Hobo knife

caninesapien · **on:** January 20, 2017, 01:31:21 PM

I've been searching for a decent hobo folding knife for a while, but it doesn't seem like they're that easy to find for a decent price. Is this a fruitless task? Do you have a hobo knife you could recommend? Or do you think it's better just sticking to a titanium spork? I'm in the UK btw, so maybe searching for "hobo knife uk" isn't the best idea anyway!

Cheers

Corwyn · **Reply #1 on:** January 20, 2017, 03:01:36 PM

lol... funny with the hobo knife search...

Honestly no.. I never saw a useful one...

Have 5 or 6 around the house (Colt, KaBar, Richartz and nameless China) and all the spoons are too small and the forks are too straight to keep anything...

The only one that was well designed looked like this, but the liner just broke when washing so the quality was rather poor:

Note... I use this one daily (because it looks cool), but the spoon is tiny and the fork is useless:

Aloha · **Reply #2 on:** January 20, 2017, 03:47:29 PM

I also vote no. Maybe get yourself a nice SPORK

irona · **Reply #3 on:** January 20, 2017, 03:58:08 PM

I'd also say nah, not worth it if you plan to use it. It's a cool novelty knife, but the ones worth using (with full sized utensils) sit wide and are really bulky - like 3/4 + of an inch thick or something. I have one that's the same as the first one posted by Corwyn, by the way. Theres also the fact that the utensils don't lock so when you press into your food with them they tend to swing closed on your hand and splatter you with food. That being said, I've never tried using mine to eat with. I think I'll experiment with that when I get home.
A plastic camping spork would be more compact (because of how thin it is) and your edc is probably leagues above the crappy half-flat grind (really thick behind the edge) that comes on those kinds of knives. That being said, there's definitely a gadget-ey cool factor with hobo knives, so it's up to you: convenience or coolness?

Ron Who · **Reply #4 on:** January 20, 2017, 07:02:04 PM

The Baladeo outdoor cutlery set is another example of a reasonably priced and fairly unuseful tool.

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,61684.msg1334972.html#msg1334972

Corwyn · **Reply #5 on:** January 20, 2017, 09:04:13 PM

Quote from: irona on January 20, 2017, 03:58:08 PM

Theres also the fact that the utensils don't lock so when you press into your food with them they tend to swing closed on your hand and splatter you with food. That being said, I've never tried using mine to eat with. I think I'll experiment with that when I get home.

ow yeah forgot about that... it's not that bad with the spoon and when stabbing with the fork but if you try to cut something with the fork, no matter how soft (cheese, a dumpling, a boiled potato) it folds on you...

On the Ocoee River the springs are really strong and won't fold on you but the fork is too blunt, short snd straight to be of any use (olive fork like on the LM Flair).

ironraven · **Reply #6 on:** January 21, 2017, 01:28:37 PM

Easier to just add a sturdy spoon to your EDC, or even just a cheap one.

stugumby · **Reply #7 on:** January 21, 2017, 02:27:20 PM

In my opinion, no not worth it as it is a complete compromise all around, all short and stubby etc. better off with CRKT eatn tool X or similar, also lots of 2 and 3 peice all metal sets out there as well. Sea to summit and others make them in light weight and durable plastics too.

Mactire404 · **Reply #8 on:** January 21, 2017, 03:20:03 PM

I'd have to say no. Sadly.
Everything in one package is more often than not a huge compromise in all tools and generally a disappointment to me.

I'm a moderate fan of the "Light my fire" spork as the spoon is very nice. However, the cutting end on the fork part is worthless. Most of the time you want to grip the food with your fork and cut with the knife. Which the placed on the side of the fork... Sporks are very affordable though.

I was in an outdoor shop and I saw a spork that had all the tools on the spoon. I didn't take a picture, but I think it was called a "Wildo" spork. I don't know why anyone would get any of these.

Recently I gort a KaBar spork. Or Tactical Spork as they call it. The spoon is quite small and took some getting used to. I found that by eating from the spoon sideways (at a bit of an angle) it works pretty well. The fork is on the spoon end end works decently. The knife... is in the handle. You can pull this spork apart and get a spoon/fork and knife to use alongside each other. This has replaced the spork in my EDC pack. I love it.

Another, better option is to get separate eating utensils. I've got a Primus set at work. They are held together by a lanyard thingy (nowadays sold with a carabiner). It's just the best option.

Previously I just carried a seperate spoon (American MRE spoon) and used it in combination with my SAK. The knife doubles as a fork.

Ron Who · **Reply #9 on:** January 21, 2017, 06:08:08 PM

Quote from: ironraven on January 21, 2017, 01:28:37 PM

Easier to just add a sturdy spoon to your EDC, or even just a cheap one.

That's what I do. I my backpack I carry a small cutlery set (butter knife/fork/spoon), about two thirds the size (and even less the weight) of a standard breakfast set. Small cutlery sets like these are for dessert, but out there in the field, who cares? Less than $ 10 for a complete set.

jnoxyd · **Reply #10 on:** January 21, 2017, 09:15:45 PM

How about old school full size ?

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cody6268 · **Reply #11 on:** January 23, 2017, 11:35:34 PM

Old Colonial (and other American made ones) can be found reasonably (I see them all the time for a reasonable price, under $10).

Yes, Hobos are nice, but not easily cleaned. I used to carry a crappy Coghlan's one in my dinner bucket, but swapped it out for the CRKT Eat N Tool and some plastic Light My Fire sporks.