changes in blade thought across the years

[Diamondback]

Double Post

[RamZar]

I started out with SAK knives and fixed blades. Then, I graduated to locking folders with mostly back locks, Axis locks and liner locks. Initially, AUS-8, 154CM, etc. Back in 2005, S30V was a super-steel. Next, big folders with mostly G-10. Much better stainless steels like M390 took it up a notch as well as titanium frame locks and manual flippers.

Now, local restrictions has a pivotal role plus I prefer the slimmest, narrowest and lightest bearings flippers, titanium frame lock with good cutting abilities and the best possible stainless steel. Mostly blade lengths of 2.99”, blade thickness of 0.10”-0.12” and weighing 2.5-3.75 ounces.

[elena86]

First, plain edges. I moved from high vanadium stainless steels towards tool steels, mostly because I started to appreciate toughness and edge stability more than just crazy edge retention. CPM-Cru Wear and K390 are now my favorite steels but I like S90V also just because it exhibits better toughness than S110V for example. I used to like 3 to 3,5 inchers but lately I gravitate around blades from both sides of the spectrum size wise. I have medium hands but now my favorite Spyderco model is the almighty Military. I usually carry a 2- 2.5 incher mostly because of my urban life style , my beloved K390 Urban being the favorite in this size range, but from time to time I feel the need to carry and use my all-time favorite Spyderco, namely the Millie in CPM-Cru Wear. That being said, when it comes to serrations, nothing can beat the H1 spyderedge and I became a huge fan of spyderedges thanks to Spyderco. Please Spyderco, give us our precious : a serrated Millie in CPM-Cru Wear :eek:

[J Smith]

The biggest things that have changed for me is (1) getting away from wanting to keep trying the latest best steels. I have found that as long as it is a good steel that holds an edge is all I really need. In my blades right now I like S30V just as well as M390,VG10 seems to be just as good for my uses.
(2) I have found myself not going for out of the box designs,a simple straight forward edc user works best for me. The Native and endura design are good examples. I know this is not the right forum for it but one of my favorite designs is kind of my own,a Ritter grip placed in Wilkens designed scales. One of my greatest hopes is now that Doug Ritter is no longer doing the Ritter Grip that we may see the Ritter-Syderco colab. I could really love a Native style scale with a Ritter style blade with back lock.
(3) Size,I have found that a 3.5 in blade length works best for my hand. I have give up trying to carry and use any other size. I can do a 4 in in some blades but have found that I just fumble with anything under a 3.5 in folder.

[Jazz]

I started out with whatever slipjoint my dad gave me around '72 or '73, when I was 9 years old. I used this style until the early 90's. I never saw the need for any large knives. When I discovered the great Buck 110 style, I did have one of those around mid 80's. Also, I had a few mid sized back locks - Bucks and whatever the heck else.

Early 90's, and I discovered the one hand opener and pocket clips. Well then. Bought a Cold steel Voyager (wife did) and a few Benchmades. I really wish I bought the Delica I was fondling in the early 90's! I still kick myself. After I finally got a Spyderco, I was hooked on the great ergos, designs, and the best opening method period. I have a lot of Spydercos - don't even know how many.

I was never into fixed blades that much. I just like pocketknives, you know, jackknives. If I ever find a normal, not weird looking small neck knife, I might get one. They're all too weird with uncomfortable looking too small handles. I don't think fixed blades are suitable for city EDC anyway.

I've recently started using some two hand openers, simply because of dumb arse knife laws. I want to be familiar with them again, and ready in case I have to only carry them. I'll tell you this though, I'll use a Delica Wharncliffe at work always. Bloody awesome knife. I have a few of them. I just need a Manbug wharnie now.

[Doc Dan]

When I was a kid all I wanted was a Barlow. I guess it was the Tom Sawyer in me. Later, I wanted a good stockman pattern because of blade choices. Then I got into carrying a heavy Buck 110 when I was gifted one. It had, for the time, a super steel called 440C with Buck heat treat. That knife was a revelation in edge retention. Later, I decided I needed knives that were pretty, and I like stag and bone. I got on the assisted opening band wagon somewhere along the way and also bought some semi-tactical knives for hard use. I discovered the ease of use of a liner lock and so I started buying knives with that lock, as well.

Also, during those years, we had a farm and using knives pretty hard there I discovered a strong bias for back locks and away from liner locks. I also lived in Alaska for a couple of years and also camped and hiked all over the state, as well as the lower 48 for many years. I used to think that I needed a large fixed blade for such activities. However, for outdoor use I found that a 4 to 4.5" blade is optimal and later read that Nessmuk/Sears wrote the same thing long before I was born.

Moving on up to modern times, I do like a good high hollow grind on a knife, but found I really love a good, slender full flat ground blade. I have also come back to shorter knives like I carried when I was a kid. No more do I prefer to carry a large knife in my pocket. I prefer a blade of 2.6" to 2.85", or there about, in a knife that is slender and light in weight, but still strong enough to push through a bone when cleaning game, or cut up a refrigerator box. Right now I am carrying nothing but a Chaparral light weight and an Urban Light Weight, both sans pocket clip. I have come full circle.

[Tucson Tom]

My first knife was some kind of slip joint "pocketknife" given to me by my father when I was a boy. Having a knife was a milestone in a young man's life and something special at that time. I am pretty sure some weasel tricked me and stole this from me.

The next milestone I remember was having a "Buck". I had a friend who had a big fixed blade buck and it was his most prized possession. For a number of years I thought that "a Buck" was the finest knife in the world, but could never afford one. I never got a buck until much later when the make was well on its slide into ignominy and it was a small folder and nothing special.

The first truly fine knife, and one that marked my turning point and awakening to the possibilities in the world we live in now was a Benchmade AFCK with ATS-34 steel. This might have been the first knife where I knew or cared what steel the blade was made from. It was also the first knife I had ever handled that had a round hole. A huge step up and my entry into another world of really nice knives. This remained my only knife for quite some time.

I tried some other Benchmade models, but knives with studs never had the magic of the round hole where my finger just miraculously finds the hole and opens the knife.

I wish I knew what made me aware of Spyderco knives, but I just can't remember. I am pretty sure my first Spyderco was a PM2 in S30V. For some reason I was avoiding Spyderco for a long long time because I didn't like back lock knives and the classic Spydercos like the Endura and Delica were backlock knives and just looked weird to me. Of course you have to handle them to understand, but I still retain my prejudice against backlocks, partly revised due to my recent acquisition of a Native 5. I got the Native figuring you should try a backlock so you can badmouth it with some authority. This is my personal hangup and nothing for others to be concerned about. I may rethink it someday.

My favorite knives now are flat ground, plain edge, with some exciting exotic steel, and not a back lock. I consider a PM2 or Manix to be a "normal" sized knife. Anything bigger is "big", anything smaller is "small". Just my perspective of the world and nobody needs to see things the same way.

Discovering Spyderco along with discovering this forum has yielded an explosion in my interest in knife steels and whereas I used to neither know nor care, now I have become very much a steel junky -- so that is a new aspect of my knife-world-view in the last couple of years.

I have a growing interest in fixed blade knives. This is probably the latest aspect of my evolution. I love using them, but my present lifestyle doesn't allow me to carry them on a routine basis. No telling where this will lead.

[zhyla]

One thing has definitely changed: quantity. When I was a kid nobody owned more than a couple folders. Now people own dozens of knives.

[The Mastiff]

I started with whatever knives I could find on the ground and later trade for. My first "good" knife was a used broken off Camillus barlow with the end of the clip snapped off. It was a good knife . At least compared to the other ones I had. I learned the difference between sharpening stainless and carbon steel pretty early because like most I had a Arkansas soft stone that wasn't very good at reprofiling 440C.

My first "exotic" steel was being exposed to a Gerber in Vascowear in the early 80's. It impressed me. Later I recall the move towards better stainless steels including Spyderco's Gin 1. That was the first stainless I liked.I loved Spydercos design even more. Then came the ATS 34 "super steel" Tactical knife craze. I learned then that most were not for me and I just had no real use for Tanto knives. The real hook for me was Spyderco coming out with 440V, then S30V. ZDP Caly jr's got so hard to find people were flipping them for profit. I pre ordered several of the next batch and ended up giving away a couple after some years.

I'm still enjoying the whole steel junky thing but I try not to get carried away by it anymore. I'm no longer working 3 jobs with lots of extra income but I will go out of my way to try new steels when Spyderco comes out with them. Even with that I still enjoy my 1095 and O1 and 52100 knives as well as steels like 10V and Maxamet.

Joe

[northmanscall]

8 years ago when i started collecting i always looked at design. Now that i am studying material sciences and used a lot of designs i am focussing more on the Spyderco Philosophy in knives:

Good thin bladegrind with little material behind the edge
high quality steel from reputable manufacturers
high technology steel such as powder metallurgical etc. with fine grain and precise alloy
adequate handle materials optimized for the job: i like frn a lot
overall ergonomics

so i think Spyderco is doing good with the topics above and i am really excited for when some knives i've seen Amsterdam are being released.

Greetings
Stefan

[Brock O Lee]

My dad gave me a Vic Classic as my first knife when I was around 8, and I bought my first proper folder 20 years ago, a Vic Pioneer. Fast forward to today, and I still have a 58 mm Vic in the coin pocket, and a Pioneer (or related alox SAK) in the LFP.

The big change happened in the RFP. I started with a PM2 CTS20CP in my search for a steel that would hold an edge longer than the SAKs. Apart from the steel, the pocket clip and one-hand-open and close was a revelation. I now have a whole range of Spyderco’s between 3 and 4 inch.

Over the years I’ve come to learn that I prefer FFG PE that is thin behind the edge, with a flat spine (i.e. Military) or leaf (i.e. Caly) with a little bit of belly and a functional sharp point, 4.5oz or less. Choils are mostly good, and I like the wire clip a lot. Most middle-of-the-road steels like S30V will do the job just fine.

Favourites are the Military, PM2, Caly, Sage, Stretch, Manix. The Pits is a design I have grown quite fond of too.

In the end design trumps blade steel.

[ZrowsN1s]

When I was around 6 years old, I was bitten by a sharp edge, and an edge junky was born. My mother had taken me to her friends house and while they were chatting, I wander off into a bedroom where I saw a pocket knife sitting on a table. It was a buck knife that belonged to the son of my mothers friend, apparently they taught him how to sharpen a knife proper in the scouts. I touched my thumb to the blade and was immediately cut. It didn't hurt, and I was facinated more than frightened by the incident. It began a lifelong obsession with knives.
....
A SAK was my first knife, then later a small switchblade and balisong (a Christmas gift from the worlds best uncle), next came a knife my Grandfather had carried in the navy. Then when I could finally afford to buy my own knives, I started off collecting "knife art", Medieval Swords, Katanas, Gil Hibben stuff, ect... Pretty knives with no real function beyond decoration.

Next came daggers and military knives. Ka-bars, Camillus, ww2 bayonets, Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife, Glock field knife, ect.... Functional, but not practical EDC's.

Next were small custom fixed blades. These were the first knives to live up to the sharpness of the knife that bit me and began my obsession. They were small enough to be comfortably carried and I very much thought I had finally found what I was looking for in an EDC..... But..... I was 19-20 at the time and I strated to become aware of knife carry laws where I lived, and realized I risked the unwanted attention of local law enforcement carrying a fixed blade (I also realised I'd unwittingly broken the law a few times). I then turned to folders.
...
I remember seeing my first Spyderco at the local fair and thought, no way am I paying that much for a plastic knife :rolleyes: ... I kick myself to this day (seriously biggest missed opportunity of my 'knife life'). This began the 'Gas station' knife phase of my collection. I went through a series of cheap $4 -$10 knives that were uninspiring to say the least. But I had my nice collection of fixed blades at home, and the gas station knives were what I carried when I went out. Eventually I found a little serrated Hawkbill about the size of a dragonfly, it became my trusty companion for the next few years until the stop pin broke, thankfully I managed to find another one and I carried that for a few years as well.
....
In 2012 my best friend and I found ourselves in a hairy situation that made us both want to start carrying guns. It was a realization for both of us that you are responsible for your own defense, and that when things go wrong no one is coming to the rescue until it's too late. Unable to get concealed carry permits where we live, we decided pocket knives where the best legal option available to us.

My buddy and I both decided our cheap pocket knives were not up to the task of 'your life depends on this', and we decided it was time to invest in 'serious knives'. He bought a Cold Steel Rajah, and I bought an Emerson Super Karambit. Thus began the high-end folder phase of my collection (the 'black knife' phase as well :D ).
....
I got pretty deep into the Emersons and amassed a decent size collection. I loved the ergonomics, I loved his designs, but I was not in love with liner locks, and the more I got into high quality folders, the more I wanted to start trying a different steel than 154cm (and a different color besides black).

As I did some research, it lead me back to Spyderco, which had a variety of Steels and handle colors (they were also easily half the price of Emersons). I decided to give them a go and see what the fuss was about. For my first I picked the ZDP-189 Dragonfly... I was immediately hooked. That steel was like nothing I'd used before, better than my custom fixed blades (edge geometry didn't hurt either). It cut like a lightsaber. It was the performance and sharpness I had been chasing from the beginning. I knew it was time to expand my collection of steels.

I liked the Zdp-fly and picked up an H1 dfly as well (rust proof sounded cool). But it wasn't a Self Defense knife, so I started carrying 2 knives, the DFly for utility and the Emerson for SD. Eventually I decided to see if the PM2 could fill both roles, so I got the S110V PM2, and it did not disapoint. I then found the Yojimbo and slowly but surely, I stopped carrying the Emersons.
....
Next began the 3 knife phase of my collecting. With Spyderco I had so many options, that the idea of carrying just one knife became unappealing. I liked having different size knives and different steels for different tasks. Knives for defense, small public friendly knives, rust-proof knives for food, tool steels for utility... it's been awesome getting to know the different steels and designs.
....
Currently I find myself gravitating to the smaller higher end knives like the Fluted CF Native and Maxamet Para 3. And I'm looking forward to knives like the Rhino and McNees.

I wish I could send my ZDP Dfly back in time to 10 year old me :D I also wish 20 year old me had bought that Delica all those years ago..
But I suppose in the end I should remind myself that even now, my collection is still a journey, not a destination :)

[bdblue]

My tastes have not changed so much as they have evolved with knife technology. I was first interested in knives as a small boy many years ago, when I got hand-me-down knives from my father who was a mechanic. I used the same type knives until I saw lighter lockback knives by Gerber. Buck had larger lockbacks for a long time but they were too heavy for me for pocket carry. I was aware that the steel wasn't good so I searched for better steel and was introduced to a Cold Steel folder with San Mai. Then I found a SOG with thumbstud and thought that was great. Then I found a Spyderco with pocket clip and thumb hole. And then I found linerlocks, completing the evolution to full one-hand operation. I have not gone back and I still almost completely refuse to buy lockback knives. And I also seek out the better steels.

My tastes in size have gone back and forth between the 3" range and the 3.5-4" range. In the past 10 years I've focused on the longer range.

[Qcrazy]

Lock and Ingenuity are what intrigue me.

My adventure started much the same as many of you. Early on I liked knives, at the time small slip joint in pocket carry. I went through the SAK, Case, Buck phase and still have many. My favorite though was a Queen City Stockman that my dad had given me when was in my teens. I lost that one on a picnic with my future wife, and went back many times in hopes of finding it. I still have my wife though never found the knife.

My first exposure to Spyderco was their sharpener. I picked one up while they were being hawked and demonstrated at the Colorado State Fair. My brother was the first to bring one of their knives home an early Delica. I only vaguely remember even handling his knife because often back then one of us was usually mad at the other.

Then one day a friend invited me to accompany him to the Spyderco Outlet because he needed replacement knife. We got there and since he knew what he wanted, he was finished quickly. I was browsing the display cases and came across the discontinued Meerkat. Once I saw the phantom lock I was hooked and one was in my pocket.

This led me to innovative locks and quirky knives. I grabbed some CRKT’s like the Snap Lock, Snap Fire, then spring assist Kershaws like the Chive, Scallion, then ZT’s, then jumping to composite blades.

At the same time I found the Q knife and was intrigued. I started researching and buying what I found. I continue to chase these to this day, though they really led me through the black hole that is this forum and a Spyderco addiction.

I have never wanted or needed any blade longer than 3”. That’s been from day one and remains the same today. I do have a few up to 3.5” though they never get carried. A clean saber or high hollow grind will always be better looking than FFG, just not as precise of slicer.

Quality is one of the words I use to describe what I think of every time I touch a Spyderco. Another is innovation, thinking of the one hand open, serrated blades, a pocket clip, as well as their daring to be different and their willingness to work with custom designers.

I have amassed way more knives than I could ever use, though I smile each time I handle any of the knives I own.

[vivi]

Some misc changes in how I've approached knives over the years:

- Price $$$. Early on I went extremely cheap, under $20. Over the years as my collection grew, $250 became my hard limit (never exceeded). These days my hard limit is $100, as I do not feel the quality you get past that price justifies itself in a working knife, whether folding or fixed, production or custom. I can find any knife I need for any purpose under $100, including hand made american customs.

- Steel. Early on I didn't know **** about steel and didn't care to learn. Over the years I obsessed about it more and more, and stayed on the bleeding edge of production steels. These days I stay away from high carbide stainless steels intentionally. I also avoid carbon steels in folders, since carrying them IWB in sub-tropical climates makes them prone to corrosion. I buy inexpensive blade steels that have a "good" sharpening response, favoring toughness in my carbon fixed blades, and corrosion resistance in my stainless folders, but all have to sharpen easily. I will take BD1 over S110V 10 times out of ten. I have absolutely no desire to "evaluate" and "test" new blade steels anymore than I desire testing out new steels for my spoons and forks. I know economical, readily available materials that serve my EDC needs just fine. No need to re-invent the wheel. I could go to my grave with nothing but BD1 and A2 in my collection and I'd be fine.

- Locks. Liner locks were the end all be all once I moved past slip joints. They felt so easy to manipulate. Now I have a rule that I refuse to purchase any folding knife using a lock mechanism with no self close feature. If it isn't a backlock or BBL, it's never going to make it on to my radar. No frame locks, liner locks, compression locks etc. for me now. I think they're unsafe to carry IWB while being active (running, hiking, etc.), and that's how I often carry folders.

- Opening method. Never cared about it much until I got my first assisted opener flipper. Thought it was neat. Over time became a die hard spyderco opening hole fan. Now I EDC a thumb stud folding knife. I still prefer the spyder hole to all other methods, but I'm not as picky as I used to be.

- Fixed VS folding? Used to never carry fixed blades, now I generally carry them every day. If I'm wearing basketball shorts or something else where I have no belt, I'm all folders, but any time I wear a belt, my Izula 2, Ronin 2 or Swick 3 is on it.

- What will the children think? First few years I collected Spydercos I gravitated towards models that were too small for me because I was paranoid about public reactions. Over the years I learned internet anecdotes =/= real life, and that where I've lived no one gives a **** about a 4" blade pocket knife. I no longer consider this aspect when I select my daily carry, and I've never run into issues because of it. If it's legal, **** off.

- Weight. Early on, I thought heft = quality. If the handles flexed AT ALL, I was unhappy. These days I choose unlined FRN over anything else. 5oz is my hard limit for an EDC knife, and 8oz is my hard limit for a full featured EDC multi-tool. In the summer when it's 110F and I'm in basketball shorts and no shirt, no way I'm hauling around bricks in my pockets / waistband. Liners are dead weight for me, I've put Endura 3's and Pacific Salts through **** and they still function flawlessly.

- Company. Early on, I only bought victorinox. Once I branched out into modern folders, it was a huge mix of brands. Then for a decade, only Spyderco. The last year I've opened up to different brands again, and the past two months I've gone Spyderco free. Until the PE FFG Pacific Salt drops I don't see that changing.

- Grind. FFG was the only way to go with Victorinox. Bought some "tactical" folders that were saber ground and they cut like ****, I was unimpressed. Over the years I decided saber grinds weren't so bad if you thin out the edge, but now I'm back to full flat grinds only. **** saber grinds. It makes the knife heavier and cut like **** with no benefit for how I use a knife. I don't plan to buy any more of them, except for back-up SE Pacific Salts assuming no FFG SE Pacific Salts get run.

- Scales. At first I was all about metal scales due to their heft and lack of flex. Then G10, since it was lighter than metal scales and offered superior grip. Now I'm firmly an FRN fan since it's lighter than G10, more commonly shaped with rounded edges compared to G10, cheaper, just as if not more durable, and just as grippy. I also like canvas micarta on fixed blades for it's grip. If canvas micarta folders with fully contoured corners were common I'm sure I'd be into them, but FRN serves me well for folding designs.


Long story short I went from a kid collecting swiss army knives, to ordering my first cheap tacticals, to exploring every modern brands <$250 offerings, to sticking to a pair of $60 knives and a $15 multitool for my EDC setup.

[ThePeacent]

Long story short I went from a kid collecting swiss army knives, to ordering my first cheap tacticals, to exploring every modern brands <$250 offerings, to sticking to a pair of $60 knives and a $15 multitool for my EDC setup.

My story is similar and changed the same way yours did :D
I started with SAKs as a kid, in my teens I got into gas station flippers, heavy stainless folding bricks and pot metal blade steel. Tactical and flashy was cool, fixed blades included (military styled) :p
I "risked it all" and threw all my budget into a Spyderco Resilience and a Cold Steel. :eek: Both got me hooked for different reasons, I kept exploring those brands and other common ones (CRKT, Kershaw, KaBar, ZT) and topped at $250, my highest purchase ever (underwhelming too :o )

Went back to what I found gave me best performance for the $ ($70-120 range) and I've stood there the last years,
just changing my preferences for lighter, more rust proof and easier to carry folders.

:spyder:

[Archimedes]

My first knife was a Buck 110 I got in Boy Scouts. Probably in the late 70's. I still have it and it is well used.

I really got back into knives in the 90's. I bought a Benchmade CQC-7. From this day on I was addicted to knives.

I then became a big Spyderco collector in the early 2000's.

I sold most of my Spyderco's and went on a custom knife binge for years. Most were expensive folders I never used and flipped.

About 10 years ago I started loosing interest in chasing the high end folders. I became interested in using knives. Looking for the best users.

I started thinking about how things carried and cut. I also became interested in how fixed blades performed.

This brought me back to Spyderco as you guys make the best users. The knives that really cut.

I know have a small collection of Spyderco's and Busse knives. I also have a few other pieces like Dave Beck Trackers, Winklers, and a few Mad Dogs.

I don't buy like a used to unless the knife really speaks to me.

I would probably be served with just a Spyderco Military and Jumpmaster 2 for most of what I do.

[dj moonbat]

I'd say the biggest shift for me has been an increasing awareness of the way a given knife will (or won't) fit into my hand in the ways I tend to grip a knife. And, having come across certain Spydercos, I really, really value having a knife that I can deploy AND stow with one hand and little concentration; it's almost like having a retractable claw on one of your fingers after a while. The Paramilitary 2 is bigger than I used to like (indeed, it's not strictly legal here in Los Angeles), but these ergonomic factors keep it in my pocket pretty much daily.

The other big thing has been that stainless steels have improved enough since my youth that I no longer have to put up with corrosion if I want to have a good edge on a knife. VG-10 will take every bit as good an edge as the penknife I got from my grandfather, and I can afford to be a lot less careful with it. Even though I know I can get even more performance by going with modern non-stainless super steels, it's pretty rare that it seems worth it.

[Sumdumguy]

I used to carry strictly Case, never liked stainless steels. Then I bought my first Spyderco about 7 years ago, have not bought any other brand of folder since.

I generally find something that I like and stick with it forever. Almost all the motorcycles I have ever owned were Yamahas, except for a Honda NX650, a BMW R80G/S and an Aprilia RS250.

[curlyhairedboy]

I first became a knife knut with a SAK my dad gave me, which I loved and abused. Ended up carving half a dozen wooden "fixed blades" to try out different designs.

Later on, I discovered modern knives through need, and then found myself professionally and academically intrigued by the newer blade steels.

My early Kershaw and CRKT purchases at this time tended towards lower-end steel, but one of my favorite knives from this period is the CRKT Fossil. I guess I kind of 'imprinted' on this knife for a while, because it combined a number of features that I looked for in subsequent purchases: Stout blade stock, deep hollow grind, flipper deployment, and an organic design (not too many straight lines).

I bought my first Spyderco when I decided to take the plunge into more premium production knives (anything over $50, at that point). I bought the Spyderco Southard because it had the features I was looking for (see prior paragraph).

For a while, I was hesitant to buy any other Spyderco knives, including the evergreen PM2. I thought the tip would be too fragile, and I found the blade shape to be just a little too out there. So I bought a Techno. That was plenty sturdy!

From there, it was a slow transition from mostly cheaper production knives to mostly Spyderco knives, as I worked more with my knives and identified new needs. My current collection is in my signature underneath my posts.

As it stands now, I still like hollow grinds, but I'm much more performance oriented. I don't need every knife to be a brute, and Spyderco's unique blend of performance and best-in-class ergonomics is one of the reasons why my collection looks the way it does. I really enjoy the performance/price of the Chap LW, and the Chokwe is amazing to use.

At this point, I've learned to appreciate a greater variety in length, blade shape, grind, and design. Perhaps I have grown more open-minded.