Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25056223-20151221194038/@comment-25396609-20151223063500

It's possible the foldable weapons are a newer generation thing, Qrow's scythe is clockwork, Port has a solid weapon, and Oobleck seems much younger than the other teachers but uses a foldable weapon (still quite simple however, only one opened form and pretty straightforward)

If they are a newer aspect of the hunter thing then the previous generations might have been more practical in their equipment since they would have more limited combat roles.