traditional edc as a loaner

R

retired city cop

Joined
Oct 26, 2010
Messages
61
for starters, my primary edc is a 2008 vic alox soldier which seems to serve every knife need this retired dude needs. as you might imagine, i've become quite attached to this great knife. while i recognize how indestructible this soldier is, i often feel reluctant to loan it out when others ask to use it. and no--i simply do not have it in me to 'interogate' that person as to what they need it for as that can often me misconstrued as being a jerk. am especially reluctant to loan it as i 'think' this soldier may become harder to replace as time goes on. to take care of that, i have a wnger si on the way to act as a backup of sorts.

now lately, i've been carrying a import buck 371 stockman as a beater/loaner. would this work fine as a loaner? otoh, i also have a case amber bone mini trapper and am wondering if this knife would be a better choice as loaner.

finally, please excuse the use of all lower case in this post by me as this is due to a disabled left arm/hand from stroke:thumbdn:

my best regards to all here and mods of this great forum.

brian
 
I'd have to wonder at the chutzpah of anyone who looked askance at a knife loaned to them in their moment of need...

...that said, I can't find fault in your reasoning or any of your prospective choices.

(And here's wishing you a speedy recovery to that left arm, Brian!)
 
Hey Brian,
Any knife can be a loaner if you so decide.

Personally, I don't carry a loaner. Either I know the person and trust him to use the knife properly, or I offer to do the cutting for them myself.
 
Blues said:
I'd have to wonder at the chutzpah of anyone who looked askance at a knife loaned to them in their moment of need...

Never under estimate the front of some people:eek: Years ago as an impoverished student I was driving in heavy rain in an old car. Saw somebody had broken down and he flagged me down for a lift. No problem I thought, then this rather well off type proceeds to pour scorn on my car!!:mad: I wish I had an ejector seat:D But he shut up when I reminded him my old wreck was working and his car was not:thumbup:

I'd suggest the OP could carry a Rough Rider of some sort, maybe a sturdy Barlow? They're cheap to buy but a good knife, if some incompetent does mess it up well it won't be a big loss. I must say I think it's very generous-minded to keep a loaner about you. I'm very un keen on lending out knives, simply because if somebody doesn't have one it means they don't know how to use a knife.....
Click to expand...
 
Brian,

I agree that any knife can be your loaner knife as long as you are willing to accept the fact that someone might damage it.

I tried carrying various loaner knives but I found that I rarely encounter someone in need of a knife that doesn't already have one. My loaner knives were always knives that I didn't care much about and I found that I would rather carry something that I'm proud of instead.

Nowadays I carry a Swiss Card in my wallet. It has a very flimsy knife inside of it that I would loan out if the need presented itself. Since the Card is in my wallet, it's not an inconvenince to carry and I still have pocket room for more desirable knives.
 
Well you have the utility knife covered so I would say buy something small, inexpensive and gorgeous. How about a Case peanut or pen with some nice bone!


Paul
 
I don't loan any of my knives to anyone. If someone comes up to me and wants to borrow a knife and the job they want to do is close at hand, I'll do any cutting for them. If not close at hand, I just won't let anyone borrow my knife.

Prayers for a speedy recovery Brian.
 
When people ask to borrow my knife I always ask "Why?"
Too many people think a pocketknife is a folding screwdriver :)
Doc
 
Brian, welcome to the forums, my Brother in Law is retired from the Job for 10 years now, thanks for all you've done.

That said, there's nothin' wrong with askin' what a person want's to borrow my pride and joy for, actually I'll always ask because I might have another tool that would better suit their needs.

I always used to keep a box cutter handy, one of those stamped models, usually all they want to do is open a box or cut some string so this suits them best.

People who knew I had a knife would say, "Hey Ted, could I borrow your knife for a minute?", me, "What do ya need to cut?", Oh I don't wanna cut nuthin', I just wanna pry this drawer open.", me, "Well here use this mini prybar it'll work a lot better."

Or if they said "Hey Ted, could I borrow your knife for a minute?", me, "What do ya need to cut?", I have this thread hangin' off my jacket', I just wanna cut it off.", me, "Well here use my scissors they'll work a lot better."

Now that I think about it I rarely lend my knife out to anyone that woudn't carry one themselves, than the conversation goes more like this, "Ted, could I borrow your knife?"
me, "What for?", them, "Because yours is a lot sharper than mine." me, "OK but let me show ya how to put a quick edge on yours for the next time ya need a sharp knife.".

I used to keep an old Imperial Kamp King in my tool box to lend out too.
 
Hey Brother,I have 2 2008 Vic Alox Soldiers,Great knives eh!I always carry a little pos(piece of $hit),to loan,to non knife people.Hope you feel better!!
 
I either loan knives to people I know will use them well or I don't. Not usually cause of the knife, but people have a weird way of blaming you if they cut themselves.

I agree, though, a rough rider would be a good choice.
 
If you're going to carry a folding knife specifically to loan to people, I suggest something with a lock. If you can't trust someone to use your knife without possibly screwing the edge up, you can't trust them to use it without closing the blade on their finger. I know when I was younger and dumber I learned the hard way not to stab things with a slipjoint. Rough Rider and Steel Warrior make some that lock.
 
Doc4570 said:
When people ask to borrow my knife I always ask "Why?"
Too many people think a pocketknife is a folding screwdriver :)
Doc
Click to expand...

I have to go along with Doc on this. I've met too many people who have very weird ideas of what a knife is for. I don't loan out my knife. If something has to be cut, then I'll cut it.

Carl.
 
I always ask what they want to cut and usually offer to do it myself. Regarding the Soldier, they still make the Vic Pioneer, so we're not totally SOL.
 
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I guess I don't have a problem being a hard xxx. I usually just say "no". I've had too many people mess up my knives, especially people who should know better...
 
I dont tend to loan my knives since the last person I lent one to nearly severed the tendons in their finger, most people are not used to knives as sharp as I keep mine...I say no, and offer to do it.
 
I'm with the "I'll cut it for you" crowd. I don't lend out my knives. If someone needs something cut, I usually take out my blue Vic Classic that rides on my keychain. I open it, and then offer to cut it for them. They always look at it like "That tiny thing? I'm not using that!!", and it gives ME the chance to do the work. Have yet to come across a chore this tiny little knife couldn't handle, and have yet to come across someone who WASN'T surprised at what this tiny little gem could handle.
 
Those little classics are great keychain laser beams thats for sure...but if it came to handing my 2010 moose to a random, even a friend (sans other knife knuts I trust), I probably wouldn't. I am very fussy like that.
 
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