Criteria for choosing a knife

[Razzy]

Do I want it? -> Yes -> Do I need it? -> No -> Do I still want it? -> Yes -> Is it less than $200? -> Maybe buy it. -> Is it $120 or less? -> Buy It -> Is it on sale and disco'd? -> Buy two. -> Look at all the red and black boxes and remember my hollow justification for having to have each one. -> Think I have a problem but at least it's not a drug problem. -> Think this is how the poor stay poor -> Another knife -> Do I want it?

[PaloArt]

Thin blade stock, thin BTE, good geometry, FRN handle, sub 200 USD price, as simple as possible is what I look for lately. SPY27 UKPK on it`s way and I can`t wait.

[Aladinsane]

Tough to beat a Delica given your criteria. I think it ticks all your boxes. It’s a slicing machine and top 3 design for my taste. I’ve seen someone describe it as the “walk away knife” — if they had to pick one knife to leave the hobby of collecting and I agree. Gun to my head, I have to pick just one knife, it’s the Delica.

Edit: my reading comprehension sucks, I thought a recommendation for a knife fitting that criteria was asked for. That’s what a higher education got me, trying to answer questions I barely skimmed.

My criteria is fairly simple, I like variety. As long as a handle isn’t too cramped I’ll give it a shot. I don’t like the hook on the back of the PM2 and Para 3, it shortens the grip space and doesn’t feel good to me. The aforementioned Delica though tails off and lets my pinky hang out toward the back nice and comfy. Backlocks might be my favorites simply because all the best feeling knives in hand have them. Most of what Seki puts out works to my taste.

I’ve always liked and continue to consider the Delica, but I never really feel the drive to get one. It definitely meets all my criteria, it just doesn’t “speak” to me, if that makes any sense?

I know what you mean about the “walk away knife”. I almost did that a few years ago, and while I ended up keeping 3 Spydercos, I very nearly walked away with only one, the C113 Caly3. Now I have seen the error of my ways and am rebuilding my collection!!

[Aladinsane]

Do I want it? -> Yes -> Do I need it? -> No -> Do I still want it? -> Yes -> Is it less than $200? -> Maybe buy it. -> Is it $120 or less? -> Buy It -> Is it on sale and disco'd? -> Buy two. -> Look at all the red and black boxes and remember my hollow justification for having to have each one. -> Think I have a problem but at least it's not a drug problem. -> Think this is how the poor stay poor -> Another knife -> Do I want it?

Prosess.jpg

Ha! Perfect!!

[Aladinsane]

Thin blade stock, thin BTE, good geometry, FRN handle, sub 200 USD price, as simple as possible is what I look for lately. SPY27 UKPK on it`s way and I can`t wait.

I got a SPY27 UKPK as my first Spyderco purchase since 2013 or 2014! A great choice to get back into the hobby!!

[Naperville]

Does it have a 3.75 to 4.75 inch blade?

Is the steel going to stay razor sharp for 5 minutes of nonstop cutting?

Is the blade profile conducive to slash and thrust movements?

Will the grip prevent takeaways and forward movement toward the blade?

Can I afford it?

[RustyIron]

I was wondering this evening what criteria everyone uses when choosing a new knife? I always find it interesting to hear what makes others tick, so if you are so inclined let's hear your preferences! Here's mine in descending order:

3.25" to 4.25" is my sweet spot.

Spydie Hole or equivalent for opening.

Spydie Hump or pronounced ramp.

Left-handed operation without having to resort to weird contortion antics.

Interesting blade material.

Pretty.

[Catchadroppimgknife]

“ - I don't buy knives as weapons. I buy guns as weapons.”

Vivi has convinced me …. Given the ever rising cost of knives (good ones that is) the price point is getting silly - I’m dedicating my money currently to guns!

The “golden rule” he who has guns and gold [and ammo] Rules!


.


.

[Scandi Grind]

If it is going to be a regular EDC, for me first and formost, it has to have at least 4.5 inches of handle. This is a little silly to be honest because I have very slender, small hands that can easily fit smaller handles, but it kind of bugs me when a handle "just" fits my hand, I like to have some wiggle room.

I am developing a preference for more neutral handles. Although I like almost everything else about the Endura, for how much I had heard in praise of Spyderco ergonomics, I was a little surprised how poorly that knife seemed to fit my hand. Having spent some time designing knife handle shapes for fun, looking back on the Endura I realized that it pretty much breaks every rule I have developed for making handle shapes that feel nice in my hand. Luckily I was able to mod it a bit with a dremel and significantly improve the feel in hand. In the end, being a pocket knife, perfect ergos are not a must for me, but it will guide my decision making a bit more in the future probably.

I am not a snob about handle material, although I don't always like everyones plastic, and I am averse to rubber. I like G-10, FRN, and actually wish there was more aluminum to go around... Yeah, I know, weird, but I actually like aluminum as long as the handle is shaped reasonably well.

I don't like heavy knives as much as light ones, but nowadays that probably doesn't play too much into my decision.

I have not yet owned a ball bearing pivot, but those make me slightly nervous when thinking about using a knife outdoors and imagining little bits of dust and what have you getting all into the little voids between the bearings. I'm not sure if that would stop me from getting a knife I like otherwise though.

For practical knives, no serrations, no Tantos, and deffinitely no partially serrated Tantos! That is what my previous EDC was and it worked pretty badly for me. As long as it is a plain edge, I am not too picky about shape assuming the geometry isn't abysmal and it doesn't have the thickness of bullet proof armor, since I have never had to stop a bullet with my knife before.

I am not picky about locks, I like the security of back locks, but liked the deployment of my old liner lock. I'm sure I would like a comp lock, and I think would like the CBBL, but I haven't gotten to try one yet to know for sure.

I want high quality steel, but I am not a seeker of high end steel. 1095 with a fair heat treat, I'll take it. 420HC, sure. I just like easy to shapen steel with fair toughness. Maybe I'll try S30v one day, which isn't even considered much more that run of the mill these days, but I don't know that I will ever prefer higher end steel for any reason. I also have a bit of a romance with non-stainless steels and enjoy a good patina, however, when it comes to folders, I don't feel as strongly about high carbon steel as I do on fixed blades.

So for me, handle shape and size is most important, then I suppose geometry. As long as the rest of the knife basically does it's job, then I am usually not that picky. What is ironic about saying I am not picky though, is that I find very few knives that I think deffinitely meet all of my requirements. There are quite a few that get about 85% there though.

[Fastidiotus]

Prosess.jpg

Hahaha thank you Razzy. Seeing my flawed logic as spread sheet makes me feel like it's not flawed at all and is actually a great business model or retirement plan.

[Razzy]

Prosess.jpg

Hahaha thank you Razzy. Seeing my flawed logic as spread sheet makes me feel like it's not flawed at all and is actually a great business model or retirement plan.

Haha, you go, man! I just took a few minutes to try out an online drawing program, all in good spirit. For myself I don't even have a process. It's just pure impulse at this point

[Flash]

My one and only criteria is must not be a Falkniven.

I’ve owned about a dozen of over the years. Couldn’t take to any of them and end up selling them all at a big loss.
My last and final one was an F1 Elmax that was not heat treated properly. Edge folded feather sticking a straight grain piece of birch wood - absolute junk!

Might as well cut myself out as the middle man and leave them well alone. Wouldn’t touch another with a ten foot barge pole.

[Flash]

I just thought maybe not the only.

Serrations aren’t my thing either. Good on bread, not good on the stones.

[Evil D]

This is a rabbit hole topic for me. I have some pretty rigid preferences, but I'm also willing to overlook some things I dislike for the right knife.

Ergonomics are a dominant factory in my decision making.

1. I prefer a handle design that doesn't use grooves, or at the very least only uses one groove for the index finger. I find most knives with handle grooves don't fit my finger width, and my fingers land on the points. In a perfect world where every design did fit my fingers, this would be a different situation entirely. Example, the Autonomy 1 is all finger grooves but it fits my fingers and I absolutely love it.

2. I only want finger choils on knives that are too small for the handle to provide a 4 finger grip on its own. Example, a Native 5. Some designs seem to me that the finger choil is naturally part of the intended grip position, while other larger models the choil feels like an afterthought. If the grip is long enough for a full grip, get rid of the choil and give me more cutting edge. I don't have a need to choke up or change grips, just make the handle comfortable and neutral.

3. I want all the cutting edge I can possibly get for the handle size. This ties in with avoiding finger choils when I can, but I also like to see the edge dang near sticking out of the end of the handle when closed. Maximize the overall package. This isn't really as much about handle to blade ratios, it's more that I want "the biggest small knife" that I can get. I don't want a handle that's way bigger than my hand just to get the amount of cutting edge that I like, so the smaller the handle can be while also making the edge as long as possible is ideal for me. This makes the closed size in your pocket smaller, it cuts down on overall weight, it's just all wins for me.

4. I want the edge to come back all the way to the handle without any "sharpening choils". I don't care to scratch up a plunge line during sharpening, I don't need a dead spot in my edge for material to snag in. For me this is all negatives with zero advantages in my uses. I have broke this rule for models that I really like though. I wish companies would start making their sharpening choil one big single serration so that material still gets cut there, and then whatever people are gaining from having a choil is still there.

5. I want a design to be hard use capable while still being a reasonably good slicer. I relate this to those off-road Porsches they're building these days. Build it bomb proof but remember that it still needs to perform well as a cutting tool.

6. I'd like a lock design that doesn't get in the way if use. This means there's no chance of accidental unlocks, no hot spots when using it hard, and doesn't alter the ergonomics in a significant way. I like when it's fidget friendly but I'll sacrifice that for better ergonomics when I can. I have a love/hate relationship with the Compression Lock because it's a great lock but causes hot spots when I use them hard. By comparison I don't have this issue with back locks or liner/frame locks. In a perfect world, every knife I own would be an automatic and use the Plunge Lock.

7. Not necessarily a major criteria but I like handle designs that can be modified if I feel the need to. This means if I can reshape the G10 scales and change things like finger groove spacing without grinding into the steel liners, that would be ideal. A lot of new models seem to have less liners and allow for "skinny mod" scales, and while I don't care for those skinny scales it's the same idea. An example here is the Yojimbo 2, where the finger grooves don't fit my hand but I'm able to tweak the scales and make the grip fit my hand better.

8. I like blade shapes that have less belly. This is another rule I've broke, and in fact a model I'm currently debating on has a lot of belly, but generally I prefer something like a Bodacious, Manix 2, Endura etc that are nearly a straight edge but have just enough belly to be more versatile.

9. I like when the blade point is low in relation to the handle, aka a negative blade angle. This just works better for most of my uses. But, also one I've broke a lot lately.

10. I like steel choices, but they don't ruin a design for me. As the saying goes "the dress doesn't make the woman, the woman makes the dress", you could have a really great steel but if the knife design is terrible, you have a terrible knife. Or, you can have a fantastic design that has a low end steel, to me it's still a great knife. I guess this just means I prioritize things like ergonomics over steel type. You could put the best steels in a wonky gas station knife and it's still a wonky gas station knife. There are lots of examples like this in life...a great engine in a terrible car is still a terrible car, the best leather won't make a pair of boots more comfortable if they're a size too small.

11. I used to really prioritize a fast and fluid "draw, open, cut, close, pocket" action, because I used to need my knives in tense situations a lot. I don't do those jobs anymore, but this is still great if I can get it. This is one reason I really like the Plunge Lock and the Autonomy's, the lock doesn't get in the way of ergonomics and it's fast and reliable to use.

I could go on for days but most don't read wordy posts anyway lol.

[Doc Dan]

My criteria:

1] Does it do the job I need it to do?
2] How does it compare to the Delica (if a lock blade) or UKPK (if a slip joint).

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I agree with much of what you all said. I go with:

1 Can I afford it and do I need it?
2 Is it unique or could it be discontinued?
3 Where is it made?
4 Is the blade at least 3 inches or even better, 3.5 to 4 inches, or bigger if allowed?
5 Are the blade steel great and are the handle materials durable and comfortable?
6 Are the designs utilitarian and practical?
7 Would my forum friends and notable knife designers/makers approve?

These and others in no particular order.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Related question for all of you: if you saw a used knife in good or even nearly mint condition that you desired and can afford, but it had the name or initials of some person or company etched or inscribed into it, because the former owner is selling it, would that prevent you from purchasing it or not?

[Tristan_david2001]

If I like it enough and can afford it.. other specific criteria like materials, size, design etc. varies depending on the knife and why I want it. I like small knives, mid size knives, large knives, pocket knives, fixed blades. I get knives sometimes more for their uniqueness and personality and other times more for their utility and function, most times it’s a mix of both. Generally I value good ergonomics and very useful blade shape the most

[Tristan_david2001]

Related question for all of you: if you saw a used knife in good or even nearly mint condition that you desired and can afford, but it had the name or initials of some person or company etched or inscribed into it, because the former owner is selling it, would that prevent you from purchasing it or not?

Depends how much I desired the knife and how much I didn’t like the etch work done to it

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Related question for all of you: if you saw a used knife in good or even nearly mint condition that you desired and can afford, but it had the name or initials of some person or company etched or inscribed into it, because the former owner is selling it, would that prevent you from purchasing it or not?

Depends how much I desired the knife and how much I didn’t like the etch work done to it

Good points. One reason I ask is because on Etsy there are often second hand knives being sold that were groomsman or other gifts that have a name etched or laser cut into the blade. Also knives with some sponsor company name.