Sheath knife/fixed blade????

[Zidfeldts]

When I was young every traditional "slip joint" was called a jack knife around my place. We called fixed blades "hunting knives" and locking folders were "buck knives".

 

[KBA]

It was always a "pocket knife" for folders and a "knife" for fixed/sheath knives growing up. Ive never given the semantics of it all much thought.

Though, "Pop" is not a drink. And no, I don't call all sodas Coke.

 

[Codger_64]

Hunting knife and pocket knife. And don't put the cart before the horse. Buggies in the grocery store just like there are (were) baby buggies with rubber bumpers. Speaking of horses and knives, the guy that started calling them "slippies" needs to be horsewhipped..

 

[coffeecup]

Growing up (central Nebraska in the '70s), it was "hunting knife" and "pocket knife". Sometimes a toothpick would be called a "fish knife", but so were fillet knives. By the early '80s, the term "Buck knife" was added for the nearly-ubiquitous locking folders carried on the belt by most folks (even if the knife was from another maker).

 

[knarfeng]

But the all were collectively called "sheath knives" since they were carried in a sheath.

When was the first time you ever heard a sheath knife called a 'fixed blade'???

Likely here is the first time I heard "fixed blade". They were always called "sheath knives".

I'm a very traditional old fart, I have a serious question.

The last stage before "sage" is "old fart".
By golly Carl, you are almost a sage!

 

[Rotte]

Yup; they were called "Sheath knives" when I still had fuzz on my antlers. But I feel perfectly comfortable with "fixed blade" now. Not that they were ever broken. But "fixed" in the sense of a 'fixed position' makes sense. No matter what you call 'em, fixies are still the way to go.

 

[kamagong]

Well, "traditional folder" was not a term when I grew up, either. It was "jackknife" for any folding pocket knife. Unless, of course, it was a switchblade or gravity knife.

Traditional is an adjective. No one uses the term "traditional folder" except for the folks in these parts.

 

[Water-Man]

Three knives all with different uses. I'm 71 years old.
. hunting knife
. pocket knife
. fishing knife

 

[Liberando]

Can't pinpoint it, but I think I first heard the phrase "fixed blade" when I joined Bladeforums. Grew up using the "sheath knife" or "hunting knife."

I understand "fixed blade" but I don't use it myself.

With a respectful nod to Tom @ KnivesShipFree, my Eagle Scout certificate is signed by Jimmy Carter.

 

[Augie]

Growing up it was always sheath knife or hunting knife, never heard fixed blade until I started collecting knives again a year or so ago. Great to see some Eagle Scouts around here, took a lot of drive and determination to accomplish, I never made it past Star but did get Order OF The Arrow which you really had to work for in the 60's, wonder if they still make the kids work that hard today.

 

[Mossyhorn]

When I first starting hunting, they were called belt knives.

 

[leghog]

I have heard "sheath knife", "belt knife", and "fixed blade" all for years now. None of those terms bother me as each is correct. Too much going on to be bothered by such trivialities.

"Slip joint" on the other hand..... I have always called them pocket knives and always heard them referred to as pocket knives.

People get annoyed when a revolver is called a pistol...

That's because then the term is used incorrectly. A pistol by definition has its chamber integral to the barrel. As an aside, and FYI, pistols predate revolvers so one can understand how the term was misapplied even if one disagrees with it. Both are handguns, but calling a S&W M10 a pistol is no more correct than calling a Glock 19 a revolver.

 

[kootenay joe]

I picked up "fixed blade" here in BF. When i read it for the first time i immediately knew what it meant, never had to ask; i.e. a most useful 2 words. Now, even when speaking to a non-knife person, if i say "fixed blade" they immediately understand what type of knife or knives i am referring to. Prior to this i just called them "a knife".
Folding knives is another term i first encountered here, but again, a term of clarity and therefore very useful. Prior to this i refferd to them as "pocket knives" which is not entirely correct as some "pocket knives" go in a sheath, never a pocket.
"Slipjoint" is another word i picked up here. I had to ask what it referred to because exactly what is 'slipping' ? This word is not in general circulation. I don't like this word because it is not accurately descriptive the way "fixed blade" and "folding knife" are. I am working on finding a better term for folding knives that have no locking mechanism. Perhaps this is where "slip joint" comes from " **it, the blade just slipped and closed on my finger ".
We DO spend far too much of our life thinking about way too little.
kj

 

[Campbellclanman]

I think the term Sheath Knife is Globally acknowledged - but because we have entered into a place here on the net where descriptions of manufacturing - different patterns of knives- it gets more technical on here than it needed to when you were purely a user of the knife. Here we discuss hundreds of different knives so therefore use manufacturers terminology?

 

[meako]

Traditional is an adjective. No one uses the term "traditional folder" except for the folks in these parts.

That's because for many of us -I'm 51 on Sunday-they weren't traditional they were the latest thing that basically hadn't changed for 150 years or more and were modern new ones..
As for the Aussie definition of sheath knife with the sheath that retracts into the handle (wha ?how does that work?) never heard of it. Wikipedia is not always accurate. Plus the lingo varies state to state and mate to mate. I doubt if anyone in Australia has heard of that either except maybe solicitors who specialise in cutlery crime and crusty old judges who might have once had to look it up back in the 70s.

Interestingly Australia ,the nation founded by the scum and criminals of Britain who were transported here in huge numbers up until 1840 or so,has evolved into one of the most law abiding populations in the world.
The sheer brutality of this regime can be read about in "The Fatal Shore" by Robert Hughes-much of it makes the life of a slave on the plantations of the Americas sound like an all expenses paid holiday for 2 on Richard Bransons private tropical resort.

Most people I know would term a fixed blade hunting knife as a Bowie knife -the sheath being the thing you put it in. Penknife rather than pocket knife as a general term for any smallish folding knife.
Nor would they have any idea or regard for the laws pertaining to them.

 

[meako]

I think the term Sheath Knife is Globally acknowledged - but because we have entered into a place here on the net where descriptions of manufacturing - different patterns of knives- it gets more technical on here than it needed to when you were purely a user of the knife. Here we discuss hundreds of different knives so therefore use manufacturers terminology?

Spot on Broo.
The sagacity of this forum is lost on most people.(he said with a raised eyebrow and a look of smug superiority).

 

[pertinux]

...all were collectively called "sheath knives" since they were carried in a sheath.

...To me, any knife that needs a sheath to be carried is a sheath knife.

I carry mine in my teeth.

Now what.

~ P.

 

[Halfneck]

Kinda with SAK on this, I grew up hearing hunting knife (or just knife) and pocketknife. I'm 47 so same time frame as him too somewhat.

Might have a lot to do with where you grew up too, in addition to when.

 

[Old Hunter]

Growing up and as a young man I always heard "Sheath Knife" (any fixed blade hunting knife that was carried in a sheath), Bayonet (any military fixed blade knife) and Pocketknife - all folders that went in the pocket. My first knowledge of lockback knives was the Buck 110 which I saw for sale in the PX in the mid-1970's when I was a 2LT. I learned all my proper knife nomenclature here at Blade Forum, at AAPK, and from the C. Houston Price, Collector Knives book. OH