I am curious about the role that a single-bladed locking folder plays (something like a Griptilian or a simple Ka-Bar Dozier Folding Hunter, for example). Personally, I'm having a hard time seeing where such a tool would be preferable over the alternatives (either a fixed blade on the one end, or a multi-function tool on the other).

In an urban setting, I find myself preferring either a multi-tool or, more recently, a simple SAK. With my multi-tool (Leatherman Skeletool) I can have a strong locking blade in addition to the pliers & screwdrivers that seem to get used as much, if not more than, the blade. With the SAK (Victorinox Alox Cadet) I have a super-slim tool with a good non-locking blade and again the screwdrivers that come in useful on a seemingly regular basis. It seems that in this setting, the single bladed folder while providing a larger blade would not be as useful of an all-around tool.

Now, out in the woods, I definitely see the benefit of the larger knife, but realistically I see this as being the domain of the fixed blade knife. Heading into the woods, I am most likely to carry my fixed blade (Fallkniven F1) with either a SAK (Wenger S13) or the Skeletool in my pack as back-up. And, if for some reason I decide not to carry a fixed blade (either its in the pack or not carried at all, which is rare) then the Wenger would likely be the tool I'd carry (the wood saw being the big draw, but it does have a locking blade). And if I did decide that carrying a fixed blade was no longer working for me, I think I'd give the nod to something like a Wenger Ranger 78 or Victorinox OHT. Again, I'm not seeing the benefit the single bladed folder would provide over the other options out there.

Now, I do appreciate different tools having different strengths & places, but I'm just not seeing where a single-blade folding knife would be preferable to either a fixed blade or something of the multi-tool / SAK (including the large, locking SAKs) variety.

What are your thoughts on the topic?