what are the pros and cons of edcing a fixed blade

I have EDC'd a fixed blade for about a year and i have found out a few interesting thing.

1 fixed blades are not as hard to carry and conceal as most people imagine but it is really helpful for the knife to be thin and wafer like. A thin FB like the Spyderco mule with a good quality sheath is just as easy to EDC as a folder and in some cases easier to conceal because it "prints" less.

2 people who are going to get upset about fixed blades will aslo get upset about folders.
It helps if the knife is small and brightly coloured but wether or not it folds makes no difference.

3 a good sheath is vital if you want to EDC a fixed Blade. Most of mine are from Normark
at OST sheaths. Someone mentioned the Razel and it has a very clever sheath with a clip so you can EDC it like a folder . The custom one does anyway.
 
I carry a Rat-3 on my belt underneath a shirt and a small folder in the watch pocket.
 
A Vic SAK will handle pretty much everything you will need a knife for in the wilderness. You just have to adapt your skill levels to accomodate the folders limitations.

As far as cons to carrying a fixed blade as EDC. Here's a little story about what people do when they see a knife. Right after 911, I strapped a Case USMC to my leg and went to the local Costco outlet for some food. Someone called the cops from inside the store and they evidently did several drive byes looking for me, because when we eventually left the building with our cart full of food, he cruised by, stopped and eye'd me real good. I smiled, waved and walked over to the PU and started loading the grub into the back. He didn't say a word and when he drove away, one of the employees approached me and said that they didn't allow knives in their store and I would have to leave it home if I wanted to continue shopping there and she went into who called and why. I walked back inside with her and got the skinny from the woman that called the police. She was scared to death the whole time I was standing there in front of her. She kept eyeing the knife like it was going to jump out of the sheath and cut her. I shared with her that I had no intentions of harming her or anyone else and that if it caused her that much distress, that I would wear a smaller knife on my belt that she wouldn't be able to see and she thought that was fine. Go figure. I still wear a knife into that place everytime we go. But it's my EDC Vic SAK in a belt sheath/pouch.
 
Good story longbow50,

The main reason I don't carry a fixed blade as a main edc is because if and when I go to my hometown, fixed blades aren't allowed to be carried in the city. I once asked an officer out of curiousity and he said that if he did see a sheath on my belt, he would have to take me in.

I then got the opinion of a local game warden, of course he said a totally different story seeing as he (and most other game wardens) are knife enthusiasts as well. He said all I had to do was state my purpose for carrying it (say I was planning on going fishing) and that should be enough to get by.

I think clothing attire makes a big difference in how people assume what we're carrying knives for. If I go out wearing my boots and jeans, they almost expect me to be carrying a knife. If I go out with the fiance in my dark pants and dress boots (black Dr.Martins) and they see my "rambo" folder, they give those looks like I'm about to rob the place.
 
Depending on the weather, I can carry up to a 4 inch fixed blade without a problem.

However when it is warmer, then it becomes trickier.

I think a small fixed blade can be easily carried daily though, and with bucket seats in cars, etc, a smaller blade is def. more comfortable.

I'm after an Active Duty myself with this intention in mind.

In fact, I believe a smaller fixed blade actually conceals better than a folder, what with the clip in evidence and all.
 
Pros: fixed blades are far better knives in every way than folders. Folders are broken knives more than actual knives, and while they cut, a stone with a sharp edge cuts too and it's still not a very good knife.

Cons: size. If that doesn't bother you, then that's that. I EDC a fixed blade, typically in the 3 to 5" of blade region, and the size has never bothered me, no matter what I'm doing.

Now, while in some places there are legal issues with fixed blades, or issues with mindless drones being afraid of knives, those are hardly qualities of the fixed blade itself.
 
I believe James Mattis said this...


""My good reason to carry a knife is that God gave me rather weak teeth and rudimentary claws in an evolutionary trade-off. The hairy-armed person who figured out how to put an edge on a suitable rock made it possible for us to be recognizably human in the first place. I wear a wristwatch whether or not I have an appointment to keep, and I carry a pen and/or pencil because I am a literate person whether or not I have a specific writing task ahead of me, and I carry a knife because I am a human and not an ape.

A knife comes in handy for all sorts of random tasks that involve separating matter. Like cutting a string, or making a sandwich, or opening a package. It can also come in handy in an emergency, which need not involve a human assailant, and emergencies are by their nature unforeseen, so one should carry a knife all the time.

And in a perfect world where nobody needed a weapon, I'd probably carry a slightly larger knife, because it wouldn't scare people.""
 
I EDC a fixed blade, actually, I have a rotating stock when I'm out hiking since I have to try stuff out. But my "regular" edc doesn't get a lot of attention- The blade is about 4.5 inches and it's not a bright color, but not BLACK. The sheath is just basic brown with all the strappies and a penholder. I think the built in penholder is the key to me not being bugged by sheeple- they seem to figure that if I have a pen I must not be carrying a weapon, but a tool. Or something.

LEOs haven't bugged me much- oh, very very few of them actually know the CA law and I've had some rather entertaining mall-ninja type conversations with some of the younger ones - but I don't seem to get hassled. I have done off and on consruction work in town, have the penholder, and at least a few know I'm a knifemaker. So maybe I just get a pass. (out here a fixed blade is legal if it's not concealed. That's pretty much the extent of the law)

My necker gets more negative comments, mostly from UC Davis students who are from Ellay. They seem to live in total abject fear of the 2 inch blade, while not being able to see the sheath knife.....

My sheath is pretty adjustable and I rarely have trouble with it unless I'm driving the saturn, but the saturn is a midget car anyway and I can't even wear a hat in it. I don't have an office job, though. :D :D :D
 
I EDC a fixed blade in the 3" to 4" range on my belt or in my pocket to the job site.

I don’t trust a folder to do the jobs I use a fixed blade for.

When in the woods I carry a 5” to 7” belt knife,

...and bigger blades when needed. :thumbup:
 
I really think it's task dependent..Here i the survival forums there are some very strong views about folders and fixed blades...My grandaddy did alot with rusty carbon steel pen knive... I saw him clean a bunch of fish shell crabs, clean a chicken, skin a rabbit, and whittle all with the same knife. (the only one I ever knew him to have) He was not a hobby woodsman as I am, he was the real deal, notbecause he wanted tobe but because it was the only life he knew...Coud he start a bowdrill fire? I maynever know..but could he make that small blade dance on any nstage he set before it?? he sure could. I'm not choosing one over the other...If I'm spending several days in the bush, than I might wear a fixed blade but most days and for most tasks a folder will do.
 
RescueRiley said:
I really think it's task dependent..Here i the survival forums there are some very strong views about folders and fixed blades...My grandaddy did alot with rusty carbon steel pen knive... I saw him clean a bunch of fish shell crabs, clean a chicken, skin a rabbit, and whittle all with the same knife. (the only one I ever knew him to have) He was not a hobby woodsman as I am, he was the real deal, notbecause he wanted tobe but because it was the only life he knew...Coud he start a bowdrill fire? I maynever know..but could he make that small blade dance on any nstage he set before it?? he sure could. I'm not choosing one over the other...If I'm spending several days in the bush, than I might wear a fixed blade but most days and for most tasks a folder will do.
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree with you in that you can do a lot of things with a folder. If someone asked me whether I could get by out there with just a SAK Ranger, I would not hesitate to say that, yes, I would get by no problem. That's not the issue, though.

The issue is, that even though a folder can do a lot of things in skilled hands, it's still far worse as a knife even in skilled hands than a fixed blade. I can do X things with a folder. But I could do three or four times X things with a fixed blade. If we have two choices, one of which is more effective than the other, why should we choose the less effective one (which in this case is the folder)? Given the choice of fixed blade or folder, the fixed blade is the only reasonable choice considering performance, durability and ergonomics. Of course, if one doesn't anticipate seeing much use to a knife, then the choice doesn't much matter, and folders will be more reasonable than they'd be otherwise.

This whole folder vs fixed blade thing comes from the fact that most people don't really use their knives for much. For such folks, a folder will be a perfectly reasonable choice, and indeed more reasonable than a fixed blade - if you're not going to use a knife much, why carry around a relatively large and heavy fixed blade when you could carry a small and light folder. But for those that actually do a lot of tasks which benefit greatly from a blade, such as cutting down woods, skinning game, working on wood for fires and shelters, etc etc, a fixed blade is what they will want. And in those cases where such users will bring a folder, you will note that they almost invariably carry also a fixed blade, often even an axe.
 
I carry a Busse Active Duty or Game Warden all the time as well as an SAK. The SAK comes out for everyday cutting tasks in front of people. The fixed is there if and when I need a heavier duty blade.
 
For me the biggest pro on a fixed blade is that I have never cut myself. My only cuts/slices have come from opening and closing knives, esp. a new knife, before I'm used to it. Maybe I'm just an idiot.;)

I hope I didn't give bad advice yesterday:eek:. When my hygenist showed me her knife, an ugly cheap Chinese folder, I suggested that she replace it with a fixed blade.

BTW she is not allowed to carry the knife when she cleans teeth and wasn't supposed to show anyone.:) I also suggested an SAK to see if she could get around this obstacle.
 
Last edited:
I've been EDC-ing a Fallkniven F1 in a kydex belt sheath for about the past week. The upside is that its faster to deploy than a folder. Downside is that its a little bit unwieldy when sitting and sometimes jams me in the side. For me, a slightly smaller fixed blade might be better for EDC.
 
I forgot to mention this yesterday. I had a physics lab on tuesday afternoon. The other group across the room walked around to each group asking something and holding a string with a lead weight on it. When he finally got to my table, he simply asked if any of us had a knife to cut the string off.

:D:D:D I must have grinned just as much as those smileys <<< when he asked. I pulled out my Emerson CQC-12 and opened it up slowly and with the thumb disk. The guy immediatly drops the lead weight on the table and backs off about 5 feet away from me. I was busy thinking, "what's his problem, he asked for it?" In one simple 'tap' the string fell off of the weight (they were making a pendulum in case ya'll are wondering).

My teammate then says, "that thing's illegal!!!" The whole damn class turns and looks at me. So I went ahead and kept it out and gave them a brief tutorial as to why it was perfectly legal (maybe not exaclty legal on campus, but at least in town it was). They all seemed a little better about it and the lab assistant didn't seem to mind. I can't imagine how much they would have freaked out if it would have been a fixed blade :rolleyes:.
 
batosai117 said:
My teammate then says, "that thing's illegal!!!"
Click to expand...



I really don't get this reaction. Unless you look like a deranged madman, and I haven't seen you, its just a knife. Do they get scared when they see a saw or a power drill?
To me it reminds me of the reaction some people have when going to the doctor--they freak out about taking their clothes off. I say, the doctor has seen everything: Fat, thin, ugly, deformed, well-formed. Unless he/she is a pervert they don't give a darn about what you look like. They don't have time. The task at hand it what matters: look at your body and diagnosis it.

Same thing: cut the string already. That's the objective.

I suppose someone could have cut the string with their teeth. I prefer the knife.
 
batosai117 said:
I can't imagine how much they would have freaked out if it would have been a fixed blade :rolleyes:.
Click to expand...

I like the non-knife people stories. It reminds me of the kind of scary world we live in. :eek: That's why I'm glad for forums like this where most of us are somewhat sane, knife-loving people. :thumbup:

I have to say, though, that it seems that it depends a lot on the person whether folders or fixed blades are more scary to them. I know some folks who always freak out when they hear that snap of a locking folder or see one flicked open one-handed - and these same people have no trouble whatsoever seeing Moras and other fixed blades.
 
annr said:
I really don't get this reaction. Unless you look like a deranged madman, and I haven't seen you, its just a knife.....Same thing: cut the string already. That's the objective........I suppose someone could have cut the string with their teeth. I prefer the knife.
Click to expand...

I guess it would have helped if I wouldn't have had a week old beard going on. I woke up late and forgot to shave the night before so I had that grizzly adams look going (If cars ran on hair I would open up a business with my facial hair, stuff grows out by the afternoon :eek:).
 
Pros? Obvious. You have a much bigger, stronger knife.
Cons? Harder to conceal, maybe less comfortable depending on knife and method of carry, and may or may not be legal in your locale.


I carry a Scrapyard Yard Guard almost all the time. Sometimes in the IWB kydex sheath I purchased, sometimes in the cordura tactical-style sheath that I got with it, hanging off the belt down into my RF pocket.

It's nice not having to tuck in my shirts!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top