Whip out and deploy vs cutting efficiency.

[jceckrosh]

I guess I don't quite get what's being asked/discussed. The knife in my pocket gets used for whatever I need a knife for. It does the job - string, boxes, plastic, melon stems, etc. Not sure what I need a "slicey" pocket knife for since I am not cutting lox or skinning a side of halibut with it. I have the proper knives for those jobs. I don't food prep with my folder (which rides in my pocket, and by food prep standards is not clean), and if I did, it would be something like cutting up an apple for my son, which almost any knife can do. So what exactly does everyone need all the "slicieness" for?

 

[sodak]

The beauty of today's market is that you can have the best of both worlds. One of my all time favorites is the discontinued Spyderco Calypso Jr. I don't have to fish around my pocket for it, and it's cutting geometry is easily as good or better than most of my traditionals.

I still like and carry both styles. I see no reason to "have" to choose.

 

[Pendexter]

The answer is a waved gec beer scout.

Super slicer, whip/wave out and deploy, and cap lifter prybar when needed.

 

[Pilsner]

I still like and carry both styles. I see no reason to "have" to choose.

This ^

So often people set up false oppositions, it gets very tired. For someone looking for a trad knife that will really slice, there are even options made outside the USA. I like knives in general: some are very traditional and some are state of the art. It’s all good.

 

[SV-97]

I guess I don't quite get what's being asked/discussed. The knife in my pocket gets used for whatever I need a knife for. It does the job - string, boxes, plastic, melon stems, etc. Not sure what I need a "slicey" pocket knife for since I am not cutting lox or skinning a side of halibut with it. I have the proper knives for those jobs. I don't food prep with my folder (which rides in my pocket, and by food prep standards is not clean), and if I did, it would be something like cutting up an apple for my son, which almost any knife can do. So what exactly does everyone need all the "slicieness" for?

Cutting hard cardboard (the likes you sometimes have as bottom of boxes) for example. I usually carry multiple knives and I always choose the slimmest blade for that because it has so much resistance. For anything that requires a long cut through material a slicey blade is really nice. Also cutting an apple with something that has thick geometry (like a scandi knife as gross example) really sucks.
I do think you have to choose between absurdly sturdy and slicy, even today. There are people that use knives for lots of stuff besides cutting that would break something like a delica (Sal said at some point they had to make something thicker because the people would always break the tips, don't recall what it was though[I've broken the tip of a PM2 in normal use]).

 

[stabman]

In almost 60 years of carrying and using knives, I've never had a knife need that could not be satisfied with a small stockman with 440A blade steel.

You've obviously never encountered a partially fossilized "rubber" hose in a laboratory setting.
Plain edge section of knife did nothing.
The serrated portion managed to saw enough of a grove that a second go around with the plain edged section could break through with major pressure.

Should have had bolt cutters rather than a knife.

And then, the stupid hose couldn't be used anyway due to all elasticity being gone from it, so we had to just find a new hose anyway...which had been my first suggestion all along.

But yeah, small stockman would not have cut it, literally.

 

[Scott321]

When I go to work on one of the houses, my go-to is a box cutter. However, blade shape is more than stock thickness and grind, it is also the actual shape of the blade, i.e. sheepsfoot, Wharncliffe, DP, CP, etc. Different types of blades work better for different types of jobs. I chop food with a chef's knife, which is designed completely different from my box cutter. I wouldn't want to reverse roles on the two.

Generally speaking, for a folder, I want something that can work in a pinch for when my work knife is unavailable (cooking vs drywall & insulation, cutting boxes, etc). The main reason I like stronger tips, is simply because many of the time my hands are greasy, cold, etc. and I have dropped a knife or two on tile, stone, cement, ect. I generally prefer blades with bellies for general EDC, but Wharncliffes are great if you cut with the point most of the time.

Although I prefer thin blades for EDC, thicker stock only really becomes an issue when cutting through dense, thick media that wedges the blade when you don't want it to, e.g. cutting through an apple or thick styrafoam. It can be a benefit when you want to separate layers, e.g. skinning an apple, or the bark off of a branch. Also, for cardboard, thicker stock is fine if you angle the blade 45 degrees to the surface.

 

[sabre cat]

...I have been through the stages of collecting and seem to always come back to a simple, full flat grind, leaf shaped, Spyderco for edc and a drop point for field dressing and camp duty. It works for what I need.

Funny you should say that. I am finding that I prefer a drop point blade most of the time. Full flat grind blades are also becoming one of my favorites.

 

[Monofletch]

sabre cat - great minds think alike

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Depends on my needs, tbh.

For a work knife, I prefer a knife that can be brought out to cut quickly. It doesnt need to be a super steel or hold and edge for ever. It just needs to cut a piece of plastic or tape or a nylon band. What I don't want to have to do is fiddle with two hands. My dad gets along just fine with a Buck 110. I prefer a thumb stud on the construction site...I guess I'm a high speed low drag operator

Now, for the day to day and weekend, a nice sharp Beer Scout is perfect Sharp, stylish, and can crack into a beer.

So, while I think the whole "deploy" thing is purposely meant to make a point in the poll. I probably appreciate the ability to use my knife quickly without a lot of fuss over how well it cuts most of the time.

 

[Sonnydaze]

So, while I think the whole "deploy" thing is purposely meant to make a point in the poll. I probably appreciate the ability to use my knife quickly without a lot of fuss over how well it cuts most of the time.

...which is the reason that I ALSO carry a 3" fixed blade in belted cross-draw in a leather sheath for the last two years...
Perhaps most easily illustrated by the (wonderful) Bradford Guardian 3" series offered in several great steels...such as 3V, M390, Vanadis 4E to name several... I've owned about eight or nine of this particular model, and am delighted with how quickly it deploys for a quick cut.
My folder...a very decent Spyderco Slysz Bowie...stays clipped in my pocket and seldom gets used.

 

[knarfeng]

You've obviously never encountered a partially fossilized "rubber" hose in a laboratory setting.

Spent a lot of years as a lab rat in various development labs. I am familiar with rubber hose that is ancient of days. You want to carve off slivers until you can remove the hose from the spigot. And I agree. It's a pain in the tail; and once removed, it's trash.

 

[Therom]

I don't realy see any point in quickly deploying something that won't cut anything....

More seriously I usually consider cutting performance before anything else but as usual there will be a balance to find between different factors depending of the use you will have of your tool.

 

[Phixt]

940

OP has a sound point.