I haven't spent all this time on BF to not poo poo on normal people's knife choices. My career on BF is just advanced training in blade snobbery. Yes I judge people on what knives they purchase, don't you??
Yes of course, it's almost our job to do that at this point. If you show me the knife I will be a snob about it (well unless it's good). To not come off like an ass you shouldn't push it or make it personal but ya I'll rip a knife apart in words if it's a stinker.
Your words could be lyrics to a John Lennon song. If more people thought this way the world would be a better place.
I carry two folders for EDC. A Buck 112 on my belt and a Condor 83SSG in my pocket. If I am out doing (excuse the expression) doing mens work or even in the garage cutting something heavy like carpet I have and USE one of my fixed blades. I know a guy who loves his folders. Lock slipped cleaning a pig one night. He cut his hand bad and needed several stitches. I think the OP has lots of merit to what he says.
Thanks for the read. I'm not that old but I'm old enough to remember life before the internet or mobile phones. I remember when a man's EDC gear tended to include a traditional folder, a handkerchief, and a comb. Lots more guys smoked in those days but even for those who didn't, matches or a zippo might be carried. I haven't smoked at all in this century and I still carry a lighter. I was brought up to believe that a man should always be able to cut things, tell time, and make fire. Personally, I like opening and closing a modern knife with one hand. I like that they lock but I don't expect insane things from a lock. I think some people get way too hung up on lock strength. I tend to agree that some jobs are better left to fixed blades.
Your points dont make much sense when you realize most people could buy a few Moras and be set for life on knives. It's all about what you feel like buying. Most people arent buying Sebenzas to chop wood with.
JK I wish I could carry my small Puukko all the time like I carried when I backpacked the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Trail for weeks at a time. I can and do in warm weather, but like Maryland, VA has a no concealed fixed blade law. Open carry is ok, but hard to do wearing a heavy, thick winter coat. A good 'ol SAK Tinker does the job most of the time now that I can't back pack or climb anymore. Rich
I don't tuck my T shirts in during the summer and have a jacket on when it's cold , but I don't worry about it. I should probably give more thought to it, but I'm not getting into trouble and in my rural area I'm not sure if anyone knows the law or would really care anyways. Truth be told I'm usually either at home or work where it doesn't matter , that's another thing.
Following that logic just use scissors to cut things its the safest option, as well as use a box cutter instead of a knife to open boxes, and a letter opener to open letters. You actually don''t need a knife at all if you really think about it, at least for everyday living.
@jackknife Modern life keeps marching on. Knives are more "extreme" for lack of a better word, much like other things we have used. Take cars. Society once had cars making up 90% of family transportation needs. Now many manufacturers are abandoning the sector because folks want trucks and more capable SUVs. This is a "tactical progression" of the family sedan. It's happening in many facets of life. People used to be content with being unreachable for hours when they left the house. Now we are quite fond, and expect, folks to be available at all times. This might be seen as a "tactical progression" of individual communication. Another example might be home security. Times were when a deadbolt lock was cutting edge. Now we can monitor our homes from across the world. A computer can call the police if we're being burglarized and capture footage of the perps. Another "tactical progression." Stores used to be closed on Sundays, and you couldn't buy gas or a Coke at 2am back in the good old days either. The pace of life is ratcheting up and up. I feel as though I'm lucky if I can escape for 7-8 hours a night. Competition and innovation are also big parts of a capitalist culture. Military inventions trickle down to civilian level all the time as well. These flipper-folder, 1/4 inch thick blades are innovation; companies have to compete when new crazes hit the market. Someday, these times will be looked back on as the good old days. Crazy world ain't it? All this tactical progression is kinda catching up on us. Mass shootings, terrorism by citizens, etc. One thing that's not helping the knife industry IMHO is the out-the-front automatic knives. These are out-and-out weapons not tools. They'll hurt the industry in the face of increasingly restrictive knife laws. That's my old fart side talking
The forum IS training for blade snobbery. I try not to judge, but I know I do at times. I try to allow for rational thought and justifications as to choices that we make. I'm willing to listen as I'm interested. But I have also found that you can get pretty darn good knives for much less than $100 these days. For the most part we just choose what we like. We find a way to obtain the expensive knife if it seems important to us unless it simply is beyond any rational financial goal. I rebell against "fancy locks" as they are just not important to me. I don't need the latest and what people think is the greatest. I pay attention when I cut things as safety is paramount and I don't change my knife usage behavior because of a lock. I have no problem with locks on knives. Seems like a reasonable thing to do. But again, I don't depend on them unless I have to in an emergency. On the fixed blade thing.... sheath knife and so forth..... the original one-handed knife....I think it is mostly a matter of habit and common sense as to what kinds of knives you choose to carry. In the past I tried carrying a modest sized fixed blade and chose not to. Pocket carry seems to defeat the purpose for me. I just was not comfortable at that time with my choices or the convenience aspect didn't seem all that overwhelming over a folder. But of late I have been carrying a small fixed blade in the traditional manner, on my belt. I want more pocket space, not less. If you have to conceal a knife, conceal it. If not, just make some practical choices that are not "in your face" type choices to other people or law enforcement. If you have an encounter with law enforcement where you are the suspect, the first thing they do is disarm you... guns, multi-tools, keys, screw drivers, ice pick, folder, fixed blade, utility knife.... doesn't matter. They are protecting themselves against violent behavior.
My points make perfect sense. $400-$1500 flippers / folders TO ME, do not. I get that they're "nicer" and have smooth action.... And craftsmanship and materials are higher end... But come on... there's literally only a single pivot and a single lock. It's not like a Swiss watch with 200-400+ precision made, moving parts. By all means, if you like it, buy it... especially if it's the dream / grail piece that you'll use and carry daily... But a collection of dozens (or hundreds) of $400+ knives, that don't get much use or you are afraid of using them and scratching them up, seems odd. My point was that a $400 folder will be nice materials, nice action, and should be pretty flawless. For $150, you can get a custom made fixed blade, steel of your choice and handle material of your choice and a nice sheath, or for slightly less, a great, proven production model. The fixed blade would be stronger and you would be more likely to use it, as it isn't as dear to replace. Moras are great - I have a bunch... And so should most people... And you can have any colour or length, as long as it has a plastic handle and a scandi grind. If they also had a 3mm thick FFG option, they'd cover so many additional end-user applications! I get specialty blades, patterns or uses (like a dressy knife for more formal occasions), but having dozens of general, EDC shaped $400-$1500 isn't being done for utility or as tools. Those are a collection of pocket candy. I'm just much more utilitarian and don't get impressed with ball-bearing pivots or ornate locks. Also, most pockets accumulate lint to fill these spaces / gaps / voids. But you can tell that based on what I carry... BK14, Spyderco Salt 2, SAK ALOX Electrician, etc. Different strokes for different folks. Some urbanites can't carry (or conceal) a fixed blade.... But many more ppl could daily carry a 2.5"-3.5" fixed blade that just don't and never have. They don't know what they're missing, because all you see pushed is the new unobtanium bladed, vaneer scale'd folder du jour. Compared to strong, robust, fast fixed blades, folders kind of feel like toys or a bit gimmicky. I also don't have the compulsion to fiddle with my knife, so that's another factor. I'm not an old guy, but those ol' timers have a bit of wisdom. Take advantage of their learnings and combine them with modern technological innovations. Best of both worlds. Get a little bird and trout or other small fixed blade. Stop playing with snicky, snappy, waiting list folders. A folder is like a transformer knife.
If I absolutely had to choose only one type of knife to carry for the rest of my life, it would be a Victorinox SAK. Back in the ‘80s into the ‘90s, and then for several years after returning Stateside, I only carried one knife over that more than 10-year period; a Victorinox Spartan SAK. Besides the knife blades serving my cutting needs, I had the other tools...can opener, bottle ooener, screwdrivers, awl, etc., as well as being able to use those tools for alternate uses. I’m not saying that modern one-handed knives are unneeded. Not at all! I own and use modern knives, particularly Spyderco and some CRKs. I am saying that even a basic SAK was extremely versatile for my uses over that decade-plus time period. Far more versatile of a daily tool for me than only a single-bladed knife, a multi-bladed knife-only pocketknife, a pair of scissors, or a razor knife/box cutter would ever have been. And even today, my EDC is two SAKs (an Executive, as well as either my Spartan or my Pioneer), regardless of whatever clip knife I’m carrying. Yes, there are some cutting jobs I much prefer using a clip knife for over my SAKs. But I will never be without at least one SAK on me, wherever it’s legal to carry a knife. And the lack of blade locks on the SAKs I carry has never been a problem. If subjected to “spine whacks,” they would fail the first time, every time. But I’ve never had an SAK close on me during use, because I’m mindful whenever and however I use them. My worst cut ever happened while handling a Triad Lock knife (a Code 4) during the unlocking phase. It wasn’t the knife’s fault, it was my fault. But it only takes a split second of inattention to create, in my case, months...and in some people’s cases, a lifetime...of regret. And it is much, much easier to have a moment of inattention, or a cavalier attitude, while using a locking knife. Jim
Exactly the point. The main thing all three of these young men that had serious accidents with a knife had in common was, they were amazed that the lock failed and they got cut. It never entered their minds that maybe they had been abusing the knife, or using it in a very inappropriate way. They blamed the knife because the lock failed. There is at least two, maybe three generations of young guys out there that has n ver even handled or used a slip joint pocket knife, and are totally ignorant of proper and safe knife use. The pictures of Lynn Thompson hanging barbell weights off the handle of a folding knife with the blade in a vise, or stabbed through the door of a car, has created a myth of the unfoldable folder. Other companies making the tacticool knives are just as guilty of over the top advertising to sell over hyped knives. My son-in-law is a typical examine of this. Growing in Southern California mega suburbia, he had zero hunting or outdoor experience. He goes and buys a knife with all the tight stripes on the blade and advertising hype and gets hurt because he knows the blade is locked in such a bank vault ay that it will never fold over on him. Well, he learned a painful lesson in hype. He leaned that maybe Leoroy Jethro Gibbs isn't the knife expert to copy. John's tiger striped ZT darn near took off his right index finger and did damage to his right middle finger. Yet...this is the same guy who just last August on our visit out there, knocked my SAK because it almost folded over on him when he asked to 'borrow' my knife because he didn't have his on him. He started right off using it in a careless manner, and he almost got hurt. He was just so used to using the invincible lock blade that he has a lifetime of careless knife handling to overcome. He actually doesn't know any better. His father was an engineer in a lab and wasn't an outdoors person. He had no one to learn from. He was fair game for the modern cutlery industry. I'm not against some advances in technical innovation. But I am against the dumbing down of the consumer by an industry that sells over hyped products. If a small slip joint won't handle it, its time for a sheath knife or other tool. a small fixed blade is a far better knife than an over engineered lock blade.
It’s best to treat every knife, whether an SAK or a one-handed clip knife, like a slip joint. Any blade lock is simply a ‘backup’ feature. Jim
I come here because at my age I'm "out of the loop." At 70 years of age I think if I posted my pictures of my blade drawers someone would say, "Hey, fellas, look at all of these antiques!" As you know, someone mentioned an alloy I think was called 'CTS.' I never heard of it, and I've been a knife guy since 1964.
I grew up in a time when most kids’ dads had a small folder in their pocket. These dads grew up in Jackknife’s times, more or less. I grew up with a Vic in my pocket whenever I was off for an adventure, which may have been nothing more than taking my dog for a walk. I had my “formal” knife education as an 8 year old in Cub Scouts. “Always apply forward pressure to the blade. If you apply backwards pressure it’ll fold on your fingers. Don’t stab with it or it might do the same.” I like modern folders because they’re one handed and I don’t have to dig through my pocket for them (clip). They’re still folders and they still get used the same way as a Vic. Exactly. Regarding stupidly expensive knives, I’m not sure I understand it either, even though I own a few. ETA: I bought a Bradford Guardian 3 (fixed) and started using it as an EDC, until I learned that anytime my shirt was untucked it was “concealed” and illegal—even though I could legally have a folder twice its size buried on me somewhere. I blame the dammed hippies.
My dad, who grew up on a farm, then worked blue collar jobs like tuna boat fisherman and gardener his whole life, always had some type of slipjoint pocketknife on him, usually a medium to small jackknife or other multi-blade. He never formally taught me how to handle one, he simply made it understood that there are safe ways to handle them and unsafe ways to avoid. That’s why, IMO, some type of multi-bladed, non-locking pocketknife is the best way to learn safe knife handling, even though that might sound counterintuitive to many (most?) people who never grew up with them. Jim
Interesting observations Jacknife. I am guessing you don't have a zombie killer. I am an OG... I don't have any either.
