Is a slip joint an advisable knife to carry?

G

gerberknivesalwaysprevail

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Dec 20, 2023
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Currently my main EDC is a Civivi Elementum version 2 and a Victorinox Tinker Deluxe. But I’ve been thinking recently about one specific knife that I have, a Case Trapper (full-size, not the mini) BSA edition and I use it a lot for camping but not for everyday purposes. Should I daily carry it? I prefer the swiftness of a flipper, but slip joints just last way longer and have more character to them.
 
I say carry what you enjoy and don't worry about what others think. If the slip joint floats your boat then get the one you like and enjoy using it

I carry a fountain pen for no reason other than I enjoy writing with it every day. I started carrying a pen daily with a Gerber "tactical" pen but realized I much prefer fountain pens. I do carry a one hand opening modern knife though, just my preference there.
 
NASA spent a lot of money developing pens that worked in space. The Russians used a #2 pencil. This was in an episode of The West Wing.

I lost and greatly miss my Buck 301.

Something about a Slip Joint that can't be replaced or replicated.

Simplicity is absolutely worth having and holding.
 
G gerberknivesalwaysprevail , no disrespect intended, but why ask us? If the slipjoint you have is a knife you like, then why not carry it?

Back in the 80's, there weren't any "tactical folders" like the dozens and dozens that have been around since the late 90's?/early 2000's. There were barely any liner locks then (a very small few), let alone all the lock types available today.
Sure, there were plenty of lockbacks (Buck 110 and various knockoffs of course), but the majority of folders were not locking. There were still a lot of people who carried slipjoints (called jackknives back then), and those knives were more than adequate for most people.

The other members who responded to your post are right. If you want to carry a slipjoint, then carry one. If it works for you, and does what you need it to do, that's what matters.
 
You can definitely get by with a slipjoint, I enjoy carrying my traditionals.

Delgadonine said:
NASA spent a lot of money developing pens that worked in space. The Russians used a #2 pencil. This was in an episode of The West Wing.

I lost and greatly miss my Buck 301.

Something about a Slip Joint that can't be replaced or replicated.

Simplicity is absolutely worth having
Click to expand...
Delgadonine said:
NASA spent a lot of money developing pens that worked in space. The Russians used a #2 pencil. This was in an episode of The West Wing.

I lost and greatly miss my Buck 301.

Something about a Slip Joint that can't be replaced or replicated.

Simplicity is absolutely worth having and holding.
Click to expand...

Not to be that guy, but apparently both space teams used pencils, and both switched to the space pen after it came out. Fortunately, the space pen was privately funded and developed, so nasa didn't spend money on it.

The rest I agree with wholeheartedly
 
Seems like youre searching for something OP.
Slipjoints are classical/traditional knives.
It's what people carried in terms of folding knives in a time when a locking knife was either rare, or not something they ran into, or simply saw no need for it. Now, the modern folding knife has a locking mechanism [insert pros and cons argument]
You have to decide which side of the fence you want to be on. A lot of people stand ON the fence and take both. But it's only for a feeling, consider performance and function and personal needs, then develop your own opinion
 
nighthawk86 said:
G gerberknivesalwaysprevail , no disrespect intended, but why ask us? If the slipjoint you have is a knife you like, then why not carry it?

Back in the 80's, there weren't any "tactical folders" like the dozens and dozens that have been around since the late 90's?/early 2000's. There were barely any liner locks then (a very small few), let alone all the lock types available today.
Sure, there were plenty of lockbacks (Buck 110 and various knockoffs of course), but the majority of folders were not locking. There were still a lot of people who carried slipjoints (called jackknives back then), and those knives were more than adequate for most people.

The other members who responded to your post are right. If you want to carry a slipjoint, then carry one. If it works for you, and does what you need it to do, that's what matters.
Click to expand...
Greatly worded.
 
I carried a slip joint for years (and still do). During that time, I held the following jobs:
>Construction worker building houses, framer, then electrician's helper.
>Truck driver
>engineer in an engineering development lab
>Chemist in a paint lab.

A Buck 303 stockman was in my pocket. I found it adequate for all of my needs, other than the electrician's knife which had a hawkbill blade (also a slipjoint) I carried in my electrician's pouch for peeling insulation on Romex.

I carried a Swiss Army knife for several years after that.
 
Case 54 trapper pattern knives have been carried by a lot of people every day for the last 100 years or so. If you are going to carry a slip joint knife you could do a lot worse.
HBtQNi0.jpg
 
Tsujigiri said:
You can definitely get by with a slipjoint, I enjoy carrying my traditionals.



Not to be that guy, but apparently both space teams used pencils, and both switched to the space pen after it came out. Fortunately, the space pen was privately funded and developed, so nasa didn't spend money on it.

The rest I agree with wholeheartedly
Click to expand...
Pencil shavings in space are a big deal
 
OP, Carry it and see if it works for you. Or carry both and determine what is best for you. You are probably the best person to answer the question rather than everyone here.
 
I have slipjoints, friction folders, knives with various traditional locking mechanisms, and even a few modern flippers, and I use and enjoy all of them. As others have said, a slipjoint will do practically anything you need a knife for, no problem.

It’s my opinion that most modern knife features are solutions in search of a problem. I also worry that grit, grime, dust, lint, sawdust, etc. will get in the pivot - something you don’t have to worry about as much with the older-style joints.

Having said that, Saturday I was out in the yard playing Tarzan-vs-the-python with the string trimmer line, and I appreciated being able to open my knife one-handed…
 
Oh yes, slip joints are more than capable and add variety, just be careful which tasks you use it for, common sense. I used my Old Hickory folder to cut a plastic bottle, the plastic was thicker than I thought and the point was not a good piecer, I used too much force and it closed on the middle part of my index finger, it cut it, I managed to apply pressure and it stopped after 10 minutes, I was lucky it was not too deep. So realize it can happen. I am like Gary ( G2 ) I like small fixed blades and have issues choosing which ones to carry. I also been enjoying my Buck 110 LT lately, liking the lock because of that incident.
 
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