Things NOT to do with your new folding knife!

T

tirod3

Joined
Jun 27, 2006
Messages
1,700
1) Attempt to remove a phillips screw with a blade tip.
2) Pry the tip into any gap.
3) Put pressure on the blade back with a full grip.
4) Stab. Anything.
5) Throw and stick it.
6) Beat on it to split wood.
7) Spinewhack it.
8) Cut sheetrock, dirty carpet, or any kind of wire.
9) Stand on it in a vise.
10) Cut yourself.

You can do all that next week. Enjoy the gift and the giver. Mod your knife later.

Happy New Year!
 
Good list. Some of those thoughts make me cringe, actually...I wouldn't dream of doing that to my nice new Cyclone. It even took me a minute before I got up the courage to pull the 'ol MTech out of my duty pocket and replace it with the Kershaw, because it's just so damn good looking - but then I remembered that I bought it as a working knife, and needed to treat it as such.

Don't worry, no prying or stabbing though. Yet.

:D
 
Sad to say that these instructions are necessary these days. I've seen postings on every one of them with some person whinining about how his knife failed.
 
I can't agree with this one....
7) Spinewhack it.
Click to expand...

I immediately do a spine-whack-test on all of my locking folders (except Bali-songs).
It does not damage to the knife and it helps to determine if the lock is reliable or not.
 
Using your new knife to get rid of the weeds growing in the seam between two sections
of cement in your driveway.
 
A bit off topic but...

I did all those things with my stout fixed blade today - including cutting out a dirty carpet and prying out some of the staples from the gorgeous hardwood floor the carpet was covering.

Blade is still sharp and in-tact. Sorry but sometimes you just gotta love the sharpened prybars! Good old 440C keeps giving and giving! I'm not even going to bother touching it up on the sharpmaker...

btw - I'll be the first to admit that the above blade really sucks at foodprep like cutting onions and potatoes. Thats what the opinel's are for!
 
Yep, I've done 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10. I would like to point out that 10 did not occur while doing 4, 5, 6, or 8. I will say that throwing a folder at a hard target is a pretty bad idea. I used a cardboard box for a while, and tried a hard target a couple of times. I didnt beat on my folder to split wood; it was sheet metal. Cutting sheet rock was pretty easy, and the knife would still cut paper afterwards. Of course I only made 6 cuts or so, but still...
 
kgd, I'm talking about folder no-nos. For fixed blades it's a list of required things to do! :)

I don't think I've ever stood on my knife clamped in a vise, but I'm considering it. Just as Cold Steel hangs weights from their knives as a lock strength demo, I believe standing on a knife handle clamped in a vise is a superior method to spinewhacking.

Anybody can spinewhack a knife, and it might or might not be a test of strength. It's impossible to repeat identically, has no standard reference, and doesn't stress the lock with a constant load while being flexed.

Clamp that blade in a vise and stand on it, now you have a reference that can be standardized. How far from the pivot, the weight applied, and dynamic loading can all be repeated on a wide variety of knives to establish a base line of performance. Of course, there may need to be certain controls, like a low ceiling, to limit the vertical component.

Spinewhacks are for sissies compared to a real test of hopping on one foot with your knife clamped in a vise. That sorts out the rock solid lockups from the also rans, and the real knife testers from the wannabes. Heck yeah, let's move that to the list of approved uses.
 
me2 said:
Cutting sheet rock was pretty easy, and the knife would still cut paper afterwards. Of course I only made 6 cuts or so, but still...
Click to expand...

I'm so jealous! I sharpened up a knife really well and then cut some sheet rock to cover a hole in the wall. And then I had to fix Senor Chippy Edge and resharpen.
 
tirod3 said:
kgd, I'm talking about folder no-nos. For fixed blades it's a list of required things to do! :)

I don't think I've ever stood on my knife clamped in a vise, but I'm considering it. Just as Cold Steel hangs weights from there knives as a lock strength demo, I believe standing on a knife handle clamped in a vise is a superior method to spinewhacking.

Anybody can spinewhack a knife, and it might or might not be a test of strength. It's impossible to repeat identically, has no standard reference, and doesn't stress the lock with a constant load while being flexed.

Clamp that blade in a vise and stand on it, now you have a reference that can be standardized. How far from the pivot, the weight applied, and dynamic loading can all be repeated on a wide variety of knives to establish a base line of performance. Of course, there may need to be certain controls, like a low ceiling, to limit the vertical component.

Spinewhacks are for sissies compared to a real test of hopping on one foot with your knife clamped in a vise. That sorts out the rock solid lockups from the also rans, and the real knife testers from the wannabes. Heck yeah, let's move that to the list of approved uses.
Click to expand...

great post, rep sent!
 
thombrogan said:
I'm so jealous! I sharpened up a knife really well and then cut some sheet rock to cover a hole in the wall. And then I had to fix Senor Chippy Edge and resharpen.
Click to expand...

Well, you could probably get the same performance without too much trouble. First, you need a cheap slip joint peanut folder with carbon steel blades, then you need about a week to put a full convex edge on it using sanding belts stretched tight and laying the knife flat on the belt (I didnt have a belt sander, just some very course belts). I tried cutting the sheet rock with my BM TSEK, but it just couldnt be forced through by hand pressure, so I used the much thinner slip joint. Also, the TSEK had many chips afterward, which had to be fixed and then resharpened, as you say.
 
4. Wouldn't stabbing be a valid use in a defence situation?

6. Battoning would seem a valid bushcraft use.

7. Spinewacking might be usefull on some of cheaper knives I've seen.
 
Is not the hanging weight(s) from the handle end with the blade clamped in a vice essentailly equivalent to the Spyderco testing method to determine lock rating?
 
I always make sure not to sacrifice chickens with a fresh knife, the curses aren't as effective for some reason...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top