...but the blade style has severe limitations
Any particular limitations come to mind?
The biggest problem I have with "tacticals" (aside from their marketing, and the people who believe that marketing) is that the darn blades are too thick to cut anything. Sure, you can put a nice edge on the super steel of the month, but when the blade is 1/4" thick it tends to bind up a bit.
That, and I just can't get over some of the prices. $100+ for a one bladed knife with plastic scales, simply because it has a "name" on it, floors me.
Though I'm going to have to look for a new one, apparently. My last two firearm purchases were of the tactical/Eurotrash variety, so I need knives to match. And my Spydie Merlin is a bit too much -- the serrated hawkbill even gets the attention of knife knuts.
-- Sam
Sam, why don't you reprofile the knives? It can take a bit of time, but the end result is worth it. I agree that the edges on most tacticals are far too thick for any knife that size to have, but I've found terribly obtuse edges on my slipjoints as well. Any knife that comes from the factory with a 40 degree inclusive edge or greater will need reprofiled, whether it's a 300$ tactical or a simple Buck slipjoint. Also, there are many "tacticals" available with 2mm blades. The design intents on tacticals tend to vary quite a bit. Looking at Spydercos offerings, you can go from a tiny, two finger wharncliffe like the Spin up to a brute like the Manix. It's hard to lump them all in the same category of cutting performance.
If the price bothers you, there are many low cost models out there. Spyderco has their Byrd line, which provides knives that match, in most regards, the quality of knives costing four times their price. Kershaw puts out a number of solid working knives under the 50$ price tag, such as the Storm, Junkyard Dawg, EnerG and so forth. The Chad Los Banos Boker knives, like the Subcom, Trance and Hyper all retail for low prices, sometimes as low as 25$ new.
Why? Well, first let's talk about the odds of finding yourself holding something in one hand and "needing" to get out and use his knife with the other.....one instance in EIGHT YEARS.
But this doesn't answer the question about why I now (and why - as this thread shows - a lot of working guys) carry more-traditional pocketknives. The truth is, I've found they cut better.
A big single-blade one-hand opener might be great for dramatically slashing that boat line to save the lives of scores of passengers or whatever, and it might be fine for sprinting to the site of the horrid wreck on the highway and cutting free a passenger seconds before the car bursts into flames!
But you know what? For the real, day-to-day cutting that I do, a comparatively thin, narrow blade like what's on my Old Timer Middleman Jack, SAKs, or Case Sodbuster Junior does the job a lot better.
In truth, I found that time and again I was giving up real-world cutting performance for the CONVENIENCE of one-hand opening and for the luxury of a better steel (again, I really respect Sal Glesser and tip my cap to him for his use of wonderful steels).
Again, if the edge is too thick, the end user always has the option of modifying it. I've taken what I consider to be horribly obtuse edges down past where the majority of even knife nuts would (As low as 10 deg inclusive on some of my tacticals) and I've gotten great cutting performance in return. My 3mm thick Byrd Cara Cara cuts much better than my Opinel does, and the higher quality blade steel / heat treatment lets me put a more acute edge on it than the Opinel can take while surviving the uses I put it through. One handed operation is a nice convenience to have as well in my opinion. Yeah, I can take the extra time to use a slipjoint, but having to set something down to cut it just seems like a step backwards to me. Also I would argue that high-end steels aren't just a luxury. Look at H1, which is completely impervious to rust, or some of the other steels currently on the market run at 60+ RC and capable of taking very acute edges and being quite stable at the same time. I guess I just don't understand why some people seem to not want to acknowledge these progressions in the knife industry. If you're content with 55RC 420hc and two-handed opening, fine by me, but that doesn't mean there aren't people who do find such things useful. These new steels don't have to be limited to tacticals either. Queen's D2 knives are pretty well received from what I've seen, and that's not the most typical steel for a slipjoint, and I've heard few complaints from members here owning an ATS55 custom slipjoint.
I've heard the arguement of the one handers saying if they need a knife with one hand, or a hand gets injured, a slippy is not good. I totally agree with that, under some unforseen and rare circumstances a slippy could be a problem to open.
To my way of thinking, thats why we have sheath knives. I always figured if my pocket knife was not up to handling it, then we use Trapper Bill's knife, a small sheath number.
I have a similar line of thinking. I like fixed blades for a number of reasons, the ergonomics, ability to take spine loads, ease of cleaning etc. But to me, a large, stout, locking folder is more practical in a lot of ways. It's a matter of preference, but in the end I find something like a Spyderco Manix easily handles anything I'd want to use a fixed blade for, the only real disadvantadge being cleaning it and possible concerns when using it to chop or split firewood, which isn't something I subject folders to very often. I've never done anything to defeat the lock on my Spydercos. I like folders because you can get more blade length in a smaller package, they're much more convenient to carry and re-pocket after use etc. I usually carry a slipjoint and my Manix, and I think of the Manix in a similar way to how people thought of their fixed blades in decades past (Though I'm always concious of the limitations of any folder).
I own a hartsook and it's a nice little knife (Needs reprofiled though!), but I base my EDC choices by how useful they are to me. A small SAK, which is the same size and weight roughly, is more useful to me than a fixed blade that size, so I carry a LM Micra or Swiss Army Knife over it. I don't get my knives messy often, I haven't ever done anything with a SAK that hot water from a sink couldn't fix. The reason why I carry a tactical over a slipjoint is its capable of more when it comes to my own general use, and I pick it over a fixed blade because like I explained in my last paragraph it's extremely rare that the locking folder can't handle the job (It always can, just sometimes takes more care than a fixed blade). My EDC is a Leatherman Micra and a locking Spyderco, sometimes with a third knife like a Boker Wharcom or 3 inch stockman for smaller chores, which to me is the most utility in the simplest package. Maybe I just need to find the right fixed blade though. I've thought about EDCing my Kabar TDI and a stockman for a few days and seeing how I like that, but I don't see myself converting just yet. Thanks for the comments though, I like reading about what other people carry and why.
