is there anything u must have?

[BuffaloBill]

i should elaborate.

Is there any feature you must have on a knife before you even consider buying it?

such as blade steel, handle material, lock type, grind?

personally i pretty much from here on out only buy g-10 handles and full flat grind.

but obviously make exceptions here and there.

[alexcue]

Ok, i prefer knives with Carbon fiber handles. They'll be the first ones i look at, but it's not an absolute, I have all kinds of scale materials, but prefer CF.

[LorenzoL]

CF scales, of course, and now Ti framelocks.
FFG blades, possibly in S90V (who knows, maybe even S110V).
Compression lock is a definite plus, liner lock OK, not so hot on lockbacks.
But hey, as you said, there are always exceptions...

[DMgangl]

Personal preference for me would be,
1.Hawkbill or reverse "S"
2.SE
3.FFG
4.No Liner Lock
5.I only buy Spyderco folders so its not that big of a problem. But no thumb studs.

Those are the main things I consider when looking for a knife.

DM

[Fred Sanford]

Well gosh. I gotta tell ya. I used to say "I will not buy a liner lock because I don't trust them". However, Spyderco made a believer out of me with the Military. With that said.

There really is no "one" feature that I must have to buy a knife.

Recently however, I usually only buy knives that say "Spyderco" or "Emerson" on them. :D

If I can ever afford one........I will buy something from Rick Hinderer. :)

So in short.......if it has a hole in the blade (a perfectly round one) I will buy one. *

*This excludes anything made by Benchmade however. I don't own any and I never will again.

[tkdman41]

An incredibly sharp blade out of the box. If the blade doesn't come sharp its a super disappointment. Spyderco rocks at this.

[ChapmanPreferred]

I like to try new steels and steels that are new to me. I currently prefer thin edges of either full PE or full SE. Right now I am playing with three PE Spyderco's (ZDP Endura 4, Native Lwt, and Native III) that have been reground by Tom Krein. Just opened the package today.

[Lord vader]

Well i wanted my next knife to have carbon fiber handle VG-10 steel and since i am a hawkbill nut, i wan`t to get the superhawk to add to my hawkbill collection.And none of my other knives have a compression lock which i would love to become more familiar with.

[duff72]

it must have a :spyder: on the blade---oh and a spyderhole :D

[MCM]

Prefer CF or Micarta.
3 1/2" - 4" prefered, but am a still sucker for shorties.
My finest folders are all liner locks.
When done correctly, its my favorite lock.
MT Vero beach folders, CR, & others.......
Have about every lock ever used on a folding knife.
Some are ingenious, but in the end it seems the liner locks are
the nicest.

Oh, am also a steel snob...... :D
M2, M4, ZDP 189, S90v.

[spoonrobot]

I no longer buy knives that lack the following two "features":

1. The ability to mount the pocket clip on the left side of the knife.
2. The ability to open the knife easily and comfortably with the left hand.

I strongly prefer knives that have lefty/ambi locks too but since I currently EDC a Schempp Khukri I do waver on that point. :D

[duff72]

prefer tip up -but not a deal breaker

[cdejesus9]

FFG Blade
Lanyard Hole
Tip Up Carry
Preferably G-10 or CF scales
Framelock is nice

[Tank]

The main thing for me is that it needs to be left hand friendly.

[MCM]

5 minutes ago I "had to have" a 2nd S90v Military. :)

Plan to leave un-modified in the box for a back - up.

They are probably going to dry up soon and at the price
I got it for it truly was a "must have".

Did the same thing with a Stretch II.

My favorite two "must have" Spyderco folders.

Am really doing my part for Justin at whitemountainknives@gmail.com
and Sal @ Spyderco lately. :D

Below are several of my "must have" features in a folder.
Liner lock S90v, Tip up carry, polished CF, Big blade, little weight.

(same crappy pic's I have posted a dozen times) :o

[vic]

i love ffg, hollow grind (the higher ground the better), g-10, frn (for lightness), any lock (in a folder) as long as it's strong and reliable.

i like many things

i don't like the look of carbon fiber but if it offers me a weight advantage i will happily take it

i don't like steel handles

the only things i really need in a knife for me to buy/want it, is for it to be full plain edge (unless it's a rescue or dedicated rope cutting knife, in which case fully serrated, NEVER combo edge) and that it has a decent steel (anything but aus6 or worse: i hate aus 6, in my experience it's inadequate)

[vic]

also the option for left handed carry is nice (because i'm left handed)

tip up is nice too

but if all else is good i can make do

[jujigatame]

I know what I like in a knife but don't have a checklist per se that must be satisfied before I'd think of getting a knife. Sometimes it leads to getting a knife I don't keep because it's not right for me. On the other hand, it also leads to pleasant surprises by trying out different things.

[The Deacon]

As a collector, I have purchased quite a few knives I would never even consider carrying. However, for a knife I'm going to carry, a Spyderhole opener and a lefty friendly lock are the two absolute necessities.

For me to carry it often, the lock should be Spyderco's interpretation of the Mar/McBurnette lock and it must have a usable 50/50 choil. For anything larger than my Kiwis, a full flat grind is also a major plus. Not that I'd mind seeing a full flat grind version of the Kiwi. :D I'd be happier if the models I like did not have Boye dents, but aside from the Kiwi I seem to have really bad luck in that regard.

Handle shape is definitely a factor. The two larger knives I like the most, the Stretch and Persian, have handles with a grip area of similar size and shape. So does the Atlantic Salt, another model I sometimes carry. I also have an R2 which I had modfied by STR recently to have that same style grip. I also like a reasonably "efficient" handle. It should be long enough to contain the blade, period. Models with large amount of useless "bubble butt", like the Military and Manix, don't appeal to me.

Handle material is relatively unimportant. I find Spyderco's G-10 slab handles extremely unattractive, but would not let that stop me from buying a knife I really liked. I've found it's one of the easier physical characteristics to change.

Clips are only relevant in that they must be removable. There are some designs I'd love to see done without one, but I'm willing to settle for mounting arrangements that allow the clip to be removed without disfiguring the knife.

Steel is fairly irrelevant to me. I don't need extreme edge holding, I trust that Spyderco will never use junk steel, and, unless it's an attractive pattern of damascus, everything from "surgical stainless" to the latest "super steel" is equally boring to look at.

[bh49]

Probably the only feature which I must have on my EDCs is Spyderhole. I used to have knives with studs, last time I bought one couple years ago and absolutely hated it.
I have preferences to some features, but absence of them will not prevent me buying the knife, if I love overall design.
I prefer knives with 3-3.5" FFG blades, leaf shape, finger choil, tip up carry.