Why do you like slipjoints?

I have carried modern folders and still own a few. However I have found them too cumbersome for me to carry and for my cutting needs. As a retired old f--t they are just overkill without utility. A slip joint not only disappears in my pocket but handle my cutting needs with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel. I also enjoy the nostalgia of the knives I saw and used in my youth. I love the different patterns, natural cover materials and craftsmanship in placing blades in such small areas with outstanding precision. I recently grabbed an Idaho made pocket clipped titanium folder and stuck it in my pocket for the day. Every time I put my hand in my pocket I scraped my knuckles or had to remove it to fish out what I was reaching for. If someone enjoys a modern folder that is great and I am happy for them but for me I'll take a slipjoint every time.
 
For me it's the need to slow down and think. To be frank in this day and age our cutting tasks are a fraction of what they were in times gone past. A slipjoint causes enough of a mental pause to decide whether a tool such as this is required for the job at hand rather than 'cut and ask questions later'. A more gentlemanly approach to the use, never mind a more gentlemanly approach to the tool itself. A beautiful slipjoint is reminiscent of a 'gentleman' or a tradesman/professional, two opposite ends of the spectrum perhaps in the golden age of the slipjoint but both comparisons inspire far more respect than the mental picture conjured up by the modern world of tacti-cool. Traditional knives are smaller and with more utility (multiple blades) than most one handers and as such are more comfortable in the pocket and do more for the size for normal day carry.

I cannot doubt the utility of a one handed open and especially one handed close knife. When I'm working and cutting stuff constantly, that's the tool I use. I often don't have the two hands free. But then that is the correct tool for the job at the time. For daily carry however, I think a slipjoint is a solution far more elegant and indeed useful. I will however still wish for some elements of carry over from the modern world, specifically F&F and steel choice.
 
The knife in my hand has to look and feel good, I need a connexion to it. Traditionals more often than not provide this, amply.
 
r redden said:
I have carried modern folders and still own a few. However I have found them too cumbersome for me to carry and for my cutting needs. As a retired old f--t they are just overkill without utility. A slip joint not only disappears in my pocket but handle my cutting needs with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel. I also enjoy the nostalgia of the knives I saw and used in my youth. I love the different patterns, natural cover materials and craftsmanship in placing blades in such small areas with outstanding precision. I recently grabbed an Idaho made pocket clipped titanium folder and stuck it in my pocket for the day. Every time I put my hand in my pocket I scraped my knuckles or had to remove it to fish out what I was reaching for. If someone enjoys a modern folder that is great and I am happy for them but for me I'll take a slipjoint every time.
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Couldn't have said it better!!!
I work with scalpels every day and I've never thought you could teach a knife to do what they do. But every single one of the Slipjoints I own now are ready to cut like a scalpel does after a short time on the EdgePro.

Then the sheer awesomeness of precision in such close confines: no bladerub, (sometimes) lottsa blades, delicate liners, nimble covers. Everything combined to make a sturdy and reliable tool.
 
stezann said:
Extremely well said, i agree on everything!!!
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Thank you stezann. Many would argue that the more modern, tactical, locking, one-handers are part of the same tradition and I suppose in many ways they are, but really they are specialist things. For me they veer away from what is necessary and practical for the average user. It is the simplicity and minimalism of the slip-joint that makes it the everyman's knife, in the past as now, and that for me is a large part of their appeal. :thumbup:
 
I love slip joints. I still buy both modern's and traditionals, but have been leaning more toward traditionals in the last couple of years. Broke tradition about a month ago and parked my favorite SAK and carrying a little Hen & Rooster Stockman.

I buy them because I love the look and admire the craftsmanship. Slip joints have soul just like blued guns. They also cut real well too.
 
Why do I like slip joints?
I like the aesthetics. I love the old time feel to them, the warmth.
I like the history, imagining people using similar knives in the past. The tradition.
I like how they carry easily in your pocket and feel great in the hand.
I like how they are less complicated, don't have screws that loosen or have pivots to tighten.
I like how they perfectly do the jobs I need utilitarian knives to do.
I like how they wear, get scratches and take patina and yet look good or even better when new.
 
I do like the tradition involved with slip joints. Since I am not a collector, I don't so much get into the history and don't spend my time looking for special pieces at shows and so forth.

I have no need for flippers, assisted openers and so forth. They are fun however. But I have no need. Blades tend to be thick on them. I do like lock backs like Spydies and I can open them one handed if I feel like it or have to. I don't so much care for lock backs on traditionals although I have a few.
 
Being a city kid, I didn't grow up carrying a knife. My dad never carried one that I know of, and if my grandfathers did, I'd never know because one had passed away before I was born and I never really knew the other too well.

Like some others have mentioned, I came around to slipjoints largely because of this forum. It's not that I never owned any, because I did. I still have a Colonial clamshell Barlow from when I was a kid, as well as several SAKs that I've had around for a very long time.

This forum helped me to see the beauty in traditional folders, not in small part because there are so many excellent photographers here who also happen to be knife knuts. I'll never have the collections that many of you guys do, unfortunately, but I've amassed a few that I really like a lot and enjoy carrying. They're very handy to have around, they feel good in my hand, and I like looking at them and looking after them.
 
I have carried a stockman knife since I was 6 years old. With a trapper or two thrown in along the way. I've tried the one hand knives but I don't like the pocket clip because if it hanging on things . nothing like having a knife with more than one blade in case one blade becomes dull. I can't imagine not having a yellow handle knife in my pocket. If I drop it it is easily found and my pocket feels empty without it.
 
How do I answer a question like this? I just always have and cant really explain it. from the first time I found a old electricians knife in my dads army footlocker I have always been drawn to the old pocket knives.
Just like people who are born to play the piano or anything else, they are just drawn to them. They just have to play them and be around them.

I'm the same way about old timey knives.
 
My grandpa grew up in the swamps of Louisiana only accessible by boat , had to hunt and trap and provide for his whole family when he was only a boy , was a survivor of the great depression . He educated himself until he joined the airforce and they sent him to school to be a radio engineer on flying fortress bombers in WWII . He later worked and retired with NASA . He was also a tinker and inventor . I only knew him until i was about 11 or so but he made a lasting impression on me. Now pop loved him some case medium stockmans and he always had one in his pocket , usualy c.v as he said the blades never got sharp enough on the stainless models , he usualy opted for bone or stag handles but i remeber he had a yellow one too that was old . So i like slipjoints because everytime i pull my case medium stockman out of my pocket for a chore , it reminds me of my pop and all those things he did everyday with that little knife .
 
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I like the nostalgic look of the traditionals (like classic cars) combined with the handle materials like stag, exotic woods, jigged and sawcut bone, etc. The blade steel doesn't matter as much as my knives never get any heavy duty use here in the metropolitan area. I like SAK Alox knives too because they're so versatile. But I still like modern folders because they have exotic steels, fancy titanium handles, and the latest advancements (kind of like the modern supercars nowadays). All have their advantages and it's nice to be able to have them all.
 
Because in today's wimpy world, a lot of guys say slipjoints are unsafe or not suitable. I purposely carry one to go against the grain. And I just like them.

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