Utility of single blade knives

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

Slipjoint Addict
Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
20,039
Sitting here sick with bronchitis, sinusitis and generally feeling ill, I realized that I only carry single blade slipjoints anymore. Barlows, jacks and trappers. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but my favorite pattern is the stockman. I haven't carried one for some time. I rotate through my single blade ebony Charlow, my 73 single blade Beaver Tail, and not to let anyone think I favor GEC too much, my single blade SM Heritage jack in rosewood. I also have a single blade boys jack with ebony scales that finds its way into the mix, and a Remington peanut that was gifted to me. That is gummint legal, and makes for a great work knife.

I like my two or more blade knives, they are great to look at, but I prefer the slim profiles of the single blade knives. Strange for a fat guy, I know, but hey.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
Sitting here sick with bronchitis, sinusitis and generally feeling ill
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear you're not well, hope you'll be feeling better soon :thumbup:

silenthunterstudios said:
Strange for a fat guy, I know, but hey.
Click to expand...

Glad you're maintaining a sense of humour :)

Jacks are my favourite patter, which covers a lot of ground I know, and I like three blade knives too. The simplicity of a single-blade knife is nice though, with or without the slim profile, they handle nicely, and as I usually carry two knives I've generally always got a choice ;)

Get well soon pal :thumbup:
 
Bummer about being sick.

If misery loves company, I'm with you on single blade knives. Just a knife. Plain and simple.


(except for Leatherman Micra if the off pocket!)
 
I will be honest: until a few years ago, the only knives I had seen in person in my whole life were single bladed ones...and it didn't seem like the people who were carrying them were lacking anything :p
Today, I carry both single and two bladed knives. I think there's a slight advantage in having a main blade paired with a smaller one, but not a substantial difference for sure.

Fausto
:cool:
 
Single blade slipjoints are my favorite.

singlebladeslipjoints.jpg


- Christian
 
Christian, what model is 3rd in from the right in your picture? Ebony with the nice long shield?

Thanks,
Dan
 
Dan,

That one is a Schatt & Morgan Heritage Jack. Think of it as a single bladed TL-29.

dsc1157c.jpg


- Christian
 
And now I think I have dimensia, since I already posted in TLARbb's gracious giveaway thread... Thanks, P. ;)
 
Hey Dan, sorry to hear you're under the weather!! I hope you don't have what I had for the first half of May. Took me three weeks to get well, and three bottles of Nyquil, a bag and a half of Halls cough drops, and a half gallon of Evan Williams and a bottle of honey. Drank lots of hot toddies. Don't really know if it helped what I had, but after a few I just didn't care!

As to the utility of the single blade knife.

I have shocked myself. Coming up from a background of scout knives and stockman's, I got very used to the utility of the Opinel and sodbuster. The Opinel in particular, because of the ability to customize the handle and blade shape. The more I fooled around with the Opinel's, the more I came to appreciate that a nice single blade knife is a heck of a utilitarian package. Espcially after one night watching an old movie with Carry Grant and Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren about Spanish partisans in the Napolianic war. I took a Opinel number 12 and made a very Navaja looking blade that could be flipped open with a flourish.:eek: Too bad Sophia wasn't around to be impressed!

Now I'm carrying a Sardinian resolza, and I'm as happy as... well I'm happy. Maybe old dogs can learn new tricks. Only once in a great while I miss having a second blade when facing a dirty job that I know is going to dull the livin' heck out of my knife. Then I remember why I'm carrying the little Vic classic on my keyring as a back-up.

And then there's all the generations of working men who got by very well with Opinel's, sodbusters of American or German make like the old Herters working mans knife, the Mercator 55, the single blade Russell Barlow's of the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Yeah, there's a lot of utility in a simple single blade knife.

Carl.
 
Sorry you aren't feeling well. It's crummy stuff to deal with. Hope you get well soon.

As far as single blades....I'm not too picky in that area.
 
Thanks for the well wishes. Got to talk with a knife nut, or rather, he talked and I wheezed. He kept saying he hoped I didn't have pneumonia. Yeah, me too.

Christian, you always have the nicest taste in knives. I am going to be getting my first custom slipjoint, a custom Zulu, soon.
 
I have been digging single blades lately. I keep up on the maintenance more because its so easy. I still love two blades as well but have drifted from the three bladed knives I started with. I just rarely use the third blade. On my 53 stockman I never use the main blade, its just wasted weight for me. The 79 I have gets used a bit but I rarely use the clip blade. Its a heck of a slicer but I could do without it. Guess thats why I love the moose pattern that Jared made me, nothing wasted.

Even still the draw to a single blade is strong right now. I love how slim it can be. I really like how you can actually enjoy the handle shape, not have another blade making hotspots. Pen or double ended jacks are starting to pique my interest but thats another topic ;)

Get well soon my friend, who is making your custom? :D
 
Tom,

That knife is a swayback made by Bret Dowell. Covers are mammoth ivory.

- Christian
 
I carry more two blade knives than anything else Jacks and trappers of course, But I do enjoy carrying single blade
from time to time. I find myself carrying them more in the summer, They ride nicely in shorts. Here's a few a carry..

Jason







 
Very nice Jason. Whats the bottom one in the group pic? Thats just an amazing knife my friend.
 
i have some multi-blade knives, like a rough rider sunfish, a few trapper patterns and a victorinox. even have a buck 301 stockman with three blades. most of the knives i carry regularly are single blade knives. its like a work buddy once said 'if theres something my one blade cant handle i dont see where two more will make any difference'. lol
 
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