Things I'm re-learning from my Traditionals

[richstag]

Yes, the 1095 or O1 would definitely get used a lot. Keep it like a scalpel for the daily stuff. Keep the supersteel like a scalpel too but the difference is it dulls on abrasive but stays up enough to keep going and going and going. A stockman with all 1095 would be good too but some of this stuff literally eats up blades. It was tearing up my traditionals and the lifespan was going to be way too short for such beautiful knives

 

[kamagong]

Carry one of each Kevin. If the clothes I'm wearing for the day allow it, I'll carry a modern folder in my right front pocket and a slipjoint in the left. That's my preference to be honest. Like you I appreciate all sorts of knives.

- Christian

 

[Rsmith_77]

Carry one of each Kevin. If the clothes I'm wearing for the day allow it, I'll carry a modern folder in my right front pocket and a slipjoint in the left. That's my preference to be honest. Like you I appreciate all sorts of knives.

- Christian

there is always this option. but to me its too simple
lacks a certain, flair

kidding of course, more first world problems

 

[richstag]

Yeah, some days I do!

I pretty much hate having to wear dress pants. I was so used to working in jeans. If I carry both they go in the right pocket. The gunstock falls to the bottom and the modern clips on. I miss having a watch pocket and side pockets of jeans.

Carry one of each Kevin. If the clothes I'm wearing for the day allow it, I'll carry a modern folder in my right front pocket and a slipjoint in the left. That's my preference to be honest. Like you I appreciate all sorts of knives.

- Christian

 

[davek14]

well, you could pick a 2 blade style (thinking moose or muskrat, something like that) 1095 for one blade, supersteel for the other blade. use as needed
just a thought *shrugs*

If you know where I can find such a thing in a non-custom tell me.

My grail would be a Barlow with a decent 1095 main blade and a secondary harder than woodpecker lips. It could even be 1095, just heat treated to 62rc or so.

I find more uses at work for a little razor but also would like a secondary blade for scraping and even de-burring metal.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

If you know where I can find such a thing in a non-custom tell me.

My grail would be a Barlow with a decent 1095 main blade and a secondary harder than woodpecker lips. It could even be 1095, just heat treated to 62rc or so.

I find more uses at work for a little razor but also would like a secondary blade for scraping and even de-burring metal.

Ya always gotta be careful when using different steel types , different expansion and contraction rates, possibility for galvanic reaction, galling issues, these all add longevity/premature wear issues to an already complicated concept, (fixed blade no real moving parts/folder with an unlimited possibility for the# of parts and the complexity in which they interact.

It's been done but there's a reason you don't find them around, they're more expensive to make than the same knife with the same steel, you have different finish, fit and wear issues than with a normal knife.

Why not use a blade trader like Case has and Kershaw had or is it the convenience of having a choice in one traditional style folder? One package holds it all kinda deal.

I remember I used to have a Browning folding 3 blade Hunter, it had a clip point with a lotta belly, a blunt tipped gutting blade and a saw, IIRC the two cutting blade were as and the saw blade was hcs, I remember getting rid of it to this engineer because the stainless blades were getting pits in them even though the knife was cleaned well before being put away. Some while after I had bought it I was talking with an engineer at work while having a cigarette outside of the break room he mentioned how he always has to be aware of the materials he uses in the equipment he sends into the clean rooms because of contaminants created by wear, out gassing and reactions on the atomic level.

By the time he was done talking I had a headache a basic understanding of how dissimilar metals react to their environment and he had a new knife.

Still, I'd buy a nice 3 blade stockman with a nice 1095 clip blade, a Boye dendritic sheepsfoot and maybe a nice D2 spey blade.

 

[Exeter354]

Excellent post and I couldn't agree with you more. My dad carried more of a traditional folder (wasn't a whole lot of other options back then). I'm sure my grandfather carried one too. There is something soulful about them and they become a part of you over time. My dad has long since passed, but I still have all of his old folders and they carry all the marks of his usage, some sharpened down to a nub. I can't explain it, but they embody the essence of him and who he was. I have plenty of modern folders and I can certainly appreciate the craftsmanship that went into them, but as you said so eloquently - they are just tools and that doesn't change with time and use. The traditionals have soul and character and they become a part of you.

 

[SVTFreak]

My old man carried a buck 301 for years. Until he lost use of one arm. Now he begrudgingly carries a benchmade mini barrage that he can open with his one good hand.

Me, mostly I carry a tradition style (although the most common is g10 scaled), but sometimes I carry one of my sebenzas, or a mini barrage, or a mini presidio, or a Spyderco. Well, sometimes I like a new age knife for a change.

 

[agile_1]

My old man carried a buck 301 for years. Until he lost use of one arm. Now he begrudgingly carries a benchmade mini barrage that he can open with his one good hand.

Me, mostly I carry a tradition style (although the most common is g10 scaled), but sometimes I carry one of my sebenzas, or a mini barrage, or a mini presidio, or a Spyderco. Well, sometimes I like a new age knife for a change.

This is an issue with many - and I know it is for me. For various health reasons opening a folder with a thumb nick is quite impossible without using a tool of some sort. OTOH opening a flipper or a knife with a thumb stud or hole allows me open and use knives at will. I just ordered my first Trapperlock from Case and hoping that the thumbstud will allow one handed opening, or at least allow comfortable two handed opening.

 

[davek14]

Why not use a blade trader like Case has and Kershaw had or is it the convenience of having a choice in one traditional style folder? One package holds it all kinda deal.

I remember I used to have a Browning folding 3 blade Hunter, it had a clip point with a lotta belly, a blunt tipped gutting blade and a saw, IIRC the two cutting blade were as and the saw blade was hcs, I remember getting rid of it to this engineer because the stainless blades were getting pits in them even though the knife was cleaned well before being put away.

Still, I'd buy a nice 3 blade stockman with a nice 1095 clip blade, a Boye dendritic sheepsfoot and maybe a nice D2 spey blade.

Wouldn't want to carry a blade changer (come to think of it, I have the Case version) A knife is about all I have on me at work. I even keep my car keys in my toolbox all day. A knife *is* the original and most versatile tool. I've toyed with the idea of wearing a belt pouch with a few basic tools in it but never have.

Gotta play catch up here. What do you mean by as and hcs? I'm assuming stainless and non-stainless and you were getting galvanic corrosion.

 

[glocktenman]

I pulled several lines from different postings here. We've got some interesting things going on here:

but to me, a traditional just seems more organic, more "real", perhaps, I dare say, even more "alive"?

I feel "incomplete" without it's reassuring presence in my right front pocket.

My traditional old-fashioned folders are brimming with personality and character.

I use my knives as a worry stone.

frequently and subconsciously "checking" on the Precious

History, tradition...soul.

Animism: The belief that inanimate objects are endowed with personal life or a living soul.

the warmth that comes from natural materials, the broken in look of carbon steel and the class that comes from a traditional.

I don't think that our preference for traditional knives has anything to do with rational thought. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

The poetic musings that traditionals inspire speak not to their soul (for they have none) but more to our romantic attachment to the past and the belief, however misplaced, that the good ole days were, by definition, better than the world we live in.

a fully functioning miniature machine that fits in my pocket and endures lifetimes later.

There is something soulful about them and they become a part of you over time.

Well...you get the picture. I've alway felt as some of you have I think; I like all types of knives but my preference is of traditional slip joints for many of the reasons listed above. Even in this thread we write about carrying a modern folder for work or carrying a modern folder and a traditional at the same time and even in the same pocket. I've got the t-shirt! It's so odd to read about other's having the same feelings and uses for knives from all over the US and the world. I feel a little more normal now....

I carry a Spyderco to work everyday....It has the wave option on the blade and allows one hand open, which is very useful to me. If you check my other pocket you'll often find my Nothwoods Indian Jack or "Big Boy" (GEC Roughneck-single blade). I check to see if it's in my pocket several times a day and also hold on to it and I do feel a warmth from the wood and steel. I do have an attachment to them that I don't feel with the Spyderco for some reason. If I lost the Spyderco I'd just look for another and be POed because of the monetary value lost. If I lost one of my trads I'd be down and out and I don't think I wouldn't have the same feeling about a new one......

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[MacTech]

 

[black mamba]

If you know where I can find such a thing in a non-custom tell me.

Dave, some few years ago SMKW had some SFO Case trappers made with CV clip blade and just the spey blade marked, "FOR FLESH ONLY" and made of Tru-Sharp stainless. Not super steel for sure, but two different types at any rate.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

Wouldn't want to carry a blade changer (come to think of it, I have the Case version) A knife is about all I have on me at work. I even keep my car keys in my toolbox all day. A knife *is* the original and most versatile tool. I've toyed with the idea of wearing a belt pouch with a few basic tools in it but never have.

Gotta play catch up here. What do you mean by as and hcs? I'm assuming stainless and non-stainless and you were getting galvanic corrosion.

That was supposed to be SS for stainless steel and HCS for high carbon steel, stupid auto correct spells worse than I do.

 

[davek14]

That was supposed to be SS for stainless steel and HCS for high carbon steel, stupid auto correct spells worse than I do.

Now, I've put a few sets of aluminum slabs on Green River carbon steel blades and never had trouble with galvanic corrosion myself although I have heard about it a lot.

Black Mamba, I've thought of getting a Utica Kutmaster Barlow. Some of their carbon steel knives have stainless secondaries although I don't know about that one. Something which most see as a minus might work out well for me. 1095 is poor as a scraper, it's edge will roll in a heartbeat. A cheaper stainless, although it won't take and hold a really sharp edge, will sometimes do better in that function if given a fairly blunt edge.

 

[ar33c9]

I like having different kinds of knives...but my favorites are the slipjoints... esp customs in mammoth

 

[knarfeng]

Now, I've put a few sets of aluminum slabs on Green River carbon steel blades and never had trouble with galvanic corrosion myself although I have heard about it a lot.

Black Mamba, I've thought of getting a Utica Kutmaster Barlow. Some of their carbon steel knives have stainless secondaries although I don't know about that one. Something which most see as a minus might work out well for me. 1095 is poor as a scraper, it's edge will roll in a heartbeat. A cheaper stainless, although it won't take and hold a really sharp edge, will sometimes do better in that function if given a fairly blunt edge.

carbon steel with aluminum is not a problem, from a galvanic corrosion standpoint. (In most environments they both corrode, but having them joined together does not make them corrode any faster.)

On the other hand, stainless steel and aluminum form a galvanic pair, with aluminum acting as the anode.

 

[davek14]

carbon steel with aluminum is not a problem, from a galvanic corrosion standpoint. (In most environments they both corrode, but having them joined together does not make them corrode any faster.)

On the other hand, stainless steel and aluminum form a galvanic pair, with aluminum acting as the anode.

That's nice to know.

 

[DieselBadger]

I own mostly moderns but I feel the same way. As long as it's sharp, as long as it's not cheap ass steel it performs no worse or better than the super steels. I honestly feel like the difference is so minor it's not worth the premium and in fact can be way worse due to the increased difficulty/time it takes to sharpen. And any task where it's going to be super hard on the blade, I prefer to use a cheap Stanley razor knife because no matter what it's going to bust up the steel.

I've taken to carrying two knives at a time now, a modern and a traditional and will use the the traditional as much as possible. I still find myself using moderns for bigger jobs or odd cuts where the locking feature will be nice.

 

[pistonsandgears]

Yes, the 1095 or O1 would definitely get used a lot. Keep it like a scalpel for the daily stuff. Keep the supersteel like a scalpel too but the difference is it dulls on abrasive but stays up enough to keep going and going and going. A stockman with all 1095 would be good too but some of this stuff literally eats up blades. It was tearing up my traditionals and the lifespan was going to be way too short for such beautiful knives

Hey Kevin have you tried any of the traditionals in D2? I would think D2 would hold up pretty well with the rough work.