What kind of situation would remind you to bring a right knife with you?

Kizer Cutlery said:
I will talk to RND, might do it someday. In fact, we are trying to make Kizer become an Outdoor product brand, not only knives. XD
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That'd be cool to see someday. But just a friendly word of caution, please don't OEM your multitool to a random brand in China. There are really only a few offerings that are worth looking into, and associating yourself with an inferior products will just drag down the image of the whole brand(which I am sure you guys would know).

Fenix has been a pretty good flashlight maker, and I think their recent year expansion to knife industry is a pretty good one. Though they are probably just OEM, those offerings are pretty consistent with decent value and QC.
 
allenC said:
Less than 100 years ago your forefathers did all of that with only one knife.

And did it well.

Just saying...
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I would respectfully disagree. A hundred plus years ago people were less afraid about taking entire sets of knives with them. Political correctness was still a long ways from being invented; and, you didn’t have cell phones, radios, or a convenient highway system to procure comforts and help. So you took an axe, a saw, knives and other tools to process game and natural materials into fuel, shelter, tables, chairs, clothing, food and all other basic necessities.

The whole low impact approach to the outdoors is a very recent development.

n2s
 
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I'm not saying I am some super prepared badass or anything but I'm not sure I've ever been noticeably caught under knifed. Maybe I've had a carbon folder when getting stuck in the rain and wished I had a more stainless knife. I've absolutely used the wrong knife in the kitchen when I try to use an EDC our outdoors knife. The fix was easy to switch over to one of my ready and waiting kitchen knives. I once tried to dice up an onion with an Esee 5. Big mistake.
 
comis said:
... Fenix has been a pretty good flashlight maker, and I think their recent year expansion to knife industry is a pretty good one. Though they are probably just OEM, those offerings are pretty consistent with decent value and QC.
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I'm pretty sure that both Ruike (Fenix's brand) and Real Steel are made by Sanrenmu. I have a Ruike Jager in 14C28N and a Real Steel Receptor in 9Cr18Mov. Both have been excellent.

I'm guessing Kizer could make a multi-tool on their own. Given the mystery involved with OEM production, I wonder if Kizer makes knives for anyone else.
 
comis said:
That'd be cool to see someday. But just a friendly word of caution, please don't OEM your multitool to a random brand in China. There are really only a few offerings that are worth looking into, and associating yourself with an inferior products will just drag down the image of the whole brand(which I am sure you guys would know).

Fenix has been a pretty good flashlight maker, and I think their recent year expansion to knife industry is a pretty good one. Though they are probably just OEM, those offerings are pretty consistent with decent value and QC.
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Thank you so much for your advice, we appreciate it! ;)
 
Is there room in the market for yet another multitool company? Lot's of companies trying to reinvent the Vic/LM wheel, few who are doing enough to make someone look at a SAK or LM and say, no, let's try someone else. Even fewer doing it well enough to make it stick.
 
This one is real, it happened to me a few months ago (February 2020 in Cogne, Italian Alps, just on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc Tunnel).

Ice climbing day. I led a 40m pitch of WI5 and I was unable to find the fixed anchors of the belay station (bolts on rocks usually, or the ocassional sling arround a tree). I guess it was either buried under the snow (lot's of snow this year). I found the remains of an old belay station (just the metal inserts in the rock but no bolts or rings or anything).

I installed an ice screw, anchored myself and proceeded to creat a V thread anchor (also called avalakov). For those not familiar with what a Vthread is I will explain. You take the longest screw on your rack (usually 22cm) and insert it in the ice sideways at an angle (45º or so), then you remove it and inser it again from the opposite side trying to get the previous hole and this one to connect. You creat a V shaped tunnel in the ice.

Once you have the tunnel made, you thread a piece of cord through it with the help of a hook, tie it off and cut the excess.

vthread.gif


And then is when things got funny because... I was not wearing my regular climbing pants and I realised after tying off that... I had left my Spyderco Rescue in the backpocket of my other climbing pants in the car.

What should have been a quick slice with a sharp knife become a real long struggle to cut the 8mm cord with the sole aid of my ice tools. I planted one of them firmly on the ice, used the hammer on the back of the had as an anvil and banged on it with the hammer of my other tool. Eventually I chopped it off. In turn this situation gave me confidence that it is not that easy AT ALL to cut a climbing rope against a rock during a fall.

Not a life or death situation because I only had to abseil to the ground and I could have left the whole 5m long coil of cord up there and be done. But had it been a multipitch abseil on avalakovs.... I whould have meant trouble.

So, two things to remember: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR KNIFE ON YOU and BUY A NEW VTHREAD TOOL THAT INCORPORATES A BLADE AND THE HOOK IN THE SAME TOOL!!!!

Mikel
 
Pomsbz said:
Is there room in the market for yet another multitool company? Lot's of companies trying to reinvent the Vic/LM wheel, few who are doing enough to make someone look at a SAK or LM and say, no, let's try someone else. Even fewer doing it well enough to make it stick.
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There are lots of companies making pliers-based multi-tools but how many of them use premium or even decent materials? I brought this up because I tend to carry a knife plus a small multi-tool as opposed to multiple knives. The knives on a lot of multi-tools are pretty sad.

Leatherman is at the head of the class but mostly uses 420HC. They've heard the message from customers and started using 154CM but only on a few of their larger models. Otherwise, it's a sea of junk steel. I think Gerber uses 5Cr15Mov. Mostly, it's unspecified "stainless steel" and sometimes they aren't even sharp out of the box. Besides the knife blades, look around at reviews. From SOG to random Chinese brands, you'll see a lot of "great idea but terrible execution".

The real market hole is on the small end. I mentioned the Squirt and Dime because they really don't have competitors in that size range. This size category is so easy to carry! They can ride on a key ring, in a fifth pocket, etc. Sadly, the quality analog to knives is what most of us here would consider hot garbage. I'd love to see a pliers-based multi-tool in this size range at a quality level on par with Kizer's Tangram or Vanguard series.
 
Chronovore said:
There are lots of companies making pliers-based multi-tools but how many of them use premium or even decent materials? I brought this up because I tend to carry a knife plus a small multi-tool as opposed to multiple knives. The knives on a lot of multi-tools are pretty sad.

Leatherman is at the head of the class but mostly uses 420HC. They've heard the message from customers and started using 154CM but only on a few of their larger models. Otherwise, it's a sea of junk steel. I think Gerber uses 5Cr15Mov. Mostly, it's unspecified "stainless steel" and sometimes they aren't even sharp out of the box. Besides the knife blades, look around at reviews. From SOG to random Chinese brands, you'll see a lot of "great idea but terrible execution".

The real market hole is on the small end. I mentioned the Squirt and Dime because they really don't have competitors in that size range. This size category is so easy to carry! They can ride on a key ring, in a fifth pocket, etc. Sadly, the quality analog to knives is what most of us here would consider hot garbage. I'd love to see a pliers-based multi-tool in this size range at a quality level on par with Kizer's Tangram or Vanguard series.
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The only thing which might require better steel than 420HC is the blade and you can get both 154CM and S30V at Leatherman. With Victorinox you get their excellent blade steel which follows a different use design philosophy. 420HC is not a bad steel either. The other tools simply don't need or it would be detrimental to have super steel for that tool. The regular MT user is probably unlikely to buy a tool for the blade steel upgrade alone if it means putting up with the rest of the tools being in all probability less well designed and lacking the decades of field testing the competition has. Especially when you can already buy a LM Charge with better steel.

Even then, Spyderco made some interesting multi tools but you don't hear about them much. Gerber make some excellent multitools but they are still very much tool first and knife as an afterthought. It's like trying to bring out a new operating system to compete with microsoft and apple. You can do it but it's unlikely to compete enough to make you any real money.
 
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I am very seldom under knifed. I carry knives I use daily and they are small knives. I keep larger knives available pretty conveniently like in my vehicle if I am out somewhere and need a more robust knife for some reason. But it is rare quite frankly.

I generally carry a larger knife if I am in woods for safety and versatility reasons. But in most cases, my usual small edc knives work just fine in that environment also. Since I own the knives, I might as well carry them from time to time in the woods.
 
Pomsbz said:
The only thing which might require better steel than 420HC is the blade and you can get both 154CM and S30V at Leatherman. With Victorinox you get their excellent blade steel which follows a different use design philosophy. 420HC is not a bad steel either. The other tools simply don't need or it would be detrimental to have super steel for that tool. The regular MT user is probably unlikely to buy a tool for the blade steel upgrade alone if it means putting up with the rest of the tools being in all probability less well designed and lacking the decades of field testing the competition has. Especially when you can already buy a LM Charge with better steel.

Even then, Spyderco made some interesting multi tools but you don't hear about them much. Gerber make some excellent multitools but they are still very much tool first and knife as an afterthought. It's like trying to bring out a new operating system to compete with microsoft and apple. You can do it but it's unlikely to compete enough to make you any real money.
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Obviously, only the knife would need better blade steel. :p

Look, I'm talking about a particular kind of multi-tool in a particular size class. There are basically two choices: LM Squirt and Gerber Dime. That LM only comes in 420HC. Aside from Buck knives with a good heat treatment, how would you view a pocket knife of this quality in 420HC? Much like 8Cr13Mov, that's getting harder to justify in pocket knives over $30. Some people will argue over this point. (Hopefully fewer would take the time to defend Gerber's 5Cr15Mov in 2020.) Before anyone does, just ask yourself a question: why not keep pace with advancement in the knife industry? Why even be in a position to defend subpar blade steel?

Right now, I can get a Tangram knife for under $25. Forget about 5Cr15. Their Acuto 440 outcuts most any 8Cr13Mov and is much more stainless. It's better than your average 420HC. It comes on knives with G10 scales, smooth actions with bearings, and decent fit and finish. That's a big deal. We've seen a real Renaissance in Chinese budget knives. Kizer's Tangram and Vanguard lines have been a part of it. So why not apply some of that "quality for the dollar" to a corner of the market that's still in the Dark Ages?
 
cbach8tw said:
I like a folderwith a clip, but wish I had my SA on me for little jobs, like tightening screws or opening a bottle with a cap.
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I liked the bottle cap idea and found the can opener useful when trailer camping, then I also looked for a SA with a corkscrew, went back and forth with different models. The corkscrew came in handy when at friends homes and we wanted to open a bottle of wine. Very rarely would I use the corkscrew while camping!!!:p
I actually found a use for the awl too!! So for my glamping, the SA did the trick. The only time I wanted or needed a different or longer blade was for food prep. Now I want to get an Alox Farmer for the saw. I may already have a Forester or Trekker Model.
 
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I put at least 3 multi-blade knives in my pocket when I wake up, to cover most "normal" knife tasks.
One is always a 3 blade stockman, and one is always a 4 blade scout/camp/Demo knife or SAK Huntsman (for the scissors and saw) or a GAK Bundeswehr (for the saw)
If I know I'll be working with rope, for example, I'll add a Markin Spike to the day's carry. If I go hunting or fishing, I'll put a Mora Number 1 or Buck 110 on my belt, in case I get lucky and find a whatever is in season or find a (stupid) hungry fish.
(You'll never catch a "smart" fish. They don't bite anything with or on a hook.)

Truth to tell, 99.998% of the time the stockman and a scout/camp/Demo knife has covered every task I need a knife for.
 
I always carry two knives as EDC - a Victorinox Ambassador and a single blade folder. Years ago, it was a Buck 501, later, when I learned about one handed opening knives, I bought a Mini-Griptilian, then a Bugout and recently, a Mini-Presidio II. I can't recall the last time I needed to cut up boxes. I still can't believe how many people seem to do this task with something other than a proper box cutter.

I use the Ambassador multiple times a day (scissors, tweezers, toothpick, nail file, and, occasionally, the little blade. The single blade folders almost never because my day to day life rarely requires a knife blade. That said, for 50+ years I've had the philosophy of better to have it and not need it... It's probably just a long time boyhood fantasy of have a proper blade with me at all times. Most of the time I've ever needed a proper knife was on an impromptu picnic and I need something to slice bread, meat, cheese, apples, etc. However, like a poster mentioned earlier, when camping I always have a fixed blade knife (Mora or Fallkniven F1), a small Wetterlings hatchet, and a small Gerber pruning say (the original version). My daily driver is a Land Cruiser and there must be a good half dozen different types of knives stowed in the glove box, my go bag, etc. There's also a small tool kit and Leatherman Wave onboard.

So if I know I'll be in a certain situation with certain requirements, I'll take the appropriate tools. However, I don't recall too many times where I couldn't make do with my normal daily carry.

I recall some years back having a steak at some restaurant whose steak knives sucked and used my Buck 501 instead.
 
I carried Recon Tanto at work while I was construction worker.
I also carry it to forrest.

I used to carry Drop Forged Hunter as EDC.

Boker GoBag was my knife for unboxing and EDC for formal occassions.

If I'll ever go to war or some battle - I'll most likley carry Warcraft Tanto :D
 
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