Modern vs traditional

Dean51 said:
Also I'm on the for sure list for a Lion Steel "Roundhead" Euro-Barlow. Modern manufacturing methods in a traditional pattern & M390 steel.
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Me too on the Euro-Barlow. Finally a knife which has the advantages of a traditional, modern materials, but without paying custom prices. I can't wait to see where they go with the concept, I'm hoping for a two blade on the next one! :)
 
I am looking foward for the lionsteel eurobarlow aswell! It basically fixed my issues with traditionals.

And well i like the simplicity and the people friendlyness of the traditional. But i work in a warehouse/store and i need something that can be opened/closed one ended. So besides that it came down to ending the day with a dull traditional or a sharp modern knife.

So i think traditionals are just never going to be my main carry. I do carry a SAK classic as a backup all the time.
 
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I like both, but am more emotionally attached to the traditionals. Here are my favourites an SnG and a 93ot
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I carry both. The small traditionals and SAKs are very sheeple friendly, and good for opening boxes when the little ones are around.

Moderns are more fun to play with, and need less frequent sharpening (though often more difficult), as well as being able to handle heavier duty tasks.

To each their own. But I prefer both.
 
I prefer traditionals and don't carry moderns knives very often anymore. I'll put it this way...if I carry a modern, I still have a traditional on me but when I have a traditional (everyday) I don't always carry a modern. Natural materials have soul...
 
Probably 90% of the time I carry a Buck 303 Cadet and that has been my EDC for about 45 years now. I have tried other knives but that little Buck just works for me. Occasionally on weekends I will carry a Benchmade Mini Griptilian or a Boker Urban Trapper and I just purchased a Spyderco Sage 5, but I'm not sure anything will replace the Buck for more than a day or two.
 
I can appreciate both.
Modern knives are all around more convenient to use. Easy to service, easier to open, etc. But, they are largely impractical and have obtuse grinds
Traditional knives look nice but they're time-tested tools. The shapes and grinds are there for a reason so they tend to be better tools.

Personally, I like traditional looks/patterns with modern steels. I'll take 3V/154CM over a 420/1095 any day.
 
I prefer traditional fixed for sure. The bowie has held its own as an offensive/defensive weapon for centuries. If I'm limited to carrying folders, modern all the way with some sort of wave-like deployment.
 
Modern is more comfortable for carrying and opening, vintage is more no bullshit construction for work and more suitable for office environment to coworkers especially if you work with women and some liberals losing their shit when they see tactical folder.
 
[QUOTE="K.O.D., post: 17142736, member: 354638"
Moderns are more fun to play with, and need less frequent sharpening (though often more difficult), as well as being able to handle heavier duty tasks.[/QUOTE]
Good to see another Zombie running wild.
On the idea that traditionals don't hold an edge as well as modern, I have a barlow with CPM 154 that might disagree.
Also, Benchmade is about to release their first slipjoint, called the 319 Proper with S30 steel. Finally if that doesn't impress you, Fallkniven has the LTC with a blade metal called 3G that was apparently tempered in unicorn tears. Knife blades hold edges as good as the metal they're made from allows. A Buck 500 with 420hc will hold it's edge as well as a Buck Spitfire with 420hc.
 
Do you prefer a modern knife or a traditional and why. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Yes

These are similar in the way they feel in the hand and the way they cut. I enjoy them both.

I supose if I felt like I ever really needed a lock then I would use the modern one. The handle on the modern one is a bit longer and thicker. I enjoy the classic feel, look and even smell of the traditional so I carry that for a while then back the other way.

I guess I am no help at all. Both are highly modified so I guess I just like knives but MY knives.



 
bt93 said:
[QUOTE="K.O.D., post: 17142736, member: 354638"
Moderns are more fun to play with, and need less frequent sharpening (though often more difficult), as well as being able to handle heavier duty tasks.
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Good to see another Zombie running wild.
On the idea that traditionals don't hold an edge as well as modern, I have a barlow with CPM 154 that might disagree.
Also, Benchmade is about to release their first slipjoint, called the 319 Proper with S30 steel. Finally if that doesn't impress you, Fallkniven has the LTC with a blade metal called 3G that was apparently tempered in unicorn tears. Knife blades hold edges as good as the metal they're made from allows. A Buck 500 with 420hc will hold it's edge as well as a Buck Spitfire with 420hc.[/QUOTE]

I was making a generalization. Yes, there are traditionals with higher end steel, but they are far less abundant than moderns in that respect.

Premium steel is far less important to me on a slipjoint, as I only use them for light duty tasks. I don't use a folder for heavy use, but a modern is great moderate cutting.

I don't consider locking folding knives to be traditional generally speaking, other than say opinels.

Name calling is not necessary nor appropriate. Yes I'm new to traditional knives, but after hours of research and shopping, most of what I see is Case's Tru sharp, or just "stainless" steel, or "carbon" steel, with no real details. I'm sure like anything, the more you spend the better the steel. To a point at least.
 
Carbon V for my fixed and 154cm in my slipjoint.
 
[/QUOTE]Name calling is not necessary nor appropriate. Yes I'm new to traditional knives, but after hours of research and shopping, most of what I see is Case's Tru sharp, or just "stainless" steel, or "carbon" steel, with no real details. I'm sure like anything, the more you spend the better the steel. To a point at least.[/QUOTE]

I would normally apologize for a misunderstanding, but I just don't see where I could possibly been mistaken for calling anybody a name. Just pointed out that traditional knives don't have any design flaw that would require them to be sharpened any more than a modern with the same steel. If that has your panties in a bunch, well okay, good luck with that.
Just in case, my reference of "Zombie" was of the thread, which dates back to 2012, then went a few years without any posts to be brought back to life. So this is a Zombie Thread. If that's your misunderstanding, well like myself, I'm sure you've been called worse than zombie so that's still nothing to be excited about.
 
It's been 4 1/2 years since this thread started. I replied then (2012) and I really haven't changed much. I still buy and use both modern and traditional knives. I still carry a large 2-layer SAK most of the time. Been trying out a regular traditional (sod buster) and have come to the conclusion that I like my SAK better both for cutting and carry, beyond the utility of having the extra tools on the SAK.

If I had to make a general statement, I would agree that you tend to get better blade steel with a modern knife. Many have thicker blades to allow for flicking. I do like assisted openers, but don't carry them often unless it is in addition to my SAK. I dislike metal scales on modern knives and pretty much refuse to buy one at this point outfitted that way. I read about the dislike for the plastic scales on the Benchmade Mini-Barrage.... like it the way it is just fine and it's my only Benchmade knife.

My favorite modern knives tend to have steels that are not super steels. I don't see that changing simply because I like the knives the way they are and they do just fine in terms of sharpening and using.

I am intrigued by the upcoming LionSTEEL barlow. I hope to handle one at the Blade Show in about a month and likely will buy one then. I am interested in the LionSTEEL product in general and look forward to looking at all of their product line. I only own their small Opera with stag handles at the moment. Like it.
 
I started off with collecting traditionals and I still love the choices of handle materials (gorgeous woods and stag) and the way they slice, but I wore a hole in the bottom of my pocket because they rarely had a pocketclip, they would get mixed up with my keys, would get pepper spots and some were just a booger to open (GEC). I still love my toothpicks and I have a few GEC lockbacks still and a variety of linerlocks, but I made the switch to moderns a couple years ago and haven't looked back. One handed opening, larger blade sizes and variety of blade shapes and pocketclips that keep them out of the way in my pocket (but now shred the TOP of my pocket - no perfect world I guess) just make them a lot easier to carry. I miss the wood and stag, though...
 
"Modern" doesn't have to mean "prybar" IMO. The comparison is silly. Knives have gotten better. More traditional knives have been improved by technology. I love slipjoints, too, but just about every time I need my knife it's a one-hand operation.
 
Park Swan said:
"Modern" doesn't have to mean "prybar" IMO. The comparison is silly. Knives have gotten better. More traditional knives have been improved by technology. I love slipjoints, too, but just about every time I need my knife it's a one-hand operation.
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I wonder why it is always a one hand operation. You didn't say "always" but you sort of inferred it. I honestly have never felt situationally that I couldn't use a knife that takes two hands to open. Closing is just as important as opening. No, modern does not mean prybar, but they tend to lean that way.
 
22-rimfire said:
I wonder why it is always a one hand operation. You didn't say "always" but you sort of inferred it. I honestly have never felt situationally that I couldn't use a knife that takes two hands to open. Closing is just as important as opening. No, modern does not mean prybar, but they tend to lean that way.
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I don't mean every time I use the knife it needs to be one handed, but every time I'm in a bind that a knife can help me out of, I have only one hand available. Just yesterday I was cartying a heavy piece of equipment into my new shop and got snagged on a poison ivy vine, reached up with my knife and freed it. The other way would have been to back up, lower the sander down with ivy in my face, then either pull it off with my hands or open my little peanut knife carefully and slice through before heading to the shower. Frame lock is excellent technology, and nail nicks are cool but offer no real advantage over a small stud or hole.
 
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