Give me a break

[Stevie Ray]

For some reason, many here seem to be against rugged types of knives that are built to withstand hard use and abuse.

As for screwdrivers being "everywhere"....that might be debatable. If you're out in the middle of nowhere, it's possible that you won't find a screwdriver lying around. Your knife might just be the only tool you have with you at the time. Personally, I'd take comfort in knowing that at least one of the knives that I have with me will take any and all abuse that I throw at it, and continue to function.

Jim,

OK ... that is a good point ... I haven't given this whole topic enough thought, but does it beg the question about carrying a Spydierench / leatherman ... or similar ...? I like knives that can take it .... It just seems that many that we use and collect on this Forum are good for cutting, but not as general purpose tools. And yep .. I'm guilty of giving some of my knives the museum treatment ... for right or wrong... I dunno ...

I know you're a Native fan ... as am I ... could we bring ourselves to pry with a Native ... :confused: .. I guess I would if I had too. jeeze ... **** ... I'd pry with any of them if I had to ... I guess we all would ...

Good counterpoint.

[thombrogan]

Does Spyderco also conduct a "pry" test ?? That's news to me.

I don't think Spyderco does nor do they need to. Messer magazine did and I found it interesting, especially in light of Blop's comments.

only compare what is comparable.

Who says they didn't? All of the knives in the comparison are 'tactical' knives. As long as no one blurts out a clear definition of a tactical knife (aside from Mr. Perrin ), it's open to anyone's interpretation. Hopefully, it doesn't just mean 'weapon' as there are plenty of screwdrivers and pencils around.

Officer Fozzy made a great point. Pry with Atwood Solar Arc folders, er, um, his Prybabies!

[klattman]

One can hardly expect a knife to pry well if it is useful for slicing. For slicing and general cutting, you need a thin blade, for prying you ned a thick blade. So what? A thick blade won't cut through things worth a ____. If you need prying, get a multitool, atwood prybaby or a thick style tanto etc. to carry ALSO.
:D

[HoB]

Oh well, since this topic is taking off anyway:

My $0.02: The knives compared didn't even have the same blade thickness. Some had a distal taper others didn't, they obviously had different blade widths one inch from the tip (where they were clamped into the vice) and they were tempered to different hardness as well. So you are comparing apples and oranges. I believe two of the knives that survived had a (slightly) bend blade and didn't fare as well as the ATR (3mm blade thickness) in the test were the blade was put in the vice one inch from the pivot (essentially a test of the pivot).

Blade magazine has currently an article that a certified bladesmith has to be able to forge a blade that can be bend by 90 deg without undue damage so it is certainly possible to do that (and it attests to the quality of the bladesmith not the knife). The question though is, how well such a knife will cut and for how long. Every knife is obviously a trade off and it is up to the knife maker to decide where to put the trade off. All in all, Spyderco has choosen a trade-off that I have come to like. I also believe that a Lil'T (4mm, distal taper but very wide blade) or a Chinook (4mm, no distal taper (?)), might have turned out a bit differently.

I mean, I truely admire a knife like the Stryder which obivously follows different design parameters and consequently so. But the fact alone that they don't even bother to sharpen the front edge speaks volumes about the "razor" qualities of such a knife. I don't mean to ditch the Buck Styder at all. Actually I really like the mini Stryder, but it is not and never was meant to be a Calypso.

I thought that Spyderco actually avoided the term "tactical knife"?

[GarageBoy]

Any knife can be used tactically =D
That's why we need two knives, one for slicing and one for heavy duty tasks

[klattman]

IMHO, The smaller the blade, the harder it should be since you will only use it to cut. You would use it more often and constant sharprning is annoying. A larger blade needs to be slightly softer, so you can chop, pry or use it on thicker or tougher materials. Also big thick knives are not meant to take a thin-beveled edge, which is the real advantage of harder/better steel.

This doesn't seem to hold true in sales though, since most "Tactical" buyers want the knife with the hardest, most expensive steel, and most small folders have softer steel ( :spyder: being the exception with VG10 on many smaller models).

[Jimd]

I mean, I truely admire a knife like the Stryder which obivously follows different design parameters and consequently so. But the fact alone that they don't even bother to sharpen the front edge speaks volumes about the "razor" qualities of such a knife.

One blade profile of Strider does not have a sharpened frontal edge, and that is their tanto. It's not meant to be sharp up front; it's meant to penetrate steel/metal/anything at all.

Every other Strider model is extremely sharp, you can rest assured of that. I have several, and they are all extremely sharp, and range in cutting efficiency from fair to outstanding.

I have three Striders that are of the drop-point design, flat-ground, and they will cut every bit as well as any of my knives that I own, including my Spydies.

Now the Spydies offer the thinnner blade, as was pointed out, for more precision. I like them all, even though each is different.

[Jimd]

Jim,

I like knives that can take it .... It just seems that many that we use and collect on this Forum are good for cutting, but not as general purpose tools. And yep .. I'm guilty of giving some of my knives the museum treatment ... for right or wrong... I dunno ...

I know you're a Native fan ... as am I ... could we bring ourselves to pry with a Native ... :confused: .. I guess I would if I had too. jeeze ... **** ... I'd pry with any of them if I had to ... I guess we all would ...

Good counterpoint.

Steve,
I certainly wouldn't want to have to pry with my Native. It's just not built for that. Despite that, I love the design dearly, as you well know. :)

As for the museum treatment...you certainly aren't wrong for giving some of your blades that type of treatment. If it's "right" for you, that's all that matters.

Personally, I don't have any knives that get the "safe queen" treatment; all mine are users, and I love them all.

Your point is well taken; the user has to take into account how the knife is built and intended to be used, and use them accordingly, unless there's no other choice.

I like many flavors of knives. The Spydies, which are more precise and refined, are great. The Striders, which are brutish and wild, are also great (for me). But the Striders aren't only "sharpened prybars"; some of them have very efficiently-cutting blades, in addition to being amazingly resilient.

I'm just a variety guy; no one-flavor ice cream parlor for this man! :D