Nice knife - what am I supposed to do with this thing?

I think the problem is more user hubris and/or error.

People buying super-steel, tacticool, wakizashis capable of beheading petrified zombies and then get disappointed when they make terrible paring knives; when they should have just bought a paring knife. Or the other end of the spectrum with people buying clam pack Ozark Trail folders and bemoaning poor fit and finish or edge retention when used for breaking down boxes (just get a box cutter).

So, basically, people WANTING one thing because they WANT it, and then using it in place of the right tool causing them to get frustrated.

I.e. people thinking that if a KA-BAR fighting utility knife was good enough to be issued to US troops fighting Nazis it damn well out to be good enough to gut a deer! Except gutting deer is neither fighting, nor utilitarian?
 
Bottom line, it's what it is --- a knife is a tool and a weapon, this is the definition of a knife and you really can't muddy these waters.
It's not a toy, it's not a hobby horse, it's not a trophy, in endless civilizations, a knife was used as a tool in general purpose or utility applications, and when it wasn't it was a weapon, used against animals or human, outside of this it just wasn't used, it wasn't a "lifestyle" it wasn't a "knife-life" none of this can be argued or receive any rebuttals. Whatever else anything else you do with it is superfluous. If this knicks a nerve, good. People've injured themselves treating them like playthings
 
I have side boxes full of specialized tools for my job... My knife is there to do the things those tools don't, so in my specific scenario being good at several things is a plus.
 
not2sharp said:
Rather than going the usual Jack of all trades master of none approach they should focus on function.
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Look at kitchen cutlery.

Many, but not all of these knives are very purpose/function built.

I have quite a few knives that are very function-specific for cooking, leather and wood work, etc.

At the same time, I rarely carry one of these specialized knives, and rather prefer to carry knives that are multi-functional emergency tools.

I think many people want a multipurpose knife but value certain qualities over others (durability vs. carry-ability, effectiveness as a weapon vs. public perception, etc.) and that’s why we have so many “Jack of all trades” knives to choose from.

This isn’t a problem in my opinion.
 
mitchnola said:
A little confused, seems like you think there aren’t practical uses for so many current knives or that they’re not already designed for a practical use. Even a “rambo” knife has its own practical use. Tactical knives are designed for their purposed practical use.

Maybe the idea shoud be, here’s a knife I like a lot. Now let’s find out what it does best.
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There is a marketing term called a weasel word. And it works by sounding like it means something but is so vague it doesn't mean anything.

So a bushcraft knife doesn't identify what tasks it is designed to do.

Where say a hammer specifically kind of does.

You get say a framing hammer. That does specific tasks because people buy it to do specific tasks.
 
Wow! That Busse knife must be five feet long. ;)

Cleary knives are not all made the same or there would be little point in collecting them. Size is an obvious factor, but there are a lot of other factors which are far from visible. The typical knife maker probably make makes hundreds of choices while making a knife; they chose the materials, select a blade pattern, fit and shape an appropriate handle, decide how best to assemble, heat treat and edge the thing, they may consider guards, bolsters and pommels, and so on. The end result may be so soft it bends or as hard as obsidian. What I am suggesting is that the maker should make the effort to communicate their design philosophy.

I don’t think that is too much to ask for.

n2s
 
Maybe anyone who claims to be "into knives" but can't work out which knife suits which task should find another hobby! Is it really that difficult?
(Having said that I still believe a Skandi grind is for woodworking & not best suited to "Bushcraft", whatever that is).

It's a bit like mechanical forums where someone posts "I'm about to do my valve clearances on my vehicle, can someone tell me what a valve is please & where abouts is it located?".
 
At the end of the day, knives cut things. It's just a matter of matching the tool to the task. I certainly don't need as many as I have, but that's part of what collecting things does to you.

I have a number of highly specialized knives that are only going to be used for the job they were meant for, if I have anything to say about it. I have knives of all manner of blade shape, edge geometry, materials, and size. They are all better at doing different things to different mediums than a different knife. Some look prettier when they do it. I have some budget knives just laying around for any old use that are there to save my better knives from being left out in places they shouldn't be and used for things they probably weren't meant for.
 
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