One bladed custom traditional folders. Why?

Joe58

Joe58

Joined
Nov 11, 2002
Messages
1,969
Something I’ve often wondered about, especially when viewing the for sale section, is why almost every folder you see coming from a custom maker is a single blade.

Don’t get me wrong, they are gorgeous knives, but speaking for myself, I also like a smaller blade along too, especially if it’s a little wharnie.

I know it’s not skill. It’s amazing what the custom guys are turning out these days with the variations in handle and blade materials available, so I kind of have to think it’s mostly a cost issue perhaps? The cost to the end user between a single blade and multi blade knife? Or maybe a time factor? Going to take longer to make and tune a two bladed knife for instance?

Dunno.
 
High demand? All of my customs are single blades.... I reckon I have nothing to help answer the question.
 
I agree with Jody, must be high demand. I have single and double blade traditional knives and love them both. But, anecdotally, when I look at a lot of the customs offered and how fast single blades sell on the secondary market, it seems like they are just more in demand. Like all things, my guess is at some point tastes will change and double blades will rule the roost for awhile at least. In any event, I don't plan on throwing any of the double blades out! : ) Would be very interested in others' views on this as I have wondered the same thing.
 
Good question...What would a custom Camp Knife cost?
 
Single blades do it better but more “custom” multi blades would be a cool trend. Probably cost a fortune too.
 
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Mainly I think it's demand, but (as noted) it's also skill.

I like pocket knives with two blades, especially customs.

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I love to carry a Single - not always - but here is mine made for me, I wanted this Knife to be a single Bladed Sheepsfoot, Nice Stag, Killer Swage on a single Sheepsfoot Blade with a Rats tailed Bolster - just a package that ....... I dunno ....it's just.......... "Yeah!"

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From what I've seen that's what many buyers want, including myself much of the time.
Just look at when GEC puts out both single and multiple blades of the same pattern; the singles usually sell out before the multiples and are often the first ones posing in pictures here on the forums.

What's driving that demand we can only speculate. Perhaps they take better pictures? For me personally it fits into my minimalist personality; one blade is less to maintain, as silly as that sounds. Its not actually much more work to keep up with two blades, but there is a mental aspect to it that is more emotional than reasonable.
 
I prefer single blades. They're better looking. They are lighter and thinner and easier to carry. They're also more comfortable to use. It's true that they're not as versatile as a stockman, whittler or even pen or two-blade jack, but that's a small handicap given that most of the world goes about their day-to-day business without a cutting tool.

Best of all is that they're cheaper than multiblades.
 
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I think demand is higher for single blades because they do not cost as much as multiple blades. Also, for me, one blade is one too many 99.4 to 8% of the time.
 
I don't have a custom yet, single blade or otherwise, but I am definitely in the market. When I pick one up, it will almost certainly have only one blade. The reason is that I always have either a SAK Rambler or MiniChamp on hand, which gives me a small blade for cutting tape or other light tasks, plus the Philips head, scissors, cap lifter, etc. I compliment that with a larger knife for bigger cutting tasks, which is fairly infrequent for me. Lately, it has mostly been a Canal Street Boy's Knife and sometimes a Moki Kronos (or a Mnandi).
 
Until this thread, I don't know that I've seen a 2-bladed custom. I would agree with many things mentioned above, demand for single blades. It even seems like the single blade GEC's are more collectible than the multi-blade patterns, most of the time at least. Makes it cheaper for me to scrape up the moose patters at least.
 
I'd say a lot of people buying a custom slipjoint may be coming from the modern world but wanted to jump in with a custom, coming from the modern world one blade on a knife is what they're used to.
 
For me, it's 100% about the cost. I much prefer 2 blade knives, but can't afford $1000 or more to have a custom one made.

My favorite knives feature one blade with a belly (clip or spear), and another with a straight edge (preferably a sheepfoot).

Therefore, since I am too cheap to buy a 2 blade custom, the compromise would be to find one with a "hybrid" style blade like a native or maybe even tribal spear.
 
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