Real men carry slippies.

jh205 said:
So I guess this guy never finds himself holding something in one hand and needing to get out and use his knife with the other?

Sorry folks but the Spyderhole is without a doubt the single most important development since folding knives themselves.
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Spyderco didn't develop anything of the kind. All they did was make the hole that had existed in slippies and tacticals for years and years perfectly round, and add it to their knives. However, I will agree with you that the SCAGELhole was a pretty cool development in slipjoint technology, borrowed by the tacticool crowd.:cool::D
 
For those times I want one hand opening to go along with my knife I just take my Case bonestag Russlock along. Some day I hope to try out a razor barlow type as a one hander.

I used to swear by my Ken Onion 1550 Blackout for it's fast, convenient opening. Then, I just sort of started planning a wee bit and just figured out I can open my slippies with the fingertips of one hand while still holding something in it. Fast forward to a month or so ago and I traded my Kershaw KO to my boss for a couple of fixed blades.

Speaking of fixed blades. I've kind of gotten the idea that if I will be doing things where I would want a fast opener and/or a lockblade, a small, pocketable fixed blade seems the ticket. I've been eying that little Boker Arbolito Caper lately for something that will fit easily on a belt and compact.

Just my pocket change of input

Amos
 
65hoss said:
I see a good bit of tactical but its based on young white kids wanting to look tough. Many that work for us usually see us using knives a lot and with their first paycheck go get a knife. Sadly, they go to Lowes and get those cheap tacticals with pocket clip.
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Nothin wrong with a "tactical" folder for hard work. I worked at a sign company for a bit, and my tactical folder worked just fine. Made it a bit less pretty, but that's what work does to knives. No big deal.
I wouldn't want to buy a cheap POS from Lowes though. And while I see plenty of "white kids wanting to look tough", that's not an indictment of the tool, just the dweebs who think it makes em look tough.
 
sorry guys, but what is a scagel? anyone have a picture of the creature?I have never heard of a hole in the blade except on tacticals.
 
jh205 said:
So I guess this guy never finds himself holding something in one hand and needing to get out and use his knife with the other?
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A bit of prior planning can do wonders in situations like these but one-handers do have their place in the knife world.
 
Jvong, William Scagel was a knife maker from way back who had a very distinctive style. No doubt you can find info about him on the net. Here is a reproduction Scagel folder so you can see the holes in the blades refered to in this thread. There are now many, many more repro Scagels in existence than real ones.
http://www.cableknives.com/
 
jvong said:
sorry guys, but what is a scagel? anyone have a picture of the creature?I have never heard of a hole in the blade except on tacticals.
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Very, very brief history:

William Wales Scagel or 'Old Bill' as he was known to his friends(he liked very few people) and most folks did not get very close to him. In my opinion he is the father of custom making. In fact, his knives were the inspiration of Bo Randall of the now famous Randall Knives. Born in the late 1800's and died in the early 1960's he lived 89 years, making knives for 30+ years in his own shop built by himself. He is an absolutely fascinating fellow. If you would like to learn more about Bill Scagel I suggest you read, Scagel The Man and His Knives, authored by Harry McEvoy.

The following are two Scagel reproductions, the first is a reproduction of Bill Scagel's own pocket knife that he built for himself.

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This is a fixed blade made by Jim Behring of Treeman Knives in the Scagel style.

000_0798.jpg


Incidentally, my avatar is of Scagels favorite dog, and yes that is a Scagel knife in his mouth.:)
 
jvong said:
sorry guys, but what is a scagel? anyone have a picture of the creature?I have never heard of a hole in the blade except on tacticals.
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Bill Scagel is the daddy of all custom knifemakers in this country, and was putting holes in blades as easy openers 50 years before Sal Glesser was born.

There is really nothing new in knives, just things reserrected with better PR and advertising than the original.
 
riata said:
Jvong, William Scagel was a knife maker from way back who had a very distinctive style. No doubt you can find info about him on the net. Here is a reproduction Scagel folder so you can see the holes in the blades refered to in this thread. There are now many, many more repro Scagels in existence than real ones.
http://www.cableknives.com/
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Cool! hmmm from that teeny tiny diminutive jpg found at that site i can kinda almost see the hole. :D lol! No prices? Weird.
Very neat idea though. I guess companies Spyderco and Leatherman were familiar with and inspired by the late mr. Scagels works.
Goes to show theres Nothing new under the sun i guess.
Funny how this thread happened to catch my eye this morning, i was just reading a thread last night on a Scagel that went to auction on ebay that brought in over 10K!
Just found this as well
http://forums.outdoors-magazine.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1909
And come to think of it theres a nice scagel pattern used in this article as well
http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=179
Until i read the above article i had never heard of Scagel. Something new to learn everyday!
:)
 
I'm a great fan of traditional folders, but i have to say my Spiderco Turzola is as indistructable as any knife I've ever owned. The tactical or modern folders have their two feet planted forever now.
 
I've found that tradesmen, particularly carpenters, take great pride in how sharp their knives and chisels are. Interesting that they still choose slipjoints.

Oh, IMO slippie is not a very manly word for a manly knife. Slipjoint is the same number of syllables. Just as easy to say and sounds more manly. Plus thats what its called. Unless its a single blade, under 3 inch, pearl handled loose thread snipper in a pouch, please call it a slipjoint. Slipjoint. ;)
 
fasteddie said:
Oh, IMO slippie is not a very manly word for a manly knife. Slipjoint is the same number of syllables. Just as easy to say and sounds more manly. Plus thats what its called. Unless its a single blade, under 3 inch, pearl handled loose thread snipper in a pouch, please call it a slipjoint. Slipjoint. ;)
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Personally, I prefer the term "pocket knife." ;)

I'm also a proponent of the "right tool for the job" school of thought. I generally have two knives on my person at any given time - a traditional pocket knife, and a modern, one-hand-opening pocket knife. Most tasks can be tackled with ease using my Case CV trapper, which I've had & carried for 8 years now. If & when I need (or would prefer to use) a knife with a stout blade and a lock (most often while I'm working on one of the tug boats, when easy one-handed opening is a nice perk), I reach for the "tacticool" knife - today it's an Emerson 7 with a lanyard to prevent it from taking a swim.
 
I don't like slipjoints because of their "lack" of a lock, and I like being able to open one handed. The clip has become less of an issue, as I try to be as discreet as possible, but its a perk. I go for knives that combine style and function, but function always comes first. And my AO SOG Blink and my Kershaw do everything I need to, they look classy IMO, and they open one handed. I see no reason to carry a knife that can't do these things just for the sake of tradition.
 
The thing I like most about your story is that they probably don't even consider themselves traditionalists, especially considering the number of reliable tacticals there are out there these days. It's just another realiable tool in their work arsenals.

My father and dad's father are the same way. Both life long brick masons and carried a stockman without even considering other options. If I showed or explained what a tactical was to both of them they probably look at me funny.
 
i carry a traditional, for the past few months an opinel, for whittling, opening packages, and whatever other cutting needs to be done (great food knife too)

when i know i am going to be doing something that could damage my knife (like pulling up carpet or unsheathing electrical wire) i clip a superknife into my back pocket. the other knife never stays behind though.

there is a reason slipjoints were so popular for how many hundred years before people started getting antsy for a new fashion statement. tacticals have their place, but i find that they really aren't necessary for most tasks. and i love how nicely my classics cut.
 
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