working 9 to 4

neffarious

neffarious

Joined
Jun 23, 2012
Messages
2,398
Soo, how do you decide which to use in a given situation? Last night i decided to prune this one bougainvillea branch. It was jutting in the yard and thorny. 9 or 4? Why thanks for asking, I chose the 9. Why the 9 you ask? I just sharpened it and it was there. Would the 4 have worked better? Perhaps because I could have done the Ethan Snap cut? I cut it in pieces because I didn't want to get skewered. I got pierced in my finger anyway. It chopped well, as expected. They question I have though is: do i need both? Is there enough of a difference between them that I need both? I think "no", get something else instead of one of them, which most likely would be the 4. I know the answer is keep both. The thing is I hate having knives i don't use. It feels wasteful. Thoughts ? Ready, set, go!
 
neffarious said:
They question I have though is: do i need both? Is there enough of a difference between them that I need both? I think "no", get something else instead of one of them, which most likely would be the 4. I know the answer is keep both. The thing is I hate having knives i don't use. It feels wasteful. Thoughts ? Ready, set, go!
Click to expand...

The real answer is, and I quote..."At this point what difference does it make?" :D

In reality the answer is both are great choppers, both can do the routine stuff extremely well with some subtle differences. So do you 'need' both? No.

On the other hand, having more knives than you 'need' is always preferable to having fewer knives than you need. I now find I use the 4 more than the 9. Am I getting rid of 9's? Nope, I have four of them and none of them are going anywhere.

Why? Because I like 'em. Initially I felt the same twinge of guilt for buying things I don't absolutely need 'cause in general I only buy things I'm going to use. With Beckers I know that I like 'em and I'm going to use them.

So the real problem you are facing is just ignoring that guilt/wasteful feeling and embracing the joy that is owning Becker knives. edit to add: ...and they'll kick the crap out of anything on the market in the same price range and many that cost a heck of a lot more.
 
For my usage, the decision is based on subtle nuances of each knife.

As far as knives larger than a 2, I have a 4 and a 5.
-Prior to my thinning of my 5, I would use that for anything under 1" or vine like.
-The 4 is used for anything otherwise. Chopping, firewood processing when fireside, feathersticks when I don't want to grab another knife, or carried for hiking from a camp site with a light gear set.
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So, since I do own multiple knives that Can overlap, I try to find where each niche is and use them accordingly to make my job easier and my energy expended kept to a minimum while spanning the largest breadth of capacity.

Yes, a small saw (Bahco, silky, et al) coupled with a tweener might be lighter, and save me energy, but I bought the 4 since most of my time, I am not burning my last calorie.
 
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I don't even understand any of this...
I have both and use both...
Maybe multiples of each, ok
One of each? Yeah...I need at least one of each.

If you feel it's wasteful to have both, just make sure each gets used periodically then maybe you can psyche yourself out, or maybe you're already psyched out and need a cure. The cure would be dual weild using both, the way the good Lord intended.

Also, keep one on your car. It's always there if needed, doing its job, on stand by, waiting, being useful.
 
I'm as much a collector as I am a user, so I don't understand, not having/needing/wanting both. :)
Especially since the 4 is on the endangered species list.
 
Whew.....for a minute I thought that Dolly was coming out with a sequel to her old 80's song/movie. I have both the 9 and 4 and use both, but I probably use the 9 around 75% of the time, but I always have that 4 around.
 
If someone offered enough, I'd sell it and get a 5 lol. I'm not married to it or anything. Just saying I'm not going to actively seek it's departure.
 
Wow 15 posts and all of them wrong!

There is no right answer other then you need to go out and buy a BK21 :D

Good luck!
 
LOL. No. I want new kitchens knives and a Bahamas cruise and a Jamaican vacation, and some other stuff too. if i buy a 21 my wife kills me and i don't get any of the other stuff I want :P
 
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