Useless knives

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Night Rider said:
At first I thought that opinels were useless and a bit of a joke but after reading so many positive reviews here on the BF I'll have to pick one up and give it a go. Such a large group of faithful followers can't be denied and I plan on doing some whittling on my next camping/fishing trip so which size or model would be best suited for that?
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I have a couple of No. 8s. Perfect size for me. Personally, I've only used the carbon blades, but I'm going to give stainless a try, after a few good reviews I've read. Can't really beat the price.
And I've taken them fishing. No issues.
 
evilgreg said:
How did we get all bogged down in a useless discussion of the meaning of the word useless?

I mean, yeah, this two pound folding "knife" does have an edge and could cut something (or operate solidly as a paperweight, doorstop, etc.) but let's not let something as silly as that stop us from ridiculing it:

l2f6crz.jpg
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Wow! I didn't know that Todd Heeter was a Vexillographer. sorry for the big words, just tryin to keep this thread classy:cool:. He must have burnt out two dozen 3/8" drill bits on that one.:thumbsup:
 
evilgreg said:
How did we get all bogged down in a useless discussion of the meaning of the word useless?
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I think we're capable of sorting this out. I think there are two basic forms of useful/useless that this thread is surfacing.

The first is roughly along the lines of "capable of performing somewhat normal cutting tasks by somewhat normal people in somewhat normal circumstances". I think we can all agree that the too wide to actually hold SAKs, the too big to actually carry Opinels and the bizarre fantasy knife monstrosities shown in this thread all fall outside of this understanding of useful.

The other definition of useful is the one we all learned in business or economic classes - economic utility. That is, if somebody is willing to buy an object it has some economic utility to them. Perhaps that utility is that they do nothing with it other than to put it next to their TV set so they can behold the beauty (in their eyes) of the thing. Who knows? And really, who cares? They willingly paid their money for it, ergo, it has some utility for them. It is useful because it makes them happy. In this sense, each and every knife posted is or was useful to somebody.

I would make a joke about the utility of a knife as a prop in some forms of cos play, but if I think about that too hard, I can't draw a clean line between cos play (which I want to mock) and my choice to carry a Buck 110 most days.
 
Night Rider said:
At first I thought that opinels were useless and a bit of a joke but after reading so many positive reviews here on the BF I'll have to pick one up and give it a go. Such a large group of faithful followers can't be denied and I plan on doing some whittling on my next camping/fishing trip so which size or model would be best suited for that?
Click to expand...

<drift>
Opinels do well in dirt and sand as their pivot and lock ring aren't affected by grit as much as lock backs and liner locks are. But Opinel's become more challenged by being wet constantly, as the wood can swell making the pivot tighter.

IMO, the biggest thing to grasp about an Opinel is that it comes from another country and, really, another time. There is a bunch of common sense lore about how to use and maintain that style of knife that we, as modern consumerist Americans, don't know or understand. There are countless threads on this forum about how to take apart and clean various modern flippers and plenty of discussions of people's favorite lubes for knife actions. None of this applies to an Opinel. Opinels require a different set of approaches.

IME, an Opinel can be used out of the box in most situations just fine. If the joint becomes tight, grab the knife by the collar and whack the butt end of the handle on a hard object. A boot heel works fine. In France, that sound is called the "coup du savoyard". Anyway, this will usually pop the blade out enough to get a better grip on it.

IME, the best lubricant for the joint is Johnson's Floor Wax paste available at most hardware stores. Carpenter's wax or bees wax will also work well. Stuff as much wax as you can in and around the joint and melt it in with a heat gun. This will help the Opinel stand up to water betting and will help reduce binding. But it won't make it into a dive knife. If you like to swim with a knife in your pocket or are doing active water sports, there are better choices, IMO.

The #8 is the most popular size and still small enough to work for front pocket carry. I prefer the #9 for general carry but I carry my EDC knives in my rear pocket.

IME, the Sandvik Inox is so good there is no reason other than tradition to get the 1086 Carbone.

</drift>
 
pinnah said:
I think we're capable of sorting this out. I think there are two basic forms of useful/useless that this thread is surfacing.

The first is roughly along the lines of "capable of performing somewhat normal cutting tasks by somewhat normal people in somewhat normal circumstances". I think we can all agree that the too wide to actually hold SAKs, the too big to actually carry Opinels and the bizarre fantasy knife monstrosities shown in this thread all fall outside of this understanding of useful.

The other definition of useful is the one we all learned in business or economic classes - economic utility. That is, if somebody is willing to buy an object it has some economic utility to them. Perhaps that utility is that they do nothing with it other than to put it next to their TV set so they can behold the beauty (in their eyes) of the thing. Who knows? And really, who cares? They willingly paid their money for it, ergo, it has some utility for them. It is useful because it makes them happy. In this sense, each and every knife posted is or was useful to somebody.

I would make a joke about the utility of a knife as a prop in some forms of cos play, but if I think about that too hard, I can't draw a clean line between cos play (which I want to mock) and my choice to carry a Buck 110 most days.
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Yes. I think one contributor got hot under the collar because people didn't want to run with his particular definition of 'useless' - an object which somebody doesn't use for its intended purpose, in this case using a knife to cut things. I and others accept the definition you have outlined above, as it is broadly speaking the common definition and a fair one. I suspect that the post was really just an attempt to have a dig at collectors who buy certain knives for display or as an addition to a themed collectable series.

What was obvious is a total humour bypass which has now led to a load of people being put on ignore, first publicly then subsequently deleted; I guess some people cannot brook dissent and prefer to inhabit an echo-chamber of their own devising. Personally I find this thread amusing, just as it was intended to be, and am pleased that we may now continue laughing at pictures of hideous and impractical designs. :D
 
pinnah said:
I think we're capable of sorting this out. I think there are two basic forms of useful/useless that this thread is surfacing.

The first is roughly along the lines of "capable of performing somewhat normal cutting tasks by somewhat normal people in somewhat normal circumstances". I think we can all agree that the too wide to actually hold SAKs, the too big to actually carry Opinels and the bizarre fantasy knife monstrosities shown in this thread all fall outside of this understanding of useful.

The other definition of useful is the one we all learned in business or economic classes - economic utility. That is, if somebody is willing to buy an object it has some economic utility to them. Perhaps that utility is that they do nothing with it other than to put it next to their TV set so they can behold the beauty (in their eyes) of the thing. Who knows? And really, who cares? They willingly paid their money for it, ergo, it has some utility for them. It is useful because it makes them happy. In this sense, each and every knife posted is or was useful to somebody.

I would make a joke about the utility of a knife as a prop in some forms of cos play, but if I think about that too hard, I can't draw a clean line between cos play (which I want to mock) and my choice to carry a Buck 110 most days.
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There is of course also direct economic utility to the seller. My work involves getting people to provide their filthy lucre in exchange for my amazing products and services, so this direct utility is near and dear to my heart.

Pilsner said:
Yes. I think one contributor got hot under the collar because people didn't want to run with his particular definition of 'useless' - an object which somebody doesn't use for its intended purpose, in this case using a knife to cut things. I and others accept the definition you have outlined above, as it is broadly speaking the common definition and a fair one. I suspect that the post was really just an attempt to have a dig at collectors who buy certain knives for display or as an addition to a themed collectable series.

What was obvious is a total humour bypass which has now led to a load of people being put on ignore, first publicly then subsequently deleted; I guess some people cannot brook dissent and prefer to inhabit an echo-chamber of their own devising. Personally I find this thread amusing, just as it was intended to be, and am pleased that we may now continue laughing at pictures of hideous and impractical designs. :D
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Put me in the "let's all laugh at pictures of hideous and impractical designs" camp.

I own plenty of knives that I should be mocked for, incidentally, including not only a Medford but also an absurdly silly (at least for my present lifestyle) Busse TGLB.
 
pinnah said:
<drift>
Opinels do well in dirt and sand as their pivot and lock ring aren't affected by grit as much as lock backs and liner locks are. But Opinel's become more challenged by being wet constantly, as the wood can swell making the pivot tighter.

IMO, the biggest thing to grasp about an Opinel is that it comes from another country and, really, another time. There is a bunch of common sense lore about how to use and maintain that style of knife that we, as modern consumerist Americans, don't know or understand. There are countless threads on this forum about how to take apart and clean various modern flippers and plenty of discussions of people's favorite lubes for knife actions. None of this applies to an Opinel. Opinels require a different set of approaches.

IME, an Opinel can be used out of the box in most situations just fine. If the joint becomes tight, grab the knife by the collar and whack the butt end of the handle on a hard object. A boot heel works fine. In France, that sound is called the "coup du savoyard". Anyway, this will usually pop the blade out enough to get a better grip on it.

IME, the best lubricant for the joint is Johnson's Floor Wax paste available at most hardware stores. Carpenter's wax or bees wax will also work well. Stuff as much wax as you can in and around the joint and melt it in with a heat gun. This will help the Opinel stand up to water betting and will help reduce binding. But it won't make it into a dive knife. If you like to swim with a knife in your pocket or are doing active water sports, there are better choices, IMO.

The #8 is the most popular size and still small enough to work for front pocket carry. I prefer the #9 for general carry but I carry my EDC knives in my rear pocket.

IME, the Sandvik Inox is so good there is no reason other than tradition to get the 1086 Carbone.

</drift>
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So you might have to do a bunch of stuff to a cheap knife out of box to make it work. While not useless, I'd rather have a knife I know will work out of box.
 
craytab said:
So you might have to do a bunch of stuff to a cheap knife out of box to make it work. While not useless, I'd rather have a knife I know will work out of box.
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If you're worried about the wood swelling issues and what not you could always go with one of their high tech modern versions instead. This model has a plastic handle that won't warp or swell and also doubles as a multi-bit screw driver and wire stripper and whatnot as well:

OP001804n.jpg


That said I'm already bored with trying to sell you on carrying an Opinel because while I like them I don't often carry one myself.

I do have to admit that they probably cut better than 99% of the knives I do carry, though.
 
Night Rider, I find the #8 a bit large (I have medium hands) and the #6 a bit small; the #7 is my Opinel "goldilocks".;) You might try the nature series since you plan to use it while outdoors. :thumbsup:
 
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evilgreg said:
If you're worried about the wood swelling issues and what not you could always go with one of their high tech modern versions instead. This model has a plastic handle that won't warp or swell and also doubles as a multi-bit screw driver and wire stripper and whatnot as well:

OP001804n.jpg


That said I'm already bored with trying to sell you on carrying an Opinel because while I like them I don't often carry one myself.

I do have to admit that they probably cut better than 99% of the knives I do carry, though.
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I have this knife. Much more solid than my wooden Opinels. Dirt cheap as well.
 
Ah, I dunno. Growing up in the UK Opinel were ubiquitous. I always hankered after something different, as Opinels were ten a penny. They are great cutting tools and cheap as chips, so I do have a fondness, but I don't use them at all.
 
craytab said:
So you might have to do a bunch of stuff to a cheap knife out of box to make it work. While not useless, I'd rather have a knife I know will work out of box.
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Steering this back away from Night Rider's drift on Opinels and back to the question of what is or is not "useful"...

Your post reminds me that there is a third important definition for useful. Something along the lines of "the knife is well suited to my personal day to day uses."

I have or have had a bunch of knives that I recognize as being useful for other people but are really useless to me.

I have a couple of Schrade 5OTs in my roll. I love these little knives and think they're cool as anything. But they're just too small for my day to uses and for me, in the end, I find them useless.

I've had more Victorinox Classics than I can count. Used to pick up them as trade show freebies. Used one for several years as my primary UL backpacking tool. Ditto a small Camillus serpentine jack (aka peanut by another name). The Classics generally busted on me in a year's time and the Camillus was just too small for me. Useless knives IMO.

I inherited my grandfathers 6.5" hunting bowie. Has the notches from several of his deer. Cheap knife. Priceless family heirloom to me. Utterly useless in terms of what I do with knives. I think the same thing of the Buck 119 for that matter.

Obviously, I don't think this definition of useful/useless is too helpful in this context. It's like talking about preferences for beer, coffee or shoes. What works for one person may or may not work for another. Lots of folks like small lock backs, Vic Classics, Peanuts and large bowies. The fact that I personally don't find them useful or worse, consider them to be useless (for me), doesn't make them useless as a generality.

Point of fact... An Opinel #8 is quite useable right out of the box for most people in most situations. Yes, their wet condition performance can be improved. Yes, they require some maintenance that is unfamiliar to most American users. Yes, they have their limits. Most knives do.
 
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AntDog said:
High speed, low drag crocheting. Only the blackest of black yarn is used. How more black could the yarn be? "None."
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Wait, wait, wait. We need @filtrum 's input on this.

T. Erdelyi said:
Full contact crocheting ;) , now that’s something I’d like to see. We played full contact miniature golf, till they kicked us of the course. :D
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A major life goal of mine is to show up at a miniature golf course with a driver and tell them that I don't need to rent a club, I brought my own.
 
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