Why do you like slipjoints?

[silenthunterstudios]

So, in one of the knife groups on Facebook, someone, maybe even a member here, asked if the group members wanted to do a month long challenge to carry just a slipjoint (no, not me ;()). This is in a knife group that caters to all knife tastes. Some members shared that they always carry a one handed opener/slipjoint combo. Others stated that they would take up that challenge, and posted pics of their daily carry slipjoints.

Many of the members howled and gnashed and tore their beards, asking why in the world would anyone carry a slipjoint when a one hand opener is so much easier to use. They said that slipjoints had their time. That they were boring. That they appreciated their place in history but had no idea why anyone would want to carry or own one.

I was one of those people. For years, I wanted the biggest, beefiest gigantic mega lock one handed opener available. Companies in Oregon and Colorado, a brand that is the western lands name for Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. Now, I like big frame locks, but they are just not for me. I've gotten so used to carrying slipjoints, that anything that big is a hindrance. If I want to go bigger than, say, a Zulu pattern, I go for a small 4" fixed blade. Most of the time, my trio of my peanut, Pioneer and Gossman UNK will get the job done (I even go for the peanut of the bushcraft world, my Gossman PSK Jr).

So, over the past few years, I've sold or traded most of my one hand openers. Two of them come from a bench in Oregon, one is Idaho Made . Nothing gets me excited like seeing worn grooved bone handles. That patina of an old knife at a show or in a bin at the flea market. Finding old, worn out Remington folders from the 30s gets me more excited than seeing a new Great Eastern (and I get really excited over new GEC).

Someone called the blades on a slipjoint paper thin. I don't think a thinner blade on a slipjoint is a bad thing. I've found out first hand that a thick blade is not a good thing for any type of work other than chopping, and even then, it depends on the edge. Now, I'm not going to conquer the woods with a slipjoint, but if I use my noggin, I can survive comfortably. Old Nessmuk really knew what he was doing, and my favorite sage of the woods, Kephart, carried that tradition with my favorite knife pattern. Axe, belt knife and slipjoint.

It might just be me. I still like some frame locks from companies out there. I'd like to trade for another Idaho Made folder this weekend at a show. But I'm addicted to slipjoints.

Knife nuts are addicted in their own ways. I'm drawn to slipjoints and bushcraft knives, I will walk right past a table full of other types of knives. It seems I went through the balisongs, one hand openers, choppers, truck knives (that stay in your truck frankly). I just feel at home, at ease, with slipjoints. I definitely romanticize them, and I work in an office, so it's not like I need an auto or a flipper for work. But, when I'm working outside at home, I am not shaving seconds off the day by stopping to open my Opinel or other slipjoint.

To each their own, they're missing out, but more for me .

 

[kamagong]

I carry a slipjoint for the simple fact that it's the only type of knife that works for me for EDC purposes. As cool as my LCC is, it doesn't carry well in a pair of slacks.

That said I like knives of all sorts, not just slipjoints. If I had to choose my five favorite knives only one out of the bunch would fold.

 

[mrknife]

honestly, if i could, id probably carry the most traditional of knives, a fixed blade. but in nyc, that's not allowed. a beefy over built tactical folder would get the attention of some guys and gals in blue uniforms very fast. also they've been stationing a counter terrorism unit by the subway stations i use, after the latest face slashing incident. a slip joint is very sheeple friendly. most of the time all i get is, aww grampie had one like that

 

[jec88]

Slipjoints are like the classic fly rod, shot gun, recurve or longbow of the knife world.

 

[Carboniferous]

The design philosophy is just completely different. I don't need or want a 1/4" (or even 1/8") thick pry bar for a blade, I think knives that are all black and made of plastic are ugly (the whole 'tactical aesthetic in general tends to be ugly), and I find one hand opening and pocket clips and frame locks superfluous.

I want a handsome knife that cuts well. Slipjoints almost universally fit the bill better than modern one hand openers, at least for me.

 

[silenthunterstudios]

The different bearing systems, locks etc are neat to play with. I love balisongs and autos. I love the satisfying click of a frame lock engaging.

None of that compares to a traditional knife. The history behind the patterns, both folding and fixed. Swedge and long nail pull on a spear blade? Whooee I'm your man.

 

[jc57]

Mainly the aesthetics of the materials and variety of patterns.

I actually don't need a non-kitchen knife that much in my daily life and those things I do use a knife for are perfectly well covered by a slipjoint or smaller modern knife.

I have some modern folders and I'll carry or use one when it's the right tool for the task at hand. In general, though a SAK or Case knife takes care of anything I need to do.

 

[Cory Hess]

There are many reasons that I can justify preferring a slipjoint, but if I'm being honest I just think that they look better. When I first decided to carry a pocket knife I didn't know anything about blade geometry or one hand opening. I didn't really care what anybody else thought of what I carried either. I just thought that traditional knives looked cool. Since then I've tried modern folders and decided, for more substantial reasons, that they're not for me. In the end though, it mostly comes down to looks.

 

[jackknife]

Why do I like slip joints?

I could give a lot of reasons. One would be the choice of having multiple blades in one small package, thus giving me much more mission versatility over a single blade knives. These other blades may be extra cutting blades, or tools like on a SAK or traditional scout knife. Versatility is a good thing. So is a nice thin blade that cuts well.

Or I could just point to the tradition of using a traditional pocket knife like generations of people who really worked at jobs that needed a knife. Men like working watermen who had to go out on the water in any weather to haul crab pots, or warehouse workers who needed to cut stuff every hour of their day. Delivery truck drivers and newspaper boys who had to cut twine. Gardeners who had to open bags of peat moss or mulch or fertilizer every day. They all carried a knife, and it was a barlow, or a small jack, or even a hawkbill pruning knife. All slip joints.

I could point to the past generations of men like freight wagon drivers getting a load over the mountain pass, or sailors on square rigged ships getting a cargo to the next port. All of the husky sailors jacks of the past century were large sturdy built slip joints. Soldiers clasp knives the same. Somehow, these hard working men who often risked their lives going aloft in a storm, or weathering a storm on a cattle drive, never had one hand opening lock blades. I watched family members go out everyday and make a living working on Chesapeake Bay in a wooden fishing boat, and they all carried a slip joint pocket knife on them. The old carbon blades may have been stained near black from the salt atmosphere, and some of the blades were sharpened away, but they were still working well.

Or I could just point out my own experience with a lifetime of knife using. My first knives in my life were a scout knife my dad gave me, and a stockman I carried for 25 years. I wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer so I wasn't really college material, so I joined the army to see the world and maybe learn a trade. We did construction all over the world. We built storage buildings in Texas, bridges over rivers in Vietnam, extended runways at Wheelus Air Force Base in Libya, new barracks buildings in Germany. I always had a slip joint with multiple blades on me, and I was used to having a choice of sharp tools on hand for different jobs.

When Buck came out with the 110, and it became so popular, I looked at it and wondered why anyone would want a heavy, bulky knife with only one single blade? Maybe I had gotten spoiled by all the years with scout/SAK's and stockman's knife. Blade lock? Naw, I hadn't cut off a finger yet so I must not be doing anything stupid with my knife.

I saw the birth of the so called tactical knife market. Overly hyped knives being stabbed through car doors and such. Personally, I've never been attacked by a rabid Chevy. In my life's experience I've always used my knife as a cutting tool. I've been a blue collar worker and needed a sharp knife in a machine shop and my pocket knife always worked well for me. When I was a soldier, my pocket knife still always worked for me. Sometimes it was my Buck stockman, sometimes it was the issue all steel scout knife they call a 'demo' knife. Sometimes it was a SAK.

Maybe I could say I've been lucky, and never had a company of Chinese paratroopers land on me and had to defend myself with whatever knife I had on me. Nor have I had a bunch of renegade Comanche's coming over the hill to take my scalp. My humble everyday slip joint pocket knife always did what I needed, when I needed, with no fan fair or bragging rights needed. But even back then, men still carried a slip joint pocket knife. They had locking blade knives back then, and John Wilkes Booth died at Garrets Barn with a folding dagger in his pocket. Yet, the average cow poke pushing a heard of cattle up the trail to the rail heads in Kansas carried a modest size barlow or even a cattle knife that was the forerunner of the premium stockman. Homesteaders carving a place for themselves in the new lands of the west carried slip joints to do the work of the day. The name 'sodbuster' drifts through my mind. But the point of this is, the people who really did work and needed a knife, chose a slip joint even though lock blades were available back then.

I guess in the end though, I can say I like slip joints because they get the job done. They've been getting the job done for many generations of men who needed a tool that really worked. They get the job done in a reliable way, like they always do. No hype, no gimmicks, no fan fair, just cutting what they need to cut. Just put a drop of oil in the joint now and then, and a good slip joint will serve you for life. Just like it's served a lot of people who came before us.

But most of all, looking at a slip joint and using one, it gives me a moment to appreciate all those who came before us, and paved the way for us by doing what had to be done. And it was hard and often dangerous, but it got done. And things had some style then. Bone handles had nice jigging, and workmanship was something they took pride in. There is a beauty to a nice old slip joint, that is totally lacking in a CNC made item with injection molded handles and bead bladed blades.

Sometimes I just look at an old slip joint think about what once was. Like a rifle with a real walnut stock and nice blueing instead of black plastic and aluminum.

 

[afishhunter]

I don't need one hand opening. If I need to use a knife, I plan ahead and open it at the start of the job.
I don't trust pocket clips in general, I do not care for the standard tip up carry most force you into. If the knife comes partly open with tip up carry ... slashed finger(s) will probably be the result.
I do not care for the "tactical" or "tacticlol" styling of modern knives. The all look blocky and uncomfortable to use, for the most part.
My job's rules are "no blade over 4 inches" and "cannot be confused for a "weapon"." The last one eliminates pretty much any one hand opener with a black blade.
I dislike (ok ... I loathe) serrations. Most modern knives have a serrated /partially serrated blade.
I like the styling of the traditional knife patterns (some more than others).
A traditional is "sheeple" friendly, and is not likely to be confused for a "weapon"; not even a Buck 110 type lock back in NYC is likely to be considered a "weapon" by the local LEO.
I'm quite fond of having a choice of more than one blade profile on my knife, for different tasks.
Traditional knives are more than capable of handling my knife needs, from cutting strapping bands and seals used in the shipping industry, to cleaning, skinning, and processing game.

 

[Tyler.Bachman]

I love slip joint my favorite has to be the Barlow but I also like he middle ground traditional that lock my father favored the case copper lock I carry one as a backup for harder word and now but a 72 to try with a liner lock. My knife as a kid was the 110 buck and a western fixed blade or camilus that was my grandfathers in the woods. I don't get the whole tactical thing every knife has it purpose but a pry bar framlock can do it all same with a thick fixed blade. Different knifes excell at different tasks. I went from a endura to Amy home traditional. I now normally edc a locking tradional or fixed blade and a slip joint. Hell some days I opted for just slip joint .


Tyler

 

[FOG2]

There are many reasons that I can justify preferring a slipjoint, but if I'm being honest I just think that they look better. When I first decided to carry a pocket knife I didn't know anything about blade geometry or one hand opening. I didn't really care what anybody else thought of what I carried either. I just thought that traditional knives looked cool. Since then I've tried modern folders and decided, for more substantial reasons, that they're not for me. In the end though, it mostly comes down to looks.

What he said is what it comes down to for me. I also carry a box cutter_razor knife.. But i love the look of my slippies! Sure the box cutters work great for almost all of my needs. But still a slipjoint "wharncliffe" just makes me happy.

 

[jmarston]

Blade geometry and memories of my grandfather are what brought me to traditionals. I bought a yellow delrin mini trapper for each of my groomsmen and myself and I was hooked. That was my first traditional knife aside from the SAKs I had as a young boy scout. Multiple blades keep me here as well. Right now I carry a Boker 494 barlow with a sheepsfoot main and pen secondary. The sheepsfoot is my general use blade while the pen is kept scalpel sharp for trimming fingernails and picking splinters.

I sometimes carry a one handed opener when I am at work. Up on a ladder or inside some very confined spaces, retrieving a slip joint from the depths of the pocket can be a real chore so out comes the modern. But at the end of the day, the modern goes back on my nght stand or stays in my work pants while my trusty barlow follows me into my good pants for whatever the evening or weekend has in store.

 

[brownshoe]

I like all kinds of knives, all for the same reasons, they are pointy, sharp and pretty. "Don't buy no ugly knife."

I don't favor one style of knife over another. I think that's kind of like saying you only like terriers but you don't like the other kinds of dogs. I like all dogs too, even ugly ones

 

[jrawk]

I carry both a modern and traditional knife daily. To me it’s fun to pair one with the other, and fun to use either when the appropriate occasion presents itself. However over the last year, my interest has wondered away from seeking modern folders and more toward traditional knives. When these topics come up on the forums, I state how the unique patterns and variations within the patterns of traditional knives keep it interesting and way more collectable than collecting the same modern folder with thumb hole with x,y,z steel and r,g,b colored scales. And I suppose that’s why I never got into fixed blades either (but of course I still own a few).

As others have already mentioned, traditional knives are more interesting pocket jewelry than modern knives. The style is more inviting, more warm and relatable. Shiny stuff makes people smile, and I love keeping nickel silver bolsters buffed to a mirror polish. So yeah, my peers are always reaching for my traditional first instead of my modern when I dump my pockets on a table. Their reactions are akin to “Beautiful color”, “it’s so shiney” or “Hey I have an old knife sort of like this…” Then, when their attention shifts to the modern folder they almost always act timid like that one is more dangerous or serious that requires training to operate (rather silly but undeniably true).

Then there’s the whole tinkering and sharpening side of knife collecting. Modern knifes with supersteels have excellent bevels set from the factory, and unless you’re a complete glutton for profiling super steel the factory edges require very light maintenance to maintain in optimal cutting condition. Perhaps I will eventual evolve into one someday as I continue to get more invested in sharpening and edge geometry theory, but for me now traditional steels and traditional blade shapes/lengths allow me to tinker easily with setting new secondary bevels, whether the factory edge is excellent or not so much.

One funny realization I had last weekend was that I noticed I do carry modern folders more often when I’m headed outside for work or leisure not because they are “better suited” for those tasks, but because if I’m going to lose one of them, I know I can easily replace it with a clone. That cannot be said about most of my traditionals. Losing my 77 NF Barlow or my 2015 BF forum knife would break my heart.

 

[arizonaranchman]

I carry and use a slip joint multiple times every day. It does the job just fine and I don't recall wishing I'd had a one-hand opening option for a task. I like its simplicity, I like having 2 or 3 blades on tap and I enjoy the nostalgia and beauty of a classic old Barlow, Stockman or Trapper. To me the tacticals all pretty much look the same and just don't appeal to me. I've never found 1095 steel to be a handicap and its easy to sharpen.

 

[kenspen]

I lather up every morning with a badger hair brush and a puck of shaving soap. I shave with a double edged razor and write with vintage fountain pens. I prefer bow ties to neckties and I only carry traditional slippies. Perhaps I'm just an old soul

 

[black mamba]

For me it's a combination of aesthetic concerns and cutting ability. The craftsmanship that goes into a slipjoint, with both its' metal and natural materials such as wood, bone, horn or stag, along with the resulting beauty and pride of use/ownership is the main plus for me. But as a cutting tool for everyday tasks, a medium length, slender, pointy blade is the most useful, and when you even add secondary blades, the slipjoint becomes very utilitarian. A beefy, thick, super strong, heavy one-hand opener just isn't needed very often from day to day, and doesn't slice as well as a slipjoint, which is primarily what I want a knife for. I just don't have a need to pry, stab or gouge, and wouldn't want the weight and bulk anyway.

 

[blade dude]

I carry a slip joint and a spyderco. Slip joint for when I'm in a store and need to use a knife or when I'm at school after school when it's only legal to have a slip joint


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[oldtymer]

I lather up every morning with a badger hair brush and a puck of shaving soap. I shave with a double edged razor and write with vintage fountain pens. I prefer bow ties to neckties and I only carry traditional slippies. Perhaps I'm just an old soul

I'm with you Ken, brush & mug with my Grandfathers 100 yr. old straight razor. Prefer lever action rifles & Ruger single actions over the more modern offerings.
Us old guys grew up with a slippy in our pockets & never needed any thing else.