Why "slip-joint"?

Slippy and Slip Joint are bad enough, don't even mention "Charlow" or "beerlow"! :barf:
 
It hurts me to agree with JK!LOL. Being an old guy,I only knew these 2 terms .....pocket knife & sheath knife.
Jim
 
You can carry a folder in a sheath so that dont make sense. Ive always heard them called fixed blades.
Mark
 
Ramrodmb said:
You can carry a folder in a sheath so that dont make sense. Ive always heard them called fixed blades.
Mark
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Except, back in the day, men didn't carry their pocket knives in a sheath. They carried them in their pocket.
 
rma100 said:
Except, back in the day, men didn't carry their pocket knives in a sheath. They carried them in their pocket.
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It's not back in the day, it's the present.

Pure traditionalism and constantly looking back usually has a negative impact.

Are you guys who are against new terms emerging to more precisely label things not happy that the interest in traditional knives is growing and needs these things? Genuine question.
 
Back in the 70's everyone had a 110 on their belt. Are we going back "in the day" more than 45 years? If so, I dont remember.
Mark
 
I think "spring tension folder" accurately describes them better than slipjoint does.

I'm a child of the '60s, and slip and joint had very different meanings to me growing up! ;)
 
ALLHSS said:
It's not back in the day, it's the present.

Pure traditionalism and constantly looking back usually has a negative impact.

Are you guys who are against new terms emerging to more precisely label things not happy that the interest in traditional knives is growing and needs these things? Genuine question.
Click to expand...

I don't see the need for funny made up names. If it wasn't for Traditionalism these pocket knives wouldn't be here.
 
Back in the early Fifties we had Pocket Knives and Hunting Knives and everyone that I knew was aware of what those kind of knives were. We just assumed that the hunting knife had a sheath.


Harry
 
I always Thought a slip-joint was a pair of pliers, it was this forum where I first heard the term slip-joint applied to a knife. What is referred to as traditional here I always called a pocket knife. Pocket knives were further broken down into patterns, stockman, barlow, trapper etc.

Then there were fixed blades aka hunting knives aka sheath knives, I've heard all 3 terms.
Those of us with a few years on us called them pocket knives before coming to this forum.
So there's only one thing to do, change the name of this is sub forum to “Pocket Knives and Fixed Blades” :D
 
black mamba said:
I think "spring tension folder" accurately describes them better than slipjoint does.

I'm a child of the '60s, and slip and joint had very different meanings to me growing up! ;)
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I hear you!:D

Never heard of this word slipjoint until 2007 when I chanced upon here. Never understood why it is called this either because it doesn't convey accuracy Simply assumed it was a jargon/slang term used by collectors or enthusiasts. Pocket-knife, locking-knife and hunting-knife is what I was used to, and do you know? I don't actually like word 'slipjoint':barf: Let's purge it:D:D Plus massive infraction for using the term 'slippy/ies':thumbup:
 
Never heard the term slip joint until after I came to Blade Forums. I don't have anything against the new name, but, I personally never call them that when discussing pocket knives.
 
Old Engineer said:
Back in the early Fifties we had Pocket Knives and Hunting Knives and everyone that I knew was aware of what those kind of knives were. We just assumed that the hunting knife had a sheath.


Harry
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:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Darn strait, Harry!!!
:D
 
This just in.
Australian man coins new term for penknives.
'Yes' says meako.'It's my term I invented it I was the first one ever to use it in the Illawarra region.' Reported in the Illawarra mercury last Saturday-'Patent Pending on Penknife Pronoun!'
From the same edition- 'Aussies 15 years behind the rest of the world. Once again coming second place to New Zealand who manage to remain 25 years behind the rest .'
 
rma100 said:
I don't see the need for funny made up names. If it wasn't for Traditionalism these pocket knives wouldn't be here.
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I don't see what makes slipjoint so silly and laughable, especially when "spring tension folding pocket knife" is the suggested replacement.

I agree, and am not suggesting some nostalgia and respect for the quality and conventions of the past is bad, but constantly fighting against any change is bad and basically fighting against the growth/spread of the interest.

I just don't see how slipjoint is such a bad/offensive term to use.
 
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afishhunter said:
An old timer was talking to a young timer, while inspecting the young timer's new not locking 3 blade stockman. As the old timer was sitting down, his knee joint slipped, causing the old timer to mutter "______ slip joints!" The young timer only heard the last, not the cursing part, thought the old timer was referring to his knife, and the term stuck. :)
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^^^^^
I'm gonna go with this one, I think. Thanks, everybody, for an illuminating discussion which confirms what I kind of suspected, but didn't want to blurt right out, being somewhat new here, and uneducated. Although it is a bit of a misnomer, I do prefer slip-joint to Spring Tensioned Folder, which would naturally morph to STF. Before you knew it, people would be going STF,Uh huh.
 
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Jack Black said:
Much the same here Carl, when I was a small boy, I always heard folders called penknives, irrespective of pattern, and then later I'd hear 'pocket knife' too. Occassionally, someone might use the term 'jack knife' or 'clasp knife', usually in relation to a big military folder. My grandad carried a Jack Knife, and correctly identified it, but that was in Sheffield after all (and as you may recall, he did read a lot of cowboy books!) ;) It was only later, when I met old cutlers, and started learning about cutlery history that I learned the term spring knife. The other knives were lock-knives and sheath knives, the former of which I don't recall coming across until the 70's, and you would also hear about flick-knives occasionally.
...
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Old Engineer said:
Back in the early Fifties we had Pocket Knives and Hunting Knives and everyone that I knew was aware of what those kind of knives were. We just assumed that the hunting knife had a sheath.
Harry
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My experience was similar to Jack's. Everyone I knew in our farming community called their folding knives "jack knives", regardless of whether there were blades on one or both ends. We were familiar with the term "pocket knife", but my impression was that was a term used by city folk. And, as Harry points out, we always called non-folding knives worn on the belt "hunting knives".

I first encountered the term slipjoint here at BF, and thought it was a term the "cool kids" used, and not something a novice like me would ever feel comfortable with.

- GT
 
Guess I've been lucky to avoid such silly words as "slipjoint" recently by EDC'ing my AO OHO CF supersteel flipper. :D
 
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