Thinking about hanging up my hat

[Guy McVer]

Really? I see a lot of clipped folders around here in SoCal, along with SAKs on keys and a fair number of folding utility blade knives like the Milwaukee fastback. Traditionals aren’t super common in the wild, and belt carry seems almost reserved to bikers toting fixed blades of various sizes and construction workers with leatherman tools. The cowboy style pancake sheath carry mentioned above is basically non existent here or I’ve never seen it.

It's a big country.

The Milwaukee Fastback is super popular. It's cheap and the bit driver version is probably one of their best sellers, if not their #1. I remember when it first came out you couldn't find it in stock anywhere.

 

[storyofmyknife]

My biggest drawback from slip joints is that I like to have a pocket clip because I want everything in my pockets to stay in their place. I know there’s plenty of slip joints with clips, but I prefer a traditional looking slip joint over a modern one. If anyone has any suggestions of a more traditional look that has a clip I’d love to hear them.

 

[Guy McVer]

My biggest drawback from slip joints is that I like to have a pocket clip because I want everything in my pockets to stay in their place. I know there’s plenty of slip joints with clips, but I prefer a traditional looking slip joint over a modern one. If anyone has any suggestions of a more traditional look that has a clip I’d love to hear them.

I carry my SAKs with either a pocket dangler clip on a lobster clasp or a lanyard loop cow hitched to the key ring and cow hitched again to my belt loop. Most of the time I just use the pocket dangler.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I like 'em all. But I admit, I'm not buying much, these days.

I have a love and respect for Case pocket knives. They remind me of my Dad and Granddaddy and I always have one on me.

But I also carry a Syderco PM3-LW because I own a lot of property and ya just never know.

And, because I'm a handyman and own a lot of crap and am a guitar player, I also carry a multi-tool. Lately the Leatherman Arc.

I could probably dump the Spyderco, but then some lunatic zombie would jump out from behind a bush and I might wish I had it.

 

[elevator man]

I get not needing a lock. But to write off all locking knives because they have a lock is absurd. I think buying and using the knives you want and like is most important. And if it happens to have a lock then ok. If not ok too.

There's other things too, like speed. Some designs are faster, I can whip out a pm2 cut something close it one handed and put it back in my pocket in 5 seconds while one hand holds something I can't let go of. Pretty frequently need to do that. Pulling out a slip joint or SAK would be a major pain in my rear, not because it doesn't lock but the other design features that are common with non locking knives. I think the proliferation of locking knives is not simply because they lock, it's because of a host of other features that make it more useful. Pocket clips, one handed use, more ergonomic handles, etc.

To me traditionals/SAKs are like fountain pens. They have a certain nostalgia with them that gives the user joy. It's a tradeoff of more modern features and usefulness for that nostalgic feel.

I carry a fountain pen and a modern folder like a BM or spyderco.

 

[A.L.]

My biggest drawback from slip joints is that I like to have a pocket clip because I want everything in my pockets to stay in their place. I know there’s plenty of slip joints with clips, but I prefer a traditional looking slip joint over a modern one. If anyone has any suggestions of a more traditional look that has a clip I’d love to hear them.

If you don’t mind the hassle of unsheathing there’s pocket slips with pocket clips. Some might even work so that you can draw the knife from the sheath without taking the sheath out if the knife/heath combo is right.

 

[Wirelessjunkie]

[Long winded] I am thinking about hanging up my hat on locking knives, and going slipjoint.
.....
I simply don't need the lock.

Happened to me too. In my case, I went full circle. I was always gifted slipjoints by my grandfather when I was younger. When I got a little older and started earning money I got stuck on the whole 'tacticool knife with mega lock' thing for way too long. After getting a bit older, I've gone back to using slip joints and SAKs pretty much exclusively for my personal and work needs. I keep a small handmade fixie in my work bag just in case, but I never end up needing it.
I just got back from a week long vacation in Georgia, and I used my small Wenger Esquire to do everything a knife was needed for. At work, I predominantly use a Wenger S101. While it has a locking main blade, it also has a slippie clip point blade that I end up using most of the time just because its a handier size for my line of work (installing wifi radios and working with low voltage cabling).
Are locks a nice feature? Sure. Are they necessary for a lot of tasks? Not really, as long as you stay mentally engaged with the task at hand.
Use whatever knife makes you happiest in the long run.

 

[ShaiHulud]

I bought a set of deep sockets and they were on that plastic frame setup with a sliding rail and a retention bar on the opposite side with beams going through the middle of each socket. I had a hell of a time getting the sockets loose. In the end I used a hacksaw to cut through the plastic retention bar between each socket, and then I still had to twist every individual one of the connecting beams out with a set of pliers. It has to be one of the most frustrating and insane packaging designs ever invented. A simple cardboard box would have been better, but I guess you have to prevent theft any way you can.

Happened to me too. In my case, I went full circle. I was always gifted slipjoints by my grandfather when I was younger. When I got a little older and started earning money I got stuck on the whole 'tacticool knife with mega lock' thing for way too long. After getting a bit older, I've gone back to using slip joints and SAKs pretty much exclusively for my personal and work needs. I keep a small handmade fixie in my work bag just in case, but I never end up needing it.
I just got back from a week long vacation in Georgia, and I used my small Wenger Esquire to do everything a knife was needed for. At work, I predominantly use a Wenger S101. While it has a locking main blade, it also has a slippie clip point blade that I end up using most of the time just because its a handier size for my line of work (installing wifi radios and working with low voltage cabling).
Are locks a nice feature? Sure. Are they necessary for a lot of tasks? Not really, as long as you stay mentally engaged with the task at hand.
Use whatever knife makes you happiest in the long run.

Agreed on all points. Made me chuckle at the mega lock, I see that's where the gist of the folding knife aspect of the industry is heading, and priced to match.

 

[jfk1110]

My biggest drawback from slip joints is that I like to have a pocket clip because I want everything in my pockets to stay in their place. I know there’s plenty of slip joints with clips, but I prefer a traditional looking slip joint over a modern one. If anyone has any suggestions of a more traditional look that has a clip I’d love to hear them.

Love this model.

Thread 'lionSTEEL Gitano GT01 UL' https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/lionsteel-gitano-gt01-ul.1739245/

 

[jfk1110]

Slippies have been slidin.' Into my eyesight quite a bit the last few years. Have a couple and a few SAK's. With dangler hooks. Just something eye catching especially. In OD green canvas!!!!!!

 

[Hickory n steel]

You could just switch to traditional knives in general.

Like you I have found that I do not need a locking blade, but that doesn't mean lockbacks and belt knives are out.
I have do a number of small lockbacks that are less convenient to close than a slipjoint , but otherwise I've got no problem enjoying a traditional folder which may have a locking mechanism that I could do without.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Really? I see a lot of clipped folders around here in SoCal, along with SAKs on keys and a fair number of folding utility blade knives like the Milwaukee fastback. Traditionals aren’t super common in the wild, and belt carry seems almost reserved to bikers toting fixed blades of various sizes and construction workers with leatherman tools. The cowboy style pancake sheath carry mentioned above is basically non existent here or I’ve never seen it.

In my rural area of norcal our small town is surrounded by farms & orchards, and at least around here it's all Buck 110's or Case 54 trappers in fancy tooled belt sheaths and old leatherman PST's.
Usually if you see a clip it's a Milwaukee fastback in the pocket of a construction worker, or you'll see one of those fanny pack types who thought that was a belt clip on the side of his Gerber Paraframe which he opens with 2 hands.

It just depends on the area I suppose, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's places in Texas where the majority of people don't seem to carry a knife.

 

[ShaiHulud]

You could just switch to traditional knives in general.

Like you I have found that I do not need a locking blade, but that doesn't mean lockbacks and belt knives are out.
I have do a number of small lockbacks that are less convenient to close than a slipjoint , but otherwise I've got no problem enjoying a traditional folder which may have a locking mechanism that I could do without.

I have a small Camillus vintage with me right now, it needs to be cleaned as its over 30 years old. All the companies (schrade, imperial, Camillus etc) were sold to China. So if I want something made decently well, or was, I have to buy vintage slipjoints. Luckily for me they are commonplace everywhere on the internet

 

[Hickory n steel]

I have a small Camillus vintage with me right now, it needs to be cleaned as its over 30 years old. All the companies (schrade, imperial, Camillus etc) were sold to China. So if I want something made decently well, or was, I have to buy vintage slipjoints. Luckily for me they are commonplace everywhere on the internet

I've had good luck with Case but they don't offer much of what I want in carbon steel, so like you Vintage is often the way to go.

 

[ShaiHulud]

I've had good luck with Case but they don't offer much of what I want in carbon steel, so like you Vintage is often the way to go.

amen. I had a vintage case made in 2014 in some unknown model, it didnt have mirror polish blades but they were stainless, mich stronger blades with thicker tips, youd have thought it was made from an entirely different company.
After 2 terrible and dangerous examples of a small stockman, I started looking at their small congress and peanuts and other similar-like knives, and found them much better. They run their tru sharp way too soft and it rolls pretty easily, at least in my experiences so when I use case I will use CV.

 

[mnblade]

The truth behind the marketing of what most people buy is sheer Bullhockey. Crap. outright lies to get your money out of your pocket and into theirs.

The knife industry is no different than the gun industry, car industry, whatever. It's all about "upsizing" the customer by convincing them that they need much more than they really do and offing them a "better" product that of course costs much more. Does the average Joe going about his life in modern suburbia need a hundred dollar plus lockblade knife to open the mail, cut a plastic package, or a piece of twine? No, of course not. Nor will he need to do any of the fantasy crap the knife industry would hav you believe like taking out an enemy sentry, or surviving in the Alaska bush country.

This post reminded me of the epic ad Gerber put out a few years ago, Hello Trouble. It's a fun video to watch, and surely sold a few big manly single-blade, one-hand-opening knives. But I always wanted to put together a version called Hello Real Life featuring a suburban guy opening packages with a 58mm SAK, and snipping threads off his 6-year-old daughter's sweater.

 

[hhmoore]

Pics of the hat pls

AND where you're going to hang it

My pup got this Barmah hat within a couple weeks of coming home. (I got lazy and hung it on a chair when I got home.) I replaced it with one in kangaroo leather; but the differences are slight, and even less noticeable after 4.5 years and a couple encounters with Obenauf's and Snow Seal.

(The head was only on the porch for the picture. It "lives" inside & wears the hat when I'm not)

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Nice hat.

 

[jackknife]

This post reminded me of the epic ad Gerber put out a few years ago, Hello Trouble. It's a fun video to watch, and surely sold a few big manly single-blade, one-hand-opening knives. But I always wanted to put together a version called Hello Real Life featuring a suburban guy opening packages with a 58mm SAK, and snipping threads off his 6-year-old daughter's sweater.

That's a very funny and great idea!

Maybe show a hungry guy getting out a snack to eat, and can't get the plastic wrapper undone, so he takes out a SAK and free's his food. Or a young mother with a toddler at the park, and taking out a snack for the child, can't get the straw through the X in the sippy pack, so takes out a classic and cuts a slit so the straw can be put in. Been there and done that.

Or a guy on the way to the board meeting, stops in the mens room and gives his mustache a last minute trim with the SAK scissors? There's a million things to show real life little problems that a SAK will solve, with no action hero nonsense needed.

 

[ShaiHulud]

That's a very funny and great idea!

Maybe show a hungry guy getting out a snack to eat, and can't get the plastic wrapper undone, so he takes out a SAK and free's his food. Or a young mother with a toddler at the park, and taking out a snack for the child, can't get the straw through the X in the sippy pack, so takes out a classic and cuts a slit so the straw can be put in. Been there and done that.

Or a guy on the way to the board meeting, stops in the mens room and gives his mustache a last minute trim with the SAK scissors? There's a million things to show real life little problems that a SAK will solve, with no action hero nonsense needed.

If you really wanna upset people, take Rambos knife away and give him a Spartan instead