Why does everyone want such "tough" folders?

Macchina

Macchina

Joined
Apr 7, 2006
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It seems 1 in 3 threads lately have been asking what production folders are the strongest? People say they want a folder that can handle anything and everything. I do not understand why you want a knife so thick that it diminishes it's cutting ability, because you may have to pry with it someday. How many people have broken a normal thickness knife? I understand that a knife is designed for cutting (especially a folder), and therefore I buy a knife that is good for cutting. I own several fixed blades that are super thick and very tough, I may pry with one of those. My toolbox is chuck full of things good for prying, I will never use my razor blades for that, because they were not designed for that. Maybe I don't live a rough enough lifestyle, but I will never own a 1/4" thick bladed folder!
 
Would you trust your life to a flimsy folder with less than .250" thick blade?

Just thought I'd get the inevitable "Would you trust your life to..." canard out of the way. ;)
 
I also don't understand why people talk about locks so much. I cut with the edge 100% of the time, are they cutting with the spine? :confused:
 
agree. I guess being "overbuilt" is the rage, and having the SHTF type of knife is cool. Personally I prefer blades with thinner edges with substantially improved cutting abilities, as opposed to thick edges. On folders, 5/32" is the thickest I'd go, and preferably with a 0.010-0.025 edge.

On larger fixed blades, I still prefer 5/32" unless it's a really huge chopper. Even then, I think a well HTed 5/32" blade is plenty tough. My jungle parangs are all 5/32" tapering to 1/8". I hate those 1/4" blades with super thick edges....they're really just sharpened pry bars. Of course they're tough and won't break. Have you seen pry bars break?? lol....
 
Machismo!

Bigger is just--better!

Most people probably want more than they really need. Buy what makes you happy and works for you.
 
Some of the threads I have read have been from folks who really do need a very robust knife. Most turn out to be from younger folks who gotta be TOUGH and have a TOUGH knife that shows how TOUGH they are.

Same goes for much of questioning about "best knife for self-defence". Some is legit, most is from the young.

======================================================
It is said that the last stage before "sage" is "old fart"
By golly I'm almost a sage.
 
I'm more for the slimmer, thinly ground knives myself.....at least with folders. I favor the Sebenza personally....it's a wicked slicer. I just don't see the attraction to wedge like knives...I've had them and have sold/traded them all.

I have some thicker knives .250'' on up to around .330'' but those are very large fixed blades that are meant to chop and such....I don't even pry with THEM really let alone a folder...there's better things to pry with than my pocket knife. The right tool for the job.
 
Why does everyone want such "tough" folders?

Because sometimes I want to cut things and sometimes I want to break things and most times I don't want to carry a lot of equipment, so ... do the best you can with what you've got. :)

I have literally hundreds of knives, many of them just because. Many fill the specialized niche of being themselves, nothing else like them.

I have some of the finest slicers among the ordinary, inexpensive knives, like the Adventura and Leek. I have multipurpose knives like the Vic. Ranger and Leatherman Wave. And I have musclebound monsters like the ER Nemesis and Ka-Bar Mule.

I probably have ten or twenty knives that I could pick out to keep, and lose the rest, and I would have more than enough to get every kind of knife job done, but what fun is that? :D
 
To me if you get a folder thats really big and rugged, you are defeating the purpose of having a folder. For those, carry a big fixed blade. Nobody want a filmsy folder that won't cut but the folder is not and never will be a fixed blade. They are not made to prt and chop. I have never had any problem with the lock or the blade on any folding knife when using it for its intended purpose.
 
You may have more opportunity to carry a fixed blade around the Black Hills than we do on the streets of New York or New Jersey. :)
 
michaelmcgo said:
It seems 1 in 3 threads lately have been asking what production folders are the strongest? People say they want a folder that can handle anything and everything. I do not understand why you want a knife so thick that it diminishes it's cutting ability, because you may have to pry with it someday.
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So-Lo said:
I also don't understand why people talk about locks so much. I cut with the edge 100% of the time, are they cutting with the spine?
Click to expand...

There's a couple reasons for the above. The first, and best, reason is "they wanna". Same reason I have 4 bows, several dozen guns, kukris and a couple of swords. I'm way beyond "need".

Another reason is some people live in communist states/cities that severely restrict your carrying cutlery. In which case their folder is their only defensive piece. You never know which way you're going to be twisting the knife in a fight, and may indeed be putting a lot of side load on it, and need a stout blade. Also the reason you need a good lock. You don't want to stab the guy who's trying to kill you, have the point bury itself in a rib, and have the damn blade fold on you and cut your fingers off.

Some other "reasons" are the very common incidence is guys who go woodshopping with backs, hips and ankles that can't stand up to another 3/4 pounds of weight of a larger knife to do the heavy work, or God forbid, 2 pounds of hatchet.

Then there's ergonomics. I like the Ka-Bar Mule, not because it has a giant blade (it doesn't, the blade is thinner than you might think, and is short enough to be under the legal limit in communist areas), but because it has a comfortable grip for real sized hands. Many of the folders guys recommend have thin, slab-sides grips that, while they make it easier to carry in pocket and conceal, just flat suck for use.
 
I don't use my knives, either fixed or folder, for prying or chopping. IMHO, a knife is for cutting

But I do like a folder for EDC that is capable of performing emergency tasks, like cutting seatbelts, child restraints, rope, fuzz sticks, etc if needed.

I EDC a Benchmade 710 D-2. I removed the clip and carry it as a "pocket knife." It works for me. And being D2 steel, it takes a true razor edge, and holds that edge forever.:):)
 
pbubsy said:
I'm more for the slimmer, thinly ground knives myself.....at least with folders. I favor the Sebenza personally....it's a wicked slicer. I just don't see the attraction to wedge like knives...I've had them and have sold/traded them all.

I have some thicker knives .250'' on up to around .330'' but those are very large fixed blades that are meant to chop and such....I don't even pry with THEM really let alone a folder...there's better things to pry with than my pocket knife. The right tool for the job.
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Total agreement here.

I EDC a Sebbie and it is one helluva slicer. I also EDC an older Busse straight handle Badger Attack that is indeed a sharpened prybar. CCW is a wonderful thing.

I don't use the Busse to cut limes for my Gin and Tonic and I don't use the Sebbie when I need to cut through a car door or pry open a bank vault. LOL

Nice to have both though.

Rob
 
So-Lo said:
I also don't understand why people talk about locks so much. I cut with the edge 100% of the time, are they cutting with the spine? :confused:
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AMEN! I think I was 13 or 14 the last time I let a pocketknife close on my fingers, and then it didn't cut me badly. Let's just say that "several decades" have passed since then, and I think I know how to use a folding knife now. :D I also think there are an awful lot of inexperienced and immature people in our culture who have no earthly idea what constitutes a good and useful knife.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Why does everyone want such "tough" folders?

Because sometimes I want to cut things and sometimes I want to break things and most times I don't want to carry a lot of equipment, so ... do the best you can with what you've got. :)
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You nailed it, Esav. A big, robust folder you can use to break open a wooden crate can also remove a tiny sliver from under your skin, open envelopes, etc. If you need or want the widest range of use, strength and toughness are essential.

.
 
Because some of us may conceivably need them.

when i go out i carry an emerson k-bit. i consider it a strong knife. i dont consider it overkill.

i like being able to do things other than just slice with my knives.
 
The larger tougher folders are (distant) approximations of a fixed blade, and can be used with care in fixed blade manner. Why do we need fixed blades?

Furthermore, size, strength, and ergonomic comfort tend to go together. A larger folder has a thicker handle and offers more handle profile "real estate" to shape in a way that reduces slip -- e.g Manix, Ruckus, etc. Get a nice hammer grip on that puppy and you can apply a lot of force safely.

My smallest folder is the Blur. Smaller handle than that, and I feel like wrapping it in 20 layers of grip tape.

Speaking of the Blur, does anyone make G10 or micarta inserts for those scales? The weird rubber stuff that comes from the factory is rough yet oddly slippery; I don't like it at all.
 
I don't quite understand it either. Thick knives suck at cutting and suck at prying. If they're pocketable, they also suck at chopping. I EDC either a Krein reground M2 Rittergrip or a ZDP Caly Jr. Right alongside that I have a LM Wave. And a box full of tools in the bed of my truck. My beater folder is a Cara Cara, 1/8" thick blade. I'm thinking about switching to a Meadowlark, as the handle is about an inch too long for useful purposes.
 
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