kennethsime wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 10:06 pm
The first, and most common “hard use” task I can think of is cutting through thick, heavy corrugated cardboard. Like nasty-thick, where some force will be used. Next is zip ties, and pallet straps. The only other ”hard use” thing I can think of that I actually do with a folder sometimes is carving with the tip, or prying a bit with the tip (which I generally don’t do).
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I also prefer a fixed blade for long working sessions, like an hour’s worth of cardboard breakdown.
I hardly ever need to cut cardboard. At work we have a cardboard compressing machine, so no need at all there. At home I may need to cut some, on rare occasions, to make them fit in the recycling bin. You can't be on a knife related forum without coming across this type of use being mentioned very regularly, so there is obviously a need for folders that can handle this type of work, but it's not a need I recognize. And believe me, I can detect "need" at very low concentrations and very willingly accept that as justification :)
Anyways, zip ties and pallet straps are what I'm trying to get to. This stuff is very relevant to me and while its not my primary use case, it's probably the main reason I've settled on a wharnie for my EDC. With a screaming sharp DF2 wharnie in k390 I can take care of most zip ties and pallet straps without it feeling like I'm stretching the capabilities of the knife. The tip will most often slide under the zip tie/strap without the need of any twisting motion and the slicy geometry and leverage from the shape of the spine take care of the rest. I've used more "hard use" knives with more robust tips and blade stock for these tasks in the past, and it's just very awkward and you run a big risk of damaging the cables (which is what I'm most often trying to liberate).
My PE wharnie is really good for this, but I think a serrated hawkbill would be even better. In fact I already have incidental data to support this from occasionally using my SE HB Ladybug. Another non hard use folder that works surprisingly well at this stuff. Unfortunately I need PE for other tasks and there just aren't as many PE HBs around in the models I prefer to carry for EDC/work.
Keep in mind, all of this is very small scale planned work or the occasional stuff that wasn't really planned, which is the objective of my EDC tools. If I know I'll be cutting lots of zip ties or very heavy duty zip ties, I'll bring a suitable side cutter. And this really harkens back to LB's question regarding time/duration vs intensity/force. I probably didn't make this connection when I wrote my first answer, but it really is both. It isn't necessarily that the knife can't handle lots of zip ties or the heavy duty ones, but at that point where reduced suitability isn't made up for by the convenient access, it's just not an attractive solution anymore.
kennethsime wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 10:06 pm
My closing thought is that “hard use” gets thrown around a bit too much, and is essentially meaningless. Great questions, LB.
Agreed. And a good summary!
To throw in some closing thoughts myself, I think the biggest risk of hard use or even abuse is the tasks you (or at least I) didn't plan for.
The great thing about a folding knife, that enables it to continually justify the precious space it takes up in my pocket, is its versatility. There's a couple of things it does very well, a lot of things it isn't ideal for and even more that it's simply not suited for. And the fact that it's right there in your pocket and most other tools are not, sometimes tempt us (at least me) to push it into roles it wasn't meant for. This temptation is what ultimately made me realize there could be a need for something like a prybar, and that this genre of tools wasn't just a pocket jewelry fad. On face value it seemed like a very unnecessary tool, but it proved so easy to carry and so cheap (at least it can be). So even if I hardly use it even once a month, it regularly saves me from temptation and is well worth the expense and pocket space. Or wallet space, in my case.
all my pocket tools on a typical work day