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To fold or not to fold....

To fold, or not to fold: that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the thumb to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous backsprings,
Or to take arms against a sea of slipjoints,
And embracing hunting knives, unbend them?
To fold; to unfold; to fold no more
But to wear a Little Fin or Woodcraft,
And folding knives abhor.
 
I'm a 100% folder person :)

I do take fixed blades with me in the woods, but they are more for batoning and/or moving food on/off the fire. Other than that, I have a folder on me unless I'm sleeping :o I was taught in scouts to use folders (camilus boy scout deluxe) and the habit stuck with me. Now I prefer clipped folders primarily from spyderco with an occasional ZT or kershaw purchase. I like the fact that I can keep it on me all the time, in the city and out. Folders seem very low key and don't attract much attention. I do like the ease of cleaning involved with sheath knives, dip in water and rub on pant leg = all clean :D
 
jackknife said:
I wonder if for the purpose of possible survival, does the folding knife have anything going for it at all? I mean exept for being able to fit in a pocket. It's a weak design by the nature of the best, it's prone to being messed up by dirt in the action, and it's a PITA to keep clean.

For the subject of survival, does a folding knife have any place at all in the scheme of things?

Expounding on that question, does any folding knife, aside from the most modest pen knife for 'polite company', have any real use at all when compared with the sheer utility of something like a Brusleto Rognald or Baldor?
Click to expand...


You read my mind.

I have been going over this a lot in the past three weeks. I have been looking at all my folders; I have axis locks, frame locks, liner locks, back locks, -I have it all. I bought most of my folders with the idea that they were tough and that I could use them in the woods as a secondary knife or a primary knife when hiking. Well, the folder craze is out of hand when it comes to outdoor use and anything that far beyond basic EDC.

If I carve a spear or a stake with any of my folders I can feel and see the locking mechanisms giving in and warping or just plain deteriorating. Fixed blades do not have this problem.

I want to sell all of my spare folders (keeping only a few) and spend that money on some nice fixed blades. I just bought an RC-3 because I had been thinking about this.

Nice Post! I agree.

I am not saying that folders are not useful. Even in the bush they can be useful, but if you have a choice -why a folder in the woods?

PS I will always have a SAK on me -that is just a law of science.
 
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I'll gladly claim the middle ground!

Fixed blades are great, so are folders, I'll put it on you to take a hike with nothing (pretend you don't have your knife(ves) ) and see how it feels.

Do a few tasks with a sheath knife and a few with a folder, make it a friggin HUGE knife and a regular folder.

Just do your routine, I'd almost guarantee that cutting paracord with a monster knife will seem silly when you have a sharp smaller knife waiting to flick open, cut, flip close and disappear back in your pocket.

When it comes to (should you be in the crowd) batoning some wood I'll almost guarantee that the folder won't be a second thought, nor would a small sheath knife.

I guess my point is sharp steel is great, especially in more than a couple flavors.:):cool:
 
I've almost always had a small sheath knife around. They are just too useful. Love them.

But I love folders, too. There are several things about them that I really like. One is that they are really hard to stab yourself with when they are closed and in your pocket. Yes, I know, a good sheath keeps you safe too, but ... I've had them slip down and cut things, stab through a sheath and cut things, and I've got a scar or two, too.

Kind of not good.

The other things I really like about folders don't play in so much to the survival and skills stuff -- except if you're talking Altoids tin knives. Why not put a 3-3.5" folder in the Altoids tin, instead of the flat sliver of steel? The tin I put together, I stuck a Sodbuster Jr in there, fits great, and gives me a robust knife to use instead of a thin, short, sharpened bit of steel.

I mean, I'd rather have that little bit of steel than nothing, but the folder actually gives me a handle. :D
 
i got a BM550 with wilkinsgrip....if not forthe wilkinsgrip idnever havebought it....i aint the folder type....so i gave it to my ol lady. i edc a SAK OHT and either a gossman PSK jr ora fiddleback bush jr....when im out and about its a bravo1 or a swamp rat m9le or just the mora 510 or my triflex mora (mod'd gaurd).


i think anything over 5" scares the sheeple
 
Man I love those "old timer" stories! My Dad had a Case or OT stockman on him every day of his life including the day he left this world for the next. lord knows how many deer,fish,chickens,hogs and tomato's went under that thing. I can clearly remember him skinning a deer and wiping it on his overalls leg to cut Cracker Barrel cheese for us to snack on..we did'nt die from it either! jackknife you sure sent me down memory lane with that one! So yea, I carried a case from 5 years old till I bought my own 110..and there I stayed till sometime in the early 90's when I got a tiny little fixed blade by Busse, Police Recruit, After that I converted to the fixed blade camp too. After a bit of getting used to (due to the diminutive size) I vote with the no folder can equal in strenght crowd, and once you get used to drawing and resheathing in the same place its no big deal to extract,cut,reinsert without even looking. I encourage anyone who has the legal option to do so to consider the idea. Lots of the makers here have itty bitty blades in their lines and once you try it you'll be converted to the "old fogey's" camp too! :)
 
I view this subject from a convenience of carry standpoint. I love a fixed blade as much as the next guy here. However, since as far back as I can remember, I started out in the woods with a Buck folder. The one with the brass ends and rosewood scales. I put that knife through all sorts of tasks from making tinder/ kindling to slicing cheese. No muss, no fuss. I never had the need to baton with it, nor would I.

Today, as I look upon the arsenal of knives that I own, both foxed and folder, know which one is my EDC? A Grohmann 300.
 
Wish it were legal in my state to carry a fixed blade knife of any decent size, but alas it is not. So I resort to carrying a folder and this is why I mostly gravitate to carrying the largest legal size (~4" blade).

So this is a regional issue and why I disagree with this statement in an earlier post:

"I personally think that large folders are stupid, if your going to carry a 4-5inch blade make it fixed but for a 2-3 inch blade folding is OK".

Since I can't carry a largish fixed blade then I'll carry a large folder like, the endura, military, tyrade, Buck 110.

Great thread!

Vinny
 
I like the whole “tactical” folder revolution...a lot of great technology has come out of it even if some marketing is over the top. The one-handed and even “assisted” folders are quite fast and easy to manipulate.

With that said, I still prefer and attempt to carry a fixed blade whenever I can...they are pretty simple and easy to use and give me a better sense of safety...I trust the folders I carry, it’s just the knife guy in me recognizing the inherent strengths of fixed blades over folders. Regardless, I always have a folder (or three) on me even if I have a fixed blade. With the advent of the hard, molded Kydex/Concealex sheaths, one handed operation can be used on fixed blades as well. I don’t often carry a neck knife, but I’ve used a figure-8 harness (ala MercHarness) for excellent concealment and shear simplicity to access. These are typically smaller blades (RAT Izula, Fallkniven WM-1, etc). I never really warmed to the pocket fixed blade...I much prefer them on the belt. Good discussion though!

ROCK6
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Like Anita Bryant said, "A day without many knives, is like a day without sunshine!" At least I think that's what she said. :confused:

Doc
Click to expand...

Sorry, Doc.

What Bryant really said was, “A day without Gay Blades is a day without Sunshine!” :p

That’s the way I remember it anyway.
 
I like folders. Forgetting the EDC and SAKs I still like folders when I'm out. True, I usually have a FB too for work but there are times I don't need that. I like little Moki and Spyderco lightweight jobs. I don't need them to try to be a FB just present a sharp edge. A good example of use would be putting up a tarp. Doing that I often want as close as I can get to a hands free way to cut bits of string. A sharp extremely light one handed opening folder that I can close with one hand or hold in my teeth is much closer to that for me than sheathing and unsheathing even using a Scandi bucket type sheath. I know this because carrying both I know which I reach for first.
 
For the type of woods I spend time in, a folding blade like a 110 is way more than enough. We carry a folding saw and small ratcheting pruners out hunting. The saw gets used during field dressing, the pruners clear shooting lanes or sticks that will interfere with where we have chosen to hunt. We are trail hunters, we don't have dedicated blinds.

So with those other tools on hand, and the small size of the woods where we hunt, a folder is more than enough. The woods I frequent are about 80 acres or so with fields and roads seperating plots of forest that size roughly.

Now if I were in a big piece of woods I would definitely want a robust sheath knife and some emergency survival type equipment.

I bought an H1 from fallkniven this year for hunting, and it just felt like silly overkill to have along. I'm only dealing with 150 lb. whitetails :D My cousin has probably killed more deer than I ever will. He's taken hogs, caribou, elk, turkeys.....

He absolutely loves his buck (I don't know the model it is the smaller version of the 110) I guarantee I could give him a Sebenza, or dozier, or whatever knife you can think of and he would still use and love that old buck. I envy him :D
 
I've always been a fixed blade kind of guy for woods and utility use, except for the medium stockman I have pocketed for almost 30 years as a light cutter for domestic chores, but recently I ended up with an Emerson cqc-15 that I got on a trade.
One day I decided to leave the sheath knife behind and try out the Emerson. It has done everything I have asked it to do in the woods except baton large logs which I use an axe to do, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm gonna give the Emerson folder a chance for a while, and while it will never replace my fixed blades it may find a spot along side of them.
 
Toucan Oasis said:
MAN ! Here comes the flames.
Folding knives are garbage.:eek::eek::eek::D
Click to expand...

Only to those not skilled enough to use them. :rolleyes: :)

And zombie killer, we try to stay civil around here, even when we disagree with somebody. You've probably been on other forums where that isn't the case - here it is.

Please consider editing your post.

Thanks.

Doc
 
Small fixed over a folder for me, they can still fit in a pocket or around ya neck and they aren't broken in the middle !

P8220006.jpg
 
I tolerate folders for town EDC, but I agree that a fixed blade knife is the way to go when you can. I have not cleaned a trout with a folding knife since I was very young. I would not want to. jackknife, great image of swishing around a fixed blade in the creek and drying it on the pants or a bandanna. I guess some things never change.

When I was in BSA in the early 90's, they were called sheath knives as well. In fact, that's what I called them until I got back into knives a few years ago.
 
Well I've always carried a swiss army knife everywhere including the woods but once I started using fixed blades, I didn't want to use my SAK for the more heavy duty cutting anymore. I could manage with a SAK but it just feels sturdier and more convenient with a belt knife.

I still carry a Victorinox farmer everywhere I go because in town it's more people/sheeple friendly, not to mention actually legal. Plus out in the woods, it's alot easier to use the small blade of a pocket knife for more delicate work than trying to use a 4" fixed blade.

So it's not really a compromise for me, it's more like carrying a variety of tools to make doing certain jobs easier. I don't personally have a need for a one handed opening/unsheathing knife in town, but I do in the woods and so that's where I carry my fixed blade. If someone does have a need to carry a one handed opening/unsheathing knife in town then they should, and I definately see the advantages of it, but it's just not for me.
 
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