The 'One Knife You Never Use' Concept?

W

Wayne P.

Joined
Jan 8, 2005
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12
Do you believe in the one purpose knife you keep on you but never use, only to be used as a last resort knife?
 
No. My experience has shown me that the knife you use most is the one you will grab, and knives you don't will be forgotten. I've tried several times to carry a single purpose knife, but its just never come into play when I've come into a situation that could have used it.

That being said, I do carry a "spare" knife in my EDC bag, right now its a Vic explorer, but that's more of an insurance policy against my own poor organizational skills than anything else. But that explorer was picked because its a very handy tool that will compliment whatever knife I do have in my pockets. And so it does get used.
 
The one-purpose knife I never use doesn't become a last resort knife... it becomes somebody else's knife right quick.
 
I don't carry a bag, so the real estate available to carry extra stuff is pretty limited. Unless you count the paring knife in my lunch box for work, I don't carry a knife specifically for food, or specifically for breaking down boxes, or specifically x, y, or z. I carry what I'm likely to need during the day, which at work is pretty short, and maybe a little longer, and more substantial, when I'm not dressed in business casual.
 
Sorry, but that concept is completely foreign to me. I've never heard of it before.
 
I'M currently carrying a bulldog baby saddlehorn that I don't use often , so it stays clean in case I need to cut food .
 
No, I've heard of it, but I don't carry knives for SD and, in the unfortunate situation I had to use one, I want it to be the one I'm absolutely the most familiar with. Any kind of stressful activity I want a handle that feels like shaking hands with an old friend, one that I've taken out of my pocket and opened a thousand times and one that I know I can trust because it's earned the trust.

I don't let my knives get truly dull and I'll take familiarity over a razor sharp edge any day.
 
EDC spyderco Resilience for utility, EDC spyderco Civilian for just in case.... both in right front pocket, Resilience is worn behind the Civilian in the pocket.
 
This.^
Some knives are for utility and some are for jinto. A Samurai would not use his katana to clear brush.
rolf
 
Wasn't this philosophy the one behind the lapel dagger, and other covert blades used during world war two?
 
Not really, although I do have a Civilian that isn't EDC friendly that I carry on occasion but I have another knife with it like a SAK. If the cutting task demanded, I would use the civilian if need be, and not just as a last resort SD knife. The only knives I carry but never use are in the various go bags I have.
 
Maybe he means like in the movies when they have a fight scene and runs out of bullets and first knife gets knocked out of his hands so he reaches for his boot and has a knife to throw or something like that type of scenario. But I have my regular knife and a SAK classic on my keychain and use them both.
 
When I use a quality knife it always as a last resort, having exhausted all other possibilities. I know of no other kind of knives.

What I understand by "quality knife" is something that is actually fairly rare: It has to be large, fixed blade and yet thin edged: No more than 0.020"-0.030", hold up well at 12 degrees per side, and be tested hard at least once, to see if the base/apex is not burned out by power tools (which shows up quickly at this thinness).

This may come as a shock to people, who routinely post perfectly pristine knives and claim to use them heavily, but using knives is essentially the same as destroying them as emergency items... Hollow grinds put on an appearance of durability because the sides of the edge are parallel for some height (I call this "the reserve"), so that they actually don't lose much potential sharpness for quite a while. This makes hollow grinds inherently superior in long-term durability...

Flat ground knives lose potential sharpness the very moment they are used: Because of this, I was bummed out to find out they combine better with round Hollow Handles, because this negative feature makes them much more stable when chopping wood: No sideways rolling...

I will only use quality knives that I don't like for one reason or another, And I tend not to keep knives I don't like... I only ever use the very bottom of my collection: It is a tricky thing, because good knives being rare, it is rare to find a good one I don't like, but still think is good enough to carry or use... I learned some time ago I will only ever use the worst knife I own, so I make sure the worst is still very good, and I routinely throw away worse knives that I know I would be tempted to use.

I test knives hard for functionality, and those that did the best are re-sharpened one last time and absolutely will never be used again, even in an End of the World scenario: End of the World is the next rung down...

Gaston
 
I know people talk about this but I just think there are so many great knives that can serve all the roles you would need that there is really no point in carrying two. I know some guys do it and that's fine, and I do break my own rule from time to time if I'm carrying something really high end that I don't want to scratch or break. This is rare as I don't have many knives that I baby but if I'm honest there are two or three.
 
Yes,^... an all purpose knife and that's the CQC7, for me. The chisel ground, partially serrated blade makes this folder the perfect all purpose EDC.
rolf
 
Wayne P. said:
Do you believe in the one purpose knife you keep on you but never use, only to be used as a last resort knife?
Click to expand...

No I don't believe in the concept. I usually carry a SAK and often a second knife. My habit is to grab the SAK as first choice for cutting something and as a result the second knife sees little use. But I don't set it up that way just to not use it often.

However, if I carried a knife such as a dagger, it would not be used for general cutting and it would probably fit your classification. But I generally do not carry a knife for self defense.
 
No. I don't treat any of my gear like this. In a stressful situation you're going to reach for what you're used to. You're not going to remember the knife you stashed some where.
 
Gaston444 said:
When I use a quality knife it always as a last resort, having exhausted all other possibilities. I know of no other kind of knives.

What I understand by "quality knife" is something that is actually fairly rare: It has to be large, fixed blade and yet thin edged: No more than 0.020"-0.030", hold up well at 12 degrees per side, and be tested hard at least once, to see if the base/apex is not burned out by power tools (which shows up quickly at this thinness).

This may come as a shock to people, who routinely post perfectly pristine knives and claim to use them heavily, but using knives is essentially the same as destroying them as emergency items... Hollow grinds put on an appearance of durability because the sides of the edge are parallel for some height (I call this "the reserve"), so that they actually don't lose much potential sharpness for quite a while. This makes hollow grinds inherently superior in long-term durability...

Flat ground knives lose potential sharpness the very moment they are used: Because of this, I was bummed out to find out they combine better with round Hollow Handles, because this negative feature makes them much more stable when chopping wood: No sideways rolling...

I will only use quality knives that I don't like for one reason or another, And I tend not to keep knives I don't like... I only ever use the very bottom of my collection: It is a tricky thing, because good knives being rare, it is rare to find a good one I don't like, but still think is good enough to carry or use... I learned some time ago I will only ever use the worst knife I own, so I make sure the worst is still very good, and I routinely throw away worse knives that I know I would be tempted to use.

I test knives hard for functionality, and those that did the best are re-sharpened one last time and absolutely will never be used again, even in an End of the World scenario: End of the World is the next rung down...

Gaston
Click to expand...

So was that a yes or no?
 
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