Spyderco Forums

I didn't vote since I use whatever grip feels appropriate at the time and it depends on the knife I'm using. I almost always have my thumb on the thumb ramp or spine. Sometimes I use the choil and sometimes I don't.

I just realized after looking at the pictures in this thread that I've maybe been holding my knives funny this whole time. I almost always use the ramp and choil, but I push the back of the handle pretty firmly into my thenar eminence. So I end up with two or three fingers not even touching the front of the handle and the blade is canted slightly forward. It feels natural and comfortable for me.

Anyway, when trying to hold a knife like in the pictures, the the thumb ramp does feel pretty cramped.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 06, 2019 6:43 pm

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 06, 2019 4:52 pm

Added to my post above: Here is how I hold a folder when not choking up:

I use a grip closer to that when I'm doing food prep on a cutting board.

As said, putting the thumb on the side of the blade is what I´ve done and do all the time.
One thing you mentioned got me thinking though: That by doing so your thumb can moe easily get in the way of stuff you´re cutting. That is absolutely true of course, but in MY experience just in theory.

I think when I am cutting stuff with the part of the blade very close to the handle, I always put my thumb like THIS (pic) so it does not really interfere with the material I am cutting

Evil D wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 06, 2019 6:17 pm

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 06, 2019 5:59 pm

Evil D wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 06, 2019 5:22 pm

May I ask: What is the "Filipino grip"?

Thumb extended and relaxed forward on the spine of the blade, ala Yojumbo 2.

Thanx! Did not know that

Some of these grips remind me of the odd ways I see people holding a pen/pencil to write. :)

Depends on the model! On most models, however, I definitely default to the first option, with other grips as needed.

I think all of us use that grip while cutting. The thing is, the grip changes while you are working, it is more like a movie and not a picture.
It's like asking if you walk in a certain way and put a picture of someone with a raised leg... you don't walk like that but you certainly walk with one foot at a time.

tonijedi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 10:58 am

I think all of us use that grip while cutting.

Must have missed the first post :) I don't.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 2:45 pm

tonijedi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 10:58 am

I think all of us use that grip while cutting.

Must have missed the first post :) I don't.

I didn't miss the post, what I'm saying is that you use all kinds of grips even if briefly. I've certainly grabbed a knife in both handle and blade in all possible ways.

tonijedi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:21 pm

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 2:45 pm

tonijedi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 10:58 am

I think all of us use that grip while cutting.

Must have missed the first post :) I don't.

I didn't miss the post, what I'm saying is that you use all kinds of grips even if briefly. I've certainly grabbed a knife in both handle and blade in all possible ways.

I don't use that grip. Not sure why you don't believe me. I don't use pikal grip either.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:27 pm

tonijedi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:21 pm

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 2:45 pm

tonijedi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 10:58 am

I think all of us use that grip while cutting.

Must have missed the first post :) I don't.

I didn't miss the post, what I'm saying is that you use all kinds of grips even if briefly. I've certainly grabbed a knife in both handle and blade in all possible ways.

I don't use that grip. Not sure why you don't believe me. I don't use pikal grip either.

You're a liar, Vivi!!

Jk

I also don't use that grip, especially when cutting into something dense. I couldn't imagine cutting cardboard, whittling, or even cutting a plastic band like that. I generally use a hammer grip unless the knife doesn't have a ramp, in which case I might have my thumb on the back of the blade. Depends on how I'm cutting. I might also have the knife sideways in my hand in a pinch grip or I'll hold it near the tip.

This is why I kinda think a lot of knives aren't as ergonomic as some say they are. the knives are made for your hand to go into that position you pictured but using a knife like that sucks. You have less power in the cut, it seems, and my thumb gets tired because it presses into the jimping.

Btw, I have opposite hands than you're. They're pretty small.

knivesandbooks wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 09, 2019 12:40 am

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:27 pm

tonijedi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:21 pm

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 2:45 pm

.....

I also don't use that grip, especially when cutting into something dense. I couldn't imagine cutting cardboard, whittling, or even cutting a plastic band like that. I generally use a hammer grip unless the knife doesn't have a ramp, in which case I might have my thumb on the back of the blade. Depends on how I'm cutting. I might also have the knife sideways in my hand in a pinch grip or I'll hold it near the tip.

This is why I kinda think a lot of knives aren't as ergonomic as some say they are. the knives are made for your hand to go into that position you pictured but using a knife like that sucks. You have less power in the cut, it seems, and my thumb gets tired because it presses into the jimping.

Btw, I have opposite hands than you're. They're pretty small.

I am courios: Do you and others really never use a grip with the thumb in the SIDE of the blade, like I do all the time (just scroll a bit up to see pics on this)??? Do you really prefer a true hammer grip over this? For me that "thumb on the side of the blade"-style feels so natural, and I can control the knife better as if I would put the thumb on spine, ramp, or hammergrip-like. It is also more stable, while with thumb on the spine or ramp the knife can "roll" a bit more easily in your hand than when stabilized by the thumb on the side.

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 09, 2019 2:41 am

knivesandbooks wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 09, 2019 12:40 am

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:27 pm

tonijedi wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:21 pm

.....

I also don't use that grip, especially when cutting into something dense. I couldn't imagine cutting cardboard, whittling, or even cutting a plastic band like that. I generally use a hammer grip unless the knife doesn't have a ramp, in which case I might have my thumb on the back of the blade. Depends on how I'm cutting. I might also have the knife sideways in my hand in a pinch grip or I'll hold it near the tip.

This is why I kinda think a lot of knives aren't as ergonomic as some say they are. the knives are made for your hand to go into that position you pictured but using a knife like that sucks. You have less power in the cut, it seems, and my thumb gets tired because it presses into the jimping.

Btw, I have opposite hands than you're. They're pretty small.

I am courios: Do you and others really never use a grip with the thumb in the SIDE of the blade, like I do all the time (just scroll a bit up to see pics on this)??? Do you really prefer a true hammer grip over this? For me that "thumb on the side of the blade"-style feels so natural, and I can control the knife better as if I would put the thumb on spine, ramp, or hammergrip-like. It is also more stable, while with thumb on the spine or ramp the knife can "roll" a bit more easily in your hand than when stabilized by the thumb on the side.

I never have issues with knives rolling in my grip.

When I put my thumb on the side kind of like you, my grip is a bit further back, and I never choke up to where two fingers are in the first large finger groove. I mainly use this grip for food prep, otherwise I tend to stick to a straight hammer grip, or thumb on the ramp like I show in picture #3 of the first post.







That's my version of your grip.

This is one reason I don't like knives with handles just barely large enough for a full hammer grip. I like an extra 1/2" of handle or so, otherwise I may not have a good spot on the handle for my thumb in this pinch grip. On a chef knife my hand chokes up on to the blade more, but on a small folder that reduces the amount of edge that can be utilized on a cutting board.

This is one of my more common grips, the hammer grip:

When I use the choil on larger knives it's usually like this


Sometimes like this


And my preferred grip is like Vivi's


I even use this grip on rare occasions

Does anybody find the thickness of the blade stock (mainly at the hump/spydiehole area) affects one's grip? Because for me, it almost feels as if thinner blades "roll" under my thumb more readily than do thicker stock blades, especially if I grip directly on the hump or forward of it.

Unless I need as much range/extension as I can get or I need the entire blade to clear the cutting path, I almost always use the "Filipino grip" with most unsupported cutting motions (i.e., when not cutting against a flat surface such as in food prep), regardless of whether or not there is a thumb ramp or choil

JonLeBlanc wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 09, 2019 9:26 am

Does anybody find the thickness of the blade stock (mainly at the hump/spydiehole area) affects one's grip? Because for me, it almost feels as if thinner blades "roll" under my thumb more readily than do thicker stock blades, especially if I grip directly on the hump or forward of it.

I've had this experience with the Chaparral, which is a small knife that has very thin blade stock & a very thin handle profile.

Funnily enough, I don't have the same experience with the even smaller Dragonfly 2—which has a similarly thin blade stock—probably because its smaller size allows me to use the knife as basically a sharpened underside extension of my thumb when gripped in the "Filipino grip". Held this way, the Dragonfly really melts into my hand & I have unparalleled control over it & awareness of its tip & edge orientation.

zuludelta wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 09, 2019 10:04 am

JonLeBlanc wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 09, 2019 9:26 am

Does anybody find the thickness of the blade stock (mainly at the hump/spydiehole area) affects one's grip? Because for me, it almost feels as if thinner blades "roll" under my thumb more readily than do thicker stock blades, especially if I grip directly on the hump or forward of it.

I've had this experience with the Chaparral, which is a small knife that has very thin blade stock & a very thin handle profile. Funnily enough, I don't have the same experience with the even smaller Dragonfly 2, which has a similarly thin blade stock, probably because its smaller size allows me to use the knife as basically a sharpened underside extension of my thumb when gripped in the "Filipino grip".

Ohh yeah I see what you mean, I felt the same about my old Jester (which was specifically designed to be gripped like you grip your Dragonfly), and boy oh boy, for a small knife that thing was so incredibly useful.

This is how I typically grip my knives when using them except maybe the last one...I usually hammer grip when I cut with the edge facing up.

This is an interesting discussion. It's enlightening to see the different way everyone grips their knives.

VashHash wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 09, 2019 8:16 am

When I use the choil on larger knives it's usually like this


Sometimes like this


And my preferred grip is like Vivi's


I even use this grip on rare occasions