What's your loaner/beater?

When someone asks to borrow my knife de jour, I'd rather say, "Let me help you with that," and do the cutting myself. I don't want to risk injury to that person or to my knife. By the way, I generally make knife gifts to my fishing buddies and other pals who are likely to at one time or another be in need of a knife. :)
 
I have a few knives I use frequently that I don't loan as they are custom made, and very optomized, full hard steels on really thin stock with deep grinds. Everything else though is up for grabs, I usually carry more than one knife and just give them the one that is most suitable. Right now I carry a small Sebenza, Vapor, and Fulcrum. The sebenza gets any cutting, I don't care what, just no prying or batoning through metals/bone; the Vapor gets anything outside of really heavy prying; the Fulcrum can be used for whatever. Even the Vapor and Fulcum have really thin edges as I reground the blades, so they get tore up readily on some utility applications, like a key breaks off a can of corned beef and the Vapor cuts open the can, no more edge on the Vapor.

-Cliff
 
Or at least thats what I used to loan out.

Not too long ago, a guy was trying to strip out some Cat5 cable with his knife, just stretching the insulation. I grabbed it and checked it out. Geez, butter knives have a better edge. So I hand him my Old Timer and pull out a sharpening stone. It took him all of 5 seconds to cut the heck out of himself.
Needless to say, I put the stone back away and just stripped it myself while he went to get a bandaid.

Some folks just shouldn't have a sharp knife.(oh, and yes I warned him it was sharp)

Syn
 
i edc either a emerson specwar CQC8 zero bevel grind or a spyderco Ti ATR PE, also carry a old FRN spyderco delica SE for utility/loaning/etc, its an old delica w/the integral clip, i have had it since '97 or so, have only sharpened it once which is pretty good considering how much cutting its done, have always respected spyderco SE since, a good little beater knife imho, carry/use it daily.
 
With a SAK as a loaner beater I am a little nervous when letting people borrow due to the fact that I keep a razor edge on all my knives (I can't help it, if it's not sharp its not in my pocket).

The problem with this is that most people are comfortable with this style of knife and may even have one hidden in a draw at home. Herein lies the problem. Even though I tell them that its sharp it doesn't quite register in their brains until they run their fingers along the blade. I have manged to stop all but one 'borrowers' before blood was drawn!! Now I stress several times that the blade was designed to cut and to be careful when using the knife. I tend to hover over sholders when my knife is in the hands of another.
 
If it's someone on my test team at work, I don't have a problem in loaning them whatever is handy, which could be anything, currently - Delica/Mini-Grip/Ka-Bar Dozier - usually whatever in the 3 inch size. Anyone else gets my SAK. If a larger blade is required, like for knocking down server boxes for re-cycling, then I will loan out one of my larger ones, but only to members of my test team. They are very knife friendly :D I have yet to loan out my Paramilitary :) At home, I very rarely get a say :) I have lanyards on most of my folders normally, so my wife will just step up and grab one of my blades out of my pocket, use it, and then hand it back when she's done. She has a SAK and my CRKT E-Lock in her purse, but of course, that's never that close :D

- gord
 
My loaner is the Spyderco Persion.





Nah I'm just messin.

I keep some no name 3 inch folder in my care for last ditch. It's got green plastic-esque scales...kind of bulky...feels cheap...but the blade has held up reallllllly well. It's like 8 years old. It's the one I carried back in high school some of the time. My father bought it for me at a gun and knife show...so it has a little sentimental value.

If my friends want to borrow a knife, I'll give them one of my nicer knives...probably my cabela's d2 minigrip or M16...they know their way around knives. But they're usually carrying a storm/centofante/minigrip themselves anyway.
 
This is an actual conversation I had:

"Can I borrow your knife?"

"What for?"

"to pry this, its stuck"

"No, you don't pry things with knives unless its an emergency. I would be happy to loan you a prybar though..."

The problem is- as someone mentioned above- the people who ask to borrow youre knife do not themselves carry knives, and therefore don't know a lot about their use...

I have a good friend who has a Benchmade Auto-stryker that belonged to his too-early departed brother. This knife, therefore, is both expensive AND holds extreme sentimental value. His uncle gave him the old- "Let me see your knife" - and proceeded to use it to scrape stuff off the side of a boat...nedless to say he now asks "what for?" as well- I'm considering buying an Atwood prybaby just to avoid this kind of stuff...at work I usually have a couple of crap knives in my bag as well...
 
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