, and are in my opinion, the next evolutionary step in the traditional utilitarian folders.

While my SAK usually rides in my left pocket on my right side you will always find a modern folder of some kind. Its one handed opening allows me to cut items quickly, allow me stabalize myself/intended cutting surface, and react to possible emergencies effectively. The locking mechanisma also serves a variety of functions. It allows me to prevent injuries in harmful cutting situations, extends the longevity of my knife, and allows it to function in situations which would be considered abusive to a traditional folder.

I personally see nothing wrong with these tank like folders because to me they are very similar to the folding saw. They both take a piece of gear and make it lighter and more compact without losing much of its functionality. Personally I just see them as big folding machetes that shouldn't be batoned with.(I don't baton anyway...)
 
JACKNIFE...i carry this daily at work (with a slippy or 2 of course)...I didnt buy it for its (tactical?) appearance,i got it as the heavy duty tool that it is,and it has served me flawlessly for lots of (abusive) work...It would be easier for me to say what it HASNT cut...I find the one handed opening very useful in my line of work, but given two free hands i will use a slipjoint by choice always...........FES

frosty018.jpg
 
I don't get out in the woods. Heck, I'm even older than Jack, if that's possible. :) I just use my knife for the everyday tasks that the above posters have already mentioned. My preference for quick one-handed operation is the PM2, without a doubt. Often, I carry (instead) an Umnumzaan because I enjoy the blade design and precise manufacturing with twenty yrs of experience that have gone into perfecting this knife. I don't do "knife-tactical"; I carry a Glock.
Sonny
 
I EDC either a Spyderco mid size or one of my Emersons. I carry them first as weapons should I need them and only secondly as utility blades. Even though I do CCW a handgun there are plenty of situations where a good blade is as fast or faster and works better. I can peel a tomato just fine with my CQC 8 but a Case Stockman can't do what the CQC 8 can...and I'm 62.
 
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