What materials can't a "tough" folder cut?

Noctis3880 said:
A thick blade with a high inclusive angle won't be as sharp as a thin blade with a low inclusive angle, but it retains a usable edge longer without as rapid an edge deterioration as you would get with a thin blade/angle.
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not so much
 
hardheart said:
not so much
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How often do you have to sharpen an axe for firewood?

At work, we also have a huge knife for chopping watermelons in half, and that thing only gets sharpened maybe once or twice a year.

Comparing those to a thin blade, of course it wouldn't be as sharp, but it's sharp enough to do the job it was made for.
 
singularity35 said:
The most common argument agains "tough" folders are that they can't cut as well as thin folders. I'm sure that's true, but on the other hand, for the guys that prefer the cutting power of thin folders, what materials do you routinely come across that a "tough" folder like say a ZT 300 or a strider can't handle?
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Definitely NOT wet egg cartons! ;)
 
hardheart said:
Some people don't want good enough. That's all there is to it.
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Right, for some people good enough does not cut(see the pun) it. But I'm talking about getting the task done not personal preference. How much finesse do you need to slice open wet egg cartons?
 
bobusx said:
Was someone really saying that a "hard use" folder is incapable of cutting some things that a thin slicer can? Not just not as well, but not at all? Honestly if anyone was really professing that, they are too stupid to be worth arguing with...;)
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:barf:

Sheet rock. My BM 805 would not cut it. My Schrade peanut went through, but still took some effort.

Noctis, if a knife used to chop watermelon goes dull, I'm not eating that watermelon.
 
me2 said:
:barf:

Sheet rock. My BM 805 would not cut it. My Schrade peanut went through, but still took some effort.

Noctis, if a knife used to chop watermelon goes dull, I'm not eating that watermelon.
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Videos or it didn't happen. :D
 
singularity35 said:
Are you saying that a thick blade like can't cut those at all? :D

I am not talking about easier i'm talking about good enough. Let's take a situation.If your on a lifeboat lost at sea, alone with a pig that you were able to get from the fridge and you need to cut meat to be able to eat it and you don't happen to have a thin folder available, would you go hungry just because all you had was say a Recon 1 or a ZT 300?
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Do you find yourself in that situation often? In the extraordinary event of that situation I can't see anyone caring if their knife is even sharp. How about you keep things realistic and understand that a thick saber ground knife can be a pain in the butt for some things in daily life. I was unaware we were talking about someone who lives in a Rogue Warrior book. :D
 
try carving a pumpkin with a 4mm thick folder sometime, it's almost impossible. But a Schrade 34OT works wonderfully.
 
i prefer the thicker blades because i can pry stuff with it with more success...

and before the "abuse police" start their disdain, i'm with the "knife as a tool" school of thought...i don't buy a knife to play with and certainly won't baby ANY of my knives; i will use them as needed in a given situation...if it has to be "abused" to get something done, then either it will be ok or be damaged (to be fixed or replaced or never bought again)...

and i don't slice tomatos with a folder (or bring to a restaurant to cut a steak)...how awkward; i just as soon use a hacksaw blade...
 
singularity35 said:
Right, for some people good enough does not cut(see the pun) it. But I'm talking about getting the task done not personal preference. How much finesse do you need to slice open wet egg cartons?
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You don't need finesse. You don't need sharpness. You don't need G10, S30V, pocket clips, locks. You don't need a folding knife. But we buy what we like, for our own reasons. We each have our own priorities, wants, and needs. It would be nice if we could have personal preferences without being hounded to justify them.

Now to choose what knife to carry today.
 
I have a hard time trying to cut meteorites with my BM710.

Come to think of it, it pretty much sucks at prying open manhole covers as well.
 
Finesse is more akin to audiophiles or gourmands, knives and cutting have no objective prerequisite for finesse, I feel safe saying it is only a preference and thin blades make neater quicker cutting, THAT'S ALL THEY OFFER [and at great compromise] and if those qualities are not highly desired for whatever reason then a harder use blade is all the more utilitarian and certainly the way to go, I guess some people are just LAZY.

A big hammer takes care of all the nails where a small hammer has limitations, same for knives, hard users are kings of cutting and we all know it, should know it. Enough of the get a Millie / it will save your soul sermons, give me an Extrema Ratio RAO and I'm good at cutting everything a Mil can plus capable of alot more actions. If I need finesse there are razor blades.

As far as anyone being 'hounded' I don't see any hounding, there are no stupid questions end of story and if someone sincerely wants information then how is that hounding.
 
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If I buy an expensive knife, then I want it to cut what I want it to cut easily and comfortably.

Can a "hard user" like a ZT or Strider cut everything I want it to cut? Of course it can.

Can it cut it as well, or as easily, or as comfortably as a Spyderco Stretch, or a Swiss army knife? No way.

In fact, can it outcut an inexpensive Opinel? Nowhere near.

Handle ergonomics and blade geometry (meaning thin-ness) have always featured above strength (and here I stress) for me. Sure, as mentioned above, a hard user can perform tasks which no other folder can. These tasks comprise maybe ten per cent of regular users' use (I'm using the "ninety per cent" quote above), maybe .1 percent for me.

I choose (again the I is emphasised) a knife that can handle the 99.9 (this is without exaggeration, in fact it is probably a slight understatement) of tasks I perform with a knife with greater ease and comfort, as opposed to one that can do everything.

Perhaps this will help a little. Imagine that there are ten "categories" representing cutting tasks: My choice of folder(let's take it as an Opinel; closest to "ideal" I currently own) handles the light tasks with a ten out of ten-these are nine out of the ten tasks. The last task is a hard-use task which my personal fave (the Opinel) cannot handle, thus getting a zero out of ten.

A hard-use folder can score six or seven (let's call it seven) for each of the nine categories, plus a ten for the hard-use category. (Perhaps the light-use task would be , cutting tomatoes as said above; with a thick grind it is possible, but not easy, and not enjoyable. )
 
Good post ^^^ I think we are both right, it just depends on orientation and needs.

However there is the 'ease' and 'comfort' again, which when taken out of the picture what do you have? Hinderer, Strider, Lone Wolf T3 etc. which can baton, pry, and impact plus are much more durable and reliable and will stay that way longer.

. Sorry about thread derailing!!!
LOLO, here we go again! :D
 
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As for me, I'm allowed to own more than one knife, and to use different knives for different purposes. It's in my contract.
 
TheCarbideRat said:
I guess some people are just LAZY.
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Who might that be, the people who carry the weight of more than one specialized tool, or head back to the toolbox for them, or the ones who carry one multifunctional tool that requires a little more effort in each due to design compromises? Or do we all end up doing about the same amount of work for about the same amount of overall effort as long as we have access to something that gets the job done?
 
singularity35 said:
Totally agree with you on that. But the question posed is the aspect of the situation that is usually ignored by the "thin folder only" guys. That even if a tough knife can't cut as well, they still cut well enough for maybe 90 percent of all cutting
tasks.

What I'm asking here is, What cutting tasks that thin folders can handle, that tough, thicker bladed folders can't do well enough?
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My non-knife coworker was arguing with me 2 days ago, why do I need a knives on me at all. I said: to cut packaging, open letters, occasional small wire, food, etc, that besides the fact that I like knives.
His counter argument was similar to yours :) Most of the things he can tear, break, pry open with screwdriver or pen, or use scissors, teeth, etc... That's "good enough" for him.

My point of view is, if I am to use a tool, ideally I want the tool that does the job the best/easiest/fast/precisely. And thick folders by definition can't cut as well as thin ones.

As far as hard use goes, those thick folders hardly make good choice for batonning, short blade after all. Prying is another heavy duty task often cited and I've seen quite a few broken tips on BF too. Besides, chances are the handle will fail, or pivot. It is not a job for a folder...

singularity35 said:
For sure there are tasks that require a knife optimized for cutting but what about the vast majority of cutting tasks?
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So, if a folding knife isn't optimized for cutting, what else it should be optimized for?
 
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