Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

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Wartstein
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Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#1

Post by Wartstein »

Just a quick thought that came to my mind when considering why for me the perfect and most universal edge- (not BLADE-) length is between 3.1" and 3.4" inches. Let me explain:

I honestly feel, that for me an edge in that specific size range can do almost any task I want to do better than both shorter or longer edges could. Without getting either too short or cumbersome.
Now a bit similar I feel that backlocks can do more for me than any other lock; or FRN is a more practical handle material than any other. List could go on...

BUT: Is it REALLY true that this is because this aspects (certain edge length, handle material and so on) INHERENTLY did suit my handsize, cutting tasks, style, whatever the best from the beginning, or am I just SO adapted to a certain kind of folder, that I perfected my ability to do any task with exactly that certain kind?

To put it differently: For quite a long time now you can find a Stretch 1 or Endura 4 more than 90% of the time in my pocket. And I use or play with my knives a lot. So it is no wonder, that I got quite good in completing any task with 3.5 to 3.8 blades, FRN handled ´knives, and a backlock does feel totally natural and very easy to use for me.
And that on the other hand, when using for example significantly shorter or longer knives or a different lock, I have to adapt my "personal style" and the unfamiliar knives feel a bit odd to me initially...

I just wanted to share this thought, don´t even know what´s the real point of this post ;) Maybe just that we should always be aware of that what we feel is "best" when it comes to knives maybe is not "best" in fact, but just what we´re most used to or "grew up with" in our knife-lifes... and so give different design features a chance and a good amount of "practice- and getting-used-to-time" before forming a final opinion...
Last edited by Wartstein on Sun Jun 30, 2019 5:19 am, edited 2 times in total.
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
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Re: Is your perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#2

Post by juggler »

The perfect folder is the one you are the most used to because it suits you best. If not, then it's not your perfect folder :p
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Re: Is your perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#3

Post by Wartstein »

juggler wrote:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 3:13 am
The perfect folder is the one you are the most used to because it suits you best. If not, it's not your perfect folder :p
I have to disagree to a certain amount: I think it can very well be that you never try the folder that COULD potentially become your perfect one, cause you´re already so used to another (kind of) folder that the latter already FEELS perfect to you... Very theoretical and not practically relevant discussion, I know... ;) but I think there´s a place in that forum for that kind of posts too... :)
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
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Re: Is your perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#4

Post by The Deacon »

Not having tried every single knife by every single maker, it's impossible for me to say with 100% certainty that the ones I carry are "best suited" to my needs". On the other hand, since I normally have a Stretch in my back pocket, a Kiwi in my watch pocket, and a Jester dangling from my key ring, and they represent the three Spyderco models I like the most, I've already come to the conclusion that no single knife is best suited to all my needs.
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Re: Is your perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#5

Post by Evil D »

It's merely the best I've found, the closest to what I want. There are always things I settle on.
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Re: Is your perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#6

Post by bearfacedkiller »

I believe that folders are a compromise by design. A fixed blade can be very purpose built but a folder usually must make some compromises. For this reason a folder cannot be ideal.

Plus, there are different knives for different uses. My ideal folder for a day hike is different than my ideal folder for a day at work. My ideal folder for a day working on my truck is different than my ideal folder for a formal event like a wedding.

There is no perfect or ideal folder for me.
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sal wrote:Knife afi's are pretty far out, steel junky's more so, but "edge junky's" are just nuts. :p
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#7

Post by jdw »

My perfect folder is the knife that I am carrying when I need it. That's why I tend to enjoy larger folders. You can always choke up on a blade if you need to but you can't add extension that isn't there.
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#8

Post by Doc Dan »

I’ve carried A lot of different Knives over the years. I am starting to make judgments real judgments about the knives that I carry has caused me to reevaluate several times. Perhaps it wasn’t that those knives earlier are so bad but that my needs changed. So the life that was perfect for me 10 years ago is no longer so. Now the perfect knife is different and needs to do slightly different things.
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#9

Post by elena86 »

There is no such thing as "the perfect folder".... yet... a 3 incher Dragonfly might be THE ONE... MY PRECIOUS :eek:
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#10

Post by Wartstein »

Reading all your replies, I am afraid in my OP I could not really express what I mean:

NOT if there is such a thing as "the perfect folder";
BUt just, to what extend the folders you feel are the best suited / the closest to perfect for you, are so INHERENTLY, and to what extend they just FEEL like that cause you´re so used to their features and so very well "trained" to perform tasks with exactly that particular models.
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#11

Post by bearfacedkiller »

I try to rotate my carry a lot because I have a lot of knives. For that reason I don’t know if I get used to one knife or not. I do know that when I switch knives I notice what it is that I like and dislike about each knife. I rotate often enough that i often forget what is in my pocket until I pull it out. I also know that when I reach for a knife and it ends up being a Military that it feels like and old friend, kind of like an old pair of sneakers. Not sure how much of that is from carrying it a lot and how much of that is because it is the greatest folding knife ever made. ;)
-Darby
sal wrote:Knife afi's are pretty far out, steel junky's more so, but "edge junky's" are just nuts. :p
SpyderEdgeForever wrote: Also, do you think a kangaroo would eat a bowl of spagetti with sauce if someone offered it to them?
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#12

Post by ferider »

Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

I don't understand the difference :) It's called convergence.
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#13

Post by Halfneck »

I'm a knife-nut, my motto is "The perfect knife is out there, I just need to keep looking..."
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#14

Post by wrdwrght »

I wonder if most of us are so narrow in our preferences that there is that one knife above all others.

Case in point. The Manix2 fits my hand like a glove (not a particularly original description here...). The Lil’ Native also fits my hand like a glove. Yet these knives, each a fine performer, are so different.

I, for one, resist letting perfect be the enemy of the good. It makes the Spyderco experience so much more fun for me.
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#15

Post by vivi »

I switched to EDCing Pacific Salts because they're by far the most practical model for me.

I have a lot of nicer Spydercos I used to carry more often, but none of them make a better EDC overall for me.

I want to justify the $200 carbon fiber Spydercos I own, but Pacific Salts just work better.
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#16

Post by James Y »

You could ask the same question about what car one drives, the house one lives in or the clothes one wears. IMO, there is no one perfect pocketknife for me, only ones that I like better than others. And if I like them better, it's because they're comfortable and have proven to serve me well in use.

For instance, IMO, the PE leaf-bladed Caribbean may be the best folder Spyderco has ever made. But lately I've been carrying and using my "plain old, boring" Endura 4 FFG in black FRN and VG-10. Even if a folder that seems perfect to me, there is always something about it I can think of that makes it less ideal that another. Every model has its advantages and disadvantages. I'm planning on getting an Endela, so I'll see how that goes.

Also, no knife, no matter how great, can do it all. That's one of the reasons that, in addition to whatever Spyderco I'm carrying on a given day, I always have two Victorinox SAKs on me; my Executive, and either my Spartan or Pioneer. That way, my bases are pretty well covered for a typical day.

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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#17

Post by Wartstein »

James Y wrote:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 11:43 am
You could ask the same question about what car one drives, the house one lives in or the clothes one wears. IMO, there is no one perfect pocketknife for me, only ones that I like better than others. And if I like them better, it's because they're comfortable and have proven to serve me well in use.

For instance, IMO, the PE leaf-bladed Caribbean may be the best folder Spyderco has ever made. But lately I've been carrying and using my "plain old, boring" Endura 4 FFG in black FRN and VG-10. Even if a folder that seems perfect to me, there is always something about it I can think of that makes it less ideal that another. Every model has its advantages and disadvantages. I'm planning on getting an Endela, so I'll see how that goes.

Also, no knife, no matter how great, can do it all. That's one of the reasons that, in addition to whatever Spyderco I'm carrying on a given day, I always have two Victorinox SAKs on me; my Executive, and either my Spartan or Pioneer. That way, my bases are pretty well covered for a typical day.

Jim
Good points!!

And, concerning the Endela: If you like the Endura, you'll probably like the Endela too.. if you can live with the noticable shorter edge. The handle feels pretty much like the Endura handle, just a tad even more comfortable maybe and is a better/shorter carry.
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#18

Post by The Mastiff »

My choice of carry is based on decades of use, errors and successes. I have had and used every kind and most brands I can think of and I always come back to the same old thing. Except now I have different choices of steel, handle materials and even colors. It fits me well and has been carried so long anything else just isn't as comfortable or works as well with my now arthritic hands. That doesn't seem to stop me from enjoying other knives though and that can be a problem with my retired state employee paycheck but no matter what else I do get it never moves my Enduras out completely. Knives seem to also be a hobby of mine so I don't expect to ever give up completely on other knives.
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#19

Post by Doc Dan »

I came up with my perfect folder based on trial and error and constant reevaluation. It’s not based upon what I was used to. I did have some must have features such as one hand opening. I arrived at the perfect size and design based on more of a scientific evaluation perhaps. After I got all that sorted out then I decided on the knife itself.

And I have gravitated towards smaller pocket size knives as A result of all this evaluation. For me and just the sweet spot and just the right style of knife Rather surprised me. I settled on the urban light weight has just the right size and blade length and cutting edge. It has a longer cutting edge than even the chaparral. My second choice of course would be the chaparral, A very close second. Dragonfly of course is in third place.

None of these knives as perfect as they are. The urban could use a better pivot probably. It feels really good in the hand, even the texture. The dragonfly could use a slightly longer blade, but it is more size/weight efficient.
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Re: Is your most perfect folder REALLY inherently the best suited for you or just the one you´re most used to??

#20

Post by standy99 »

But the best answer is there is no best folder, as lately I have had 4 knives in a fruit bowl of different sizes and blades and it surprises me i rarely take the same one out twice.

PM2 to cut something like a old towel into rags , SE wharncliffe Delica to open a blister pack, Salt1 to open a pool salt bag near the pool the next time.

( We don’t have fruit in the fruit bowl because I live tropical and nothing lasts outside the fridge.)
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