The 'One Knife You Never Use' Concept?

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
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Que??
Didn't get much sense out of that.
 
craytab said:
So was that a yes or no?
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Yes, but not always was what I took away from that... ;):thumbup:


I'm a two knife a day kinda guy; doesn't matter what really but it's usually two knives - one fixed, one folder.

As for philosophy of use I'll leave that up to the keyboard commandos...

Nothing should be carried that is untested/unused IMHO; especially from a training and muscle memory perspective.
 
Czechmate said:
Yes, but not always was what I took away from that... ;):thumbup:


I'm a two knife a day kinda guy; doesn't matter what really but it's usually two knives - one fixed, one folder.

As for philosophy of use I'll leave that up to the keyboard commandos...

Nothing should be carried that is untested/unused IMHO; especially from a training and muscle memory perspective.
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Kind of like a sort-a?

I'm at least a 2 knife a day person as long as it legal where I am going. I always have my Juice CS4 on my belt. I could probably get by with all my EDC knife tasks with just the CS4 but what would be the fun in that. I also at least have a modern one hand operable knife. Most of the time I will have a small to medium fixed as well. Now, if the modern folder is big, scarry, and not EDC task friendly (think civilian) I will take another smaller knife, usually a SAK or my one GEC. I don't consider any of these knives as a primary SD option. That is what the glock is for :thumbup:
 
I tend to carry a really nice (IMO) knife for me to use e.g. Kizer Gemini and a beater e.g. Kershaw Chill for the "can I borrow your knife" folks. ;) I don't know about carrying a knife I don't want to use, :confused:
 
katanas said:
I tend to carry a really nice (IMO) knife for me to use e.g. Kizer Gemini and a beater e.g. Kershaw Chill for the "can I borrow your knife" folks. ;) I don't know about carrying a knife I don't want to use, :confused:
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I believe there was a thread here on BFC once about the acronym "EDC"; every-day-carry versus other acronyms in relation to whether they were user knives or pocket jewelry/safe queens...

Here it is for your interest LOL:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1207084-New-Terminology-Regular-Carry-Rotation


The OP's knife qualifies for my NeveryDayCarry or NDC acronym, page 2 in the thread. ;):thumbup:
 
Ahhh, but the OP wants to know about "carrying" your NDC. :eek: Also, thanks for the link, now I'm totally :confused:. :D
 
If it would never be used, that means it's useless.
If it's useless, that means that there is no reason to need it.
If there's no reason for needing it, that means there's no reason to have it.
If there's no reason for having it, that means there no reason to buy it.
If there's no reason for buying it, that means there's no reason to waste money on it.
If there's no reason for wasting money on it, that means there's no reason it should ever appear even as a purchase consideration.
If there's no reason for it to ever appear as a purchase consideration, there's no chance in hell that it will ever end up in my possession.
 
katanas said:
Ahhh, but the OP wants to know about "carrying" your NDC. :eek: Also, thanks for the link, now I'm totally :confused:. :D
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Clear as mud; right?... :D:thumbup:;):rolleyes:


Using a useless knife would convert it to being useful wouldn't it? :confused::(


Maybe the OP is referencing a video game like a first-person shooter where your character has a knife but really, it's the worst option so you never use it as you have a plethora of other tools at your disposal at the click of a button?...

Now I'm confused. :confused:;):foot::rolleyes:
 
No. I prefer to minimize the amount of stuff I carry around, so I typically carry one small, versatile, folder. I don't rely on my knives for self-defense.
 
katanas said:
Thank you Etna and Czechmate, you have really cleared this whole thing up. :confused: :rolleyes: ;)
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;):thumbup:
 
Short answer Wayne... No, if I own it and carry it I use it, this includes custom and expensive production knives. Why carry something you have no intention of using unless the perfect scenario arises? Odds are there will never be a perfect scenario.
 
craytab said:
So was that a yes or no?
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I believe his answer was "banana."

Myself, I do not carry a knife to not get used except for things that (almost) never happen.
If the thing that almost never happens ends up happening, and your knife is bit dull, simply cut harder. ;)
 
I always carry a non-user knife with protection purpose. That big blade, whichever it might be, remains untouched during the whole day. I cut what I need to cut with my SAK/Multitool, my neck knife or my modern folder (usually a 3-4 inch lockback/linerlock, depending on the task and the people around me or the context I'm in.

IMG_20160404_155820_187_zpsidh1y37y.jpg


Has been like this since I started carrying modern folders years ago, and worked fine.

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No reason to dull, damage or use a giant, scary, purpose-driven knife unless there is no other option. But I am sure there always is.

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That knife is the one that has to be always immediately available, and always razor sharp.

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YMMV, of course!
 
stabman said:
I believe his answer was "banana."

Myself, I do not carry a knife to not get used except for things that (almost) never happen.
If the thing that almost never happens ends up happening, and your knife is bit dull, simply cut harder. ;)
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Excellent logic right there... :applouse::applouse::applouse:
 
To OP Yes & No!

For many years I carried dedicated unused razor sharp at all times "Emergency/Rescue" life saving knife ex: cut seat belts, rescue entangled rope/plastic/net babies/animals, etc where every second counts and razor sharp edge makes all the difference in life or death situation.

I carried 2 identical model knives, Left pocket one used for all utility tasks, right pocket one never used, unless it's an emergency.
This way I'm familiar and used to handling both knives, since they are identical!
These were cheap steel knives that required frequent sharpening, at that time done by freehand or using Lansky system.
It was time and energy consuming all day projects and I tried to avoid it as much as possible!

Since this summer, I bought Ken Onion Work Sharp power sharpener, now I can easily in 5-10 minutes re-sharpen/hone blade back to razor edge.
Plus I have in last few years upgraded my EDC/U's to more expensive knives with better quality longer lasting steels, they don't require frequent sharpening.
So, now I use all my knives at all times without any reservations.
 
I keep a "last resort knife" in my wallet, though my intended use for it is strictly utilitarian in the event that I need to cut something but have no other knives.
 
Well I always have an Emerson on me, usually a Super Commander or Etak- A. I also have a belt sheath in which I carry a Unumzaan or Sebenza.
 
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