Traditional as EDC?

[sqoon]

So as I get older and more fussy, I'm starting to get more interested in traditional folders. I really like what I am seeing and hearing about Case. Also, as if I wasn't spending enough on knives, I love the idea of starting a little Case collection.

Anyway, onto the point of my post. I've been carrying mostly an Al Mar SERE 2000 and a Benchmade Griptilian for a number of years. However, as my interest in traditional knives starts to grow. I'm wanting to start carrying a traditional knife for my EDC, but it still just doesn't feel right. Without a pocket clip, the knives seem to get lost in my pocket along with loose change. I don't like the idea of needing a knife in a pinch, and not being able to get to it and open it one handed in a hurry. Most traditional knives I'm seeing seem to have zero defensive capabilities.

While I know that most of these issues are unfounded, as the majority of people rarely need to get a knife out in a hurry, the fact is that these situations CAN happen. Larger tactical knives seem to provide a little more security and piece of mind, in my current opinion.

What I'm wondering is how all of you traditional knife guys handle this. With no pocket clips, do you rely on sheaths for your slip-joint folders? Are knives like the Case TrapperLock decent as traditional knives for EDC, seeing as how they have a thumb-stud and a liner lock? Should I just stick with what I know, or are there secrets or words of wisdom ya'll can share as to why traditional knives are superior to "tactical" knives for EDC?

 

[Morrow]

So as I get older and more fussy, I'm starting to get more interested in traditional folders. I really like what I am seeing and hearing about Case. Also, as if I wasn't spending enough on knives, I love the idea of starting a little Case collection.

Anyway, onto the point of my post. I've been carrying mostly an Al Mar SERE 2000 and a Benchmade Griptilian for a number of years. However, as my interest in traditional knives starts to grow. I'm wanting to start carrying a traditional knife for my EDC, but it still just doesn't feel right. Without a pocket clip, the knives seem to get lost in my pocket along with loose change. I don't like the idea of needing a knife in a pinch, and not being able to get to it and open it one handed in a hurry. Most traditional knives I'm seeing seem to have zero defensive capabilities.

While I know that most of these issues are unfounded, as the majority of people rarely need to get a knife out in a hurry, the fact is that these situations CAN happen. Larger tactical knives seem to provide a little more security and piece of mind, in my current opinion.

What I'm wondering is how all of you traditional knife guys handle this. With no pocket clips, do you rely on sheaths for your slip-joint folders? Are knives like the Case TrapperLock decent as traditional knives for EDC, seeing as how they have a thumb-stud and a liner lock? Should I just stick with what I know, or are there secrets or words of wisdom ya'll can share as to why traditional knives are superior to "tactical" knives for EDC?

If one of your primary reasons for carrying a knife is self defense, then yes....stick with what you know.

 

[Blues]

Slipjoints are clearly not designed for knife fighting and self defense but then again I don't have the figures on how many folks have been on the wrong end of a toothpick.
(The Saturday night juke joint tales are legendary.)

As Jason stated, if your reasons for carrying a knife are primarily self defense then you are better served with a fixed blade or one hand opening "modern" folder.

My recommendation is that if you find yourself in such a situation, throw your unopened slipjoint at 'em as a distraction and then shoot 'em.

(The aforementioned was an attempt at humor and levity. The writer does not condone knife fights, gun fights or harming little kittens. Nor does he wish to jeopardize his law enforcement retirement benefits due to a tongue in cheek post. No actual individuals or animals were hurt during the typing of this post. God bless America.)

 

[puukkoman]

We don't carry traditional knives for self defense... They are tools, and not really suitable as weapons.
Read a little more of this forum. You'll soon learn about the attitude that many of us bear, regarding our traditional knives. Yes, they usually require two hands to open. Yes, this is not a lightning-quick process. Yes, they are often small, and yes, they ride in the bottom of the pocket. These are celebrated characteristics of these implements, not drawbacks. There's a certain sense of deliberate-ness that comes with using these tools; a feeling of purpose and contemplation arises when it takes more than a tenth of a second to deploy your cutting tool. And, of course... if these were good enough for our fathers/grandfathers/great-grandfathers, they're certainly good enough for us.
That being said, plenty of us also carry a one-hander (myself included), for those times when speed & convenience are key (for me, when I'm at work, clinging to a swaying mast 65 feet above the deck of an ATB, stripping cables and mounting antennas, one-handed deployment is a HUGE convenience).

 

[Rupestris]

I have been known to carry a Spyderco Centofante III and a Case Peanut at the same time. It's rare but it does happen. The Centofante III is my only modern folder and I honestly do like it as much as the traditional stuff but that's another story.

Get a Case Peanut and put it in your pocket. Continue to carry the BM or 2K. Within a week or two you'll realize how often you dig a bit deeper in the pocket for the little slip joint. Since it's the Christmas season, "I triple dog dare ya!"

 

[moonwilson]

Switching from one-hand-openers to traditional pocket knives takes some getting used to. After you do it for a while, you realize that you don't miss the extra second it takes you to reach in your pocket, pull your knife out, and open it using both hands. Opening your knife becomes more of a ritual, it has a more deliberate and mature feeling than whipping out a one-hand-opener like a gunfighter in a spaghetti western.

 

[sqoon]

These are celebrated characteristics of these implements, not drawbacks. There's a certain sense of deliberate-ness that comes with using these tools; a feeling of purpose and contemplation arises when it takes more than a tenth of a second to deploy your cutting tool.

I think you answered what my post was really unclear about. My primary reason for a knife is not self defense, but it is a quality I like and value. There is a certain je ne sais quoi about traditional folders that I love, and is the reason why I want to use them more as my everyday carry. I'll keep at it, and I'll stick around here to do some more learnin'.

 

[Blues]

There is a certain je ne sais quoi about traditional folders that I love, and is the reason why I want to use them more as my everyday carry. I'll keep at it, and I'll stick around here to do some more learnin'.

We will be happy to assist in your endeavor. Feel free to call upon us. (But watch your wallet...the slope can be beyond slippery.) :thumbup:

 

[WvHiker]

I mainly carry a stockman around, but I sometimes miss a big Spyderco or Benchmade folder in my pocket. When this happens I carry both. In the winter I most often carry a bigger tactical knife in my coat pocket and a stockman in my pocket.

 

[kamagong]

Another solution is to carry both a traditional slipjoint and a modern folder. I do just that, and a few others here also do so. You're in a forum full of knife nuts and nobody will so much as blink at hearing that you carry more than one knife.

- Christian

 

[gajinoz]

Horses for courses. When I'm at home, working around the property, I usually have my SnG in my pocket because it's a heavy duty folder and it does the job I need well.

My "office" EDC is a traditional knife, at the moment it's the BF forum knife. Perfect for that purpose and also nice to fondle as a sort of "worry bead" or "thinking aid" while I'm at work.

Sometimes, if I'm just going down to the pub I'll throw my Buck 55 in my pocket.

.

 

[Durwood]

I like to carry traditional knives and modern handguns. So far I've only had to use the knives and I try to do things so it stays that way

 

[gajinoz]

(The aforementioned was an attempt at humor and levity. The writer does not condone knife fights, gun fights or harming little kittens. Nor does he wish to jeopardize his law enforcement retirement benefits due to a tongue in cheek post. No actual individuals or animals were hurt during the typing of this post. God bless America.)

I'm sure you left something out there, but I'm not sure what ........



.

 

[Mad_Maxx]

carry both, you'll be fine and using the trad more

Maxx

 

[LKJW]

Agreed. I carry one of each every day. Sometimes I only have one hand free. One clipped to the back pocket. One nestled in my right pocket. I do prefer to use a nice slip joint.

 

[Stelth]

I mix and match traditionals and tacticals as the mood strikes me. Limiting myself to one style of knives is just that...limiting.

 

[Durwood]

...My recommendation is that if you find yourself in such a situation, throw your unopened slipjoint at 'em as a distraction and then shoot 'em.

I missed this the first time, but :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Blues]

I'm sure you left something out there, but I'm not sure what ........

.

Me neither...a sign of an idle mind I suppose...

I missed this the first time, but :thumbup::thumbup:

Thanks. :thumbup:

(I learned to avoid getting cut on (by a traditional knife no less) many years ago. I have no desire to revisit the experience.)

 

[bakerg2g]

I think my Traditional knives are allot like
I am!! Built for comfort not speed!! lol!


Jason

 

[jackknife]

So as I get older and more fussy, I'm starting to get more interested in traditional folders. I really like what I am seeing and hearing about Case. Also, as if I wasn't spending enough on knives, I love the idea of starting a little Case collection.

Anyway, onto the point of my post. I've been carrying mostly an Al Mar SERE 2000 and a Benchmade Griptilian for a number of years. However, as my interest in traditional knives starts to grow. I'm wanting to start carrying a traditional knife for my EDC, but it still just doesn't feel right. Without a pocket clip, the knives seem to get lost in my pocket along with loose change. I don't like the idea of needing a knife in a pinch, and not being able to get to it and open it one handed in a hurry. Most traditional knives I'm seeing seem to have zero defensive capabilities.

While I know that most of these issues are unfounded, as the majority of people rarely need to get a knife out in a hurry, the fact is that these situations CAN happen. Larger tactical knives seem to provide a little more security and piece of mind, in my current opinion.

What I'm wondering is how all of you traditional knife guys handle this. With no pocket clips, do you rely on sheaths for your slip-joint folders? Are knives like the Case TrapperLock decent as traditional knives for EDC, seeing as how they have a thumb-stud and a liner lock? Should I just stick with what I know, or are there secrets or words of wisdom ya'll can share as to why traditional knives are superior to "tactical" knives for EDC?

Carrying a traditional knife after the one hand things, can take a wee bit of time to get used to. You won't be able to quick draw a knife like the ones with the hole in the blade, or others with thumbstuds.

But reaching down and taking a moment to get your knife out and open it, is a way to step back in this hyper speed world and draw a breath. And maybe take a moment to enjoy your knife as you feel the nicely figured stag or jigged bone in your choice of hue. Life is short, and our society is moving too fast, why not take something you enjoy a little slower, and enjoy the beauty of a nice chestnut bone Case, or stag Eye-Brand?

I don't know what you do for a living, but you have to ask yourself, do you really need that one hand opening, or is it the stuff you've been reading about for years in the knife magazines?

I always find it a little strange that in our modern society, the fast opening knife has been touted so well, when in past times where more people really worked outdoors in some very dangerous jobs, the old slip joint did for a couple of hundred years. They had single blade lockbacks in the 1800's, some of witch could opened very easy. But the hard working cowboys pushing a herd up the trail, or a freight wagon driver, or even a seaman climbing aloft in a square rigger in a squall, didn't use them. Most of the seaman's knives of the 1800's were a heavy springed large single blade jack.

If they needed a one hand knife, they carried a sheath knife. Easy solution, and you get a better knife out of the deal.

I'm going to be turning 70 years of age this winter. Not a pleasant thought, but there's little I can do about it. But in my life I have been a soldier, and a machinist. For a bit over 10 years, (1960 to 1971) I served in the army engineers, and everyday was a construction job site, somewhere. In addition to the continental U.S. I had the privilege of serving in Germany, Italy, Southeast Asia, and some TDY duty in Libia. While serving on a wide variety of jobs sites, I cannot recall any time I needed a one hand knife. But I do recall how handy my three blade stockman pattern was. Having three different blades to choose from was a very nice thing to have. There is one very large advantage to a multiblade slip joint; having one blade that you sharpen at a higher angle to have a rough cut blade to save your really sharp blade.

About the only thing the modern one hand wonders do that the slip joint traditional pocket knife can't do, is to be used as a weapon, either defensive or otherwise. Of course, I freely admit my own prejudice on the matter. I've never really considered the pocket knife as a weapon. But in my own very humble and possable wrong opinion, it seems that a lot of the tactical knife thing is a driven market toward younger buyers who take video games and TV shows too seriously. All I know, is from my travels around this globe, sometimes in some not too nice places when I was young and dumb, there always seemed to be a beer bottle, pool que, beer mug, chair, bar stool, fire extinguisher, or other object to press into service, when things got a wee bit dicey.

Just for yuks, try this little experiment; drop a nice slippy into your pocket, and leave the one hand job at home. Do this for a month, no cheating. If after a month, you can honestly the slippy wasn't doing it for you, then maybe it really it is not for you. Won't cost much to find out. But I have a feeling, that once you experience the easy cutting of a thin flat ground blade, some nice jigged bone scales, and the slow down moment you get when you use a slip joint, I think you'll be a new convert to the cult.

Carl.