Redundancy

I pretty much prefer multi bladed knives, with stockman’s being in the majority. I like the different blades and use them for different tasks. I’ve never bought a muskrat because I didn’t see twin blades being useful for what I do. But on a Swiss Army knife I like the smaller pen blade for some finer or lighter cutting tasks where I want to control the tip more. If you want to modify your Spartan I’d say do it. It’s a tool you can make fit your needs. And when your needs change....buy another one:D
 
spyderg said:
I used to do that too, but ever since the kids came along I’m too worried about the possibility of contamination. Now if I use any blade for such a task I end up thoroughly washing the whole thing before using it for anything food related.
Plus if my main is a spear for example, I find a coping secondary better for utility tasks than a pen. Do you find having two similar blades advantageous in any way?
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I hear you on the kids. Kids change everything.
As many have said, I don't think it's redundant to have two of the same/similar blade shapes on the main and pen secondary. Using each for a specific task makes them different enough in my mind, especially if they are different sizes as they usually are. The advantage for me is more in having a smaller, secondary blade to either save, or use for a particular job, more than a different profile.
Reading through the thread though, I see your point. I agree with you in that I would not want the exact same blade on my knife. That would seem redundant.
 
I know there are SAKs that have a better compliment of tools, my Vagabond is a Swiss bianco, and I have thought about the custom route and likely will get one of those one day. But, I ordered this one for the scales. They’re some special edition or something, white with Ukrainian embroidery pattern, had to get it!
I could probably get the scales off, pick up a doner and rebuild it with the tools that make more sense, but that becomes a lot more money and if I mess up the scales it’s all for nothing.
I’m hoping the pen can become a coping or sheepsfoot but that nick looks pretty near the tip in pics.
 
spyderg said:
I’m hoping the pen can become a coping or sheepsfoot but that nick looks pretty near the tip in pics.
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I have one that has a pen with a straight edge from being sharpened so much. It's not parallel to the spine, but it works ...
 
Seem to be on a migration away from multi-blade knives, the Whittlers don't get out so much even though I like toying with them. Stockman really only the BB Winchester get's a lot of use now and that's because I like the bone, its size and the low riding Sheepfoot. Congress has disappeared and never featured prominently in this knife pantheon.;)

Frame and pattern style in the hand are more important to me than blade redundancy, though I have always found Muskrats a bit pointless but a fine looking knife. Which reminds me that I dislike patterns with two large blades-matters not if they are Jack pattern or Penknife opposite end construction-the latter is much preferred though. Two large blades? No thank you. Moose, Trapper, Copperhead. Single blades or Penknife types are my manner, if it's a two blade then I don't mind Spear/Pen as they are different sizes. The Mini Copperhead has a useful Wharncliffe/Pen, the Norfolk a Wharncliffe/small Clip(very handy) and last year's Forum Knife (and a similar style in 2015) offered Clip/Sheepfoot opposite ends which I really appreciate. Yes, it would be nice to have a Penknife type of Spear/Small Sheepfoot/Coping or Drop-Point/ small wharncliffe but maybe frames cannot accommodate them or the inertia of 'traditionalism' prevents it?;) I'd really like to have an EE knife with Spear/small Pruner on say a GEC 35 frame, no redundancy there!:D

Thanks, Will
 
I've got multiple SAKs, I don't alter the short blade. Even thought the 2 blades are spear blades, they are 2 different lengths. The short blade is for fine detail work. Kinda like....lessee here....I'm working up handloads for my favorite 30-06, and not locking eyes with my dedicated case neck chamfer tool...out comes the short blade and I'm chamfering the case neck with it, like my Dad taught me. You don't do fine detail work with the tip of a sword. When I swap out for my SAK Pioneer, I often miss that short blade, despite having the awl. The pen blade on my Case Peanut gets used most, I guess I'm just weird lol!
 
For me, the 66 Calf Ropers (except for the weak walk and whisper of the secondary blades) and the 29 Stockyard Whittlers with their excellent choice of blades and fine ergonomics are the best. For a single blade I’d pick a 38 Tidioute.
 
Though I probably like a clip pen combo most I don't mind having a spear pen combo at all, what I find to be a bigger deal and even more redundant for my needs is a two blader with equal length blades or even worse a muskrat with two of the same blades.
It's gotta be a smaller secondary blade/s if the knife isn't a single blader.
 
A few posts mentioned the muskrat, never understood that one other than the whole if one breaks thing. Even my 81 moose blades were too similar for me. I tried the food blade and utility blade thing, thinking it’d be ok since they each had their own blade well so little chance of contaminating the food blade. But in the end I turned the spear into a wharncliffe. That was shortly before they released the 82’s. Oh well, mines a little more hand filling.
 
Why do you think they call it the improved muskrat? Because, except for the specialized application of skinning 50 or 60 muskrats in one go, nobody needs two identical blades. By the same token, even though the canoe is a very appealing pattern in many respects, the similarity in blade shapes has put me off buying more than one.
 
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