What are you seasoned guys carrying?

Custom S110V slicer and Para3 in CPM CRUWEAR Screenshot_20190114-145442_Gallery.jpg
The para3 is carried daily. The slicer is being tested before going out to the client.
I swap out the para3 for a rex 45 PM2 sometimes. Or a counselor 2.0 from chuck Richard's knives. CPM 3V.

As I get older I want thinner and thinner blades. Cutting performance is something I chase.
 
I been carryin’ knives for so long, why I invented the flint knapped folder. Apparently the cutlery industry wasn’t ready for commercial production. Seems there was a lot of breakage tryin’ to fit the pivots.

As for more modern blades? My choices made back when we’re solid choices and still work for me today.

Always have a larger modern lockblade, a fixed blade and a pair of smaller folders usually a small traditional and a small modern folder.

Today it’s a Large Ebony inlaid Sebenza 21, a custom Bud Nealy Aikuchi, what ever the current Forum knife is or one of the last 13 made and right now a Lone Wolf/Loveless City Knife.

I switch out knives frequently so it can be any one of over 300-400 knives in my accumulation. The numbers vary throughout the year as I accumulate and give away knives from the current crop of blades.
 
Guess I've been carrying a knife for about 25 years, and has always been a folder. So for me the progression has been in quality. In the beginning it was cheap no-name linerlocks, and then switched to CS when they came out with the Tri-Ad lock....been carrying a CS ever since...think I started with the Mini Lawman, then Mini Recon, then Tuff Lite, back to Mini Recon, and now the Grik.
 
This Sebenza was the first high end folder I ever bought, purchased right here on BF almost fifteen years ago. EDC'd it for a couple years, had it converted and carried it for at least 5 more:).

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Nowadays I realize 99% of my daily cutting needs could be handled by the Mnandi and peanut;)

In reality though, the real EDC that handles most everything is these two, plus the fidget toy(knife) o'the day:)

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~Chip
 
Well, I'm staring 50 in the face so I reckon I qualify as seasoned. :D

My youth was mostly made up by something from Buck, Case, and/or Schrade. Camping, hunting, fishing, pocket carry etc. was all pretty much dominated by offerings from those brands.

But then I became a big ole grown up! Below more or less represents 30+ years of my EDC. Yes there was a lot of in-between makers and models (even multiples of the models shown) and trials and errors, but these models represent the bulk of my daily carry:

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A Buck 425 (the one shown was my first one) spent ten solid years and then the bulk of another probably five in my pocket. It was generally paired with a belt-pouch multi-tool of some variation. For awhile I was really focused on multi-tools and they did double duty as my EDC blade.

At some point I bought my first pocket-clipped knife. A fancy looking Gerber. See, when I was a kid, Gerber made good knives. Oh, what I surprise I got! That was the early 2000's I guess. It was not at all good and a 425 went back into my pocket to "supplement" the Gerber.

And then I finally got up the courage to spend more than $50 on a pocket knife and got my first Delica. I wanted an all-'rounder for camping, fishing, EDC, and so on so I figured a saber grind model would be best. I decided trading slicing performance for robustness was a good compromise. That was probably 2009 or 10. My oldest daughter has it now and refuses to return it! I eventually abandoned the compromise and bought a variety of FFG Delicas thereafter. And then came a bunch of Spydercos. I tested out a lot of models. Some stayed, others went out as gifts. Eventually, the Manix 2 Lightweight design won over and established residence in my pocket.

But now, I find myself going full circle back to when I didn't know any better. The Case has been in my pocket for a couple weeks now and another is in the mail. I never really got bit by the super steel craze for pocket knives. I dabbled in it and realized I just didn't need them or their costs for every day cutting chores. So that's a thing I don't have to unburden myself from. And I don't really need larger blades and the truth is the cutting edge of the Case isn't all that different than the Spydercos. The smaller handle means I'm not doing anything too heavy with it, but I came to realize I wasn't really doing anything too heavy with any of my EDC knives over the past decade or so. Yeah from time to time, but in general? Nah. I usually grabbed a more suitable tool out of habit. And I still have a lot of knives I can grab for specific duties when needed.

Simple knives will be my focus for the foreseeable future. Man, I sure do like those prices! :p:D I sharpen so the steels used don't bother me at all. I've developed an eye for some fancy stuff and will be targeting something from Fontenille-Pataud for my 50th birthday present. Of course, a Chambraird Compact and maybe a Lionsteel Roundhead and hopefully something from Robert David will find their way into the stash too. Oh and Claude Dozorme and probably something from GEC and...

;)
 
This is what I have been carrying since late November of last year...

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I got this knife as a very generous gift from Forum member d.r.h...I generally shy away from carrying anything larger than 3” and have never carried one with a clip...Dennis’s gift, however, has made me rethink this...

Cheers/bg
 
I guess it's been about 45 years I first got my own pocket knife ... a case mini trapper ...

I've went through too many to even think about through the years ...

I have pretty much dialed in on what I prefer and what works best for my uses ...

I fall into that if it weren't inconvient at times I would carry a fixed blade everyday ... and I do carry a fixed blade quite often ... the main fixed blades I carry for general daily use are a CPK EDC2 ... a Winkler/Jason Knight colaberation Jager knife ...

I found no matter what knives I try or how expensive they migt be ... that an Alox SAK Farmer is in my pocket 9 out of 10 days and if it isn't then a GEC Improved Trapper slipjoint ...

and then we come to modern folders .. I've went through a bunch and have recently settled into a few that fight for pocket time depending on what my plans are ... those would be Hinderer XM-18 3.5" ... a Large CRK might be a PJ drop point or an Umnumzaan or an Insingo but a CRK ... and then a Spyderco Manix II usually in M4 ... there is one of those variations in my pocket daily ...

so it's one of the modern folders ... an Alox SAK Farmer and on days I'll need it or can carry a small fixed blade ...

of course there are all the knives that have more use specific purposes but aren't daily users ...
 
This is a great post! Got me to thinking then to snapping a few pics... I've carried a knife of some sort or another steadily since my early teens, so that adds up to 30+ years. Don't get me wrong, I still buy some "fancy" or "gadgety" knives purely because they make me happy and all get some use and carry time. It's fun to show the goods to some knife appreciating buddies over some beers at the club or friendly social gatherings. One thing that has not changed in over 20 years is the daily carry of a leatherman for work purposes. Monday through Friday, on my belt in the factory sheath rides a Charge TTI, full bit kit, Illuminati light, bit extender, and a Space Pen. This has most work tasks covered fully. Along with that, I carry a folder or fixed blade to accompany. This to me would be my current "sturdy" EDC choices. For formal / social "don't need a heavy duty knife" situations, I resort to small pocketable folders of a more traditional style. I seem to have given in to the less flashy look for my standard EDC blades as you can see a bit of a G10 and uncoated blades thing going on there. What has changed over the years is that I now utilize "better" steels than I have in the past (love S30V, M390 and the such). Experience has shown me that IMO better steels just perform better. Better edge retention, durability, etc. dictate nearly all of my current purchases.

For example:

Work Kit:
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My current "sturdy" EDC choices:
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And finally, my current Formal / Social choices:
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I always forget because I never think of it as a knife, but a SAK Classic is pretty much always in my pocket and has been for many, many years.
 
I've gone through hundreds of knives in the past six or so years. Since Christmas, I have been carrying a Protech Sprint. Love the snappy action of this little knife!
 
91bravo 91bravo

Here's that zdp delica, lighting kinda stinks. It may be the most atrocious delica out there, most of the corrosion damage was in the pivot area and tang of the blade. Still a usable knife despite the world's best efforts to destroy it.
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MattWRog said:
I’m noticing a trend here, and if not I’m mistaken, I’ve yet to see an over-built “hard use” type knife mentioned. Almost as if folks who considered themselves “seasoned” have figured something out.
Click to expand...
Pretty much where I'm at... I seldom carry a hard use knife because I don't need such. But I do keep a number of knives in my field bag located in my truck that can handle harder use if necessary (but it seldom is) beyond my regular carries. So, they aren't carried or worth mentioning here. Kind of like full size pliers based multitools.... seldom need one, but I own them and they are available should I need such.
 
shinyedges said:
91bravo 91bravo

Here's that zdp delica, lighting kinda stinks. It may be the most atrocious delica out there, most of the corrosion damage was in the pivot area and tang of the blade. Still a usable knife despite the world's best efforts to destroy it.
View attachment 1054430
View attachment 1054431
Click to expand...

Aw man, that's not too bad. It's still usable. Maybe not be the prettiest or ugliest knife, but the steel looks like it could be brought back to life with a good sharpening!
 
I resemble that remark, 'seasoned' and lately I like a folder that doesn't wiggle around in your hand during use, the Benchmade Mini Freek seems to fit that pretty well, the texture, size and action on both opening and closing make it a no brainer for my EDC, everything else has cameo appearances just to fill in the gaps, but the Mini Freek is what I reach for when something needs to be parted.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

and for my really seasoned carry, my recently acquired Lionsteel Bolus from @knifeswapper is key and will soon have a vertical sheath made to ride along.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2
 
22-rimfire said:
Pretty much where I'm at... I seldom carry a hard use knife because I don't need such. But I do keep a number of knives in my field bag located in my truck that can handle harder use if necessary (but it seldom is) beyond my regular carries. So, they aren't carried or worth mentioning here. Kind of like full size pliers based multitools.... seldom need one, but I own them and they are available should I need such.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, I’ve got bigger iron that can get the job done but I don’t carry it on me. I get great satisfaction out of using different tools, for cutting or any other task for that matter. There is no fun in trying to find the one that will do it all!
 
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