Newbie to the idea of a small fixed blade for pocket carry - your thoughts please!

well i usually mix and match depending on my mood and the size of the pockets of the pants, but yes, i do like to carry a small fixed.
this is partially due to law limitations over here though.
folders are generally not supposed to be longer than 8cm blade length (though that isn't the issue), and they can either have one handed opening or a lock, but not both. so most knives like zt, bm, spyderco etc are out of the question unless they are slipjoints or you just don't care.
you can however carry a fixed blade with a blade length up to 12cm... go figure.

anyways, i guess most people will still give you the eye if you unpocket anything but a SAK. carrying an illegal tactical folder doesn't help ;)

and on the matter of the topic, though i have some folders that i really like, there is just something about a fixed blade that is different and to me can probably never be achieved by a folder. also my edc "tasks" for the day involve opening letters, cutting some paper/cardboard, maybe leather and some foodprep. a relatively small blade suffices.
 
vilePossum said:
anyways, i guess most people will still give you the eye if you unpocket anything but a SAK. carrying an illegal tactical folder doesn't help ;)

and on the matter of the topic, though i have some folders that i really like, there is just something about a fixed blade that is different and to me can probably never be achieved by a folder. also my edc "tasks" for the day involve opening letters, cutting some paper/cardboard, maybe leather and some foodprep. a relatively small blade suffices.
Click to expand...

Yes. But the intangible difference between a fixed blade and folder can cut in different ways, often along very irrational, emotional and none-the-less, very real ways that need to be expected and respected.

I few stories from the office I work at....

There is a waist high stand alone filing cabinet that we use as a serving table for "Snack Wednesdays". The top drawer has the snack supplies you might expect: napkins, paper plates (to hold pieces of cake), plastic forks (to eat the cake) and (to cut said cake) an inexpensive stainless chef's utility knife with a 12" blade. The knife is massive and easily more lethal than any knife I own in my personal collection. And yet, it gets left on the cabinet top in plain view with everybody walking by day in, day out for days on end sometimes. Nobody bats an eye. Nobody even "sees" it as weapon. It's just a part of snack station.

My buddy carries a (non-traditional) Kershaw Chive. It's puny. I think if he stabbed somebody with it, the proper treatment would be a band-aid. It's almost that tiny. But, like most modern knives, it opens with a violent sounding audible *CLACK* and to be honest, he enjoys that aspect of the knife. He relishes in it when it's time to cut the plastic strap on a new box of printer paper. "Hey, what's with weapon?" I honestly have heard that from people - this despite the fact that they're both standing next to the cabinet that has a 12" fixed blade laying there in plain sight.

Outside of my office... If I go to Vermont or New Hampshire in November, during deer season, and I'm wearing a red plaid jacket or hat, I can walk into most any store or any restaurant with a fixed blade hanging on my belt and nobody will say a single word. I'm seen as a hunter. But, if I go hiking on the Long Trail (Vt) or Appalachian Trail (NH) in June and I'm carrying a pack and I have a fixed blade attached to my pack, I'll scare people.

I'm of 2 minds about this. On the one hand, I can see the argument that knife people should continue to use fixed blades in public as a way to keep the society habituated to seeing fixed blades as tools and not as weapons. I think there is real merit in that.

But on the other hand, I'm socially lazy. I just want to use my knife and to do so in peace. So, I carry my Opinel. It's way, way, way bigger and more useful than my buddy's scary Chive, capable of doing anything I can reasonably think of that any 3.5" bladed knife can do, fixed or folding, and when I use it in public, people don't get scared.

Sorry for the meander...
 
Nothing wrong with a little meander, pinnah. Quite the contrasts you've pointed out there, too. I tend to be fairly discreet when using my knife in public, so it'll be interesting(?) to see if using a small fixed blade generates any more of a reaction than a regular pocket knife. I'm retired and live in rural Iowa, so around "home" I really don't anticipate much adverse reaction. Traveling to different parts of the country, or metro areas around here, is a whole different ballgame, I guess.
 
coyote711 said:
Nothing wrong with a little meander, pinnah. Quite the contrasts you've pointed out there, too. I tend to be fairly discreet when using my knife in public, so it'll be interesting(?) to see if using a small fixed blade generates any more of a reaction than a regular pocket knife. I'm retired and live in rural Iowa, so around "home" I really don't anticipate much adverse reaction. Traveling to different parts of the country, or metro areas around here, is a whole different ballgame, I guess.
Click to expand...

Locals pay no attention to seeing a knife, some newcomers to the Deep South seem to be a bit anxious.
 
BigBiscuit said:
I think what I'm going to try is to use my KSF Pocket Slip with my Little Creek for a while. If that works out, I'll order the KSF Pocono.
It fits the pocket slip pretty well.


Click to expand...

I don't see a welt in the sheath. If it does not have one, you run the risk of a fixed blade's edge cutting the thread of the sheath. Beware.

Don Cowles rarely make sheaths for other's knives, when he does they are at least $50.
 
brownshoe said:
I don't see a welt in the sheath. If it does not have one, you run the risk of a fixed blade's edge cutting the thread of the sheath. Beware.

Don Cowles rarely make sheaths for other's knives, when he does they are at least $50.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm quite aware of that. But I'm just trying the slip for a couple days to see how I like carrying it in my pocket before ordering a custom or one of the KSF pocket sheaths for a FB. :thumbup:
 
Bob don't poke a hole in yourself, that sheath is folded over at the bottom...not intended for pointy things :)
 
JB in SC said:
Bob don't poke a hole in yourself, that sheath is folded over at the bottom...not intended for pointy things :)
Click to expand...
I already padded the bottom of the slip with a small piece of leather. I'm a big boy fellas, but thanks for worrying about me. :D :thumbup:
 
Very interesting idea, I never thought of that. I like the knife too, very nice. Thanks for the share man!
 
JB in SC said:
Locals pay no attention to seeing a knife, some newcomers to the Deep South seem to be a bit anxious.
Click to expand...

Might as well meander a little more here, Jerry ….. we're pretty friendly folk here in Iowa, but I don't think my wife & I have ever been treated with more genuine hospitality than when we visit my sister & bro-in-law in Greenville, SC. :thumbup: (Bro-in-law is a native there and sis has been there for 30+ years).
 
coyote711 said:
Might as well meander a little more here, Jerry ….. we're pretty friendly folk here in Iowa, but I don't think my wife & I have ever been treated with more genuine hospitality than when we visit my sister & bro-in-law in Greenville, SC. :thumbup: (Bro-in-law is a native there and sis has been there for 30+ years).
Click to expand...

I'm about 25 miles from Greenville. We try to be friendly, but some folks think because we talk slow, we are slow :)
 
pinnah said:
My buddy carries a (non-traditional) Kershaw Chive. It's puny. I think if he stabbed somebody with it, the proper treatment would be a band-aid. It's almost that tiny. But, like most modern knives, it opens with a violent sounding audible *CLACK* and to be honest, he enjoys that aspect of the knife. He relishes in it when it's time to cut the plastic strap on a new box of printer paper. "Hey, what's with weapon?" I honestly have heard that from people
Click to expand...

This is an interesting point, and something I had not considered. As a knife nut I like the CLICK associated with opening a folder, but to non-knifey people maybe this indicates that object is a weapon (perhaps bad tv and films are to blame for this). I have noticed when carrying a small fixed blade like the City Knife, people are actually less intimidated by it. Maybe because it is simpler, no lock to fool with, etc. or it could be because of the relatively small-ish size. Or I hang out with wierdos :), just something I have noticed since carrying a FB in a pocket sheath.
 
I think the Click has some meaning as well. For example even my UK pen knife irritates people more than my Claude Dozorme Capucine (friction folder). And the Capucine is the larger knife. But hat is maybe also because the ukpk comes with a black handle and the friction folds has a warm olive wood handle. Something which I think also makes opinels less threatening.
 
Please leave all thoughts of modern folders at the door. This is the Traditional Forum.
 
Back on track. Handy as a pocket on a shirt. 5" OAL.

 
Thanks JB. It's a Redmeadow. 1095 with walnut scales and aluminum pins.
 
vilePossum said:
i'd say the capucine is a modern traditional just like the opinel.
Click to expand...

I think your UK penknife with the pocket clip and spider hole is more like what Frank is referring to. If you have problems with something a moderator posts, it's best to take it to PM or email, not question it in a discussion thread. Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top