when do you replace a knife

I

imbryan715

Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Messages
399
hey guys,
i have a much loved g10 spyderco military that has been my edc knife for the last 4 or 5 years. i have had a few knives get some pocket time but that is my go to knife. needless to say in the last few years it has really taken a beating and lived a hard life. there is no telling how many times it has been sharpened, been in my pocket for every call as a firefighter/ paramedic, been on the ocean or lake, been hunting in crappy weather etc.... it is really showing its age. the g10 is pretty worn down, it has some play up and down and side to side, it's lockup is at 90%, the clip is all worn down, there is a tinny bit of rust in places i cant get too etc and the washers are pretty worn out as well. the other day i picked up another military just because it was on sale. now it has me thinking about how much i really want a fresh knife in my pocket even though my old military still works and i kind of have a bond with that knife.

is it a waste of $130 bucks to start carrying the new one and put the old one in its box?

should wear and tear keep me from carrying an old knife?

which knife would you carry?

i just cant decide.
thanks guys and gals!
 
Sounds like you got a lot of use out of it. If the blade play can't be fixed or is a problem with lockup, it may be time to "retire" it. In any case I'd definitely go with a new one. Most of the people on here rotate their knives between a few favorites, and which one sometimes depends on what you plan to do with it on that day.
 
I will just say this, this is bladeforums so many have multiple knives that the carry regularly. Sometimes at the same time:). I will bet I won't be the last to tell you that. I would say retire that old one... Keep it. Use the new one, they are great.



Edit: jeffe65 beat me to it. See, I told you so;)
 
Let's see some pics of your knife! A well used knife is always cool to see.
 
I do have a rotation of knives as well. I have probably a dozen high quality folders from CRK, strider, spyderco, Benchmade and a few others as well. I just carry a military 90% of the time. I just can't stand carrying the other knives for more than 4 or 5 days at a time. A large sebenza 21 is my probably my second favorite but I just don't carry it often. I guess I kind of found my perfect folder.
 
I tend to become too sentimental with my things, and end up not carrying my knives or guns because of what they mean to me (what they've seen me through or vice-versa). I recommend retirement for the old gal (desk duty or such so she can still be used and not let get too lonely).
 
I will see what I can do about pics guys. I can't get any good lighting. The picture is either blown out with light or it is very shadowy and you can't see detail. I'm working on it
 
weech3 said:
I tend to become too sentimental with my things, and end up not carrying my knives or guns because of what they mean to me (what they've seen me through or vice-versa). I recommend retirement for the old gal (desk duty or such so she can still be used and not let get too lonely).
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly....
 
I've never replaced a knife, per-se...

The knife I've been using the longest at this point is my Cyclone, and I still bring it out and use it just as I've done for years now. Although I've bought a bunch more knives since that one, I've not really 'replaced it' in the sense that I've put it aside or stopped using it in favour of other knives.

I don't really expect I'll have to retire it until it either stops working or I've sharpened it so much the blade looks like a toothpick. :eek: :D

My advice is to USE IT! Your knife is not gonna make you happy / get the job done / help you out of a jam when it's sitting in a drawer in its box. Tools like to be used!
 
time to give your knife a well deserved rest :D no need to wait for the lock up to fail on you.
 
I have too many knives and rotate them often enough that I rarely see one get too much use. However if it did come to that, I would have a place designated for my knives to retire (ie shelf or drawer) and on occasion carry them for light use days for nostalgia. That's just me as I do get attached to some of my knives.
 
Going to agree with all the other fine folks here, time to head to the beach and enjoy retirement! First, not worth getting a failure at this point as it sounds like it has seen some heavy use. Secondly, for sentimental sake I'd hate to damage or lose a blade at that point. Just my opinion but it sounds like you've found the blade that works best for you, congrats!
 
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