Would You Buy A Frail Knife?

[Petunia D. Feeble]

No I get that and didn’t mean to come of harsh. Just that I cant see buying a knife, hard use or not that was prone to breakage, and that the manufacture wouldn’t warranty but would sell you replacement blades. I guess for me if thats the need ill buy a utility knife.

That’s the thing though: it seems like most modern knives are made for the layman, not knife enthusiasts. I’d like to see a line of “high performance” knives marketed to those of us who maybe understand them a bit better and likely have more stable mechanics when using them and that are built with cutting performance in mind rather than potential warranty claims.

I had a small fixed blade with stock thickness of about .04”. Used it all the time. Cardboard, plastic clamshells, etc. Anything that wouldn’t torque the blade laterally. It performed beautifully for me and is likely still serving well the person I sold it to. So good that I actually looked forward to breaking down boxes or peeling potatoes. More of an extension of one’s will than a normal tool.

As for the replacement blades: I don’t think we’d want them to be so cheap they’re effectively an upmarket utility blade and disposable. Although I might buy some k390 utility blades if someone made them. I’d just want them to be easily accessible and sold for considerably less than the knife itself. Say $50-100 for a blade replacement on a $300 knife.

If you buy a race car you know it’s not meant to be a daily driver, but if you decide to drive it daily you can also just replace the powertrain when it eventually eats itself. I’d like the knife equivalent.

 

[Slice-E]

That’s the thing though: it seems like most modern knives are made for the layman, not knife enthusiasts. I’d like to see a line of “high performance” knives marketed to those of us who maybe understand them a bit better and likely have more stable mechanics when using them and that are built with cutting performance in mind rather than potential warranty claims.

I had a small fixed blade with stock thickness of about .04”. Used it all the time. Cardboard, plastic clamshells, etc. Anything that wouldn’t torque the blade laterally. It performed beautifully for me and is likely still serving well the person I sold it to. So good that I actually looked forward to breaking down boxes or peeling potatoes. More of an extension of one’s will than a normal tool.

As for the replacement blades: I don’t think we’d want them to be so cheap they’re effectively an upmarket utility blade and disposable. Although I might buy some k390 utility blades if someone made them. I’d just want them to be easily accessible and sold for considerably less than the knife itself. Say $50-100 for a blade replacement on a $300 knife.

If you buy a race car you know it’s not meant to be a daily driver, but if you decide to drive it daily you can also just replace the powertrain when it eventually eats itself. I’d like the knife equivalent.

I think since something like that line would be serving such a niche audience, right now the customer base for that desire is served by modders/custom knife makers. Example: Klein Regrinds on Spydercos.

 

[Arathol]

I think since something like that line would be serving such a niche audience, right now the customer base for that desire is served by modders/custom knife makers. Example: Klein Regrinds on Spydercos.

You would be wrong.....AG Russell has been making knives since the mid-1990s that have a blade thickness of ~1mm or .04". In fact, they recently brought back the Bird and Trout knife due to high customer demand.
This old 8A version I have had for 20 years or so now.......

 

[Wild Willie]

Yeah, like a knapped obsidian knife for example, I would sure why not

Stone tools are definitely fun to make and use, unless you want to cut a tine off of a deer antler. They're definitely frail.

One of these days I'm going to try to bone out some chicken thighs, just for kicks.

 

[Danke42]

I am going to dissent regarding the meat of this. Those modern high performance race cars are very reliable. They may have an aggressive service schedule but it's just like having a super steel knife that has specific needs for sharpening or care.

Now the folks paying big money for unreliable cars are the inhabitants of Porchburg who are dropping big bucks for a 50s Jaguar or Ferrari, they sure look like traditional cars but they can't hold a candle to current street or race cars. Just like the folks in trads don't care if they've got a non locking folder that cost them what 10 modern knives would; they're happy where they are.

And obviously that niche is over full. People are in the waiting room waving wads of money trying to get in.

 

[Slice-E]

You would be wrong.....AG Russell has been making knives since the mid-1990s that have a blade thickness of ~1mm or .04". In fact, they recently brought back the Bird and Trout knife due to high customer demand.
This old 8A version I have had for 20 years or so now.......

Me? Wrong on the internet? Never!

 

[unwisefool]

No, because if something can be broken easily I will find a way to do it accidentally. I'm on my 4th work computer in 3 years.