New to traditional knives

[Sharpnessis]

I just recently got into traditional knives. Actually gec to be exact. My question is ; what is up with all the blades? I mean some have only one, yet others have two or three. Why would you need that many knives in one knife? Or what was the reason back in the day?

 

[black mamba]

My recommendation is to get yourself an inexpensive 3-blade stockman, around 3-1/2" closed, and play with it. Sharpen it, try the different blades for different tasks, push cutting, opening blister pacs, cutting cardboard, whittling and other precision cuts, and see what YOU think. YOU'RE the only one who matters, with YOUR knife. Trust me, you'll find their uses . . . and you'll love how those thin blades cut!

 

[Sharpnessis]

I'm really thinking of getting one for my father on father's day. He really is new to knives and I want to show him a top notch knife. Not sure which to get him as I am also new to this side of the knife world.

 

[PGeo00]

I like having at least two blades... one for food and one for everything else. Welcome to the traditionals forum.

 

[Sharpnessis]

That makes sense. One keep clean for food and the others for everything else. Maybe even different sharpening techniques? Hmm. Now I'm thinking!

 

[Sonnemann]

What really does it for me, in addition to the basic utility of different blade profiles and (as you mentioned) the ability to save different blades for different materials...just add up the blade length you get out of a 3-blade stockman relative to its length closed. Only with a multiblade can you have 6" of blade length in a 4" knife!

 

[JAlexander]

That makes sense. One keep clean for food and the others for everything else. Maybe even different sharpening techniques? Hmm. Now I'm thinking!

Yep, that's it. If you have multiple blades you can keep a different edge on each one for different jobs.

 

[Sharpnessis]

Thought you guys might like this one. It was given to me by a family member a little while ago. I'm going to take her out and sharpen it right now. I'll give her a try tomorrow for edc!

 

[dannyp]

Most people don't really need multiple blades. It's easy enough to get by with just a single blade knife. For me, having more than one is nice if the blades have different profiles. Each type excels at one task or another, and being able to choose which I want without carrying multiple knives is appealing to me.


I see you've already gotten a couple of good reasons and are going to give it a try for yourself. On a Jack knife like that with a pen blade, the short pen offers a lot of control for precision cutting. I've found that they make quick work of plastic blister packs without worry of damaging the contents. Those old Imperials may not be the nicest knives ever made, but the ones I have sharpen up great and cut even better.

I think we have another convert in the making. Welcome to the Traditional Forum, Sharpnessis.:thumbup:

 

[CoffeeCat2112]

I have one very similar to yours. Those are fine little knives, typically with surprisingly good springs and snap for what was an inexpensive knife.

Thought you guys might like this one. It was given to me by a family member a little while ago. I'm going to take her out and sharpen it right now. I'll give her a try tomorrow for edc!

 

[AKC]

Welcome to the Darkside! Bwahahahahahaha!!!

Options, it's all about options....

 

[Sharpnessis]

Thank you guys. I just may become a convert. Just today I had my big benchmade in my pocket and was thinking, this is just too big to carry! I cut open a bag of calcium chloride with it and thought, now I have to clean really well before I cut food. You traditionalists know your stuff! I wish I had a grandfather that could have taught me.

 

[SweptEdge]

I'm recently new to the traditionals myself, and this place is a great wealth of info. I ended up purchasing a Rough Rider "RR670" Stockman while I was fishing the "bay." That pointed blade is perfect for puncturing packages to get the cut started, then I found that the sheep's foot blade fits a block of cheddar cheese nicely, then maybe you try the spay blade out sweeping it under a stick-on price tag. I'm still experiencing the new shapes myself though. Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your experience like I have.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

You can click on each blade in the link and it gives the description and traditional use for each blade.

http://www.wrcase.com/case_college/blades_steel/

 

[Woodrow F Call]

My recommendation is to get yourself an inexpensive 3-blade stockman, around 3-1/2" closed, and play with it. Sharpen it, try the different blades for different tasks, push cutting, opening blister pacs, cutting cardboard, whittling and other precision cuts, and see what YOU think. YOU'RE the only one who matters, with YOUR knife. Trust me, you'll find their uses . . . and you'll love how those thin blades cut!

Sure, but it's still interesting to know what the different blades were traditionally used for. It also helps one understand how to get the most out of a blade. The people that designed these blades actually put some thought into what they were doing.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

I'm recently new to the traditionals myself, and this place is a great wealth of info. I ended up purchasing a Rough Rider "RR670" Stockman while I was fishing the "bay." That pointed blade is perfect for puncturing packages to get the cut started, then I found that the sheep's foot blade fits a block of cheddar cheese nicely, then maybe you try the spay blade out sweeping it under a stick-on price tag. I'm still experiencing the new shapes myself though. Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your experience like I have.

I'm told that Rough Rider makes a pretty good knife for cheap. Fit and finish are told to be good. I try to buy knives made in the USA and Europe, but I have a few good knives made in the East. Rough Riders are cheap enough to try different patterns to see what you like. I have my first RR on the way...... A Leg Knife!

 

[SweptEdge]

I'm told that Rough Rider makes a pretty good knife for cheap. Fit and finish are told to be good. I try to buy knives made in the USA and Europe, but I have a few good knives made in the East. Rough Riders are cheap enough to try different patterns to see what you like. I have my first RR on the way...... A Leg Knife!

I'm happy with the Rough Rider that I bought, but it hasn't been a week and a have a couple of Case CV knives in an on line shopping cart. I'm interested in the patina that the carbon blades get, plus they will be made in the USA, and have the proven test-of-time quality. Thanks for your link in post #14, that's a great page.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

I'm happy with the Rough Rider that I bought, but it hasn't been a week and a have a couple of Case CV knives in an on line shopping cart. I'm interested in the patina that the carbon blades get, plus they will be made in the USA, and have the proven test-of-time quality. Thanks for your link in post #14, that's a great page.

Good to hear. I'm looking forward to getting mine..... and opening many cold beers with the leg knife.

You're welcome, here's another.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade

Also, some of GEC's knives have names that associate with the use. For example the Weaver Jacks, are for cutting long thin material like cloth and use a hawkbill type blade for that. I thought they were just for pruning!

 

[pinnah]

I just recently got into traditional knives. Actually gec to be exact. My question is ; what is up with all the blades? I mean some have only one, yet others have two or three. Why would you need that many knives in one knife? Or what was the reason back in the day?

I'm going to offer something of a dissenting view here....

The most important thing is being happy when you pull your knife out to use it. That's the single criteria, really, imo.

I've grown leery of pretty much all technical justifications of any sort of equipment, from camping gear to ski gear to cycling gear to knives. IMO, 99% of discussions are technical arguments that we slather over and on top of personal preferences. If you like something, no matter why you like it, you can find some technical justification for it. Might as well just stick with, "It makes me happy."

To answer your question, yes, back in the day, different blades had different uses. Main blades sort of speak for themselves.

The smaller "pen" blade is the most common 2nd blade and as the name implies, it started off for cutting quills to write with. Survived as an all purpose small blade for smaller cutting. If you work with wood at all, it shows its use pretty quick.

Other blades had even more specific uses. Sheepfoot blades were used to work on sheep hoves. Also popular on boats as they lacked a sharp point and could be used on a heaving deck with less change of stabbing somebody. Spey blades were for speying cattle. Awls were for repairing leather rigging. If you are a sheep herder, a cattleman or if you regularly use leather rigging, these shapes may have work related value to you. (ahem)

On the other hand, it can be argued that multiblade traditionals have "earned their keep" over many decades for good reasons that long go beyond their original uses. Lots of folks find they like having 2 or more blades.

Or, it could be you get bitten by the history of the knives. Regardless of their utility, there's something about a design from back in the day. If that makes you happy, that's enough.

Lastly, plenty of traditional knives were single blade designs. Nothing wrong with sticking with one either. I prefer a pocket knife that can double as a table/steak/food knife. But that's just me. I'm not you. The only way to tell is to try them out.


edc-pair by Pinnah, on Flickr

 

[jackknife]

I'm going to offer something of a dissenting view here....

The most important thing is being happy when you pull your knife out to use it. That's the single criteria, really, imo.

I've grown leery of pretty much all technical justifications of any sort of equipment, from camping gear to ski gear to cycling gear to knives. IMO, 99% of discussions are technical arguments that we slather over and on top of personal preferences. If you like something, no matter why you like it, you can find some technical justification for it. Might as well just stick with, "It makes me happy."

To answer your question, yes, back in the day, different blades had different uses. Main blades sort of speak for themselves.

The smaller "pen" blade is the most common 2nd blade and as the name implies, it started off for cutting quills to write with. Survived as an all purpose small blade for smaller cutting. If you work with wood at all, it shows its use pretty quick.

Other blades had even more specific uses. Sheepfoot blades were used to work on sheep hoves. Also popular on boats as they lacked a sharp point and could be used on a heaving deck with less change of stabbing somebody. Spey blades were for speying cattle. Awls were for repairing leather rigging. If you are a sheep herder, a cattleman or if you regularly use leather rigging, these shapes may have work related value to you. (ahem)

On the other hand, it can be argued that multiblade traditionals have "earned their keep" over many decades for good reasons that long go beyond their original uses. Lots of folks find they like having 2 or more blades.

Or, it could be you get bitten by the history of the knives. Regardless of their utility, there's something about a design from back in the day. If that makes you happy, that's enough.

Lastly, plenty of traditional knives were single blade designs. Nothing wrong with sticking with one either. I prefer a pocket knife that can double as a table/steak/food knife. But that's just me. I'm not you. The only way to tell is to try them out.


edc-pair by Pinnah, on Flickr

Great post and perfectly true. In the end, it all comes down to personal taste. I've often said that knives are like ice cream. You can walk into t a 31 flavor ice cream place and 10 people will order 10 different things. One guy may like plain old vanilla while the next guy gets mint chocolate chip. It's all in what you like. And what stage your life is in. I've carried everything from a Case peanut to a large Eye-Brand sodbuster, and liked them all at that time. All depended on what I was doing. For a very large chunk of my life I carried a three blade stickman almost 4 inches in closed length. Now I'm happy with a peanut or Opinel. And more and more, I've become interested in friction folders as an edc.

Do we need multiblade knives? No, not really. It all depends on where you grew up. Being a post WW2 kid, I grew up with men who all carried some sort of two blade jack. Somebody growing up in Wyoming cattle country may lean towards a stockman, while someone from Sardinia, Spain, or rural France, may go for a simple one blade friction folder. They all do the exact same thing for the owner; cut something that needs to be cut. A cowboy cutting something, and a shepherd on the arid hills of Northern Spain, all use a knife for the same thing.

Personal preference, individual taste, all makes us who we are, and what we like. One blade, two blades, three, all the same. Myself, I have a hard time choosing between chocoalte chip and rocky road.

Carl.