- Joined
- Sep 16, 2005
- Messages
- 1,364
To keep the Zero Tolerance thread from being hijacked any further lets start a thread that is straight up about overall folding knife toughness. Pro and Con lets go and get it over with.
I am of the opinion that a tough knife is better than a more delicate one, for numerous reasons. Here they are.
1) Most of the time regardless of the activity were involved in a folding lock blade knife is the one tool we will have on us, as it is the one thing that is convenient to carry everyday.
2) Had to use a knife on 3 occasions to save my bacon, twice it was in a boat and once offshore and it also saved our boat from sinking by having a hole punched through it from the deck to the keel on the bottom by a piece of drill pipe. Once kept me from having to sleep in the Marsh in a mud boat with a blown radiator hose that was stuck in ditch that was overgrown with lilies.
3) BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT, THAN NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT, to illustrate the importance of this please refer to number two (2)
4) Durability and or longevity, thicker blades or blades made from certain metals typically don't snap as easily when compared to thinner blades of super high RC or certain metals
5) People who hunt and fish a lot, have knives that get used daily year round. Their not in a drawer or pocket going from home to office. This year alone I spent 35 days deer hunting, that was just deer hunting. Add in duck hunting, dove hunting, squirrel hunting and work days at camp, and lets not forget about fishing its off the charts.
6) Spending lots of time afield or a float teaches one that equipment and or tools tend to last longer and are more serviceable, and offer more utility overall if their over engineered, over built, super adequate, both in terms of materials and construction.
7) BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT, THAN NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT, to illustrate the importance of this please refer to number two (2). Yes this is an intentional double post
Lots of people will say right tool for right jog, I've never broken a knife, etc. well lots of people including lots of those on this site simply don't spend that much time way out in the woods, deep in the swamps or marsh or far off shore or under the water. With all of this being done in very high humidity say over 90% for about 8 months or better out of the year.
Experience afield and a float has taught me that handles must be FRN, G10 or Titanium are their coming apart, period end of discussion. Yes it is nice to have a knife that will hold an edge for a very long time between sharpening but AUS8 or Sandvik 13C27, Beta Ti and similar materials that are softer than high RC materials are better. Frame locks are thick liner locks, and open frame construction so you can clean it out in a mud puddle or in the lake, Gulf of Mexico, ditch in the Marsh, etc. Axis locks with tiny springs to get filled with crap, aint' gonna work after their so gummed up with Black Jack or Gumbo mud from being in your right front pocket while you've been sneaking speckle bellies through a cow pasture on the edge of the marsh in Kaplan, LA.
All I'm saying is if you spend sometime outdoors hunting, fishing, diving, hiking, etc. and really using your equipment and tools you start to know what works and what doesn't, and I can say without question afield or a float I want the toughest folding knife I can get in my pocket. Nine times out of ten it will last longer than a more delicate knife or a knife of less robust construction and if something more is required in a pinch as has happened before then I am confident that I have it and it will be physically able to complete the task even if it isn't the most appropriate tool for the job at that specific moment. Let me say this as well I want the toughest of everything that I'm using for what ever activity I'm engaged in at the time.
Not saying saying hey use your knife as hammer, here pry open that hatch with my folder, not at all. I whole heartily agree with the right tool for the right job. However sometimes when out of doors situations beyond our control arise in a hurry requiring immediate action and in those instances you use what you have on you. So like I said somewhere before better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
Before someone says well then you should have had the right tool for the right job, be realistic its not practical to carry around a tool box when hunting, fishing or diving. Knives have reached the point through advances in materials, construction and locking mechanisms that they can now realistically tend to other task in a secondary or minor application/capacity. Ergo carry the toughest folder you can afford and legally pack.
Current carry is from this list Mission MPF 3 Ti PE, Steve Rice He-Man Ti frame lock, and Three Sisters Forge Beast
Have found only solid titanium handles seem to really hold up well for applications here given the humidity, brackish/salt water, fresh water and blood my knives are exposed too.
I am of the opinion that a tough knife is better than a more delicate one, for numerous reasons. Here they are.
1) Most of the time regardless of the activity were involved in a folding lock blade knife is the one tool we will have on us, as it is the one thing that is convenient to carry everyday.
2) Had to use a knife on 3 occasions to save my bacon, twice it was in a boat and once offshore and it also saved our boat from sinking by having a hole punched through it from the deck to the keel on the bottom by a piece of drill pipe. Once kept me from having to sleep in the Marsh in a mud boat with a blown radiator hose that was stuck in ditch that was overgrown with lilies.
3) BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT, THAN NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT, to illustrate the importance of this please refer to number two (2)
4) Durability and or longevity, thicker blades or blades made from certain metals typically don't snap as easily when compared to thinner blades of super high RC or certain metals
5) People who hunt and fish a lot, have knives that get used daily year round. Their not in a drawer or pocket going from home to office. This year alone I spent 35 days deer hunting, that was just deer hunting. Add in duck hunting, dove hunting, squirrel hunting and work days at camp, and lets not forget about fishing its off the charts.
6) Spending lots of time afield or a float teaches one that equipment and or tools tend to last longer and are more serviceable, and offer more utility overall if their over engineered, over built, super adequate, both in terms of materials and construction.
7) BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT, THAN NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT, to illustrate the importance of this please refer to number two (2). Yes this is an intentional double post
Lots of people will say right tool for right jog, I've never broken a knife, etc. well lots of people including lots of those on this site simply don't spend that much time way out in the woods, deep in the swamps or marsh or far off shore or under the water. With all of this being done in very high humidity say over 90% for about 8 months or better out of the year.
Experience afield and a float has taught me that handles must be FRN, G10 or Titanium are their coming apart, period end of discussion. Yes it is nice to have a knife that will hold an edge for a very long time between sharpening but AUS8 or Sandvik 13C27, Beta Ti and similar materials that are softer than high RC materials are better. Frame locks are thick liner locks, and open frame construction so you can clean it out in a mud puddle or in the lake, Gulf of Mexico, ditch in the Marsh, etc. Axis locks with tiny springs to get filled with crap, aint' gonna work after their so gummed up with Black Jack or Gumbo mud from being in your right front pocket while you've been sneaking speckle bellies through a cow pasture on the edge of the marsh in Kaplan, LA.
All I'm saying is if you spend sometime outdoors hunting, fishing, diving, hiking, etc. and really using your equipment and tools you start to know what works and what doesn't, and I can say without question afield or a float I want the toughest folding knife I can get in my pocket. Nine times out of ten it will last longer than a more delicate knife or a knife of less robust construction and if something more is required in a pinch as has happened before then I am confident that I have it and it will be physically able to complete the task even if it isn't the most appropriate tool for the job at that specific moment. Let me say this as well I want the toughest of everything that I'm using for what ever activity I'm engaged in at the time.
Not saying saying hey use your knife as hammer, here pry open that hatch with my folder, not at all. I whole heartily agree with the right tool for the right job. However sometimes when out of doors situations beyond our control arise in a hurry requiring immediate action and in those instances you use what you have on you. So like I said somewhere before better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
Before someone says well then you should have had the right tool for the right job, be realistic its not practical to carry around a tool box when hunting, fishing or diving. Knives have reached the point through advances in materials, construction and locking mechanisms that they can now realistically tend to other task in a secondary or minor application/capacity. Ergo carry the toughest folder you can afford and legally pack.
Current carry is from this list Mission MPF 3 Ti PE, Steve Rice He-Man Ti frame lock, and Three Sisters Forge Beast
Have found only solid titanium handles seem to really hold up well for applications here given the humidity, brackish/salt water, fresh water and blood my knives are exposed too.
).
