Sacrilege and Blasphemy - the Folding Utility Knife

They sound like a good idea , but in actual use I have found them not to be very versatile . There are a lot of chores they suck at - for example food prep .

Chris
 
People have different needs and different viewpoints. Some like their knives to reek quality and class, others make do with Chinese knives bought in dollar stores. And most manufacturers will usually give their customers what they want within reason.

Knife carrying is a tradition that goes back to ancient times. The Romans wore all those robes where it was easy to smuggle in all sorts of blades. Philip of Macedonia united all of Greece and was ready to conquer the world, but some guy with a knife got to him and today it's Alexander the Great instead of Philip the Great.

A good tactical knife will do many things from self defense and opening packages to field dressing animals and cutting them up once they've been grilled. Box cutter knives serve a purpose, but the blades stain, they dull easily and aren't very adequate for defense. They do open packages easily and the blades pop in and out, but frankly, I think a $7 Chinese Maxam knife and a medium grade sharpener would be a better deal in the long run.
 
The whole point of a utility knife is that you don't always have the time (or patience) to sharpen while you work. And, as previously discussed, some jobs are absolute hell on an edge.
 
A knife should have utility and delight!
When we're satified with mundane or ugly, our lives become the same. Whereas beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it's hard to believe someone can find those folding utility knives very pleasing to view or to hold; or in some cases, use!
I prefer a nicely sculpted tool to enhance my life, and give me pride of ownership.
Life's too short to waste it on unpleasing tools. I've got knives I just like to look at and marvel at, and they are not safe queens, they look good with the wear they've honestly earned!
 
It was 'utility knives' that started my interest in knives, but I rarely use them now. I find I get better performance from my knives than a box-cutter, even for cutting boxes.

Yeah, they might get scratched up but I bought it to cut things with not look at! Part of the attraction also is the maintenance of the blade, judging my sharpening skills and the different factors that can be varied when doing so.

I think kuro hit the nail on the head ;)
 
I'm not saying that utility knives aren't pitiful excuses for a blade compared to the real thing - I wouldn't EDC one unless I was in a situation like what I've been describing, where the ability to simply replace a blade in a few seconds becomes a useful feature. I haven't even touched a utility knife since sometime last year, as a matter of fact. My SAK, Leatherman, and Sebenza are always there for me, and I have a few other "beater" folders to call upon for highly abusive jobs (the idea being that if I break the tip or something, I won't shed any tears.) Still, I'll grab a utility knife when the job calls for it - because sometimes, it's still the best tool for the job.

The whole point I've been maintaining isn't that utility knives are better in any significant way, only that one particular attribute makes them useful in certain circumstances. In short, that they have their place.

I think it goes without saying that very few of us would ever EDC such a tool unless work called for it, but that doesn't mean that the tool lacks merit or that having better blades makes it a meaningless piece to own.
 
I carry & use my Custom knives, because that is what I prefer. I love having my useable art!
 
Resurrecting a thread from last summer to say "Hilarious"?

--

To find why someone was banned (all these months ago) just click on his name and, in his profile, find his last post. That will generally explain it.

Read down this page Why IMHO OC Spray Sucks and you will see the train wreck in progress. You may want to read the whole thread, and see an exercise in how not to hold a serious discussion.
 
well I think buying a two thousand dollar TV or Computer that needs replaceing in two years is a waste compared to a 500 dollar knife that you pass on to your son on his 21st, which you treasured and he will also.

My brother in law asked me why I spent upwards on a few hundred dollars on a single knife and I told him that I'd use it everyday for ten years and he'd buy another 4 tellies in that time that would be ten times the total cost of my knife.


you just can't help some
 
My 99 cent boxcutter is still probably the best thing I can carry doing my job. It's quick, light, easy, and cheap. No need to use a knife or even a folding boxcutter. A hideaway knife is the only other cutting equipment I could think of that could benefit me. And that's because it's like a fixed boxcutter.
 
I am a mechanical fitter doing regular maintainance.
I had to use a "superknife" because I had a complaint against me by some people I was using "a non working knife" whatever that means.(I was still looking for the answer when I left the job two weeks later)
I hated using that "superknife".I would rather use my UK penknife which it is designed for the purpose as a tool for cutting things with bit of accuracy.
The "person or persons" ,that I found out later, have even complained against the me using any sort of bladed tool.
Working in the UK , I have given up all "hope".
 
Put it this way, when the poop hits the fan are you going to be able to trust your life on that $10 utility blade?
Also with a $10 knife you get a $10 locking system. Id prefer spending a little more on keeping my fingers.
They have their uses, but id rather have a knife thats more capable and looks better.
 
The utility knife may be the proper tool for some jobs, but with what I pay for my knives I'm already looking for more opportunities to use them, not less! As someone has already said, there is much pleasure in using our "useable art"!
 
eyeeatingfish said:
Put it this way, when the poop hits the fan are you going to be able to trust your life on that $10 utility blade?
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Yes. If my life depended on the performance demanded of a utility blade, than my utility knife is the one for the job.

The "trust your life" argument pops up regularly on this forum, and it always strikes me as absurd. One, because the only satisfactory rhetorical answer is to spend a potentially infinite amount of money on a knife that you "can trust your life" to. After all, what is your life worth to you? Second, it assumes an inexpensive knife must somehow be absolutely indestructable and sharp in order to be useful, when the question should be "how does it measure up with comparable knives".
 
mamba-man said:
I understand your views, Rat Finkenstein, but not everyone has the equipment or ability to re-sharpen knives. I define anything over $30 as expensive when compared to a utility folder (currently ~$6 on sale at harbor freight).

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I keep the same basic knife (except mine is a Sheffield branded piece) in my tool box, but I use my EDC knives for most stuff- of course mine tend to be budget minded anyways. The razor knife does stuff that might be abusive to a regular knife.
 
Like I said before, the right tool for the job. I wouldn't use a good quality EDC for cutting boxes or carpet. For some jobs, the characteristics of a disposable blade make them quite appropriate from a functional standpoint. Try to spend 8 hours cutting through carpet and your knife will probably need a sharpening about halfway through. A disposable razor will let you swap blades and keep working, and is no less suited to the task. You can also use them in different ways to boost your efficiency; I won't hesitate to let such a blade scrape its tip along concrete or metal, but I wouldn't dare allow such a fate to befall even my lowly SAK!

By the same token, I wouldn't take a box cutter hiking. Too many limitations in that kind of environment and there's no real need for a disposable blade.

Of course, there's nothing stopping you from continuing to carry your EDC while you use your disposable-blade SK. Abuse the twenty-cent razor blade on the easy, simple, edge-destructive tasks and have your shiny EDC ready to go when you need a more serious and dedicated tool.

If you're concerned about times when the fecal matter hits the rotary cooling device, at least pairing a SK with your regular EDC during working hours will ensure that the EDC knife isn't losing its edge on stuff that doesn't really matter, and will still have one when it counts. :)
 
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