The paradox of choice

J

Jessero

Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
168
They say that having too many choices can be more psychologically "painful" than having none or very few choices. The more knives ive acquired the more i find this to be true.

Do i want to carry a standard Victorinox, like the Tinker or Hiker? Nice size and weight, not scary looking, nice sharp blades...
Oh but it doesnt lock! How about one of your locking victorinoxes? Oh but the blade is shorter than the standard one, and the handle looks funny!
How about the alox farmer then, with its nice stout blade and good looks? But the blade doesnt lock!
Then how about one of your "tactical" knives, like your spyderco delica or endura? Oh but there are no extra tools! You know how handy a screwdriver can be!
Well then how about your leatherman wave? Its got everything under the sun! Oh but it weighs half a pound and makes your pocket look funny!
How about your skeletool then? Yeah but its not good looking! Plus if youre going to carry a 5 ounce knife, then how about your lovely Buck 112 or 110? But theyre not one handed opening!
Then how about your one hand trekker? Oh but its bulky, and the blade has that stupid rounded tip that cant even pierce a hot dog package.
How about carrying two knives then? How about your Delica and maybe your Vic Cadet, Classic or Leatherman Squirt? But then i wont have a wood saw that i never need to use as a network tech in an office...plus my wife will call me "rambo" when she sees im carrying 2 knives that day...

What a good problem to have?
 
How about "if" she sees you carrying 2 knives? And even then she usually just rolls her eyes a bit, because she chose me for better or for worse and that includes my eccentricities. Love is awesome. I think 2 knives is a good number, but for some members here that's just a good start. You just have to decide how far down the spectrum you want to be. E Plurubus Cutsem
 
How about you just carry a Victorinox tinker for a while.

I doubt you'll have any issues with the non locking blade, I know I never do.
 
BitingSarcasm said:
How about "if" she sees you carrying 2 knives? And even then she usually just rolls her eyes a bit, because she chose me for better or for worse and that includes my eccentricities. Love is awesome. I think 2 knives is a good number, but for some members here that's just a good start. You just have to decide how far down the spectrum you want to be. E Plurubus Cutsem
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Totally, she loves me either way, and is happy that i have them when she needs something cut. Plus she carries the pink rat 1 and vic classic that i gifted her in her purse, so she cant talk :) It really is just an eyeroll or snide remark.
 
Hickory n steel said:
How about you just carry a Victorinox tinker for a while.

I doubt you'll have any issues with the non locking blade, I know I never do.
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Yeah definitely would get by just fine with the tinker. And i do end up carrying the hiker probably more than any others in the collection...
 
I carry a Tinker all the time, but since I use a cane I also pocket carry a 2.75-3 inch blade OHO.

Rich
 
Jessero said:
Yeah definitely would get by just fine with the tinker. And i do end up carrying the hiker probably more than any others in the collection...
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It's good to have options, whether carrying just one that's basically an EDC do it all, or a combo of a few things every once in a while. It's the option to have options :D
I sometimes feel a bit weird about having more than one primary capable blade on me because I don't always need both, but I alternate cutting tasks between both blades so neither are dead weight.
There's nothing wrong with pairing a larger locking folder or a fixed blade with a smaller pocket friendly slipjont.
I can't really carry just my buck 110 ,482, or one of my fixed blades, so I pair them with a smaller pocket friendly companion. sometimes it's freeing to carry just my Vic tinker or recruit and my Leatherman ( don't use the blade ) that's always on my belt, or this week's peanut / Vic classic combo and Leatherman on my belt.

It's not weird to carry an EDC combo, and I wouldn't get hung up on you're wife jokingly Calling you Rambo.
when I used to often have a 5 piece edc combo my family would joke about how I was a one man army and the one to turn to during an emergency.
I've gone more traditional in the past year and a half and have scaled back, but I still recognize the virtues of a capable combo.
 
Jessero said:
They say that having too many choices can be more psychologically "painful" than having none or very few choices. The more knives ive acquired the more i find this to be true.

Do i want to carry a standard Victorinox, like the Tinker or Hiker? Nice size and weight, not scary looking, nice sharp blades...
Oh but it doesnt lock! How about one of your locking victorinoxes? Oh but the blade is shorter than the standard one, and the handle looks funny!
How about the alox farmer then, with its nice stout blade and good looks? But the blade doesnt lock!
Then how about one of your "tactical" knives, like your spyderco delica or endura? Oh but there are no extra tools! You know how handy a screwdriver can be!
Well then how about your leatherman wave? Its got everything under the sun! Oh but it weighs half a pound and makes your pocket look funny!
How about your skeletool then? Yeah but its not good looking! Plus if youre going to carry a 5 ounce knife, then how about your lovely Buck 112 or 110? But theyre not one handed opening!
Then how about your one hand trekker? Oh but its bulky, and the blade has that stupid rounded tip that cant even pierce a hot dog package.
How about carrying two knives then? How about your Delica and maybe your Vic Cadet, Classic or Leatherman Squirt? But then i wont have a wood saw that i never need to use as a network tech in an office...plus my wife will call me "rambo" when she sees im carrying 2 knives that day...

What a good problem to have?
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But is it really the paradox of choice? Or is it actually the illusion of choice?:cool:
 
danbot said:
But is it really the paradox of choice? Or is it actually the illusion of choice?:cool:
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Existentialists will be beaten with Schrodinger's cat. Because this is bladeforums, there will be a sheathe tied to the cat, and there may or may not be a knife it it.
 
I carry one modern, often a small fixed blade (CPK EDC) and a small traditional upright alongside my wallet, which is often a GEC 14 or a Lionsteel Euro-Barlow.

Those two can accomplish just about anything I would encounter in a Very hard day. If the knife in my pocket is what hinders my progress, then the day has gone so awry that my knife is the least of my worries.

That being said, the slip joint gets 60% if the cuts for the average day.
2017-08-20 22.33.36.jpg 20170720_210643.jpg
 
I've eliminated the unnecessary decision for my self. Going to work, Benchmade Griptilian it is. Off work, Benchmade Bugout is in the pocket. Going to the beach or kayaking, the Spyderco Pacific Salt tags along. Simple.
 
I got nicely stuck on carrying a blurple Para 2 there for a couple of months. That is pretty much unheard of for me to carry one main knife for so long.
Then I yanked myself out of the habit when I got my 940-1 carried that one for a couple weeks but now I am floatin' free again . . .

I have lots of EDCs (ha, ha, only one safe queen ((someday I should buy a safe for it))) . . . anyway I know you'll hate me but I just never seem to have a problem choosing. I scan over a drawer full and pick one or two.
WHAMMO DONE !

Carry only two
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? . . . wellll . . . if you want to be minimalist . . . I'm usually heading out to work so generally only two won't do (there are the special purpose EDCs . . . and then there's the SAK with the light in it . . . tiny Mini Champ ALLWAYS with me.

Joni Mitchell's lyric "The kind of crazy you get from too much choice".
Doesn't seem to apply to my knives . . . I don't have a whole lot of choice with the rest of my life so . . . I guess I'm all set.
 
Jessero said:
That Lionsteel is beautiful!
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Thank you.
20170812_113914.jpg
It started as a Rams Horn with Ti bolsters (pictured above), but I wanted something that was more inert and didn't mind working for a living. So I made some Black canvas micarta slabs with red liners.
20170819_212223.jpg

I also have some stabilized woods, natural canvas micarta, natural burlap micarta in stock as well as some colored burlap inbound.
Liner material on hand is red, blue, green, and yellow.

Once I get some time, I will have plenty of scales and liners to choose from.

Do you have a Euro-Barlow?
 
NJBillK said:
Thank you.

Do you have a Euro-Barlow?
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No, other than a few Buck slipjoints, not too big into traditionals. That one though is just such a slick, streamlined looking knife i had to comment. Minimalist and beautiful. You did a great job with the scales!
 
Jessero said:
No, other than a few Buck slipjoints, not too big into traditionals. That one though is just such a slick, streamlined looking knife i had to comment. Minimalist and beautiful. You did a great job with the scales!
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Well, Thank you again. It is greatly appreciated.

If you are into upgraded steels, and the idea of a slipjoint that will not foul in bad weather, give the Euro-Barlow a look. Lionsteel is also releasing a clip point version called the Rambler around January.

M390, Ti liners, 410 stainless spring and screws and it runs on washers with an adjustable pivot. So as it wears and breaks in, you can tighten it up a little and get that new feeling back.

I carry mine daily at work and 25 of 30 days a month out of work, and it is a Fantastic knife. Takes a Great edge, holds a working edge for awhile, and isn't that hard to touch up. I have even done so on the top of my car window one day when I forgot my DMT Diafold at home.
 
I used to get hung up on the choice of what to carry on any given day, even getting a little stressed out when I felt like I wasn't carrying one or the other "enough" and somehow felt like I was neglecting them - which is just pure madness, probably strongly related to my general anxiety disorder.

These days, I just don't worry about it. Any given knife that I own is probably going to do anything I need it to do. The only real consideration is the weather - if it's super humid or rainy, my default choices instantly become either my N690 Spyderco Pingo or Roadie - whichever is closest to me when I make that decision.
 
I can pack a bag for a month long trip in five minutes, but I'll spend half an hour in the morning picking my knives and tools for the day.

Because I wear two or three very different outfits on any given day (I can't show up in a suit to teach a wrestling class or in sweatpants to court), I also tend to switch knives during they day.

On very busy weeks I realise which of my knives and tools are really handy and versatile because I stick to the same ones for longer periods.

Truth be told, since I always have a large multitool and a fixed blade in my backpack/briefcase I could make do with carrying pretty much any decent pocket knife.
 
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