Question for those who carry a slip joint...

Because as a daily carry a pocket folder at 3" folded or SAK is all the knife I've really ever needed over the last 4 decades regardless of where I found myself. Other knives are for special needs, not daily carry.
 
There's a bunch of reasons I like to carry and use traditional slipjoints.

Originally, I started carrying one after my grandpa died. He always carried one. When he was hiring a new hand to work on his farm, he would ask to see the man's pocketknife. If the man didn't have one, my grandpa wouldn't hire him. I feel that carrying a traditional pocketknife gives me a connection to a disappearing generation. I was lucky enough to receive a few of his old pocketknives after he passed. But I don't carry those.

I like traditional pocketknives because, as others have mentioned, they're sheeple-friendly. Whip out a "tactical" folder to trim a loose thread or trim a fingernail, and people look at you like you're crazy. Do it with the pen blade of a bone handled stockman, and nobody bats an eye. Plus, it just feels more honest to me.

Traditional knives have thinner blades, and thinner blades cut better. Others may have a need for a thick blade, but I don't.

The vast majority of slipjoints I carry are multi-bladed, and those all have at least one curved and one straight edge. On something like a stockman, you get the long, main clip blade, a short, very thin pen or spay blade that's great for precision work, and the sheepsfoot, which is great for opening packages, cutting cardboard, and conquering blister packaging. The more blades you have, the more prepared you are to have the perfect one for whatever task that presents itself.

[video=youtube;LL1JeokZDh8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL1JeokZDh8[/video]
 
ISKski said:
I find the thin blade stock and thin grind to out cut any of the other style knives I own, even when the other knives are ''sharper''. This is particularly true with a properly made custom knife.
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ISKski said:
The real difference is made in the thickness behind the edge - a properly ground slip joint should be almost as thin as a chefs knife behind the edge. For example, my sebenza is made from 1/8'' thick steel or .125 inches , my slip joint is ground from 3/32'' stock .093 inches. Behind the edge my slip joint is ~ .005 inches, my sebenza is closer to .020+ behind the edge. So even though my sebenza will currently shave hair and my slip joint wont, I find the slip joint to move through material better.

that being said, the thickness on a SAK tinker is .07'' which is very thin and I can not think of one modern folder that uses such thin stock. My delica comes close at .09'' but again, the thickness behind the edge makes the SAK a better slicer.
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Yep. I had to re-learn how to make fuzz sticks with my SAK because it had a tendency to slice through the wood and I just ended up with a pile of shavings instead of nicely curled fuzz sticks. This, the fact that it carries better in the pocket, the PC issue and the fact that it's a simpler design with less parts to break make it a winner for me.
 
I always carry a traditional slip joint AND a modern folder.

I use my Victorinox every day to cut up my apple for lunch, and I use it regularly for many tasks.

As mentioned above, I like the slimmer blade for cutting fruits and cheese etc, and I like that the knife has a can opener and corkscrew in case those become necessary.

best

mqqn
 
I carry my sodbusters for ergos and backpocket weight, i carry a stockman for simple enjoyment if the pattern. Only slippies i carry
 
Shotgun said:
Yep. I had to re-learn how to make fuzz sticks with my SAK because it had a tendency to slice through the wood and I just ended up with a pile of shavings instead of nicely curled fuzz sticks. This, the fact that it carries better in the pocket, the PC issue and the fact that it's a simpler design with less parts to break make it a winner for me.
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:thumbup:
 
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I'll echo everyone else here. I've only been carrying/ogling traditionals/slipjoints exclusively for a few months, and was into moderns for a couple of years longer, but at this point most modern folders just seem obnoxious to me somehow in comparison. Unnecessary, less functional for realistic tasks and ultimately sort of immature in a Freudian way. Not to sound offensive -- I still appreciate modern folders, especially for serious work purposes, but I can't see myself picking any up sometime soon.
 
I carry them if I want to, older steel, maybe 1095, not run hard, dull in a hurry. Mostly for fun, if I want to get work done I grab something s30v or better.

Opinel with M4 or k390 would kick everything out of my pocket.

I don't see why there aren't more thin style blades available because they cut much better than pocket wedges (ZT, Benchmade Adamas/755 etc.)
 
Skimo said:
I carry them if I want to, older steel, maybe 1095, not run hard, dull in a hurry. Mostly for fun, if I want to get work done I grab something s30v or better.

Opinel with M4 or k390 would kick everything out of my pocket.

I don't see why there aren't more thin style blades available because they cut much better than pocket wedges (ZT, Benchmade Adamas/755 etc.)
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Yeah, I wonder why they don't make more traditionals in super-steels?
 
Sometimes I carry a spyderco UKPK, no other reason then to cut stuff, I don't tend to cut down trees with my pocket knife, so a slip joint does just as well as a locking blade for my use.
 
For normal everyday non-extreme cutting and slicing the thin blades are a better tool. I enjoy the snapping sound of the blades opening and close. And in general they have superior ergonomics and pocketability due to the size and squarishness of the handles.
 
Locking knives are technically illegal in the city where I work. Besides, I think for most uses, if you're relying on a lock, you're probably using the knife unsafely anyway.
 
One of the primary reasons I carry it is "personal space". Now matter how crowded it was at my workplace, when I took my (NKP friendly :D) baby out, everybody took a step back... She's really elegant and NKP friendly- but only when closed... :p

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KennyB said:
Yeah, I wonder why they don't make more traditionals in super-steels?
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Because high carbide steels have low edge stability compared to low carbide steels. They do not do well at low edge angles or very thin grinds. Wear resistance isn't the end all be all of steel attributes.

I carry traditionals because they work, look great, and don't scare people.
 
I just like the looks of traditional knives better. There was a thread called "show me your gentlemen's knives," or something like that, and most of what people posted had zero appeal to me.

I also like to carry inside the pocket, unclipped. I don't really like the feel of clips on the handle.

A slip joint or friction folder gets the job done with a minimum of parts. I don't need any more.

The one instance I appreciate a modern knife is in my kayak, where the one handed opening and stainless steel has obvious advantages.
 
glocker199 said:
For those who carry a slip joint as a primary blade: Any specific reason for doing so, other than aesthetics or nostalgia? Just curious.
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I carry a slip joint because that's what I grew up with. I know I am dating myself, but I remember when you could buy a brand new '55 Chevy. The Constellation that Pan Am flew was a beautiful aircraft, and gas was 26 cents a gallon. All men had a pocket knife on them if they had their pants on. It was even expected in school, because those crank pencil sharpeners mounted on the wall in the classrooms were made in the state prison, and they all were broke by October. A pocket knife was needed to sharpen your pencil.

But the knives I grew up with had nice jigged bone handles, or stag, or some nice looking wood. Blades were nice and thin, easy to put a hair shaving edge on, and cut well for the things you would need a pocket knife for. Like most things back then, they had some style and aesthetics, but it was form following function. Many of the traditional pocket knife patterns were named after a trade that inspired their design. The stockman was the evolution of the old cattle knife of the 1870's. The harness jack was from the days when horse drawn wagons were the norm, and a freight wagon driver may have to mend a piece of tack out on the road. The trapper was self explanatory, and needed by men who made a living processing a large amount of pelts. The Barlow was a general favorite of hard working people in many trades. Many slip joints trace their history back to when people really worked for a living outside of an office cubicle.

I look at the modern knives, and I just can't find anything to like about them. I can't find any fondness for black plastic handles and strange shaped blades with no real design base except the artificially created market for the sensational appeal, with no reality. The modern knife has ceased to be a cutting tool a man keeps in his pocket, but some sort of prop for zombie killing fantasies or fighting off Chinese paratroopers. There seems to be a huge increase in the knife as a personal weapon now, instead of a cutting tool. The ego has over ridden the id. Movies and video games have taken over from the experience of the father giving the boy his first knife, or the fishing trip with a grandfather, and learning how to clean a fresh caught pan fish with the first pocket knife. Such outdoor tasks are what a traditional slip joint excels. From the looks of some of these modern knives, cleaning a nice fat Perch, or gutting the opening day buck would be impossible, with blunt tipped blades designed for armor piercing of something I don't know what.

To me, the modern knife is just like the modern gun. There's absolutely nothing to like in the aesthetics department. Soulless is how I describe them. It's a free world and you use what you like. I'll stick to bone handled slip joints, old revolvers with the blue worn off, and a truck with a real gear shift growing out of the floor. I'm old and I admit that. I'm also old fashioned, and I admit that too. So I'll just stick to using the things that remind me of what this country once was.

Carl.
 
I typically carry a SAK in my left pocket and a large locking folder in my right pocket. SAKs can handle about 90% of the cutting tasks that I undertake in a given day, they don't scare people when I use them, the extra tools add increased utility, and I like them. I grew up with SAKs, and I haven't grown tired of them yet.
 
You guys must run in some genteel crowds if the mere appearance of a locking blade knife would strike fear into the hearts of those around you.
 
Because I have the impeccable taste of a fine gentleman, and good looks of a bearded Norse God.


Other than that, they are just plain nifty. They are typically thin, and do what knives are meant to do, which is cut.

People will accept the use of a nice looking traditional as non threatening, but the same, or smaller blade on a modern just scares the pants off of them.
 
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