changes in blade thought across the years

[sal]

Spyderwolf started a thread regarding opinion changes on particular models. Not to hijack his thread, I thought to add to that concept.

As a prelude, when I was introducing the eating of Sushi in the 80's and 90's, I realized that eating Sushi was like grade school. There was kinder-garden sushi like California rolls, first grade like Tuna and Salmon, and up to college level like Uni.

I've been a knife afi since I was a young boy and I've learned that my tastes and interests have changed as I carried and designed models over many decades. I would guess that many of you have also experienced changes in tastes and interests in the world of knives. With the variety being so broad, what has changed for you over the years?

Steels
Handle materials
History
Geography
Forging
Razors
Edge geometries
Fixed
Folders
swords
Locks
slip-joints
etc.etc.etc.

sal

[StuntZombie]

When I first started out in my mid teens, I refused to buy a knife that had less than a 4 inch blade. I was obsessed with tactical knives, and combat knives, and just didn't see a knife being useful if it was any smaller. As I've gotten older though, I'm finding my sweet spot is between 2.5-3". I don't carry knives for self defense, and I'm not fighting in the trenches, so carrying anything much larger than that just doesn't make sense for me. It also helps that those smaller knives are much less obtrusive, and a lot easier to carry.

I'm also finding I prefer flat ground blades to saber or hollow, with some exceptions. Sure, the other grinds may add some diversity and be more eye catching, but I like the versatility of the flat grind. I can leave it as is, or as in the case of my Lava and Wharncliffe Delica, I can reprofile to the point that they're almost zero ground.

Along with the larger blades, I also used to require any knife I bought to have G-10 handles, cause that's the most tactical, you know. Now, it seems FRN has become my preference. Especially the FRN used on the Japan models. I don't know if it's the formulation, or just the way they're cast, but I just prefer their feel over the US FRN models. I know some folks hate them because it makes the knife feel cheap, and light, but I can't say that I share that opinion. ****, if I didn't know any better, I would have thought the Stretch 2 FRN had a full steel backspace. It's one of the densest feeling FRN handled knives I've owned.

Lastly, serrated blades have really grown on me. After a bad experience with a full serrated Police model I wasn't able to resharpen, I swore off serrations forever. Well, that changed when I got my hands on a well used Dragonfly, and found out just how useful serrations could be. Funny, but I almost prefer a serrated blade that's seem some use and been resharpened. Once the points round a little bit, it almost seems to cut material even more easily.

I guess I'm lucky that Spyderco makes knives that cover all those bases, huh?

[Calicoast]

History: When I was younger, my father and I would go out grouse + trout hunting. I really wanted a Buck Scout one year, and my dad gifted me his backup Western Boulder Bird and Trout knife. At first, I wasn't fond of it, didn't know much about it, not what I wanted. But as I used that knife more and more, I started to appreciate the history and quality of that knife. That kicked off me buying quality goods from the past i.e. Kansas made Coleman stoves and lanterns. My father and I had a conversation about this subject the other day, and his response to me was: "Trust Me, I Know ****". Now that I am little older, I have found gratitude and appreciation for the past, but I also think it's important to embrace the new as well. (H-1, M390, M4)

[Evil D]

I'm not so sure my tastes have changed quite as much as they've just "settled in", because I don't have quite as many years to hone my tastes as others (pushing 40) and most of my youth was spent carrying pretty much whatever I could get my hands on, which were mostly Case and Buck. I suppose my tastes have changed from those days, as I really don't carry any slip joints or true back locks like the 110 anymore, and I definitely prefer one hand opening and pocket clips over thumb nicks and loose pocket carry. Probably the biggest change has been that I'm more comfortable carrying ~3.75-4 inch blades, whereas when I was younger I felt like 3 inches was plenty. I started with Spyderco with the Native/Delica/Caly 3, and now I almost carry nothing but the Autonomy/Sliverax/Military which are all a good bit larger than I started with. I'm fairly open about most other things like handle materials, I'm definitely drawn towards different steel types but they aren't necessarily the deciding factor in what I buy (but the right steel in a model I really like is a must have...I'm talking about a Sliverax M4 sprint HINT HINT).

[Ankerson]

Back when I was young in the late 60's, early 70's the choices weren't really that broad as far as knives and steels went. Pretty much everything sucked so we had to pick the best of the bad if we were into knives unless it was a custom. That's carry a sharpening stone around with you bad.

It really wasn't until the late 80's when things started to improve some with different steels and handle materials in a broader since outside of the custom market. Still really wasn't all that great however except for a few that were tolerable. Still carry a sharpening stone around bad for the most part however.

In the 90's that's when things really started to change for the better, more better choices from the different makers.

Thankfully things kept improving overall after that thanks to companies like Spyderco, Cold Steel, Benchmade and Kershaw.

[Bodog]

As a kid i was happy with carrying anything that worked. Never was into the tactical world until i got into the military. My first decently good knife was a kershaw boa with s60v. That was back in something like 04-05. I carried some gerber knife before then and it was a piece of junk so i went ahead and bought what i thought was an incredibly expensive knife. At the time $130 WAS incredibly expensive for a guy in the military.

Since then I've gone with the idea that less is more. Less embellishments on knives with higher quality materials made with attention to just working right. I've progressed from being willing to spend money only on tactical, then to high end midtechs, now back to knives that work like i want them to. I've kind of sworn off spending anything but completely excess money on anything more than the military model because i just don't care to buy something that i know won't work. I splurged and bought a PM2 and am happy i now have two models i know simply work. They feel right, they carry right, they cut right. Don't care about much else nor do i care about what others think about what i carry or don't carry or even what i say or don't say about them. Life is too short to try to impress others who don't honestly care about you.

So i guess i went full circle. Knives that work to knives that i thought were cool back to knives that work. My tastes have been refined through some experience to where i know simple and high quality beats anything else when you just want something to work. I'm glad companies like spyderco exist and test the materials before putting them out there. It makes my choices much easier.

[SG89]

I suppose I've been into knives for 20 years now from age 8 to current age of 28. I would say my preferences have evolved from buying a $5 switchblade from a booth at a gun show when I was 8 to buying kershaw, crkt, case, buck in my teenage years and finally getting into Spyderco knives around the age of 24. I learned everything I know now about steel type, edge geometry, sharpening and the like from this forum. My tastes do constantly change but I find the older I get and the more spydie models I buy I really appreciate FFG and wire clips above all other variables.

[holeshot]

The main thing that has changed for me is having the financial wherewithal to accumulate a nice collection of factory made knives. Most are Spyderco but if I like a particular knife and if the price doesn't break the bank I go for it. The main thing I like about Spyderco knives is how they've kept evolving their designs and blade steels over the years. Well done Spyderco crew! :)

[MichaelScott]

As a young squirt in the 1940s living for a few years in Bowie, Texas, I was of course fascinated by Jim Bowie, his knife, the Arkansas Toothpick, dirks daggers and all edged weapons of derring-do. I could afford cheap pocket knives from the dime store and some hand-me-down twin blade pocket knives from my grandfather and uncle. My uncle being a WWII Navy vet had an actual K-Bar which I coveted but never got. My interests in knives remained fairly prosaic dealing mostly with basic pocket knives. I favored the thin two-blade versions.

When I went into the Navy in the early 1960s and finally got transferred to an actual warship (USS Buchanan DDG-14) I began to put in some serious sea miles and serious duty on the weather decks transferring ammo, food, stores, fuel while underweigh. With all the lines involved and two ships running side by side at twelve knots in most sea conditions, it became quickly obvious that a sharp knife was a necessity. I initially had a big folding Case clasp knife, but soon got rid of it and bought a Case fixed blade from the ship’s store. I carried that, or one like it all the time I was at sea. Most of us who worked on deck did too. I don’t recall anyone with a “special” knife, just the inexpensive ones the Navy sold.

Visiting Japan got me interested in Japanese knives and swords. Never had a “real” Samurai sword (the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC has a mind-stunning exhibition of old samurai swords, some hundreds of years old that will blow your mind. I can’t understand how they did the beautiful work they did back then. I think the turning point came in the 1980s when I discovered the Kershaw DWO folder. I was heavy into trout fishing then and I thought it was the perfect knife. Small, rubberized handle, thin and extremely sharp blade. I bought two since I knew I’d lose the first one. That led me on to various Kershaws, CRKTs, etc. culminating in a ZT-350 which I thought was a fine piece of machinery, but didn’t have much soul. I sold it within a month of buying it.

I had Leeks and Chives and various CRKT incarnations but somehow never got attached to them. Someone at work pulled out a small Spyderco and proceeded to make hash out of zip ties, boxes, plastic and such like. I was impressed but thought the humpy blade and hole was kind of wonky. But, I couldn’t forget how easy it was to deploy and what a job it did cutting things up. The rest, I guess is history. I don’t get to spend much on knives so I’ve bought and sold a number of Spydercos looking for the right ones for me. Currently I have a Roadie, Chaparral FRN and a basic black PM2. I intend to get a HAP40 Delica Wharncliffe when they come in because I love the Delica design, dig Wharncliffe blades and would like something in a sprint run in a better grade steel.

I’m not particular about handle materials as long as they look good, are durable, provide grip under wet or blood conditions and are low maintenance. I have a fondness for old school micarta. I’m pretty much in the 3” and under blade length school. I am not particular about blade shapes (I will have a variety once I get my Delica Wharncliffe). I do think though that the leaf shaped blades have a long, ancient history. When I was studying to get my Anthroplogy degree I focused on Plains Indian culture and decided that I needed to know how to flintknap if I was to be able to understand that industry and talk knowledgeably about it. I commenced to do so with the help of a couple of Osage and Kiowa friends. I made points, scrapers, awls, small axe blades and many, many chips, some a bit bloody. It appears to me that, given the kinds of blanks one can get from a core stone, most of them are more suitable for forming into a leaf shape than any other shape. It is possible to make a relatively long straight edge, but mostly with obsidian. Quality flint or chert is hard to find. I’ve seen some obsidian work from Mexico and Central America that is stunning - long pieces, with straight sections and graceful curves. I find that impossible, but obviously there were ancien masters of that art.

I think the application of manufacturing technologies to fabricate precisely made components and the experiments with different steel types for different blade uses has exploded over the past few years. We are all the more fortunate for it.

I also like the great variety of designs and materials companies like Spyderco are pushing forward. We are all better off with more choices. Of course, this fuels our “need” for more knives, but hey, I could be restoring Harleys or shooting heroin in my eyeballs. But, I just like knives.

[knivesandbooks]

I used to be into the heavy duty folders. Hinderers and certain ZTs were more my thing. I'm not old so I don't get to do the "420hc was all we had" thing. I used to be scared of high carbon steels.

Now I prefer my knives thin and slicey. I don't have a size preference for purchasing but usually hit around 3.5". I've also got better at caring for my knives and have come to appreciate a great high carbon steel. My k390 police 4 was one of my most beloved of last year.

My knife carrying has settled down to a good system as well. I'll usually carry a good sized knife in my front right pocket, a lightweight serrated spydie in my left pocket, and a traditional (GEC) or sak in a pocket slip in my front right. The serrated or traditional usually get the most use outside of work.

[shunsui]

When I was a kid, I had slipjoints. Back then, we had a lot of hardware stores that would stock a full line (typically smaller to larger) of Buck and Gerber knives. They were a little too expensive for me. The Gerber Magnum Hunter fixed blade was around $42 bucks and that was a lot of money then.

When I got into Scouting I bought a Swiss Army Knife and an Air Force Pilot's Survival knive. Also had the Scout hatchet and I seriously recommend hatchets to the uninitiated.

Years later I finally got a Gerber Magnum Hunter at of all places a china shop in La Jolla which had it on a SALE table for $15. I remember asking if they had the sheath. (They did.)

Oddly enough, I met a fellow in San Diego who said he worked for awhile at Buck Knives (late 60's). Doesn't own a single Buck. Said all the employees at Buck carried the large Gerber folders. You can take that for whatever you think it's worth, but he still has two Gerber folders.

More years, and I picked up a Spyderco triangle sharpener and a Worker at the San Diego County Fair. The big moment though was when the Endura and Delica came out. I'd be perfectly happy with just a Endura3 and a triangle sharpener (with diamond rods).

Sal didn't stop there though, and I've been really pleased with the Military, Para2, and a few other models that demanded to join the collection. I probably wouldn't have as many knives except for the steel collection aspect of it. Really like the S90V and S110V knives, as I favor edge holding and stain resistance.

Have a bunch of Busse fixed blades for things that require a tougher knife, so I don't worry about high carbide steels in my folders.

[murphjd25]

The only changes I’ve had is selling every other brand of Knife I had that wasn’t Spyderco. Now I am proud to say my collection only consists of Spyderco. Their is just something that is so simple and useful about a round hole and full flat ground blades. KISS. No one does it better then Spyderco right now in my opinion.

[RickC27]

The only changes I’ve had is selling every other brand of Knife I had that wasn’t Spyderco. Now I am proud to say my collection only consists of Spyderco. Their is just something that is so simple and useful about a round hole and full flat ground blades. KISS. No one does it better then Spyderco right now in my opinion.

I have to agree, though I won't be getting rid of my Kershaw Launch 7 Auto or KnifeWorks exclusive Benchmade 940...everything else is all Spyderco!! Love these knives and can't wait to continue to add to my collection. Sold the rest of my Kershaw garbage knives earlier this week.

[Ncmiked]

As a kid, I was happy to have any knife. My dad used to take them away, he finally handed me a bag of all my old knives when I was 46. I guess he figured I was responsible enough to have them back...

[Bloke]

Back when I was young in the late 60's, early 70's the choices weren't really that broad as far as knives and steels went. Pretty much everything sucked so we had to pick the best of the bad if we were into knives unless it was a custom. That's carry a sharpening stone around with you bad.

It really wasn't until the late 80's when things started to improve some with different steels and handle materials in a broader since outside of the custom market. Still really wasn't all that great however except for a few that were tolerable. Still carry a sharpening stone around bad for the most part however.

In the 90's that's when things really started to change for the better, more better choices from the different makers.

Thankfully things kept improving overall after that thanks to companies like Spyderco, Cold Steel, Benchmade and Kershaw.

Ditto! :)

I’ve fished and hunted since I was a little tacker and no matter what production knives I bought or was gifted I was always frustrated. :eek:

Wish I had a Sprig and Southfork forty years ago!

[standy99]

Being a butcher for many years I went through many types of knives inside and outside of work. Living in a part of Australia where fishing and hunting is a daily activity at times

Being a knife guy for over 40 years I have seen the fads come and go, the materials change as technology changed.
The sheer amount of makers and models of knives is astounding every time I look at a knife site like BHQ or Knifecentre

The use of knives is still a passion and the change has gravitated back to fixed blades.

The thing that is annoying is the fact that I can get all this choice in steels and technology in Spyderco folding knives but I prepare dinner each night with my old butchers knives.

Butchers boning knife in M4 is my dream knife

The biggest change over the years is disposable income that I can spend on knives.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

My earliest knives were classic folders and low cost fixed blades and then I got more into specialized knives like Spyderco and other brands.

[Eli Chaps]

Growing up, knives of broad variety were all around me. From the small traditional pocket knives to large "hunting" knives to high carbon German cook's knives. Lots of Schrade and Buck. Everyone had knives but very few people around me cared much about sharpening them to any extent. My grandpa could build a space shuttle out of the scrap metal pile next to his hand-built shop but he'd typically just run his knives over some sand paper and call it good. Just a tool to him. But for whatever reason, I got bit by the knife bug. My grandpa gave me an old 4" what I think now was a SiC combo stone and an even older soft Arkansas stone. Even in my single digit years, all the "grown ups" were giving me their knives to sharpen. I wasn't old enough yet to hunt with a gun but I would "sharpen" their knives. Obviously I wasn't very good at it but some edge is better than no edge so they all thought I was really good at it!

Through my teens and I reckon in some ways into my 20's, I was something of a big knife guy. A "hunting" knife to me was something more or less Bowie shaped and 6" and heavy. There were pocket knives (small traditional folders) and hunting knives (big, beefy hunks of steel). The stuff in between was, I don't know, just weird I guess. Funny thing about those "hunting" knives, I carried one all the time when outdoors and dang near never used it. I was far more of a fisherman and bird hunter than a large game hunter so my pocket knives got way more use than the slab of steel on my side but even deer hunting it was the same story.

In my military carrier it was a small pocket knife, multi-tool, and then a heavy duty fixed blade. This is when my appreciation for task-oriented knife design solidified.

The first thing I learned to appreciate was true quality. Might sound weird but it is true. I grew up hearing about how all that "fancy" stuff was wasted money and unnecessary. Pretty and shiny might've meant more money but I'm talking true quality. When I bought my first Spyderco I felt guilty for a while. It was like I'd splurged money on something I really didn't need just for the prestige. Even though I loved everything about the function over form aspects of that first Delica, I still felt like I'd splurged. But use quickly put that to bed and it didn't take long to see what an abundant collection of lesser knives I'd accumulated over the years that just sat.

The next thing that really settled in for me was that I like nimble knives. Often that means smaller but not always. I think the M2LW is one of the most brilliant knife designs I've ever encountered and it is obviously not a small knife. But it is nimble, light, and versatile. I tend to lean towards smaller pocket knives but that's mostly for their handling for the tasks I ask of them. Nimble would be a better descriptor here than size. The Endura is another example of a great larger but nimble knife. I'm the same with kitchen cutlery.

Geometry, geometry, geometry! Learning and developing an appreciation for blade geometry has been amazing. Understanding tapering, spine width, edge width, angle, etc. has been a huge factor in my knife selection and sharpening approach. As I said, in my youth, I loved them big Rambo knives but these days, I'm all about thin and supple. But, I also recognize the need for heavy, thicker edged knives. I guess it's applying the knife type to the task. That said, I still prefer a thin blade to a thick with these days for most tasks.

Appreciating "lesser" steels. This one is a little more complicated and might be better said as appreciating steel types. But I said lesser steels because for a time I got really hung up on the idea that I needed the latest super duper hard as space rock steel. A big part of that was directly connected to my sharpening journey. I was mistakenly trying to overcome my sharpening deficiencies and ignorance with steel. I went through a reset period some years ago wherein I went back to lesser steels and focused on my sharpening techniques, edge desires, and performance understanding. Sal's notion of not better, just different really resonates with me.

So I mostly left those big, beefy, fixed blades in favor of slim offerings of whatever flavor.

If I had to sum it all up, it would be edge appreciation. Size, steel, geometry, use, sharpening, whatever, it all comes down to what do I want from this edge? Can I get it there? Am I right? Am I happy with it? If not, why? Is it the knife or me? Is it the right edge for the task? right steel for the task?

[Diamondback]

Probably like many in my age group my first knife was an "official" Cub Scout pocket knife. I know from time to time the contractor would change, and if I'm not mistaken mine was made by Ulster. Although I couldn't swear by it...I know my brother had a Scout folding knife that I think was made by the Corning Knife Company or Seneca. I'm pretty sure both of our Boy Scout knives were Camillus. Most everyone in Upstate NY carried Schrade Walden with carbon steel baldes. The"Sharpfinger" was typically found in every deer camp, and most of the working men in the area carried a 5OT pattern on their belt in a leather sheath. In my teens I carried a Schrade 33OT Middleman Jack. After I left home I got introduced to stainless cutlery and the Swiss Army knife, which I pocket carried for some years. If I needed something more robust I had a Schrade Old Timer Bear Paw Lockback and my "camp knife" was an Opinel. In 1987 I bought my first Spyderco, an Endura....and ever since I've been along for the ride! :spyder:

Sometimes I feel a bit sheepish admitting this, what with all the hard work and innovation that Sal, Eric, and the crew have performed over the years...but, honestly, 90% of the time I reach for an Endura 4 to put in my pocket before I go out the door, while around the house I carry my trusty 440V Native.

[ChrisinHove]

The Internet Age has simply given me access to what I would have wanted all along, had I a) known about it and b) could have found somewhere to buy it!

Pre- World Wide Web all I could find was SAK, Opinel and junk. I remember buying a ridiculous 12” Bowie lookalike from a militaria store when I was about 14 .... several decades later I’m coveting a Respect! Plus ca change...