Things you just live with and get used to.

Hickory n steel

Hickory n steel

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What are some aspects of carrying a traditional folder that you just live with ?

For me the biggest one is pocket lint, especially with my Vics such as the tinker.
There are so many crevasses for it to gather in and checking my knife every single day would get annoying.
I've tried pocket slips and they're just not for me.

Now my tool of choice to deal with the lint is a toothpick, clip one end off then carve it flat on both sides.
This creates the perfect little thing to get the lint out with.

Other than the issues with pocket lint I think traditionals are perfect.
 
If lint is a big problem, you might wash your pants with the pockets pulled inside-out, and use a tad less oil on the joints.

Not saying you don’t, but it saved me aggravation.

For me, I learned to live with scratches on polished stainless steel blades. Carbon steel is great because the scratches patina over, but they live forever on stainless that doesn’t get any trace of patina.
 
RobbW said:
If lint is a big problem, you might wash your pants with the pockets pulled inside-out, and use a tad less oil on the joints.

Not saying you don’t, but it saved me aggravation.

For me, I learned to live with scratches on polished stainless steel blades. Carbon steel is great because the scratches patina over, but they live forever on stainless that doesn’t get any trace of patina.
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Oh yes, the polished stainless blades is a good one I forgot about.
Carbon steel is my favorite as it does cover wear but also looks great and gives a blade character and soul ( scratches themselves are character but not exactly good looking )
Stainless steel works fine and the scratches in them is bothering me less and less now.

I so use little oil and have turned my pockets inside out, but lint still ends up in there.
It's not huge clumps or anything, just an eventual build up of fine particles.

I love my knives though so I don't let these things bother me.
 
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I never thought I would say this but I've learned to live with weak snap.:eek: The Clip blade on the Churchill in my avatar has a closing snap of about a 3 on a scale of 1-10. I have an Ebony Churchill with much better snap but I like that Rust Red jigged bone so much that I carry it instead despite the weak snap.
 
some aspects of carrying a traditional folder that I just live with :
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Beat up thumb nail from opening nail nicks on largish traditionals.
IMG_5310.jpg

I really, really, really miss truly hard high alloy steel. Heck I will take polished blades all day long (in fact I prefer polished blades because they cut through stuff with less drag) (I do prefer steel / blades that will take some patina though).

Other than the issues with beat up finger nail and no hard / highly wear resistant steel
I think traditionals are perfect.
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Yes; I don't really need blade locks and the handle shape of largish mid sized traditionals IS superior to more modern stuff.
IMG_5184.jpg
IMG_4671.jpg
 
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STDK said:
For me, it's when I use a Carbon blade to cut an apple. Definitely imparts its own flavor, but I have grown used to it.
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Can't do it, stainless only for me when it comes to my apple slicers :)

Wowbagger said:
I really, really, really miss truly hard high alloy steel.
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Me too, but Hiroaki fixed that for me with some ZDP @67hrc :p

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~Chip
 
I open the blades and blow the lint out - seems to work pretty well. I won't use a knife for long that has weak snap, that is my one hangup I cannot get over (my Churchill lives in a tube (as do some others) to be given to one of my nephews by my wife after I pass). I don't mind my knives getting marks from honest use but don't like marks due to neglect either. I like stainless knives a lot and don't care that they don't patina, light scratches don't bother me but heavy ones I'll sand out with emery-cloth. OH
 
Well, let’s see…there’s that one muscle in my back that’s stiff every morning until I get going, I’ll probably never weigh 175 again, and I have to wear a hat now to keep my head from getting sunburned…

Oh, you meant about knives.

The thing I’ve discovered, fairly recently, is that my favorite knife to look at, and/or coon finger, just isn’t always the most practical knife to have in my pocket. Sometimes you have to choose the best tool for the job, even if it’s not the prettiest. (And then, of course, you start learning to love that knife, too.)
 
The lolly scramble. Do I wish that more super steel bladed slipjoints in stag, ivory, and mother of pearl, crafted by master cutlers, at the price of a current production Case were more readily available from a choice of companies? You bet I do. Alas, slipjoints are not a commodity, but an artisanal good. Supply remains low so prices remain rather high for more desireable pieces. So I suck it up and either pay a premium or spend time hunting for that special knife. With a bit of luck I end up with some of the ones I really want.
 
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