What is detail work????

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
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knivesandbooks
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What is detail work????

#1

Post by knivesandbooks »

Sincere question. I see this a lot in reviews and such. "This knife allows you to choke up for detail work" or "I'm glad it has a finger school for detail work." Then the reviewer or whoever holds the knife by the choil and makes light, whispy cutting motions with the tip. When do you ever cut like that? I am asking this sincerely. The only times I do are when I'm carving or whittling. But when I do that, I'm not using a 3.5 folding knife like a Manix or whatever. With something that large or larger, I don't understand why the knife has to be good for "detail work." Are they referring to cutting out something traced in paper or cardboard as you might do with a craft knife? Are they they talking about picking splinters? Do people actually hold the knife by the handle when doing that? I hold it by the blade. I don't know. I've been thinking about this and am lost.
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Woodpuppy
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Re: What is detail work????

#2

Post by Woodpuppy »

HERESY!

Actually I’m in complete agreement. If I want to cut on something that demands precision (hangnail, cuticle, splinter, defusing that bomb etc...) the Urban’s a better choice than the millie.

Now that I’ve got a few knives with choils, I can offer my $0.02... I like it on the para3, which is a fairly compact knife. I don’t care for it on the pm2, where I’d rather have the extra cutting edge. I barely notice it on the millie because it’s so... subtle. I’m glad it’s not there on the Salt 2 / Delica series or it’s bigger siblings.

To each their own!
Last edited by Woodpuppy on Fri Oct 04, 2019 6:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What is detail work????

#3

Post by jpm2 »

I don't know what the reviews are referring to, but this is why I can't use anything much over 3" at work. I've tried several times to use a 3.5 incher and it's cumbersome to the point of unsafe.
I can't think of anything I do at work holding the knife in a hammer grip, I'm always in contact with the blade, sometimes all the way to the tip.
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Re: What is detail work????

#4

Post by Evil D »

I also very very rarely need to make cuts like this. I prefer a grip with no choil and a blade with an edge that goes all the way back to the handle. The Lil Temp 3, Caribbean, Tenacious are good examples of this.
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Albatross
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Re: What is detail work????

#5

Post by Albatross »

knivesandbooks wrote:
Fri Oct 04, 2019 5:22 pm
Sincere question. I see this a lot in reviews and such. "This knife allows you to choke up for detail work" or "I'm glad it has a finger school for detail work." Then the reviewer or whoever holds the knife by the choil and makes light, whispy cutting motions with the tip. When do you ever cut like that? I am asking this sincerely. The only times I do are when I'm carving or whittling. But when I do that, I'm not using a 3.5 folding knife like a Manix or whatever. With something that large or larger, I don't understand why the knife has to be good for "detail work." Are they referring to cutting out something traced in paper or cardboard as you might do with a craft knife? Are they they talking about picking splinters? Do people actually hold the knife by the handle when doing that? I hold it by the blade. I don't know. I've been thinking about this and am lost.
Not everyone has multiple knives or can afford more than one. Some people prefer to keep it simple(something that's completely foreign to us on this forum) and own/carry only one knife. Sometimes people need a large blade for 99% of their cutting tasks, and need it to also do "fine detail work", for that 1% of the time.

There seems to be a disconnect between YouTube knife reviewers and real use/average users. Most reviewers look like the bulk of their cutting tasks are letters and Hot Pocket wrappers. There's nothing wrong with that, since we can't all be processing deer with our knives, cutting fishing line and rope on a fishing vessel, or 900 feet of cardboard each day. If someone got 3V for letter opening, I would definitely have some opinions to share. :D

Not all of us are looking for a sub 3 ounce knife or sub 3 inch blade. Viewers tend to forget that reviewers give technical stats(which can be found on Spyderco's website) and opinions. Somehow, the opinions are regurgitated by the viewers, who take those opinions as fact and suddenly, everyone is talking about "fine detail work", when most probably wont need a knife that can do such work.

Lastly, I think detail work is whatever the user decides it is. Generally though, it's anything that requires a steady hand and a good eye. At least that's my take on it.
Last edited by Albatross on Fri Oct 04, 2019 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ferider
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Re: What is detail work????

#6

Post by ferider »

OP, I agree with you as well !

When I use a longer blade for "detail work", I actually grab the front of the blade itself, between thumb and middle finger, for instance.

Now, I like choils ... but I use them for the opposite, for rough work. Like cutting a fat piece of wood away from yourself, as an example. The index finger in the choil takes pressure away from the Pivot, and I have big hands; particularly helps with a small knife with <= 3.5" blade.

Roland.
Last edited by ferider on Fri Oct 04, 2019 6:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: What is detail work????

#7

Post by FK »

I will grab a fixed blade wood carving knife 1"-1.5" blade or a small slip joint SAK for fine detail work.

Some people just like to justify having a choil on a larger blade.

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Re: What is detail work????

#8

Post by knivesandbooks »

ferider wrote:
Fri Oct 04, 2019 6:02 pm
Now, I like choils ... but I use them for the opposite, for rough work. Like cutting a fat piece of wood away from yourself, as an example. The index finger in the choil takes pressure away from the Pivot, and I have big hands; particularly helps with a small knife with <= 3.5" blade.

Roland.
That's how I use a choil too if the knife has one. I also prefer to not have one.
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Re: What is detail work????

#9

Post by anycal »

Independent of the videos, as I don't pay attention to them. Detail work could represent a number of things. And obviously some knives do certain tasks better than others.

Most of my use is not detail work, but I do enjoy taking a sharp knife to some whittling or emergency pedicure :p . Makes it even more fun/challenging with a lager knife. Different grips, tip control, all good skill to have if your main EDC is always something larger.
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Re: What is detail work????

#10

Post by vivi »

I have no use for index choils. Like others, I get more precision choking up on the blade itself. Index finger on the spine right behind the tip, thumb and fingers pinching the blade / handle.
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Re: What is detail work????

#11

Post by curlyhairedboy »

For me I use choils for choking up, usually gripping the blade between thumb and forefinger, and resting my middle finger safely in the choil.

Mostly, however, they serve the VERY IMPORTANT role of creating a longer grip in a smaller knife. I would have no use for the dragonfly or the Lil native or any number of smaller knives if they didn't magically become 'larger handled' when opened.
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Re: What is detail work????

#12

Post by FK »

Agree on small handled knives,, the Para 3 and Dragonfly I have would not be useful without a choil in design.

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Re: What is detail work????

#13

Post by Sharp Guy »

If I'm doing "detail work" it's typically with one of a few X-acto knives I keep on my work bench.
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Re: What is detail work????

#14

Post by RustyIron »

I have two styles of Spyderco's, and they both have the finger choil on the blade. They're my favorite knives to carry, but I question the decision to add the choil at the expense of blade length. I'd rather have more blade. If I wanted more handle to grip, I'd just buy a bigger knife. It would be good if Sal could chime in on this, as there must have been a reason to put the choil there in the first place.
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Re: What is detail work????

#15

Post by MichaelScott »

Hmmm… one knife, two different blades. Or, three.
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knivesandbooks
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Re: What is detail work????

#16

Post by knivesandbooks »

Sorry, didn't necessarily make this to question choils. But, I do as Vivi. Really just questioning what detail work is with a 3.5in or bigger knife and how often we're actually doing these things. Although, without grabbing the blade, I think handle shape is more important than a choil for tip control. I can be much more controlling of a tip with a neutral, straighter handle than a curvy "ergonomic" one.

Also, yes Michael, a Jack knife with a smaller secondary is nice. Especially for on the go whittling. Though, I use my smaller pen blades mainly for utility to keep my from sharpening the main as much.
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Re: What is detail work????

#17

Post by Bloke »

Sharp Guy wrote:
Fri Oct 04, 2019 8:42 pm
with one of a few X-acto knives I keep on my work bench.
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Re: What is detail work????

#18

Post by Bill1170 »

I do like Vivi and choke up on the blade when doing fine tip work. I like the Manix and PM2 in spite of their finger choils, not because of them. Their handles are big enough for my hand without the choil, which I never use.
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Re: What is detail work????

#19

Post by JustinB »

I definitely prefer to choke up on my blades when opening packages, especially the plastic clamshell ones. It just allows a little more control so you don't end up accidentally damaging whats inside :)
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Re: What is detail work????

#20

Post by yablanowitz »

For me, the sole purpose of the finger choil is to make a too short handle long enough for my XL hands. Most of them I simply can't hold comfortably without using the choil.
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