Single Blade or Multiblade Knife

Hmmm, intersting. I was carrying the two blade jack then and now I'm back to my single blade 85.

I like both :-p
 
pinnah said:
Carl, did you ride cross country? When? I did Seattle to Boston in 86.
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Yeah, in 2000 I did a Maryland to Bay City Oregon trip. But I wan't burning 5,000 calories a day. I had 1200 cc's of V-twin under me doing the real work. Never would have made it over the Rockies without it!:D

I used a Case sodbuster for the trip, but if I were doing it again, I'd have had a two blade jack of some sort in my pocket. Barlow, Texas jack, peanut, mini copperhead. Traveling by motorcycle, I really didn't have much need of much knife. Like backpacking, I had everything I needed with me. Small nylon tent, sleeping bag, tarp, stove. The most thing I used my knife for was food use. slicing open a sourdough roll to make a sandwich, cutting up a steak, bell pepper, and an onion to make a kabob over a camp fire. Any pocket knife with a couple inches of blade would have done just as well as another.

But with the sodbuster, I missed having a second small blade, or any other blade for that matter, available. Looking back in retrospect, I'd have been well of to just drop my old Buck 301 stockman in my pocket the morning I left. I've just spent too much of my life carrying mullet blade pocket knives to go single. My boy scout knife at age 12, Buck stockman for 25 years, Buck cadet for several years, Case peanut in my downsized days the past few years. I fear Ive become a creature of habit.

Carl.
 
well thanks for your responses Carl,

i certainly wont fault you for being a creature of habit
nor will i fault your reasoning, I would agree completely

I just cant shake the nebulous feeling that we are over-reliant on certain conveniences (ie multi-blades)
i am having difficulty putting words into I am thinking. It seems like for the vast majority of time over large portions of the world that a single blade knife was enough for everyday chores. Perhaps its the simplicity, perhaps its the specialization, almost a purity of purpose.

i dunno, maybe i am rambling
 
Rsmith, I find that in nearly all cases my emotional commitment to a piece of gear happens prior to any technical or rational argument. Other times, functionality beats my heart into submission. I'm emotionally predisposed to Bucks but Opinels have won me over.

I think the multi blade vs single blade divide is an emotional one, primarily. The first plays off our "be prepared" tendancy that leads us to pack the Conestoga wagon full. The other appeals to our "perfection is attained when there is nothing left to remove" minimalism. It's the cowboy with a minimal bed roll.

Can't defend either approach over the other. I know my pref. but in the , it's whatever makes one happy
 
pinnah said:
The other appeals to our "perfection is attained when there is nothing left to remove" minimalism. It's the cowboy with a minimal bed roll.
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man, thats almost perfect
thank you for providing the image i had failed to convey!
 
Multi bladed traditional knives for me. I carry a larger modern folder along side a small traditional and I happen to really like the added utility and options that come with having multiple blade shapes available. The single bladed, locking, heavier use knife role goes to the modern knives for me so my traditionals are almost always multi bladed knives.
 
the one advantage of a single to me is handle feel when opened. you won't appreciate the handle form that well with multi-blades. aside from jacks, i like single-blade toothpicks.
 
Both

I carry a slim longer single blade as a food knife for picnics and the like
I use a toothpick as my bread knife

Otherwise stockmans, whittlers, muskrats, ect. for daily use
And if I carry a SAK it will have two blades

But I carry small Scandi 2" - 3 " sheath knives for heavier work, big handles small blades

That said I have some bigger S&M Cotton Samplers and F&W single blades that I really like using
 
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I am quite fond of the one large and one small blade, the case texas jack is a good example of a slim knife were the blades complement eachother for a good edc knife. The small blade is usefull for opening packages etc when I want more controll and the large for food prep and other "larger" tasks.
 
Multi blade I carry a Cas large Stock man and a SAK Tinker. I like the utility of have multiple blades.
 
For E.D.C. it is normally a single bladed knife that gets the most use, but the awl on my Vic. Pioneer is a very, very, versatile tool that I use constantly.

But yes, a single blade will surfice, if that is all that is available.

(Beware the one-gun man and all that lol, lol.)
 
I have way more multi blades, but I seldom carry one. I prefer a small or medium single bladed traditional in my left pocket, and a modern knife with clip on my right pocket.
 
If I was going traditional, I'd personally like a large clip/spear point w/ swedge, a wharnie, and pen knife. Love the multi-blades! :D
 
My preferred carry is a Spyderco in my right back pocket and a small to medium stockman in my left front pocket...Sometimes a sheathknife on my belt replaces the Spyderco..CD
 
Both, one or the other as the mood or need strikes. I would only carry one always if I could have my perfect knife in a nice clip and warcliff. 300Bucks
 
It depends what im going to be doing:
for most tasks i like jacks, clip for most stuff and the pen for stuff i don't want to destroy
i very rarely use a knife with more than two blades because there is only two i ever use
 
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