Watu choil

[gull wing]

What is there not to like about the Watu? Slim handle, thin blade, 20CV, light weight, it is a gem.
Then there is the little "bite" when closing the blade.
Ok, so has anyone trimmed a bit of the choil, if so can we see a picture

[TkoK83Spy]

It's just a timing thing, kind of like the Shaman. Once you're used to it, that muscle memory kicks in and you'll think nothing of it.

One thing I didn't like when I had a Watu was the lack of jimping on the spine/ramp. Being such a thin blade, a little extra traction there would have been appreciated. That's really my only complaint, other than that was a great knife. One heck of a slicer!

[Shmohawk]

Love the Watu. Been carrying it past couple of days after neglecting it for a while.
It was my first and sent me spiraling down the Spydie hole.
Great slicer, carries well in pocket or IWB.
Love the blade shape.
Love how ergonomic it is with having any clearly defined ergos.
That tip is super useful.
The "bite" when closing doesn't bother me in anyway. It's one of those things people like to nitpick and make a big deal about as with the Shaman. Like TkoK83Spy said, timing and muscle memory. Or just disengage the lock from further back on the tab.
Undecided about the lack of jimping. But I don't remember even thinking about it till TkoK83Spy mentioned it

[gull wing]

I was just kicking the idea around to see if I could get a different perspective and or a pic.

[nightoil]

What is there not to like about the Watu? Slim handle, thin blade, 20CV, light weight, it is a gem.
Then there is the little "bite" when closing the blade.
Ok, so has anyone trimmed a bit of the choil, if so can we see a picture

The Watu's choil-hitting-finger problem definitely was an issue for me when I first got the knife 3 months ago.

What I worked out was:

The choil apex or nub intrudes nearly midway into the lock bar cutout. So the solution starts with operating the compression lock tab with the finger at one or other end of the cutout - never in the middle.

Finger at the rear has the advantage that there's more space and the choil barely touches the finger as it arrives.

Finger at the front has the disadvantage that there's less space but, with the better leverage, the finger is applying less pressure and the choil tends to gently nudge the finger off the lock tab as it arrives.

Either way, adding a slight rotational wrist flick gives the blade the momentum to overcome the detent ball's increasing friction as the finger starts to lift out of the way.

Result: the choil apex never slams into my finger any more!

As TkoK83Spy says, it's a timing thing.

So, no, haven't had to trim the choil. That would be a tough job and would likely mess up the beautifully finished blade.

Only other problem was the lock stick which I did manage to solve, although that was a rough journey.

I agree - very good knife all round. I really like the 20CV - does seem to hold an edge well, with no signs of corrosion whatsoever. Toughness I can't comment on as I don't really use it for anything likely to break it. Certainly no chipping yet.

[Michal O]

I'm considering this knife, only cons for me is that tip might be too thin for me.

[ChrisinHove]

The blade shape is such that it never seems like too delicate a tip, to me at least. As for closing, I find momentarily releasing the catch and swinging the blade shut works every time, without drama.

[Brock O Lee]

I would not remove the nub. When open it prevents your index finger from sliding onto the edge. While closing, it also prevents a cut inside the lock cutout here when it slams shut against your finger:

[nightoil]

I would not remove the nub. When open it prevents your index finger from sliding onto the edge. While closing, it also prevents a cut inside the lock cutout here when it slams shut against your finger:

When I first got the knife, wasted a bit of time trying to force my finger down into the lock bar cutout to see if I could actually cut myself. Ditto the handle holes. Think I did manage to get a minor nick in the cutout pushing down really hard.

Since then, haven't given it a thought - I simply use or fidget the knife. (And it is pretty fidgetable - good Spydieflickability and dropshuttiness.) What's that you say? Knife fidgeting childish? Hogwash! Adult post-modern cognitive displacement activity, surely?!

On a practical level, one thing I did find during multiple dismantlings was corrosion on the (stainless steel) liners - between them and the scales. As if water caught there had overcome the liner steel's corrosion resistance.

I use the knife a lot in the kitchen. Never gets submerged in water, let alone put in the dishwasher - just the blade washed, rinsed and dried - but the handle does take a few splashes.

Dealt with it by smoothing off the corroded patches with worn-out fine wet & dry and then a thin smear of grease on the liners' hidden faces before reassembly. Won't know if it worked until next dismantling.

That's a nice photo. What was it taken with? I've photographed the knife with a fairly high end DSLR + macro lens, solidly mounted on a heavy tripod (meaning the camera was unlikely to have shaken). The woven CF surface of the scales just didn't come out that well - slightly smeared definition. The fineness of the CF strands may be conflicting with the sensor's pixel pitch. Looks like the same may have happened in your photo, towards the ends of the scales.

[Brock O Lee]

That's a nice photo. What was it taken with?

A 4 year old iPhone XR...