Knife Rotation Journal - NOV 2023

[BEER_IS_COOL]

The OCT 2023 knife rotation (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=95567) has concluded! Now it is time for the NOV 2023 rotation!

My rotation for NOV 2023 is:
1. Spyderco H1 Dragonfly Hawkbill Serrated
2. Spyderco CruWear Paramilitary 2
3. Zero Tolerance 20CV 0562TI

So some background on my selection criteria. This will likely be constantly evolving, but the spirit of it is to force myself outside of my comfort zone. There is a lot to experience out there and if I don't have criteria I'll be stuck in a Para 3, PM2, and Native 5 loop.

Here's the criteria:
- 1 non Spyderco
- 1 bigger knife
- 1 tool steel
- 1 steel from the previous rotation

Dragonfly
I picked this one up on Black Friday last year and haven't tried it yet. I'm pretty excited to give it a go as I love the Dragonfly and have yet to use a hawkbill. As for serrations... that is going to be a new experience for me. This will be the first serrated knife I'll be carrying outside of combo edges from over a decade ago.

PM2
The stock clip has been replaced with an MXG clip and I am considering doing another swap. This knife has a little story behind it. I've used this plenty in the past and the factory edge was no longer cutting it (lol). I sharpened it and was pleased with the new edge. To celebrate I got some pizza. I break down all of my cardboard so naturally this was a perfect time to put my new edge to the test. That pizza box was toast... until the moment I opened the PM2 and then proceeded to drop the fucking knife on my tile which broke some of the tip and ruined some of the edge.

Since then I have STRUGGLED to get an edge on this knife. Last weekend I was so frustrated that I decided to intentionally dull the knife and start over. I worked on my 220 grit DMT Extra Course stone for about 20 minutes and was making ZERO progress... and then... the knife was screaming sharp. I don't know what happened here, but I'll chalk it up to user error. 220 grit is where the edge is at now. No stropping and no progressing to other stones. I'll see how this plays out.

0562TI
Okay. This was one of those knives I bought and I have no idea why I bought it. I selected this as it has a steel from the previous rotation (20CV) and it is bigger. It is still on its factory edge and I may have stropped it. It can easily cut through a paper towel without snagging at the moment.

[BEER_IS_COOL]

Week 2 update!

Well, I have a lot of mixed feelings so far.

Dragonfly
The first week or so I pretty much only carried the Dragonfly. I just kept reaching for it and even thought this would be my top knife of the month. This was short lived. I guess the novelty of the hawkbill wore off. It was great at first, but I've come to the conclusion this blade shape is too niche for what I am using it for. I know hawkbills are very useful and they have their place, but I don't think they are great for general carry for me.
A wharncliffe Dragonfly though...

PM2 & 0562TI
Tonight I cut a bunch of cardboard. The 0562TI had a good weight and was more slicey compared to the PM2. It is also built like a tank. I dig it... however... there is something about this flipper & frame lock combo I do not enjoy. I own CRKs and have zero issues with closing them. I feel like I need to fight the 0562TI to close it. I can't really describe it, but something is off and I don't think it is actually an issue with the knife. I think it is the actual design. Or maybe it is just something I need to get used to. Time will tell.

In terms of performance... I used the PM2 and 0562TI equally. The PM2 has a fresh edge and the 0562TI is still on the factory edge. The PM2 is cutting cleanly through printer paper while the 0562TI is snagging!!!! This surprised me. Last month I used the ever living **** out of the Military 2 before I got any snagging. This definitely sours me on the 0562TI. This performance is unacceptable in my eyes.

[BEER_IS_COOL]

Week 4 update!

This will be the last update for the NOV 2023 rotation. Moving forward I'll be creating a continuous thread that documents all of my rotations instead of separate threads for each month.

In terms of rankings, here is where we stand:

Dragonfly
This finds a home below the K390 Delica. Pretty self-explanatory based off of the feedback from my other posts in this thread.

PM2
Decided to clean up the edge using a 600 grit DMT Fine stone. This was a better sharpening experience compared to previously. The highlight of this month was dyeing the scales of this PM2. I am very happy with how this turned out. The knife feels very classy and sanding down the scales definitely enhances it. Rank wise, The CruWear PM2 finds a home between the 20CV Bugout and the S30V Military 2. Honestly, if I had dyed the scales before this rotation there is a good chance this PM2 would be Rank #1.

0562TI
This knife... well. Decided to clean up the edge using a 600 grit DMT Fine stone. Admittedly, this went better than expected. It's got that going for it I guess. I figured out what was "off" about this knife... The cut out to disengage the lock is pretty much non-existent. I realized it is way easier to close the knife by PULLING the frame with your index finger as opposed trying to push the frame with your thumb. This knife is officially at the bottom of the list. Let's see how long the 0562TI holds this title.