Single Blade or Multiblade Knife

jth250 said:
Hey guys, which do you all prefer for edc a single blade such as a sodbuter, lockback etc. or a multi blade like a stockman, trapper etc.and why.

Thanks
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Both. :D
Been Carrying a Queen Mountain Man LB and a Cattle King for the week so far. Why? I have blade choices.

When I do carry one knife, it is a multi blade, for the same reason. Blade choices.
 
Multi-Blade. I enjoy the variety. The stockman has a sheepsfoot, a clip, and a spey. A blade for general purpose, food, and skinning. That's what I use them for anyway. I love the Stockman pattern. It just feels right, and I usually don't carry more than one slip joint at a time, i don't know why. I carried a Case Sodbuster once for a month or so. Don't get me wrong, it was a workhorse of a knife, but having only one blade for everything left me feeling a little unprepared...
 
Both.

I generally carry a Leatherman Micra in my LFP. This covers not only the second blade issue but also gives me a whole bunch of super useful EDC options like scissors, tiny screw drivers and a cap lifter all in a tiny package.

In my RFP I prefer a locking single blade knife with a 3" blade. The Buck Ecolite 112 or Opinel #8 are common choices for me.

I really can't give up the blade on locking knives. Strongly prefer them to slippies.
 
I like both.
For a working knife, I prefer a larger single-blade. That's why my Queen 3L is always either on my hip or in my back pocket.
For a personal EDC pocket knife, I'll go with something that has a few/couple blades, like a barlow, trapper, or stockman. This will handle most everything, saving the locking single blade for tough stuff & big/dirty jobs.
 
I carry single blades, lockbacks, muti-blades and fixed blades according to the intended usage, weather, time of day or clothing being worn. This allows me the luxury of having a number of knives which get rotated through the daily carry process.

By way of explanation: When I take my dog for a late night walk and it's pitch black outside without a headlamp, I generally carry a single blade, often something I can "pinch" open so I don't need to be fumbling around if I need to employ the knife. If it's cold as well, it might be a traditional style neck knife.

When it's cold outside (daylight hours) and my fingers might be numb or suffer from poor purchase on the blades or nick, I like a (larger rather than smaller) lockback that opens (and closes) easily and provides a secure platform for usage. Again, a fixed blade might also be employed but not generally during daylight hours for me personally. Just my preference.

When I'm doing chores throughout the day (around home, property or in town) I prefer a knife like a stockman or wharncliffe trapper or whittler which is suitable for virtually any reasonable task.

I don't think I will say what I'd choose if I could only have one as I never intend to allow it to come to that. ;)
 
I'm almost always carrying multiple knives, so having one, two or three blades on any given knife isn't so important to me.

Part of my choice in what to carry any given day is that I have at least one blade with some belly and one straight blade (Wharncliffe or Sheepsfoot).

I do have a single blade knife, with a modified Wharncliffe, that I'll carry by itself on occasion. I'll also carry a small Wharncliffe Trapper occasionally, with no other knife.

If you stuff your pockets and belt full of knives you don't need to be very choosy! :D
 
I have been trying out the two bladed jack. Main clip and smaller secondary pen. I only carry one knife. So its usually a good test for my personal uses.

Kevin
 
I just wanted to give this thread a bit of a bump

from the looks of things, with one or two exceptions (Fausto and Humppa) I think the majority of us are Americans/Canadians. And it seems us new worlders are pretty prejudiced towards multi-blades.

Yet from what i have (cant verify scientifically or anything) that most old worlder's seem to prefer single blade knives. I wonder why that is. I wonder what about north american culture or circumstances provoked an increase in the usage of multi-blade knives.

Also, I want to call Carl out a little. I see that earlier you posted your were a two-blader, but didnt you say when you did your cross country trip on a bike you used a case sodbuster? I was curious if something in particular happened to change your mind? Did the sodbuster fall short in some way?

sorry, was a little bored and been thinking a little too much today :D
 
I said in my first reply to this question that I only had a couple single blade traditional knives. I have since sold them, so the only single blades I have remaining are two modern one hand openers, one of which never gets used, the other is clipped to a pocket of my jersey when I am on the bicycle.

So, I am still solidly in the multi-blade camp, even more so (by number of knives owned and used) since I first replied. Sorry Ryan, I don't have an answer to your new/old world question.
 
my current favorites are an opinel, a svord peasant knife and an imacasa machete. so currently its single blades. lol
though i also have some multi-blade trapper or swiss army knives and absolutely see the utility in having a 'scraper' and a 'cutter' blade on the same knife. its just that i think the svord and opinel are so freaking cool. lol
 
The traditional knife in my pocket will have at least 2 blades: one curved and one straight.
 
Rsmith_77 said:
Also, I want to call Carl out a little. I see that earlier you posted your were a two-blader, but didnt you say when you did your cross country trip on a bike you used a case sodbuster? I was curious if something in particular happened to change your mind? Did the sodbuster fall short in some way?
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The sodbuster was an okay knife, and I liked it. But there was a time or two, opening a plastic package, or trimming a small item, that I wished for a smaller slimmer blade like a pen blade for more up close control in fine cuts. The sodbuster blade was a little too wide on some kinds of cutting.

Carl.
 
hehe, so is that a criticism of the soddie blade shape? or the single bladedness of the knife in general?
would carrying an opinel made the trip easier?

knowing then what you know now, would you take the peanut instead?
 
I like single blades from an aesthetic standpoint only.

You just can't beat the utility provided by multiple blades, though. My only beef is getting more than one of the 'same' blade. I find the clip/spey/sheepsfoot stockman combo to be the best combination of versatility without repetition.

Just my two cents.
 
Yes, most traditional knives in Europe are single bladed. They are, somehow, older (and more "basic") versions of the pocket knife. And they do their job: they cut. That's why old worker knives (not just in Europe, but all across the world) are usually single bladed (and, to extend the topic a little bit, the greater part of older knives were fixed blade too, for the ease of construction and toughness).
Thanks to this subforum, I've opened my mind a bit, and now I can say I do appreciate two bladed knives, if the two blades are different enough (in shape, size, and so on) to work better on different tasks. Three blades are just too much for me; one always seems to get in the way.
Curiously, the world of modern folders is almost exclusively made by single bladed knives.
Apparently, American multibladed traditionals come from an English seed which bloomed across the ocean. Why did this happen, I don't know.
As for taste...in the end, even if we refuse to admit it, our "knife roots" have great influence on taste. For example, on a purely aesthetical point of view, no multibladed knife will ever compare to a beautiful single blade (to my eyes). For the same reason, I believe that, to many American traditionalists, many single bladed knives look "poor" and overly simple.
Happily, we all have the opportunity to choose :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
I tend to prefer 2 blade knives, but also carry single blade knives frequently and prefer a single blade in some patterns, notably sowbelly and trappers. I find I use one blade of a multiblade knife 95% of the time, but it is nice to have the backup. I like the concept of the stockman pattern. I've owned quite a few of them, but generally prefer the Case Texas jack pattern to a stockman.

Just rambling, I know....

Ed J
 
For normal EDC I like having 2 blades. I used to carry 2 single blade knives but now just carry a multi bladed knife. However, if I have a specific task in mind, I still use single bladed knives (like a #73).
 
Carl, did you ride cross country? When? I did Seattle to Boston in 86.

Rsmith, IMO bike touring is like car camping crossed with ultra light backpacking. If I were to tour again, I would take an Opinel as it is the most knife for the least weight. I used a knife all the time bike touring for food. It's hard to describe how important food becomes as you start consuming 5000 calories a day. The Opinel 8 is about as small as I want to go when scraping the bottom of a peanut butter jar or cutting a big hunk of cheese.

I had no use for a multi-tool or SAK for bike touring (I think Grant Peterson is wrong onthis, he likes SAKs). The tool kit for the bike should cover all tools and seperate small tools tend to be lighter. Tiny vice grips give you a clamp and needle nose in one. A small army style can opener stays in the cook kit with the stove. Actually, I do see the appeal of the SAK trekker line but will deny ever saying that. More to the point, I don't see the appeal of a heavier multi blade slip joint for bike touring unless... It's what makes somebody happy. That's the point that unifies bike touring and knife collecting. Be happy.
 
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