Use & Abuse E.D.C

I.N.F.K

I.N.F.K

Joined
Jul 7, 2012
Messages
1,896
I was watching A video on youtube about cheap EDC knives. I know that I'm personally quite reluctant to use some of my knives for particular chores, so I generally carry two knives on me. Right now i'm carrying my Benchmade 550 Griptilian and my Opinel No.7. Both are really great knives, but would I be hitting myself in the head if I chipped my Opinel? of course not, that's the whole point. I would be hitting myself in the head if I chipped my Griptilian though. So do you guys carry a cheap'o knife?

Here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTM4qfrWxA0

And here are my cheap'o knives, at least the ones I could find. Exclude the 5.11 Scout Tanto & the CRKT Hissatsu Folder

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I carry a spyderco yojimbo 2 for slicing and a busse basic 3 for everything else. I don't have to worry about hurting the busse at all so it is my go to blade. :)
 
I just made a video about this subject. Haven't posted it yet. I have certain knives that I have designated loaner/beater knives. I've read too many stories on BF of ppl loaning knives only to get them back broken because they were used to pry with. Right now my loaners are Buck Vantage select, Kershaw Cryo, a random Browning I have, Spydie UKPK, Spydie Ambitious, My older Delica, Boker Nano, and Ontario RAT 1. All these are easy to replace and cheap.
 
I've got a custom by Wolfs Creek forge for my "beater", I call it my tank. It's a nice beefy knife, when I got it, it was much beefier than I had thought it would be.

EDIT:
I've always thought that if you're going to carry it, use it. If you're going to fret about the type of use, don't carry it, or carry something that will be more suited to the duty that you're going to put it to. This is the reason that I carry more than one knife... The tank is the only knife I don't use on food...
 
The way I see it- if you're afraid what you're doing is going to damage your knife, that knife isn't the tool for the job.
Carry a Leatherman like me! :)
 
I carry a Emerson cqc-8 for a beater most of the time. I also have a Ritter Grip w/Wilkins G10 scales that a use for a edc to cut anything I can get my hands on!!
 
The "wannabe Spyderco" is my work knife/beater.
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crowmagnon said:
The way I see it- if you're afraid what you're doing is going to damage your knife, that knife isn't the tool for the job.
Carry a Leatherman like me! :)
Click to expand...

I don't know how I would feel about using a Benchmade Bedlam to open up a bag of soil with rocks, sticks, dirt, etc...
 
I buy knives for 2 reasons to use and to collect. I would never pull out a collector to open sacks and cut carpet. I wish I had the wealth to be able to kill my TB Arkansas Hunters. So I'm forced me to buy a seperate group of workers. They can be from all over world but I prefer American made. There are several out there for less than $35. Once in a while I'll buy a China made knife if it's a pattern I want to have on the job. Just the other day I bought a $12 RR Loomfixer for that reason. No way am I taking my 50 year old Case 6217 out to open peat moss bales. I guess everybody has to live with the hand their dealt. Here's the RR knife I mentioned.
 
None of the knives I EDC are above being used roughly and could be replaced without causing us to go hungry. I have a few knives that are collector only but they are fixed blades. I also EDC a fixed blade when not working and I'm not afraid to use them either.
 
To be honest, I use all my knives with equal care. Even inexpensive Opinels and Moras. I don't enjoy collecting NIB knives and keeping them pristine (I might yet acquire the taste in the future, who knows), so everything I've got gets used. If I can't use a knife, I won't buy it.

My multitools are the ones that get the roughest treatment, I don't mind abusing them a bit. Which is also why I lean more towards tools like the ST 300 than those with fancy blade steel like a Charge, Victorinox tools have worked very well for me, although I dented the wire cutters on both my regular SwissTool and Spirit fixing fences at a ranch (the right tool was a long ride away).
 
I wouldn't use a thinner blade, weaker pivot, weaker lock, weaker handle for harder use. If I was worried about breaking a knife, I would try to avoid using any knife. That said, I have hit ~$200 folders with hammers when needed
 
I always carry a PM2 and a Leatherman Wave in a belt sheath. The Para 2 gets the cutting jobs, the Wave gets the cutting jobs that get gunk all in the workings of the knife. When I expect to use a blade constantly all day long, I'll bring a Svord Peasant for ease of sharpening between bouts of use.
 
If i dont plan on using it hard, i wont carry it. Life is too short to go around worrying about breaking your knife
 
Most of my knives are what a lot of people call "beaters". I like shopping and using different budget knives though, as I don't have the money to ruin more expensive knives.
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I don't buy knives I'm not willing to EDC. I get that some people like to buy knives just for the sake of having them and I would love to do that but I try to avoid collecting things I don't need. It's hard to damage a knife unless you pry things with it. Even if you cut gnarly things and damage the blade edge you can always sharpen it again.
 
I always use my Leatherman Sidekick. I rarely use the folder on my other side.

The Vantage line has been amazing for me.

OP, I like that Peasant also. Great for camping, where I don't care what happens to it, but a really nice slicer. What are the two blades at the bottom of your picure?
 
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