Re: Working man\'s fixed karambit?
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K-T said:
I don't have any experience with Karambits but cannot imagine them being good working blades as they only provide a very pointy tip, most of the rest of the blade would not be usealbe in daily applications I believe. Why don't you look out for some small fixed utility knives? There are lots of them out there and maybe even less expensive than a fixed Karambit.
Klaus.
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While I wouldn't necessarily use a karambit as a working blade, I can see the merits for some uses. First, the karambit doesn't just have a sharp tip, it has a curved edge as well. For some jobs, hawkbill blades work great. Puttering around the yard pruning, opening boxes, etc., hawkbill works just fine. Secondly, the presence of the ring not only helps with grip security, it serves as a sort-of lanyard. That is, you can "drop" the knife but let it hang down from your pinky if you want to use your fingers, then re-grip the knife. Perfectly useful for some jobs where you'll be frequently cutting-then-using-hands. In fact, knives to dress out small birds have included a pinky ring for years for just such use!
So again, while I generally agree a karambit wouldn't be my first choice, I do think a blade with straight edge (non hawkbill) and pinky ring could make lots of sense -- I think guys like Simonich make blades like that, and as I pointed out, dressing knives have had the feature for years before karambits became such a big fad.
Joe
