Safe use of a knife

Keep your knife sharp.

Cut away from yourself.

It your knife slips out of your hand, dont try to catch it! Let it fall to the floor before you retrieve it.
 
Thought of the one, and only one, time I let someone 'check out' one of my knives......a rip roaringly stupid sharp Para 2.
I saw it coming, but couldn't get the words out fast enough.
What words you ask??? Be careful......IT'S SHAAAAARP!! 7 or 8 stitches in the pad of my friend's thumb.
Why in God's name anyone would check sharpness by rubbing a finger across a blade amazes me.
Don't lend out your knives.
Joe
 
I've been getting into friction folders lately. Locking knives give a false sense of securitIy. If you're concerend about a knife accidently closing on your fingers, maybe you're using it incorrectly. You might consider using a different tool.
 
The safest thing you can do is not be in a hurry. Take a second to think about the cutting task at hand and how best to approach it. It also helps not to try and use a folder like a fixed blade, this is one reason why slipjoints can be safer than a locking blade as you won't be tempted to attempt tasks suited to a fixed blade.
 
cheesemaster said:
I've been getting into friction folders lately. Locking knives give a false sense of securitIy. If you're concerend about a knife accidently closing on your fingers, maybe you're using it incorrectly. You might consider using a different tool.
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This!^^^^

I find that at least 90% of the time I use my Opinel, I don't bother with the locking ring, just use like a slip joint with light spring. The Sardinian Resolza has no back spring at all, and is a strait friction folder. I've been using it a few years now pretty regular, with no problems. The Japanese Higonokami is also a strait up friction folder and I love the simplicity of it.

Having grown up before the Buck 110 was the new hot lick in the knife world, we all just used friction folders or slip joints, and did just fine. Locks are over rated. I think there is a couple of generations now of people that has grown up using nothing but locking blade knives, and has developed very sloppy knife handling skills, or lack of.

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jackknife said:
This!^^^^

I find that at least 90% of the time I use my Opinel, I don't bother with the locking ring, just use like a slip joint with light spring. The Sardinian Resolza has no back spring at all, and is a strait friction folder. I've been using it a few years now pretty regular, with no problems. The Japanese Higonokami is also a strait up friction folder and I love the simplicity of it.

Having grown up before the Buck 110 was the new hot lick in the knife world, we all just used friction folders or slip joints, and did just fine. Locks are over rated. I think there is a couple of generations now of people that has grown up using nothing but locking blade knives, and has developed very sloppy knife handling skills, or lack of.

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There are things I can safely and repeatedly do with a decent locking folder that I couldn't with a friction folder or slip joint. Both are fine and have their place, but there are so many strong, reliable locks that exist now that I find the whole, "Use your knife like it doesn't have a lock," to be akin to saying, "Drive your car like it doesn't have any brakes."
 
Insipid Moniker said:
There are things I can safely and repeatedly do with a decent locking folder that I couldn't with a friction folder or slip joint. Both are fine and have their place, but there are so many strong, reliable locks that exist now that I find the whole, "Use your knife like it doesn't have a lock," to be akin to saying, "Drive your car like it doesn't have any brakes."
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I agree with the idea though the example is a bit off.
"No brake" is so bad that it's more to akin to cutting without a pivot connecting a blade to a handle. Thus nobody would suggest anything so crazy. I hope :-)
I also don't need locks in general but they are a nice to have and on a few occasions they help.

So as a safety feature locks rank in between brakes and airbags, about as much as a seatbelt if you ask me. Usually you don't need it and for sure not as often as brakes but you need it more often than an airbag which deploys maybe once in a lifetime and hopefully less.
 
Grandpa always told me to 'cut toward the dumbass'. If you cut yourself, well, you were definitely doing that part right.

Also, more seriously... The Triangle of Death: stay out of it while knifing. That's the area of the inside of your legs from either knee to your crotch. Usually only an issue when sitting and knifing, but some chores can have you bent over and in that region as you stand as well. In this area are huge, important latchments at your knees and the base of your quads. Damage these, and you might not be able to walk well later or maybe at all when you do it. Also present is your front junk.. Whatever you're equipped with, you dont want to stab or cut it.. Huge amounts of blood loss potential, monsterous pain, and obvious complications in healed functionality of said parts. Most important, tho, is the femorial arteries. These are bad news, and close to the surface here in places. Time to unconciousness is short, very short. Even shorter if you're old, hungry, or flabby. Maybe an EMT can tell us if its harder to T off an upper leg than an arm, but in my head it seems like it would be way harder just because of the extra thickness of the limb in that area.
So, I reckon for max safety you should try and always work away from yourself and chest-level or off to the side of yourself when you're leaned over or sitting.

It all goes back to 'cut toward the dumbass'... You're not a dumbass, right?
 
Knives are like guns, and controlling the direction of the barrel. Same thing, pay attention control the direction of the cutting edge so that it will not cut things that are not supposed to be cut.
 
Dont open buck 110 with one hand. Lol. and just pay attention closing those traditional blades.
 
This is just my personal opinion but I feel modern locking folders are MUCH safer to close than traditionals. Always feel unsafe when closing Buck 110 and SAKs. Yes I know both hands are needed.
 
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