slip joints just dont do it for me....

[Harayasu]

At the age of 10 my parents gave me a Swiss army knife, a Victorinox Huntsman if I am correct. I lost it, but still have the Friedrich Herder that my mother gave me when I got 15. My grandfather had the same knife and my father still carries his one. My Friedrich Herder doesn't see a lot of use these days, but I still own it after 19 years. Keep the knives your mother gave you, as they're more than just knives.

So I grew up with slipjoints and I still love them, but appreciate modern locking folding knives too. I don't want to limit myself to a certain category of knives. I buy and carry what I like and I learned that this varies from time to time. One week I carry my Spyderco Delica and the other week my EKA Swede 88 or Opinel #7. And there's always a SAK in my pocket.

 

[mnblade]

I just can't think of anything a "traditional" knife does that a "modern" one doesn't. I've rarely seen a slippie that was sharper than my flat ground spydie, nor can I think of a single thing that a slippie does that my spyderco doesn't.

I've found that a good sharp, thin-bladed traditional folder will out-cut a modern, thick-bladed one-hander. Breaking down a cardboard box with a Case (even with my lowly CV peanut) or Opinel or SAK is a breeze. Once I made that discovery, I sold off all my Spydercos. For me, cutting performance and versatility make up for the lost "convenience" of one-hand opening, and I can take or leave locks. And if I have to sharpen a little more often because my knives don't have the latest wonder steel, so be it.*



* With that said, I still do respect Sal and the Spyderco team. And whenever anyone is looking for that sort of knife, I steer them in the direction of Spyderco.