Knife Thoughts:

Reconsidering traditional folding knives

If you're a police officer working the road, I bet I know what's clipped to your pocket. Chances are it's either an overpriced "tactical" folder or a gas-station special. I'm as big a fan of modern lock-back folders as anyone, but chances are that all of the tasks you rely on that tacti-cool blade to perform, could be handled by a traditional pocket knife.

M. T. Rush

Ok, admittedly, the modern folder has taken a dominant position in the market and in everyone's pockets for a reason. The two main features that make them an obvious choice for utility use in a law enforcement and military context are the locking blade and the pocket clip. These two features alone, provide a great deal of added security and safety. Especially for those for whom a knife isn't a real daily essential as it would be for someone working in the trades. The additional advantage of being easily opened with one hand makes them a perfect companion for someone who might need the assistance of a blade in an emergency while being occupied with another task (consider the automatic knives issued to paratroopers for the purpose of cutting away tangled or hung-up parachute lines).

But the fact remains that for the vast majority of common uses, a traditional two-handed folder is a perfectly suitable tool for most knife-tasks. In the military context, if one of the considerations for a blade is as a last-ditch defense weapon, a fixed blade is a far superior option to any folder, relegating the folder to the kind of utility tasks that traditional folders have been doing admirably since great-granddad picked his up at the local hardware store.

So, if immediate one-handed access isn't a true necessity, and a blade's use as a back-up defensive weapon isn't particularly realistic, maybe a traditional folder, designed for utility and proven over centuries of use, might be a better choice. This may especially be the case for multi-blade patterns like the stockman or the trapper, that offer a lot of utility in a compact tool.

In conclusion, don't throw away your prized Benchmade or abandon what's worked for you for years. However, if you're carrying one of the questionable Chinese "some kind of stainless steel" junk-drawer folders, consider a comparably priced, well made traditional folder. You'll be far better served and you'll have a trustworthy companion you can pass on to the next generation.