Why "slip-joint"?

I'm a child of the '60s, and slip and joint had very different meanings to me growing up! ;)[/QUOTE]

If you remember the '60s you weren't there.
 
I called all non locking folders( usually stockmen) jackknives. And I called fixed blade sheath knives "hunting knives".
 
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.
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Except calling a knife a "slip joint" is not "precisely" relabeling it.
I can call my golf club a hockey stick, but even if everyone does it, it ain't gonna' be precise...
 
Yup, growing up they were just pocket knives. The Buck 110 was a Lockback. Never heard or used the term Slipjoint or Traditional until I joined these knife forums.
 
robgmn said:
Except calling a knife a "slip joint" is not "precisely" relabeling it.
I can call my golf club a hockey stick, but even if everyone does it, it ain't gonna' be precise...
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Well, it gives a more descriptive name to something due to a more diverse market, so yeah it is. It might not be mechanically correct, but it describes a more discrete set of knives allowing for a more accurate description.

Your comparison doesn't fit. No one calls a slip joint a lock back because they look similar, serve similar purposes, and both have spring tension.
 
Another thought for us old farts. Never heard or used the term EDC until a couple years ago.
 
NMpops said:
Another thought for us old farts. Never heard or used the term EDC until a couple years ago.
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EDC is another new term, even for us youngins. I didn't hear it till the forums. I still think the debate between EDC meaning something you truly carry every day and something you carry that day is a valid argument. I tend toward the latter. What do you on the older side think? Genuine question.
 
ALLHSS said:
EDC is another new term, even for us youngins. I didn't hear it till the forums. I still think the debate between EDC meaning something you truly carry every day and something you carry that day is a valid argument. I tend toward the latter. What do you on the older side think? Genuine question.
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"Everyday" as in normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Mundane. Quotidian. For stuff in your pockets, that would mean what you tend to have with you for typical daily tasks, and not the special purpose tool or knife you use for a particular purpose.

So from that I consider an "EDC" knife as one carried for the everyday needs, not that you carry the same knife every single day. I don't have anything that is on my person every single day, except my wedding ring.




Say, what is this, a Dictionary forum or a knife forum?
 
jc57 said:
"Everyday" as in normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Mundane. Quotidian. For stuff in your pockets, that would mean what you tend to have with you for typical daily tasks, and not the special purpose tool or knife you use for a particular purpose.

So from that I consider an "EDC" knife as one carried for the everyday needs, not that you carry the same knife every single day. I don't have anything that is on my person every single day, except my wedding ring.




Say, what is this, a Dictionary forum or a knife forum?
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I think your last statement is the most important.

However, I agree. I often carry a modern one hand open knife and a traditional knife. I carry those alongside other edc items. It's all a picture of a larger process.
 
jc57 said:
"Everyday" as in normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Mundane. Quotidian. For stuff in your pockets, that would mean what you tend to have with you for typical daily tasks, and not the special purpose tool or knife you use for a particular purpose.

So from that I consider an "EDC" knife as one carried for the everyday needs, not that you carry the same knife every single day. I don't have anything that is on my person every single day, except my wedding ring.

Say, what is this, a Dictionary forum or a knife forum?
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Not even your wallet, drivers license, and keys?!?

(sorry, couldn't resist ...)
 
My job involves discussing culture, linguistics and semiotics, so, I will just sit back and watch how this thread plays out, as I always enjoy observing these definitions of words change, refine and clarify in real time. But, I am pretty new to knives in general, and "the porch" specifically, so I defer to those that aren't.
For what it is worth, I call my knives in "this" category traditionals. As in, traditional American knives VS. Modern knives. Moderns are more globalized, but "traditional" needs a qualifier, as "Traditional" in France, for instance, may be an Opinal.
These are really my favorite types of discussions in the world, so I thank all of you for having it.
Brian
 
I don't recall knives being designated as "slip joints" either. There were four basic groups of knives; pocket knives, hunting knives, combat knives and kitchen knives. Pocket knives were either lockblades or not. Hunting Knife usually always meant a fixed blade sheath knife. Combat knives meant the the ubiquitous Kabar. Kitchen knives were either Old Hickories or butterknives. I never saw anything aside from an Old Hickory kitchen knife until I was in my twenties. That's all we knew them as anyways. I was born in 1965 if that means anything.
 
kamagong said:
At least we know what is meant by the term. What I can't stand is how "traditional" has almost become synonymous with slipjoint in this forum. Traditional is nothing more than an adjective, used to describe a myriad of knives, slipjoints among them. It also includes puukkos, khukuris, resolzas, navajas, balisongs, bowies, etc.
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Totally agree here. But try posting a pic of a balisong and you'll get warned or infracted upon.

Back on topic. I never heard the term slipjoint until I came on this forum. I just thought they were pocket knives, or folders. And I have used the "slippie" term as well. I may not stop. Lol
 
Tdhurl1103 said:
Totally agree here. But try posting a pic of a balisong and you'll get warned or infracted upon.

Back on topic. I never heard the term slipjoint until I came on this forum. I just thought they were pocket knives, or folders. And I have used the "slippie" term as well. I may not stop. Lol
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Not by me you won't. If a Balisong thread starts it will likely get moved. That's because there is a dedicated Balisong sub-forum. The occasional Balisong in the EDC thread, as long as it is traditional in appearance, doesn't bother me. The key being traditional appearance. I believe Frank has the same feeling about it. That said don't start barraging the forum with Balisongs. There's a special place for them! :)
 
When I first joined BladeForums and saw the term "slip-joint", I thought you guys were talking about some kind of advanced modern knife mechanism with which I was not familiar.

It took a while to figure out you were talking about plain old pocketknives.

Slip-joint, to me, would be more descriptive of tool kit knives with multiple blades that one slips into place.

"Slippy" or "slippie" sounds totally ridiculous to me, no offense to anyone that uses the term, I said it sounds ridiculous, not that it is ridiculous.

I know another noted knife writer, besides Bernard, that detests the term, as well.

Coming up with terms-of-endearment for a pet is one thing, applying them to knives not.

Same-same "Wharnie" for Wharncliffe. If one were addressing Mr. Wharncliffe himself, "Wharnie" would be totally inappropriate.

Pocketknife, lockback, and straight knife are all the terms I need within the narrow confines of my area of interest.

Just my opinion, FWIW.
 
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Touche! That thing deserves it's own forum!
My dad was in the Philippines during WWII. He came home with a few machetes and a Balisong. Water Buffalo handles, brass fittings and a clip blade. Really well made. I loved that knife. Unfortunately it disappeared shortly after he passed. I think my brother or brother in law claimed it.
 
I've posted pics of my 19th century Bontgen & Sabin MOP-handled Butterfly knife a few times ;)

CNoyes said:
Same-same "Wharnie" for Wharncliffe. If one were addressing Mr. Wharncliffe himself, "Wharnie" would be totally inappropriate.FWIW.
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I'm not sure how the other prisoners referred to the Earl of Wharncliffe when he was imprisoned in Leeds Prison in the early 1980's, but it may have been inappropriate! :eek: :D :thumbup:
 
afishhunter said:
Not even your wallet, drivers license, and keys?!?

(sorry, couldn't resist ...)
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Some days I don't leave the house, and have no need for those things.

Back to the topic of knife nomenclature:
Words are a short-hand placeholder for objects, concepts, and actions which can be much more fully nuanced than a single word can convey. I can tell you I ate an apple, but without further discussion you would have no idea how it actually tasted, which cultivar, size, color, whether I cut it up first, peeled it, just bit into it. You don't get the sound of the crispness of it, the scent, or whether it had bruises.

But still, you generally knew I didn't eat a banana, and you have an overall shared understanding of what eating a typical apple is like. Your mental picture may be of me biting into a red delicious apple that was sweet and crisp, because it is the fall harvest season and this is the time when apples are at their best. You'd be right if you had that image.

So, in relation to pocket knives. I have three of them sitting on my desk right now. They all fit in my pocket. They all are sharp and can cut things. They all have blades that fold up into their handles. Two of them are acceptable for discussion in this forum, one of them is not. One has metal handles, one has plastic, one bone. All three are textured. All have a single cutting blade. One has several other folding tools that are not blades. All three have some modification of the blade to allow one to grab something to open it. One of them locks open. One of them has a hole through the blade rather than just a shallow slot ground into the blade. One of them has a removable pocket clip.

Lots of work to tell you that. So what I have on my desk is a modern, a SAK, and a slipjoint. Now you know what I have. More details: Benchmade Mini-Griptilian 555HG black, Victorinox silver Alox Cadet, Case Sod Buster Jr Chestnut Bone CV. Now you know exactly what I have, or can look it up.

Modern folder and two slipjoints. I don't particularly care what word everyone uses as a placeholder for the "non-modern, backspring-tensioned folding pocket knife that is OK to talk about on this forum" but we should probably at least have a word for it. Saves typing.
 
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