Old school toughness

1

18X

Joined
Dec 21, 2013
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107
In todays mass production of anything quality has suffered. Knives are one tool that has been effected by this. Does anyone have or know of any knives that are made with the old school quality that knives used to be made with? I am very curious to see how many are actually left because when I buy a product I would rather spend more and get a durable product than save money on mass produced junk that wont last. A knife that will last longer than the owner and their grandchildren
 
That question can spool up a whole bunch of anwsers that I am sure will follow shortly. My advice FWIW...hook up with a knifemaker here on BF and get the knife you seem to want, a quality piece that will last if taken care of properly.
 
Can I ask how old you are? Because I have several knives that are made with better materials and finish than I ever owned as a kid back in the 70's.

Of course I have more play money now than I did back then.
 
I think that you will find that MANY of today's knives are actually made much BETTER than they were in the past. Oh, sure, there is a TON of crap dime store no name knives out there, but if you stick to a really reputable brand, you will get a good quality knife. Plus, today you have MANY more choices in blade steel and handle material than in years past.
 
I disagree. While your observation holds true for many things in life "they dont build them like they used to". Knives are an exception IMO for the most part.
 
I think it's more realistic to consider buying a different EDC every five years. Of course, you could just buy a Sebenza, and then you're good for fifteen yrs or more.
But, there are new designs, upgraded blade-steels and your needs and/or tastes may easily change with years. To the heck with worrying about leaving knives to the grand-kids fifty yrs from now. Rather, once your grandkids are eight or so, you and your sons can provide them with knives along with safety training.
Just a guy who's done it.
 
What they don't make the way they used to is the users of knives. We used to treat our knives as cutting tools designed for specific tasks. Mainly cutting. The knives we used were generally much thinner and had much smaller tangs than what we see today. Why? Because we didn't feel the need to beat the heck out of our tools. We used the proper tool for the job at hand.
Were knives made better "back in the day"? Probably not. As knowledge in engineering and metallurgy increases the quality of the tool will get better. Unfortunately, we are living in a time that we don't take care of things. If we break it we either send it back to the manufacturer demanding that they replace the tool that we broke or we just buy another. We really need to go back to taking care of our tools and making them last forever.
 
+1 to the previous posts. I dont know what this old school toughness you are talking about is. Find any older knife that can out tough one of todays titanium/super steel framelocks or quarter inch thick bombproof fixed blade basher/smasher/choppers.

Did you mean something other than "toughness"?
 
Knives have always been made and sold at all price points. This is certainly nothing new. If you look for and buy a cheap knife, that is what you will get. Higher quality knives cost more, even if they look nearly the same as low priced knives to the untrained eye. One generally, not always, gets what they pay for in proportion to what they spend. Of course we all would like highest quality at lowest price. It has always been so. Historicly speaking, this is why the same company could sell a knife for a dime at F.W. Woolworths and sell another for ten dollars at an upscale jewelery store.

Improved metalurgy, improved handle and component materials, improved and automated processes make for much more consistant quality today than back in the day when a cutler hand built knives one at a time. One represents craftsmanship and the other manufacturing expertise. Craftsman knives are still made the old way, but few people want to pay craftsman's wages for their knives. And when the market demand is for inexpensive knives, that need will be filled in spades.
 
To which knives do you refer when you suggest they aren't made correctly or to a tougher standard. I have knives at this point that are 10, 15, 20 years old. I compare them to knives that I have bought in the last 5, 6 years - and I see no difference in quality of materials, etc. Of course there are economy knives out there that probably would not hold up - but when comparing apples to apples I see no fall of in quality.
 
I have a feeling your talkig about the $10 knives you buy at the hardware store...

100 years ago the local hardware store was the place to get a knife, the knives sold there were USA made of (at the time) quite steel, today hardware store knives are POS china pot-metal knives with zero build quality that conver zero pride of ownership.

My advice, go buy yourself a real knife, compare that to a "old time" knife...


Fwiw I own several ~80-100 year old knives, some passed down threw the family, others I searched for and found for whatever reason and while I love and respect them for what they are they can't compete with anything about my modern blades, not in strength, steel, build quality/F&F, edge retention, anything. Knives today are the best they've ever been.
 
You can buy knives today that are superior to what was available a generation ago. Better steels and computer-controlled heat treatments have emerged, and quality control is just as good IMHO.
 
Did they have Sebenzas, Benchmade Griptilians, Spyderco Para Militarys, Zero Tolerances, etc. etc. when my dad was a kid (1960s)?

No, they did not. Today's knives are better quality than any earlier knives.
 
If you are looking for an old school/old world knife that has yesterdays and even todays "toughness", then look at ML Knives. Seriously durable knives at very erasable prices, especially for customs.
As far as folders go, older folders can't hold a candle against todays folders in toughness and materials.
 
18X said:
Does anyone have or know of any knives that are made with the old school quality that knives used to be made with?
Click to expand...

Can you give us an example of a knife that is "old school quality"? Technology has improved and so have our tools. Certainly a stone knife from the Neolithic period wouldn't stand up to something made today.

Yeah there is mass produced junk out there but there are also some really good knives coming out of production companies today. Also, check out the custom knifemakers on this site too. Many work with fine materials and produce some high quality knives.
 
ESEE, Busse, Becker, Chris Reeve, Spyderco, Benchmade, Zero Tolerance, Kabar to name just a few- how much more quality do you need ?
Most of them for very reasonable prices and with great warranties, too
 
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