Overbuilt folders : Yes or no?

[ExtremAddiction]

I like knives in all shapes and sizes .

 

[stabman]

I’ll hang with you buddy

Good plan.

Crustacean Enemies are most tasty dipped in fresh melted butter . I'm salivating on my keyboard .

Indeed.

Thank goodness you're okay, forest lobsters are known for their ferocity

I know, right? I barely managed to survive!

 

[Wolverine666]

I don't know if it's considered to be overbuilt or just big but I kinda like that CS Large Espada.

Not sure I could carry something that big comfortably. I'm used to carrying a Military and Manix2. The Espada makes those look like sewing needles.

 

[Pilsner]

I'm drawn to overbuilt folders, even though I don't always hang onto them. I currently own an Adamas, a Super Commander, and an XM-18 3.5. I've previously owned a Grayman Satu, a ZT 0200, and a ZT 0350, and I've lusted after many others.

I've been using my Adamas with carefree abandon for the past few days, and it's great. There's something about overbuilt knives that says "Go ahead, try me," that I really like. The Adamas also came out of the box feeling like a tool, made to be thumped around without worry, and I love that about it.

I was ruminating on this, and barring the Freudian implications of knives in general and those who enthuse about them - already referred to in this thread - I thought about times I have taken the Adamas out with me and it has mostly been mountaineering. Although weight is a genuine concern for more reasons than merely carrying it while walking, there is something psychologically reassuring about having bomber kit with you. I have never needed the superior slicing power of an FFG Spyderco on such a trip. If I needed to do surgery, I’d use the SAK instead, in all honesty. And if I was needing to do surgery at all, then things would be very bad indeed. I’m not a surgeon.

 

[Dadpool]

I was ruminating on this, and barring the Freudian implications of knives in general and those who enthuse about them - already referred to in this thread - I thought about times I have taken the Adamas out with me and it has mostly been mountaineering. Although weight is a genuine concern for more reasons than merely carrying it while walking, there is something psychologically reassuring about having bomber kit with you.

Yep, for sure!

I find the psychology of knives, aka "the ways I'm weird about knives," fascinating. Some knives come out of the box and my first thought is, "That's too pretty to use." I handle them gingerly, baby them -- and then generally sell them . . . despite them being perfectly capable tools that can certainly handle my EDC tasks.

Other knives, like the Adamas, get mentally filed in the "tool" part of my brain the second I handle them, and they get put straight to work. It makes no sense.

 

[MSchott]

Maybe this group is worth a shot then.

The OP asked yes or no

Some have said yes some have said no

No one is right no one is wrong

Heck I edc a small fixed blade most days

Does not mean that that is the best choice for all

I’ve been involved in knives for decades and I’ve seen fads come and go

The overbuilt genre I do believe is here to stay but it does not mean they are for everyone

My biggest issue is with overbuilt frame locks

They just don’t add up

They don't have to add up. I can use a Sebenza or Fox Tur for heavier duty work (which I rarely encounter) but this one is just a fun knife to own. It's very thick behind the edge and it's terrible in the pocket due to weight and the highly textured scales. But it's really cool. For $49.00 with D2 steel, it was a bargain.

 

[Pilsner]

It makes no sense.

It makes sense to me.

 

[Pilsner]

Dadpool I’ll name another knife that I immediately filed in the tool category, the Fällkniven PXL-WH. That damn knife came with an uneven grind, I had to do some work on it, but I love that thing. It is a very sturdy liner lock, with a partial convex grind of laminated CoS. It wouldn’t be anywhere as robust as the Adamas in terms of serious abuse, but I did take it on my last Winter trip in February. We were carrying the absolute upper limit in terms of weight, and that was the knife I chose for the trip - it weighs less than the Adamas. Can’t explain why but that knife just screams, “USE ME!”

I should add that it is one of the sturdiest liner locks I have come across, possibly the sturdiest. I’m currently evaluating a Russian made liner lock folder, by Nazarov, and I’d say it is up there. These knives feel dependable.

 

[mrfields]

i carry either a benchmade 810 or 9555 with me all the time. i don’t really consider either one overbuilt, they feel extremely comfortable to me, like a natural extension of my hand. especially the 810. it has, for me at least, the most comfortable, ergonomic grip of any knife i’ve handled.

 

[Ryanol]

These threads always sucker me in.

Many a Wrangler never leaves the pavement and there are plenty of over built knives with nary a snail trail on the blade. The fact of the matter is "I could if I wanted to" or "someday I might need to" has facilitated plenty of currency exchanges throughout history.

 

[DocJD]

I don't know if it's considered to be overbuilt or just big but I kinda like that CS Large Espada.

Not sure I could carry something that big comfortably. I'm used to carrying a Military and Manix2. The Espada makes those look like sewing needles.

My EDC , but it does pretty much hog all the space in one front pocket . It's not really overbuilt (thick) in proportion to it's overall size . The OAL is 12.5" .

 

[Joshua1973]

I like knives in all shapes and sizes .

So do I. If It is pointy and cuts I like it.

 

[sXePhenomenal]

Adamas compared to a 3.5 XM. Damn this thing is comically big

 

[RBid]

This thread is yet another reminder of how readily we stray into knife theory nitpicking. If we were to listen to every piece of internet commentary, no chunky blade would cut anything, blade stock under .10” would snap readily, folders without jimping would slip out of hands like wet soap, nobody except Demko would have fingers due to lock failures, Benchmade folders would ship with blades standing out 90 degrees to one side of the handle, ZTs would sever entire hands by failing while bludgeoning bananas, etc.

 

[miso2]

An overbuilt frame lock folder and an overbuilt slip joint + liner lock folder.

 

[Yonose]

I have both the Tops/Buck C-SART(.18”) and the (several, actually) spyderco ladybug. So I have to say I like overbuilt folders as much as just right built folders.

 

[Pilsner]

I have both the Tops/Buck C-SART(.18”) and the (several, actually) spyderco ladybug. So I have to say I like overbuilt folders as much as just right built folders.

I’ve been tempted by that. Would you recommend it?

 

[Yonose]

I’ve been tempted by that. Would you recommend it?

The Buck? I like it, and if you can find it under $100 I would recommend—if you carry a folder(obviously in the sheath) on a belt. The handles are too grippy imo for pocket carry.

 

[Lapedog]

I’ve been tempted by that. Would you recommend it?

I have one and I will say it is an absolute beast of a folder. It makes Hinderers and Striders look like they are made out of paper. It feels very sturdy (while it still is a liner lock) like a knife that you could definitely do some prying with.


Note that it has kjnd of a strange build where they stack a bunch of thinner steel sheets in order to build the knife up so I doubt it is a knife you would want to take apart. However you could take the blade out by undoing the pivot. I jusf wouldn’t attempt disassembly beyond that.

I don’t know if you can see it well but notice it has double liners on one side and the “backspacer is actually made of three plates of steel the same thickness as the liners.

 

[Pilsner]

Thanks, chaps.