Why so many thread asking for rec. for a really thick folder?

stabman said:
And what if I like thick AND thin knives...what then?
Am I biknifetical?
A knife slut?

Or do I defy being stuck in a neat, little box (which I'd just cut my way out of with a knife anyway)?
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Knife sluts unite! They can't take away our freedom :D
 
Trendy, haven't you heard ?

Thick blades are in, all the "operators" have them. :)
 
stabman said:
Judging from this post, thin knives make one into someone who psychoanalyzes random folks they don't know, despite a complete lack of credentials.
That's what I'd get from it, if I were the judging sort. ;)
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Yea yea I deserved that I guess ...:D Just trying to understand the trend though.


powernoodle said:
Boys like knifeyness, and knives that have more knifeyness are funner. Like thick blades. Funky grinds. Skulls and crosses. Super steels. Lanyards. New, funky locks. It all ignites the pleasure centers of our brains, and then we come up with excuses why we "need" all of this knifeyness. Brother Rycen is right that a SAK is all that most of us really "need". But sometimes they are just not as fun as the big, thwacky stuff.
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Well yea, I can totally relate. I am asking a bunch of knife nuts why they buy all sorts of knifes, I should actually know the answer.


I guess I just need to accept the trend and get some fat italian steel. It just feels like I am leaving the path of things that make sense. I wouldn't need it for anything at all in actual use. No, I think I'm content with looking at pictures.

I feel that a good thing is a good thing and why change it? But everyone can do as they like who am I to judge.

The sebenza is so awesome because it is a no nonsense, greatly built knife without any design experiments. But while I love it and what it stands for, I understand how some would call it boring. And I also feel the need to like "senseless' knives just because they look "cool".

But it makes no... sense. :confused:
 
stabman said:
Solidarity, blade brother! :D
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Is it cheating if I browse the EDC thread 2-3 times a day?

Back on topic, some larger folders inspire more confidence than others, and when sharpened/reprofiled to the proper angle, they can get lightsaber sharp! If we all liked the same type of knives, this place would get pretty damn boring.
 
Well define a thick blade, .2", .3", .4", .1"? I carry what I consider a thick blade at .16" because I like to know I can thrash on the knife and abuse it, and the knife just won't care.
 
Divine_Madcat said:
For me, it comes down to wanting a knife that I can trust for rough tasks. I don't want just a food cutting knife... I want a pocket knife I can take camping, take on the road with me, and take a beating. More importantly, I want one I an have on me or in the truck, and not get in trouble when I go to work in the morning; fixed blades are a no go (hell, and I don't really care for them anyway)...
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Svord Peasant knife. You'll get the rough use and the slicing ability all in one legal everywhere package. ;)

Don't know OP. I can't figure it out either. The weak part of a folding knife isn't usually the blade so I can't see a need for something real thick either. If it were really about blade strength than I would expect to see more carbon steel knives produced. How many folding knives do you see in S7, 5160 or L6?

If you think they're cool and just want one that's cool by me. Just not my thing.
 
stabman said:
The only thing a blade with thick stock gets stuck in is when cutting through thick cardboard...it binds up a tad once you get past the spine.
But most cardboard cutting even doesn't have that happen.

Why is that people can't just see it as a personal choice---mainly based on aesthetics---without inventing odd motivations, performance issues, or personality traits?
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Edge thickness and geometry are more what I was talking about. And the performance issues are far from made up. If they don't apply to you, then that's great. Nowhere in my post was I down talking the fact that people don't have real cutting needs for their knives, so they pick based on other reasons besides actual performance. That's great. But say it like it is. And you pretty much proved my point by saying nothing but cardboard binds up on thick knives, we are so far removed from real knife uses that we can't think of anything besides cardboard cutting as "real use".
 
goodeyesniper said:
And you pretty much proved my point by saying nothing but cardboard binds up on thick knives, we are so far removed from real knife uses that we can't think of anything besides cardboard cutting as "real use".
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No, I said that's where the binding issue comes into play.

Making feather sticks, cutting burlap sacks, cutting fiberglass insulation, cutting copper wire, cutting paper, cutting food, cutting tape, making spears, notches, and other "bushcrafty" wooden things...in all those real knife uses, I've never said I either needed a thicker or thinner blade.
I just used the knife I had with me, and it worked...because it was a knife.

Cutting up old furniture so it would fit into garbage bags the garbage men would actually take away, making walking sticks, cleaning animals...am I missing something?

What is the real knife use which will show me the error of my ways?
 
powernoodle said:
Boys like knifeyness, and knives that have more knifeyness are funner. Like thick blades. Funky grinds. Skulls and crosses. Super steels. Lanyards. New, funky locks. It all ignites the pleasure centers of our brains, and then we come up with excuses why we "need" all of this knifeyness. Brother Rycen is right that a SAK is all that most of us really "need". But sometimes they are just not as fun as the big, thwacky stuff.
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Does not liking the highlighted elements above make me a girl? No. It just means I am confident enough in my manliness to not need exaggerated knifeyness. I don't always need kitchen knife thinness but once it gets to 3/16 inch at the spine it is overcompensation to the max. I find .125" to be a nice compromise between slicyness and strength. As for the skulls, grinds, crosses, etc., less is more as far as I'm concerned. I don't hang out at the mall either if that makes a difference.
 
GronK said:
I don't hang out at the mall either if that makes a difference.
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I don't go to the mall very often either...no good knives to buy, and the books are WAY overpriced.

There are pretty girls there though. :) I don't think they want to talk about knives though...and doing so might get my wife to injure my other arm with an arm-lock (she reversed one on me before, injuring my elbow; I was very proud of her :)).
 
Let's put it all on the table for a minute.

1. Most people don't do anything that requires a .16" thick blade.

2. Food preparation with folders is every bit as manufactured as an excuse to use a knife as anything people whip up to justify 'hard use folders'. Teeth work fine on apple skin and bananas, and if you're in a kitchen anyway, there should be a kitchen knife available.

3. Even if we pretend that you'll die of you don't cut that apple with a folder before eating it, it's not critical that the pieces are perfectly formed into rose petals or kanji. A beefy folder will break that apple into bite sized pieces just fine. Opinels aren't required to get fruit to the right dimensions.

4. "Hard use folders" will do just as much as fixed blades when used how most folks really use a small camp knife. If I'm packing an ESEE 6, it doesn't hurt me *at all* to have a ZT 0550 as my camp knife instead of an ESEE 3-- I'm not batoning with the 3" fixed, anyway.

5. I prefer a ZT 0566 over my 0550 for work because I cut a lot of cardboard and it passes through a little more cleanly, but either one works fine. The binding thing is overstated, and I freely admit that I am part of the hair-splitting army waging that war.


Tl;dr: they all cut stuff.
 
Elefantener said:
Well define a thick blade, .2", .3", .4", .1"? I carry what I consider a thick blade at .16" because I like to know I can thrash on the knife and abuse it, and the knife just won't care.
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Anything over 1/8th on a "normal" folder I would say is too much for me. Edit: And that is already quite the overkill.
 
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Probably because its the trend and many have been swayed to that way of thinking anything less than overbuilt isnt enough. I disagree with the trend although I do like overbuilt knives, they are more fun to really use hard and beat on since you know they can handle it, but in reality/practicality they are unnecessary for most people's uses. They do have a place though, like anything else.
 
stabman said:
I don't go to the mall very often either...no good knives to buy, and the books are WAY overpriced.

There are pretty girls there though. :) I don't think they want to talk about knives though...and doing so might get my wife to injure my other arm with an arm-lock (she reversed one on me before, injuring my elbow; I was very proud of her :)).
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I must confess to being a people-watcher. Not in a creepy way (at least I hope not) but one of my favorite things is grabbing a nice drink or smoothie at the mall and watchin' me some people. Helps if they are of the pretty female variety. ;)
 
I love this thread - stabman makes it fun

All true and fun as heck !

I'm BiBlade myself
 
People want something that they think is tough. Think of how many people you see driving pickup trucks or SUV's that have no use for them. The most pathetic thing I see is people driving a "big tough vehicle" and then they have to slow down to 5 mph to go over railroad tracks so they don't damage their big tough vehicle.

But I don't want to carry a fragile knife either. Anybody that has ever broken a blade will want to buy a thicker blade next time. I've noticed that some of my ordinary EDC folders are not good at slicing apples, but one day I noticed that a thinner blade didn't do all that much better so I stopped worrying about it.

Today I'm carrying a Benchmade 890, which has a relatively thin blade for its size. I think it would not go easily through an apple and I wouldn't try to pry open a door with it, but it is good enough for my normal uses and I consider this knife to be a modern gentleman's folder. Next week I'll probably carry a Spyderco Manix 2 XL, and I have a ZT 0561 in my rotation too.
 
GronK said:
Does not liking the highlighted elements above make me a girl? No.
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You just define knifeyness differently - maybe as "a nice compromise between slicyness and strength." But I would contend that you - and all of us - who have more than one or two knives, are chasing some flavor of knifeyness.

bdmicarta said:
Think of how many people you see driving pickup trucks or SUV's that have no use for them.
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You are injecting "need" into the equation. But we are not required to demonstrate need as a prerequisite for buying a big vehicle or a big knife. Wanting is plenty good, especially when we are spending our own money. I have 2 kids and drive a Suburban, btw. [Edit: and there is an XL Recon 1 laying in the passenger seat. Seriously.] :)
 
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I am making myself an 4 inch long .156 thick frame lock and think that it is thick enough to handle any task within reason. Right now I carry a 2.75 a friction that is only 3/32 thick, and have cut down dozens of saplings out of a field and have batoned with it through 2 inch thick logs and in doing most of the abuse I said to myself "I need a bigger thicker folder".
When I make the blade of the folder I will grind it down to .005 to .006 thick before I sharpen it. that is thinner behind the edge than some of the kitchen knives I have seen in the exchange.
just my .02.
 
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