Long term grid down scenario, which folder do you choose?

G

GenOne

Joined
Jan 9, 2013
Messages
17
Greetings. Scenario is in the subject line. Plug in whatever cause you want (EMP, viral, nuke, etc., et al). You're looking at a 20+ year grid down scenario when considering your choice.

Responses like,"I'd have a fixed blade instead of a folder," or "I'd have a Glock," or "I'd just use a piece of leaf spring laying around as a pry bar," are already stipulated. I appreciate the humor of those types of responses in advance.

A few lines of thought:
-No high speed lubrication will be available after some time. You'll have motor oil from the dipsticks of abandoned cars and other animal oils from what you kill.
-You might, in an emergency, be using the knife above and beyond the call of today's folders. Examples include but are not limited to, prying manhole covers, separating door jambs from lock mechanisms, cutting wires, etc.
-You probably won't have high speed sharpening systems available (think about the prospect of sharpening S30V on an Arkansas whetstone, or worse, a sandstone rock you had to lap yourself...not fun).
-Proprietary spanner tools might be difficult to come by (Hinderer, Strider, etc).

My personal comments: I have a Strider SMF & SNG, but how long would any titanium frame lock be expected to last under these harsh conditions? (rhetorical). I'm narrowing my personal choices down to knives with oversized pivots and thick blade stock.

Disclaimer: I'm certain that this question has been posed a number of different ways dozens of times before, but I think that I've crafted this version in a way that might be value added.

Thanks for reading/participating.

GenOne
 
I'm assuming you're thinking of a scenario where items will not only be irreplacable but where the human race is vastly diminished to the point where a scavenger type lifestyle would be possible. In such a scenario I would be loathe to be stuck with only a folder. But if I were to be stuck in a scenario where I was forced to use only what I had on hand until i could scavenge something better I would take the absolute most beefie folder I could get my hands on. Something like the Extrema Ratio RAO 2. Can be locked open in a way that makes it a fixed blade for all intents and purposes. It was designed to be the ultimate hard use sharpened prybar.
 
Bigfatts—thanks for the response. I'd never heard of that blade. Concur on your statement about items being irreplaceable, and human race being decimated. In the EMP novel ONE SECOND AFTER, by William R. Forstchen, I read in the forward the assessment that the majority of the population would be wiped out in the first year after the grid went down.
 
Something I never got with these type questions, why is it only one knife, if for instance if the grid went down right now I'd have at least a few f
 
First and foremost... fixed blade and the scenario... and thought of a folder in post apocalyptic wastes makes me giggle.... That being said... I'll play.... Something EASILY sharpened... good utility blade shape....beefy lock... I'm going to have to go with a cold steel Recon 1 with aus8 steel.... (This is coming from a guy who has owned striders, hinderer, spartan blades, survive knives, grayman) The lock is strong as all hell and it is an easily sharpened steel.
 
A respectable answer, olybears57. It seems the Recon keeps surprising us with its durability. Saw a video where a guy torqued (abused) on a Cold Steel triad lock folder imbedded in a tree. The guy thought the G-10 would give, but the blade snapped first after considerable pressure. That CS G-10 is no joke.
 
Emerson CQC-15, ZT 0300, Spyderco Military

Any of the above will do just fine for me.
 
GenOne said:
Bigfatts—thanks for the response. I'd never heard of that blade. Concur on your statement about items being irreplaceable, and human race being decimated. In the EMP novel ONE SECOND AFTER, by William R. Forstchen, I read in the forward the assessment that the majority of the population would be wiped out in the first year after the grid went down.
Click to expand...

Did you actually read the novel? If so, then you'd know that having a particular folder wouldn't have saved most of those who died. Those who died would have traded any knife (and everything else) they owned for another mouthful of food. Knives didn't enter into it. That said, I never understand these sorts of threads where some sort of arbitrary circumstances are placed on a person to enforce a decision for a particular piece of equipment. The folding knife I'd have, would be whichever of my collection I happened to have on me at the time.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
Something I never got with these type questions, why is it only one knife, if for instance if the grid went down right now I'd have at least a few f
Click to expand...

I think about that too. I have a pretty good selection of knives both fixed and folders. But in the type of scenario talked about here a light duty edc knife such as a CRKT Ripple or random Kershaw might not have a very long life span. Such knives from my collection would likely get bartered away for other things. The heavier duty knives would get kept. And something like the ER I mentioned would become an irreplacable asset. For someone living the light weight scavenger lifestyle, the ER would also make more sense than a big heavy fixed blade. This is assuming I don't have to get out on foot and I have the luxury of taking/having all my knives. In such a case I would be weighed down with guns/ammo/water/supplies.
 
RevDevil, I have a 300 and a few Spyderco Militarys, including the Ti version. It's pretty tough. Bought the Ti millie at SHOT directly from Spyderco a couple years ago and the lock bar remains at 25% even after a lot of EDC. That steel insert in the gen 2 ti millie really works. Only concern in a long term grid down might be the precise tip of the millie.
 
Quiet said:
Did you actually read the novel? If so, then you'd know that having a particular folder wouldn't have saved most of those who died. Those who died would have traded any knife (and everything else) they owned for another mouthful of food. Knives didn't enter into it. That said, I never understand these sorts of threads where some sort of arbitrary circumstances are placed on a person to enforce a decision for a particular piece of equipment. The folding knife I'd have, would be whichever of my collection I happened to have on me at the time.
Click to expand...
Yes, I've read this novel. Thank you for your response.
 
Under those scenarios and for that length of time, your choice of knife wouldn't matter at all.
 
A knife is for cutting things. Before you go out and purchase one of those excessively thick folders watch this video. Long live the thin blade.
[video=youtube;krZJUj70r1c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krZJUj70r1c[/video]

As for the usage scenario described... lol that is not how I use my blades. Just because the world ended doesn't mean I'll go running around dipping my blades in motor oil and prying open manhole covers before skinning a squirrel for my evening stew. More likely I'd continue using the cutlery I have for the tasks they were designed for. Skinning knives, cleavers, paring knives, chefs knives, chisels, axes, saws, drill bits, etc etc

Any well made knife will get the job done. I could make do with a svord peasant. Realistically though 1000 other things will be a problem before your choice of knife causes you problems.
 
I think a thread like this can be tweaked to be a bit more realistic.

Consider that a long-term disaster will still leave many of us with a mix of tools and gear and the ability to work them and family and friends. The question becomes, how will we maintain those tools and gear, and our consumables, for more than a hand-to-mouth existence?

What can we use and where can go or stay to avoid a slow decline in our capabilities?

* ****** **** ****** *

I think the discussion really belongs in Wilderness & Survival Skills, unless we can keep it specifically to knives.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I think a thread like this can be tweaked to be a bit more realistic.

Consider that a long-term disaster will still leave many of us with a mix of tools and gear and the ability to work them and family and friends. The question becomes, how will we maintain those tools and gear, and our consumables, for more than a hand-to-mouth existence?

What can we use and where can go or stay to avoid a slow decline in our capabilities?
Click to expand...
Yes, it is implied that you'll need to keep your knives sharp and serviceable in a scenario like this. Besides which folder you would choose (we all know we'd have fixed blades and other stuff out the wazoo), how would you maintain your cutting edge without your Apex, wicked, diamond stones, bench stones, etc.?
 
I've been giving some thought to the strongest folding knife possible lately, and I've been wondering if a quality butterfly knife might be the best option.
 
o4tg said:
I've been giving some thought to the strongest folding knife possible lately, and I've been wondering if a quality butterfly knife might be the best option.
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Interesting response. Is it because the way the blade attaches to both parts of the handle?
 
I know butterfly knives are mostly used for entertainment, and we all know why, but I agree they can be a great utility knife. They can be made strong and they are easy to keep clean. They are open construction and the motion of opening and closing shakes out the grit.

I have a large Laci Szabo butterfly made by Fred Perrin. What a beast. :)
 
I'm going to be weird and say Svord Peasant knife for me. Can't imagine it wearing out, and it's not impossible to learn to open it with one hand. Not much maintenance required, other than keeping the blade oiled, which could prove to be unreasonable. Cheap too. L6 tool steel is quite easy to sharpen, and tough enough to not worry about chipping.
 
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