One Man, One Knife

pertinux said:
This should be good.

EvilGrin.gif~original


~ P.
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Haha
LeatherMan64 said:
Give it a month of watch pocket carry then, so you'll still have the RFP for whatever dag-blasted, new-fangled, waved, serrated doohickey you normally carry ;)
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I actually wear cargos, so my knives get their own pocket. Traditional in my left, modern folder clipped on my right. My keys, phone, pen, and my light go in my cargo pocket.
 
Truth be told, it probably doesn't really matter. All of us could get by with only one pocket knife and that knife being practically any knife.
 
For what you described, most knives will serve well. Of the knives you own, is any one of them a distinct favorite? I would carry that one, because you'll not tire of it and think of carrying something else. Really, it's about what you like for the long run.
 
Was curious to see how that went. Sort of chuckling too. After I went walkabout from the forum a few years ago (just a short one) and stopped reading and seeing such knife porn, I settled down and went pretty limited on EDC. When I let my Case smooth chestnut bone mini-trapper get a little less sharp than I should have I switched out for awhile to my other favorite for long term EDC. A single blade Jack. A Queen in stainless and delrin Winterbottom scales in fact. Even for a while I just carried a SAK Tinker.

All of the three were carried for long periods as standard in the right pocket. In the left is always a now battered SAK Classic. That was mainly for the scissors that the spring disappeared from sometime ago. Also for opening taped packages to keep the gunk off my "real" knife.

Though I pretty much kept coming back to that Case mini-trapper. I missed it enough that I pulled it out and finally got around to bringing the blades back up to standard and back in the pocket it went. With few exceptions based on unusual expectations for the day that might require something more like the SAK Tinker, I've now carried that same little mini-trapper everyday for well over a year. When I take my pants off at the end of the day it's in there. When things get changed over to a fresh pair of pants, it's in there. If I get out of bed and pull on my pants, that mini-trapper is in there.

It just carries so well (something I'm really picky about) even with a pocket full of stuff, has enough blade for pretty much anything I'm going to need, and I just like the look and feel of it. Pretty good for a knife I bought by mistake on an auction thinking it was a full size trapper. I was sure I wouldn't like it, but it was my own fault for missing that tidbit of info. Turned out to be just the right size <insert Goldilocks voice over>. Sort of a Peanut, only bigger. Barely.

I use the clip blade as my primary, general purpose blade and the spey as my special "surgical" blade for when a fine, less used edge is needed.

The one thing I have found in carrying one primary EDC all the time, and I've mentioned this in another thread, is that after a period of time you feel weird not having it. Even though the knife you put in your pocket that day is a fine one, you feel like a part of you is missing when you don't have that steady, always there companion along with you. Then rotations start to sound silly. Like a man or woman with commitment issues who's afraid to really get to know someone and have them know him. ;) You can always take another knife along now and then. Your regular knife won't get jealous.

So give it another try. Maybe just carry one specific knife as your primary, all the time knife. Add or subtract others as the activities for the day dictate. You will probably find that when you really get down to it, a good, basic slipjoint will pretty much carry you through most anything if you just use your head before you use the knife.
 
Woodrow F Call said:
If Carl said it: he meant you need to carry a Peanut or an Opinel and nothing else.

Heck, one time I watched Carl skin, quarter, and then butcher a whole Moose with nothing but an old Yellow Delrin Peanut. It was pretty amazing.
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Wow, old thread risen from the dead!

First, I want to put it strait that Woodrow is totally exaggerating what really happened. I never butchered a moose with a peanut. It was a caribou. A moose is just too much for a peanut. If I were to butcher a moose, I know I need a larger knife, like a Case yella pen knife, or even a small Texas jack. A peanut does have it's limitations, you know!

Carl, Grand High Muckba running for cover.
:D
 
Planterz said:
Give your sheepsfoot a coarser edge for cutting cardboard and packaging, the pen blade a finer edge for detail work and emergency tracheotomies, and a typical edge for the clip.
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For some reason the bolded part of that quote cracked me up.:thumbup:
 
I'm going for the "one man, sixty knives" ratio. Someone has to take responsibility for providing a bunch of like new knives to the next generation of estate sale shoppers. Glad I could do my part.
 
jackknife said:
Wow, old thread risen from the dead!
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Sometimes when you go searching, you come across an interesting old thread. Hoping the OP learned a lot and can share his experiences.


jc57 said:
I'm going for the "one man, sixty knives" ratio. Someone has to take responsibility for providing a bunch of like new knives to the next generation of estate sale shoppers. Glad I could do my part.
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Now that's funny :D
 
Learned? Yeah, I guess I learned some things. That peanut I traded the stockman for was pretty much my constant companion all through the summer. There were very few days I didn't have it with me. It was in my pocket when I went to Gettysburg battlefield and got to climb up on the rocks at Devil's Den and sit where my great-great-great grandfather fought, and later posed for a picture that is one of my family's most prized possessions. It also made at least one beach trip, multiple hiking outings, and was present for pretty much all the other notable events of my summer. The only thing it DIDN'T do was assist me in my luthierie endeavors (although it was in my pocket the whole time, and cut up lunch food and such). With few exceptions (like Grateful's recent 3 knife challenge, which I failed), the Peanut was my go to. It's just starting to get worn in now. The blades have both got a great dark patina, and the bolsters and scales are appropriately nicked and dulled from bouncing around with keys, coins, and whatnot. So, I guess I learned that I can do just fine with a knife as minimalist as the nut, and that, when that's all I've carried for an extended period of time, it makes my knife box seem like a veritable treasure trove when I open it to select the day's carry. So, in the end, I've stayed semi-faithful, grown very attached to my little buddy the peanut, and become even more appreciative of all the unique qualities that my other knives have to offer. Thanks Rockgolfer for dredging this thread back up, it got the juices flowing, and I realized I have learned a lot!

P.S. while my knife buying has slacked off recenty, I've just shifted my focus to another, more long-standing passion- guitars. Harmony guitars, in particular. I've gotten 3 in the last 2 months- A Sears Silvertone Grand Concert, an H159 super-dreadnought, and a Truetone branded H929. Help me, somebody!!

Edan
 
I'm thinking about a one knife experiment soon, not sure for how long a period of time though. I was going to start a while back but had my GEC EK on order and knew I couldn't get it in the mail and ignore it, and for some reason wasn't willing to do the one knife thing with a brand new knife. I won't start the one knife thing for a few more days either because I have a suspicion I'm getting a knife from someone for Christmas, and again I'm going to want to carry and use it a bit first. But maybe this time I'll be willing to use a brand new knife for the experiment this time. We'll see. Probably just end up going with my prized #15 clip/pen. That is the one knife I currently have that I could see myself carrying as a one and only knife for a long period of time without going crazy. Glad you had fun with the peanut though. And that's cool about the photo of your ancestor.
 
I have to admit that in the past few months of this experiment, I've wavered a few times. I wanted my GEC 15, or maybe my Sardinian resolza. But when I wavered, and felt the doubts of the peanut being enough, I remembered the knife Otzi had on him. Att he time of his death 5,000 years ago, he was wearing a bearskin cloak that he probably skinned out himself. His knife was a slightly less than 2 inch flint knife that bloodstains on it and was used in a fight just before his death. His knife, and cloak had blood from at least three other people on them, and yet Otzi escaped into the mountains with an arrow in his back. He died later they say, from internal blood loss from the arrow wound. MUst have been a tough mother jumper! But if a 2 inch flint blade was good enough for a guy surviving in a cold mountain environment 5,000 years ago, I guess a daring suburbanite like me can get by with one.

Maybe I'll do a three month experiment after this with a tuxedo!:D

Carl, Grand High Muckba of something.
:D
 
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