Traditional as EDC?

Nice post Carl.
FWIW,I was told by a knifemaker,who was told by another knifemaker,the first pocket clips were put on knives specified by modern (20th century) cowboys,ropers.They needed the easy access to thier folder.
-Vince
 
I carry a traditional slipjoint because it is my genetic imperative. I don't have a choice. I carry different sizes and shapes depending on what I am doing, but always have one in my pocket without fail.

Having carried a knife since a small boy, I can't imagine going a day without one in my pocket. I might forget something when running out the door in the morning, but it isn't a pocket knife.

Robert
 
jackknife said:
Yeah, when you pull your pants on in the morning, a pocket knife should aready be in there!:D

Carl.
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Carl has to have run into my dad at some point, but he is 87 turning 88 on the 29th. ;)
 
Lifes to short and moves to fast. Pause a few pull out that nice slippie and oh what a wonderful feeling. BTW I'm only 22 and I don't feel I have to have a knife to protect myself. I use a knife as a cutting tool.
 
At first i felt the same way. But after 4 years as a military cop and nearly 33 years on this earth, it occured to me. I have never once pulled out a knife to defend myself. So why worry about it

as jacknife says, its probably easier (and legally safer) to grab an object and brain someone if the need ever arises.

So recently picked up a Case Sodbuster and have been carrying it for the last week or so. I still cant believe how much sharper and better it cuts than anything i've owned before...

just my 2 cents
 
Blues said:
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.
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Ehm, than if I might add, in this case, an elephant toenail knife would be a perfect size and weight.:D. Thanks blues, you just make my day, will be grinning till weekend.
 
I love traditionals and carry a trapper and a midnight manager SAK,rotating with a few others,but i cant quite give up the Benchmade with D-2 and that Axis Lock.Certainly not for self defense though.
 
theblindog said:
Ehm, than if I might add, in this case, an elephant toenail knife would be a perfect size and weight.:D. Thanks blues, you just make my day, will be grinning till weekend.
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Happy to oblige, saudara...;)

:thumbup:
 
I always carry a traditional knife, and sometimes more than one (a slippie and a locker).

But when I go into a "bad" area, I also add a modern one-hand opener. Hope I never have to use it, but if I do, it's there.
 
black mamba said:
But when I go into a "bad" area, I also add a modern one-hand opener. Hope I never have to use it, but if I do, it's there.
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I used to be the same way. But I recently sold off my last one-hand wonder knife. Now, if I'm liable to find myself in a dodgy area, there's a Commtech Stinger in my pocket. Oh, and a Case peanut in case I need to cut something.

-- Mark
 
Twice, have I defended myself with a 'tactical' folder. For that reason, I always carry one or more of them.
These days, I find myself moving in different social circles, where such knives may well be frowned upon.
A nice traditional slippy serves very nicely in such circumstances, even though the tactical is never far from hand.
What the sheeple don't know won't hurt 'em, to butcher a phrase.

As my old sensei often said: Better a silent wolf than a bleeting goat.
 
jackknife said:
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.
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Great post. Just the kind of turn-your-life-around kind of wisdom I was looking for.

Traditional knives are calling out to me for a reason. I'm a computer technician at the moment. I hate computers. I hate video games and I hate the way the world is going. I'm in a masters program right now studying to be a librarian.

I'll be 30 this Summer. My wife always tells me that I was born in the wrong decade. My clothes are never in style, I never know what's playing on the radio and I have never seen Avatar, Inception or Transformers. The traditional knife seems to suit me just fine.

I wasn't trying to knock "the old ways" in my original post. Quite the contrary. My biggest concern about going the traditional route was a practical one, albeit it unfounded. I'm don't plan on stabbing anyone anytime soon, nor do I think I'll be tied up in the trunk of a car anytime soon.

I'll take your experiment and take the challenge that others have posed. I'll go the traditional route for a month. Just PM me and I'll give you my address where you can send me something nice to use. Case would be nice. Red bone would be great. ;)

In the meantime, the only traditional knife I have to "experiment" with is some three blade buck I bought years ago before I knew anything about knives.
 
sqoon said:
In the meantime, the only traditional knife I have to "experiment" with is some three blade buck I bought years ago before I knew anything about knives.
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Hold up a moment, son. If that three blade Buck is the only traditional you have, then you're off to a very darn good start!!!

I bought one of those in 1967 at the Army PX on post, and used it as my edc until the mid 90's, when it got semi-retired. In 1998, it was sent back to Buck, and got refitted with a new main blade, and a general sprucing up. It's still in use now and then. Not bad, 43 years of service from one knife.

The Buck 301 and 303, are the Sherman tank's of pocket knives. Try carrying it for a month. It's a damm good knife!:thumbup:

Carl.
 
jackknife said:
Hold up a moment, son. If that three blade Buck is the only traditional you have, then you're off to a very darn good start!!!

I bought one of those in 1967 at the Army PX on post, and used it as my edc until the mid 90's, when it got semi-retired. In 1998, it was sent back to Buck, and got refitted with a new main blade, and a general sprucing up. It's still in use now and then. Not bad, 43 years of service from one knife.

The Buck 301 and 303, are the Sherman tank's of pocket knives. Try carrying it for a month. It's a damm good knife!:thumbup:

Carl.
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Yeah, it looks like it is a 303. If I recall, I was taking a geology class some years ago. The professor asked us to buy a pocket knife so that we would have something to scratch rocks against to gauge hardness. In retrospect, I really don't understand why she required this. Again, this was long before I was into knives. I think I picked this 303 up for cheap. The main blade is duller then heck. But hey, it should do the job for a month now that it looks like my days of knife fighting are numbered. :cool:
 
Case makes a trapperlock. that has a thumb stud. It appears to be traditional. They also make a hunter with a pocket clip and thumb stud. The clip blade is hideous though. I'm not sure what they call it. Not even sure If it is a "traditional" pattern, but material wise and appears to be somewhat traditional.
 
I carried a Griptilian for a very extended period of time, and on many occasions I swore that that knife had everything I could ever want in a knife and would never need another one.


Then the traditional bug bit me. I couldn't get a Case Slipjoint out of my mind and just had to have it. Since I got my Case Trapper, my Griptilian has spent the WHOLE time in the microfiber bag it came with. I have actually not removed it once since i got the traditional.

There are things they cant do. Would I pry as hard with my case, no. Would I use the butt end of the grip as a hammer (did all the time with my griptilian), NO. Does it take longer and more effort to open, yes. There is really a magic that happens when you open your slipjoint each time. It just feels like a trusted friend that you know will be around forever!

As for self defense, that bothered me a bit because I would never want to meet the business end of my Griptilian, and that gave me a LARGE piece of mind. Once I started carrying the slipjoint, I realized that I really would NEVER want to be in a knife fight. A big boy like me can run when his life depends on it, and I would much rather run than be in a knife fight. I can find other more "ballistic..." ways of defending myself.

All in all, My knife is a tool, a cherished tool that will be a friend for many years to come. It really is more fun to cut with a traditional, to open it, to cut with it. And just wait till you start feeling the scales of it as a "worry stone" hahaha!
 
DITCH said:
Twice, have I defended myself with a 'tactical' folder. For that reason, I always carry one or more of them.
These days, I find myself moving in different social circles, where such knives may well be frowned upon.
A nice traditional slippy serves very nicely in such circumstances, even though the tactical is never far from hand.
What the sheeple don't know won't hurt 'em, to butcher a phrase.

As my old sensei often said: Better a silent wolf than a bleeting goat.
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I would be very curious to hear the details of these two incidents. I am not saying it doesnt or couldnt happen, but i'd imagine that incidents like these are exceedingly rare and to happen twice in a persons life is pretty incredible.
 
Or you can just get a Buck 110. Its traditional and I would count on that knife in a survival situation were it may be wilderness or self defense of some sort. Its a do all knife and I can say that it also is the sherman tank of knives. Gotta love Buck.
 
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