Traditional folder knives - I don’t get it

I think the main part for me is handle material. I like wood and bone. I don’t like plastic. Not that traditional knives don’t have plastic panels. But I don’t particularly care for them. Except for cases yellow delrin for some reason.

I like some blending of traditionals with modern features. Like adding a pocket clip to various models.

My favorite knife so far is the buck 192. So that’s a modern knife but in a traditional style. I’d like it better if it was carbon steel and bone handles. But the overall style is what I like. And stainless has a major advantage of being nearly maintenance free.
 
For me, it's about the carry-ability of a knife. I really dislike heavy weighted items in my pockets, so I rarely carry 'traditional' knives, especially with lighter Summer pants/shorts - although I own several nice ones. This time of year I mostly carry a SAK Cadet in the 5th pocket, or one of my lighter Spyderco folders simply because they're lightweight and just more comfortable to carry.
 
Sometimes a small knife that doesn’t go “THWACK!” when opened and doesn’t look scary to the general public is a necessity.
Stick a peanut or something similar in size in your 5th pocket and you will see that traditionals still fill a role in today’s society.
Even if they are “ugly”.
 
KVT said:
So this isn’t meant as a dig or to stir anything up, this is just my opinion and we all are entitled to some, right?

I just don’t get the appeal of, pretty much all traditional folding knives. Whenever I see a Case knife I cringe just a little.

I’m pretty much a modern folder guy with some fixed blades where necessary. I do own some Victorinox kinives (not talking about those.)

I appreciate some of the history, design, materials and workmanship that go in to some of the traditional folders, but I really dont understand the appeal of the nail nick thing, the bolsters, the sizes and just the whole look of them.

From a utilitarian perspective I guess you could say 2 blades are better than one.

From a concealment perspectiv, we’ll, they do conceal quite well.

Why do they have to be so darn ugly?

I can’t be alone on this.
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Well for me, the appeal of the traditional folder is ease of use. Two blades instead of one is kinda nice, one for utility and the other for food only. Another win, isn't really the speed in which it's opened, but more importantly the ease it's folded and instantly dropped in your front pocket blindfolded, thus reducing chance of misplacing your knife. As for beauty, some of these trad folders can define the skill of the builder in fit and finish with exquisite materials, which isn't really found often in much of today's tactical folders that IMO are more about modern design and utility, but can be beautiful as well in it's own right. I don't necessarily think trad knives are ugly, the traditional carries it's own beauty apart from it's origins for utility purposes is it's non-aggressive appearance, they are also historical enough that our ancestors would have used the same knife in their time is a great part of their appeal.
 
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I like both. I love the simplicity of the tradition designs, simple yet versatile is a quality of itself. I like the ease of use from the modern designs, with one hand operating. Then there are those in between like German Mercator which is a lockback metal handle design from the mid 1800s yet feel less than traditional than some, or the the modern Buck 110 synthetic handle and thump stub, but still feel more traditional.

While some people use traditional because of the confine of their national laws. Other see them as collectible, or they don't find the need to use a more flashy design. This goes to many other things in knife world:

Handmade vs production, hand engraving vs laser engraving. Mass manufacturing shows our advancement and efficiency in technology, while handmade shows the prestige skill that the person has forged through years and the raw the strength of men.

On other hobbies:
People liking old car for the appreciation of the old technology, the stepping stone to the current modern design. Old car is not all about speed, fuel consumption or turbo charged, but about the rhythm of vibration and the sound.

People still use wrist watch when every phone has time display. Or deeper in the rabbit hole, some like the mechanical watch, other like quartz - some like analog, other like digital - some like rugged, other like classic - Some love the smart watch, other only use it for time indicator.

Some people like to live in big cities, for the noise and convenience, other like to live in a farm, where is it more calm and quiet, but have to ride 20min to buy something. We appreciate different aspects of life, we are different. You don't need to like it to understand.
 
Multiple blades are the big draw for me, along with simplicity.
My favorite patterns are the stockman, Barlow, canoe, sunfish/elephant toe (not the smaller toenail), 4 blade scout/camp/demo/ engineers knife, two blade slipjoint folding hunter, and moose.

I do have some single blades (including friction folders) but they don't get carried as often. A single blade knife isn't as versatile as a multi blade. No one blade profile is "ideal" for every knife task.

I grew up (or aged, anyway) with slipjoints. I received my first knife in 1961 or 1962 at age 6 or 7. My Uncle Bob (U.S. Army; Infantry) was home on leave between Vietnam and Germany, his next duty station. He gave me his issue Camillus Demo Knife, issue Jet Pilot Survival Knife (I have less than zero idea why the Army issued him an Air Force knife. He was a grunt; not a pilot or Huey gun ship gunner.)

I have a few lockbacks (got my first Buck 110 in '67 or '68, which I carried daily for at least 10 years, when I replaced it with an Old Timer 7OT in '78. I carried a 110 or 7OT or 6OT pretty much every day from '67 or '68 until 2021. Sometimes when I went hunting, I replaced it with a Western L66 or Schrade Sharp Finger, or a Mora N°1. Truth to tell, I could have gotten on without the lockbacks, (again being honest) which I probably "abused" scraping head gaskets, and other engine parts, cutting tire valves at a tire repair, prying the tanks off radiators (after heating to melt the solder), cutting up to 8 guage wire and stripping 4 aught welding cable, coax cables, and such when I didn't feel like going back to the tool box for a scraper, side cutter, wire stripper, or whatever. (I used the screwdriver blade(s) on my scout knife or SAK, which I have carried every day since '61 or '62 and counting.
Haven't carried the same one the entire time, of course. My mum stole the two Uncle Bob gave me when he was home on leave, when she divorced my dad in '66. No clue who she gave them along with all my toys and bicycle to. I suspect my then future step brother, possibly in a (vain) attempt to get him to like her and accept his da was going to wed her soon.

I still have the eight fingers and two thumbs I was born with. I don't recall any serious cuts from my pocket knives, (I've probably gotten worse paper cuts than I have knife cuts.) nor do I have any scars on my hands or fingers from using a knife. Traditional slipjoint and friction folders are safe to use, so long as you isn't a moron and try to cut something with the blade spine or stab something other that a 🤢hotdog🤢🤮 or Italian sausage.


I've never needed one hand opening, not even when working on a ladder.
 
I've got an Inkosi which is a fine knife. A really good example of a modern TI frame lock. But I only want one, all the more or less copies bore me to tears. And they're heavy. There is so much more variety in the traditional world, plus I'm old with old man taste.

That said there's a BM 940 in my pocket right now. A good summer weight knife by any measure.
 
Outside of the most basic utilitarian stuff, It seems to me knife designs have always been driven by what is fashionable in society at any given time, and pushed on consumers with tons of advertising and marketing. That includes the perceived need for various features and materials. Go look at old magazine ads from the late 1800s onwards and you will see what I mean.

I see modern knife designs as a product of the rise in popularity of all things “tactical” that maybe started with Rambo. And if that’s what you grew up with, then that’s what you will most likely prefer.

You can’t tell me that if there was a true need for modern knife features, we couldn’t have invented them a hundred or more years ago. We had automobiles and airplanes and all sorts of things by then.

Everybody could get by with just a small assortment of knives for various uses at work and for pastimes - beyond that it is just a fun hobby. So by all means, like what you like, dislike what you dislike, argue about it on forums, enjoy, but just try to keep an awareness of the fact that you are the target of all sorts of marketing. Check out the wording in this ad from 1917:

AEF4137-D-7664-49-D0-ACB8-7-D762-C414564.jpg
 
chevyrulez1 said:
I think a lot of it is nostalgic honestly, of course along with personal preference. When I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, when you said “pocket knife” traditional were what immediately popped up in most people’s mind. It wasn’t until the 90’s that we started to see the proliferation of more modern, single bladed pocket clip “tactical” blades. While I certainly appreciate the advances is design and materials, and the benefits of quick easy access and one handed opening and closing, I can’t help it that when someone says “pocket knife”, guess what image pops up in my mind, a smaller traditional knife 😏 it has worked fine for hundreds of years, still does
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Up to a certain point in time, people were using their knives for cutting. Then it became fashion to pry, stab, cut through thick, heavy, material with them and that is where the traditional patterns are not ideal.

I would say that there were many new designs in the early 80's which were backed up by heavy marketing. You could request catalogs which had whole sections dedicated to knives. U. S. Cavalry and Cutlery Shoppe catalogs come to mind. There was the explosion of knife stores in the malls, like Herders, Hoffritz, and Remington (the shaver people) which were all in the big mall in my area. Those stores were the places that started selling the Lyle Rambo knives, Buckmasters, SOG Tridents and all the eye catching displays. Plus there were the folding versions of tantos, tridents, clip points, etc. Spyderco hit it big back then and it changed the whole market. The traditional patterns were a tiny section in the store, probably because they were the lower profit sales. Everything was bigger in the 80's, just look at the hair. ;)

By the 90's, prices started to go up and the knife stores started going with mall ninja knives, katanas, and the like before they went out of business.
 
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Technology has brought improvements in materials and processes that have increased performance and increased my enjoyment of these tools. If we were still limited to slip-joints I likely wouldn't be interested.
 
KVT said:
So this isn’t meant as a dig or to stir anything up, this is just my opinion and we all are entitled to some, right?
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Yep, it's OK for us to have different opinions. As I have said many times, if we were all the same, the world would be a boring place.
 
I am really surprised at the back handed slaps, nasty innuendos and even a person of prominence in the BF admin comparing the OP to a retarded man. Wow. Really? Retarded? Ouch.

I have a foot in both camps. To me, no pile of screwed together parts made from today's steel/metal of the month will match an old fashioned traditional pattern that has great walk and talk, great fit and finish, and a couple (or more - hello stockman pattern!) blades to give extra utility to the cutlery. Like some here, I grew up with traditional patterns (Boy Scout knife at 5 in '61) as you only had traditional patterns of folders or fixed.

My traditionals have done great for me on the job site and do so today. I use them constantly for all manner of jobs. Sharpening my carpenter's pencils, trimming molding, cutting patterns, making plugs, and I even keep a blade sharp as hell on my traditional so I can "V" cut my cigars. I enjoy the fact that they are all a little different, even within the same pattern, and I also enjoy the fact that there are at least some hand operations in their manufacture.

That being said, BF really got me going on heavy duty, work knives. I like them a lot even though they aren't as charming, and I don't get the satisfaction out of using them that I do with my traditional patterns. I DO appreciate the extreme utility of my CS SK1 (although ugly as a mud fence) as it can do light prying, scraping, heavy cutting, and is damn near indestructible. As a tradesman/contractor, I appreciate any tool that can do more than one thing, especially if they can do a lot of things well. But unlike traditional patterns, if you put five SK1 knives on the table, you could scramble them up and not tell one from another.

As a youngster, I remember carefully buying a case with "dark ruby" dyed bone. I remember carefully picking stag handles for a medium stockman from several offerings at the sporting goods store. The knives were truly unique; one would have two blades with a great walk/talk, and the third blade would be "lazy". Another would have slightly different colors of scale material, or even slightly different patterns of jigging. So once you came to a conclusion (which as a young man with your lawn mowing money could take an hour) you felt like you had truly bought something YOU liked, something different from the other knives on the table. That bad boy was something you picked out yourself and no one had one just like it.

That's why I still love my traditional knives, but I also really appreciate my modern knives. So, I carry both every day, only leaving the work knife at home when I am doing something where carrying it would be inappropriate.

I think the biggest reason I like my personal traditionals is that a couple of them remind me of days past. I have a CASE large copperhead that is closing in on 50 years old, with one owner.... me! I don't carry carbon down here in S. Texas as I sweat all the way through my boots on occasion. But when the weather turns, it makes me smile to put that old CASE in my pocket to go to work.

Plenty of room at the table for everyone and their tastes I think...
 
fonedork said:
They’re good for using in public, around various wimps of society
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And this is a bad thing? (and, if you want to put it that way)
Many reasons I like traditionals, but this one is a biggy actually. You can fix a hangnail or trim a thread with a small traditional in a doctors waiting room full of Karen wannabes.
So, if you can use them anytime and anywhere, that equals more use. What's the problem?
 
KVT said:
So this isn’t meant as a dig or to stir anything up, this is just my opinion and we all are entitled to some, right?

I just don’t get the appeal of, pretty much all traditional folding knives. Whenever I see a Case knife I cringe just a little.

I’m pretty much a modern folder guy with some fixed blades where necessary. I do own some Victorinox kinives (not talking about those.)

I appreciate some of the history, design, materials and workmanship that go in to some of the traditional folders, but I really dont understand the appeal of the nail nick thing, the bolsters, the sizes and just the whole look of them.

From a utilitarian perspective I guess you could say 2 blades are better than one.

From a concealment perspectiv, we’ll, they do conceal quite well.

Why do they have to be so darn ugly?

I can’t be alone on this.
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"I don't mean to stir anything up. I don't get the appeal of traditionals. Why do they have to be so darn ugly?"

Not "Hey guys, what do you like about traditionals?", or, "Hey guys, why do you prefer traditionals?", or, "Hey guys, what do you use your traditionals for?". Nope. The only question asked is "Why are they so darn ugly?".

Starting a thread to tell a large segment of the knife community that the knives they like are "so darn ugly", and then saying "I can't be alone on this", sounds like a perfect example of someone trying to stir things up. At the very least, it just seems rude.

But hey, that's just my opinion. And we're all entitled to our opinions.

Strange thread.
 
davek14 said:
And this is a bad thing? (and, if you want to put it that way)
Many reasons I like traditionals, but this one is a biggy actually. You can fix a hangnail or trim a thread with a small traditional in a doctors waiting room full of Karen wannabes.
So, if you can use them anytime and anywhere, that equals more use. What's the problem?
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Why are you asking me what the problem is with my reason
 
I like, use, and carry both modern and traditional knives everyday. I like one-handed opening and a pocket clip on my modern folders. I also like the option to use several blades/tools on my SAK, trapper, or stockman. If we were honest with ourselves, 95% of our cutting can be done with a $2 box cutter from the local hardware store, but that's no fun. I have more knives that I don't use than I care to admit, but I still buy them. Sorry for the long post. This is just my opinion.
 
John_B said:
Yeah, we'll some guys like fat chicks and some don't too.
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I only have one question. Can she cook?

I met an old man in the cemetery visiting his wife. He proceeded to tell me this story. He got married and his wife was 16 or so. He’d go to work and come home and his wife made supper, hotdogs. So he lived on hotdogs for a few weeks. One evening he said, “I can’t live on hotdogs the rest my life”. She began to cry as hotdogs was all she new how to make. He said “there ain’t any reason to cry, you’re just going to have to learn how to cook”.
 
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