Thread: Knife as a tool

Guys, I actually have some nice knives. I collect Case Russlocks. Extremely sharp and somewhat fragile. My EDC is this ol Kershaw. It is a hammer, screwdriver, scraper, and meat-cutter. Flipped open fast, I suppose it is a last resort! It is so gapped-up right now, it is silly! Time to put it on the DMT!

Dang it, now I gotta go out & buy one of these.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Dang it, now I gotta go out & buy one of these.

They are like Lays potato chips. One leads to another!

Do you know the easy way to tell that a man is not a "Lady's Man"?

When that man has a knife collection, a straight razor collection, a Zippo collection or a hone collection.

Pardon the intrusion but I feel purchasing a good knife, regardless of material, falls under the heading of "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR." It's easy to bad mouth stainless knives or carbon knives based on a few bad experiences. I would dare to speculate that the bad experiences began with poor choices about brand and origin of the knives.
I have owned both stainless and carbon steel knives. The knives I own are used as tools in and out of the field, veterans understand where I'm coming from. I try never go cheap on my tools while at the same time being careful to avoid paying for a name rather than quality.
I have a challenge to the professional "honmiesters" out there; I acquired a carbon steel knife on an overseas deployment that I cannot get an edge on. I used to think I was pretty good with knives and stones but this particluar knife makes feel like I have 2 left hands with right thumbs. Do any of you sharpen knives as well as razors? If any of you is up to the challenge, you will find the modifications on the knife quite interesting.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Just curious, what were you doing to break two Ka-Bars?

Just messing around... Chopping wood, opening crates...

I am good at breaking stuff... my wife loves gardening, but after I broke a couple of her spades... I am no longer allowed to touch them.

Basically any gardening implement with a wooden handle gets me into trouble.

I bought a guarenteed for life spade with a fiberglass handle... a few months later when I tried to collect on the guarantee.. the shop had closed down...

So... how do I break Ka Bars.... well, I have been training all my life!!!

Nothing like good old american steel

As a collector of custom knives and an active competitor in competitive cutting I am not entirely inclined to agree that carbon steel is the best choice for everyone (though it's a good choice for some).

There are many users and uses that should dictate the materials used. The fact that something worked for centuries should be of no concern...after all rocks were probably used the longest for cutting tools

Stainless steels have come a LONG way. But there are many many varieties.

I understand the point about a basic 1095 carbon blade being expensive to some...but when you start comparing it to good stainless or PM steels it no longer seems expensive. Further it is not a fair comparison to contemplate what a good carbon steel folder used to cost...after all the boxes on many of my straights indicate that a good straight razor ought to cost well under 5 bucks

Originally Posted by Chribo

Just messing around... Chopping wood, opening crates...

I am good at breaking stuff... my wife loves gardening, but after I broke a couple of her spades... I am no longer allowed to touch them.

Basically any gardening implement with a wooden handle gets me into trouble.

I bought a guarenteed for life spade with a fiberglass handle... a few months later when I tried to collect on the guarantee.. the shop had closed down...

So... how do I break Ka Bars.... well, I have been training all my life!!!

Thank you for your response.
Not to antagonize mind you, but would an axe be the better tool for "chopping wood" & a pry bar for "opening crates" ? Just saying...
Most of the times that I read about someone disliking the performance of a certain knife or tool, it is because that knife was used for a job that it was not intended to be used for.

Ka Bars have a well earned tradition of getting the job done under tough circumstances. With that said, I have a RAT-7 also,that I love the full tang on; it may well be my first choice , if I can only have one.

In my vehicle I keep a 17" ripping bar for crates & in my home a couple of axes for chopping.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Thank you for your response.
Not to antagonize mind you, but would an axe be the better tool for "chopping wood" & a pry bar for "opening crates" ? Just saying...
Most of the times that I read about someone disliking the performance of a certain knife or tool, it is because that knife was used for a job that it was not intended to be used for.

Ka Bars have a well earned tradition of getting the job done under tough circumstances. With that said, I have a RAT-7 also,that I love the full tang on; it may well be my first choice , if I can only have one.

In my vehicle I keep a 17" ripping bar for crates & in my home a couple of axes for chopping.

It's not me, but this discussion comes up frequently elsewhere and while I agree with you regarding prying...the truth is there are knives for all sorts of things and uses/users. What is more its not always about the best tool for the job...sometimes it's about silly whims, and who among us is not guilty of participating in a few?

That is why I suggest that there is a time and place for many different steels.