Okay, I've always been a mutlitblade guy. Three blade stockmen, 4 blade scout, two blade jack's. Now I have a single blade knife in my pocket, thanks to Gus, and there's no choice to make as to which blade to cut with. All those years with my stockman, I had very different roles for each blade. Even with my little peanut, the two blades are called on for different uses. Now, with the easy open jack with a screw driver blade, I have no choice to make. This is disturbing in two ways, like yin and yang, both good and bad. There's no "What blade do I use on this" question in my mind. One one hand, I just pull open the big wide spear blade and cut. One the other hand, there is almost a sense of something missing. Something undefinable, like a choice not having to be made.
Having lived most of my life with multi blade knives, this is an exercise in simplicity that I have not had since my experimental days with sodbusters. I know one blade is enough to go through a day in a life, many people do it all the time. Most places in Europe and asia the working classes use simple one blade knives and do well with them. Fausto has some of the most level headed posts on the use of the simple single blade knives of his culture. All through Europe a knife is a simple shepherds knife, friction folder, Lagiuole, Opinel, Okapi, Douk-Douk, Big Swede, Herder sodbuster, or even homemade knives. Now after so many years, I have a single one blade knife in my pocket, and it feels strange, but not uncomfortable. I do like the the fact that there is a tool on hand. The screw driver is a robust tool, and so many times I used a screw driver to fix something out somewhere. I've told of being stuck in the middle of a large winding lake when a trolling motor needed a bit of fixing, or when my Vespa died on a dirt road miles from anywhere. Both times a screw driver let me dismantle things enough to get to a problem and fix it.
So, one blade and a tool. I think of all the harness jacks that wagon drivers used to relay on. A knife and tool for a use. I wonder how many tradesmen in the 1900's used a jack with a blade and a tool? It seems like a good combination. So far I find that this easy open jack is sort of like a heavy duty Victorinox bantam, only way better looking with a ton more class. Maybe more like a highly refined TL-29?
This is an interesting experiment to be running alongside of my pocket fixed blade experiment.
Carl.
Having lived most of my life with multi blade knives, this is an exercise in simplicity that I have not had since my experimental days with sodbusters. I know one blade is enough to go through a day in a life, many people do it all the time. Most places in Europe and asia the working classes use simple one blade knives and do well with them. Fausto has some of the most level headed posts on the use of the simple single blade knives of his culture. All through Europe a knife is a simple shepherds knife, friction folder, Lagiuole, Opinel, Okapi, Douk-Douk, Big Swede, Herder sodbuster, or even homemade knives. Now after so many years, I have a single one blade knife in my pocket, and it feels strange, but not uncomfortable. I do like the the fact that there is a tool on hand. The screw driver is a robust tool, and so many times I used a screw driver to fix something out somewhere. I've told of being stuck in the middle of a large winding lake when a trolling motor needed a bit of fixing, or when my Vespa died on a dirt road miles from anywhere. Both times a screw driver let me dismantle things enough to get to a problem and fix it.
So, one blade and a tool. I think of all the harness jacks that wagon drivers used to relay on. A knife and tool for a use. I wonder how many tradesmen in the 1900's used a jack with a blade and a tool? It seems like a good combination. So far I find that this easy open jack is sort of like a heavy duty Victorinox bantam, only way better looking with a ton more class. Maybe more like a highly refined TL-29?
This is an interesting experiment to be running alongside of my pocket fixed blade experiment.
Carl.