Why Do We Like Traditionals?

T. Erdelyi said:
Some knives I collect because they look cool while being knives too.

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That is a really great picture of the Drover !!
 
For me, traditional folding knives offer dimensions of history, craftsmanship and functionality. With modern folders I get performance, style and advanced materials. Traditional knives take me to back to times when knives were more a part of daily activities and different blade styles served specific purposes. To say nothing of the beauty of some of the knives. And it’s a lot of good fun.

Like other interests rooted in the past, fountain pens, sourdough breads or cast iron cooking, traditional folders let me appreciate where we’ve come from and add richness to the present.
 
One thing that comes to mind is that traditionals are classic, or timeless. With moderns, there's always the new best thing. It gets old quickly. Traditionals have plenty of variety, but stay the same.
 
With traditionals Nobody is trying to reinvent the wheel every year without actually making a better functioning knife, and nobody is gradually making less and less of a functional practical knife in order to make an object that garners interest .
Traditional knives are simple, and they just plain work. I say I'm not against modern folders and am still interested in them when they're simple, but the truth is that I drift further and further away from modern folders with every zt...ect knife that I see.
I like traditionals because they can look great, the blades are generally thin ( particularly imperials)
And easy to sharpen, and lastly they get the job done so well that I have zero reason not to like them. In fact I would be a major fool not to like them.
 
Traditionals are like classic guns... blue steel and walnut. Jack knife said "soul" and I agree as that was the first thought I had relative to this thread.
 
22-rimfire said:
Traditionals are like classic guns... blue steel and walnut. Jack knife said "soul" and I agree as that was the first thought I had relative to this thread.
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If GEC puts a key lock hole on the knives Im done with them. :D
 
I don't know if anyone had experiences similar to mine, but when I was really young, there was a little awe that came from seeing dad and grandpa using their knife. Dad's was a trapper with jigged bone, and grandpa's was a yellow delrin stockman. The day I was trusted enough to get my own was as though Excalibur was thrust into my hands! That experience stuck with me.
 
Because, after some decades of being alive...I've yet to grow tired of them, there's always something new&unusual to find in them and something still to learn and be glad about. Plus, you can use them:D
 
I find traditional knives to have more of a romanticized appeal for me than tacticals do. I am far more inclined to shoot my revolver at paper targets, go for long walks/hikes, and listen to old blues and country music than I am doing covert operations, slicing up bad guys, and rocking out to Death Metal or whatever the latest iteration of rock music happens to be. I'll take Folgers cooked cowboy style over Starbucks and Intelligentsia coffee made by a barrista anytime. I live in Los Angeles county where people have a push and shove attitude. Traditional knives help keep me from joining the herd. Besides, carbon steel and bone have a hell of a lot more character than carbon fiber and stainless steel.
 
In general terms....

Thinner stock that just slices better.
More than one blade option.

In not so general terms....

Nostalgia
 
I find traditional folders carry better and slice better. They also, for the most part, age more gracefully.

Which of these two has aged more gracefully? Seriously.

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Try doing this with a new tactical, locking, clipped, modern wonder pocket folder with a blade that's bigger and thicker than it needs to be from the latest wonder steel being used in knife making.

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It's easy for me. I like the materials more. I don't cut anything delicate during my work day, at either job, so I don't need a thin blade that's a tremendous slicer or something along those lines. I need something that'll open a lot of different packaging. I like traditionals more because I like wood more than G-10, I like bone more than titanium, etc...

When I buy knives, I think about using them to cut fishing line sitting on a bank with my daughter, and they just happen to get used a lot at work. I never buy something for work that I would take out fishing. I don't know if that makes sense to everyone, but it makes sense to me :thumbup:
 
As a pocket knife, the traditional does more, does it better and does it with considerably more style than the modern equivalents for the majority of people and daily requirements.
 
Traditional knives bring me back to the times when i was with my grandfathers fishing and hunting and around the country side, an i have come to realize i can do anything i need to with them
 
Same here. My first knife was given to me by my mom on my tenth birthday. It was a traditional style single blade penknife with some kind of pearl like covers, and I loved it! I whittled so much with that thing it fell apart, which gives me a pang of regret that I was too young to take better care of it (it was also probably pretty cheap, but back then I didn't care). Anyway, I also agree with a lot of the guys posting about the soul of traditional knives that draws me in.

PNWJimbo said:
Simple answer for me... They were the kind of knives my dad let me have/gave to me when I was a kid. I don't have any of those left, and I've also lost my father, so I feel a very special connection to carrying a slipjoint like he did. Just feels right!
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thegeneftw said:
Same here. My first knife was given to me by my mom on my tenth birthday. It was a traditional style single blade penknife with some kind of pearl like covers, and I loved it! I whittled so much with that thing it fell apart, which gives me a pang of regret that I was too young to take better care of it (it was also probably pretty cheap, but back then I didn't care). Anyway, I also agree with a lot of the guys posting about the soul of traditional knives that draws me in.
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Yes yes yes!!! Those are the exact memories I have. Sitting in the back yard whittling a stick with my dad.

I will add my second reason for switching from moderns back to traditionals is that if I need something that has a lock, I'd rather just use a fixed blade. These 2 are on me 9/10 days

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I guess traditionals remind me of a time when things did not seem so fast paced as I feel it is now . For me Bone , Wood , or Stag also appeals to me more so than the seemingly stainless steel handles do . The more modern knives just do not appeal to me .

Harry
 
I like the steady resistant pull and snap open.
I like the sound and the feel of a closing snap.
I enjoy the thin blade material and the choice of blade shape to fit my task.
I appreciate the ease of sharpening and maintaining very sharp edges.
I like watching patina form over time.
I admire the variety of patterns and cover materials.
I am fond of the porch and the people on it.
 
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