Since part of this whole experience was to include my GF, Marney, I had to come up with a way for her to look at some of the other models after she chose the Runt as the one she thought she would EDC. My approach was to ask her which model she though would make a nice 'woods knife'. Something that she would take camping or into the woods with her. We take a handful of camping trips a year, so this made sense to me and she seemed alright with playing along!
Instead of including all 45 to 50 some odd models that I had in my possession, I chipped it down to 10 models that I thought she would like based on some of her previous comments. This group also includes models that
I would consider as great all around, do-it-all knives.
From upper left working down both columns... Bushnub 5/32 TT, Bushnub II 3/32, Handyman 1/8 TT, Hiking Buddy production regrind 1/8, Hiking Buddy 3/32, Warthog 3/32 TT, Kanati 3/32, Minuteman 3/32 TT, Bushboot 3/32, Bushcrafter Jr. 1/8. I included steel thickness and taper just for reference.
I told her to imagine that she would use the knife for various 'woods tasks'; getting wood ready to make a fire, cleaning a fish, cutting cordage, etc. After the first run through she eliminated 4 models, the Bushnub, Handyman, Kanati, and BC Jr. She said that her lack of experience made her a bit uncomfortable with guard-less models so out go the Bushnub and Handyman. She didn't like the blades or the feel of the other two models. I want to add that I had no input on anything, I just laid out the knives and gave her the woods usage idea.
She then went back through the remaining models and gave some more thoughts on them. The production regrind Hiking Buddy won out over the custom HB because of the increased grip and security of the textured canvas handle, she liked that a lot. The Bushboot handle felt good to her, also secure because of the curved handle, but she felt like the other models would be better. So out go those two.
Then I asked her to rank the remaining four models. Initially it seemed like the Bushnub II was going to be the winner, she said she liked how her index finger sat in behind the guard and the handle was comfortable for her. However, after more handling, the other three models ended up getting ranked before the Bushnub II. The Minute Man was the overall winner for her, the handle's deep curves and the guarded blade gave her plenty of security and comfort. Also it's slightly smaller than the other knives and I think she liked that as well. Next up was the production Hiking Buddy, the texture grip was the real winner for that knife. She said she liked that handle the most. The Warthog's strength was the deep finger notch and guard; extra secure! As I said above, the Bushnub II ended up ranking 4th because it felt like it was the least secure for her. She still really liked that model though.
So, my thoughts on her thoughts... I already plan on getting a production Hiking Buddy (hopefully a regrind!) as well as a Warthog from Chris. I'll let her use either one of those, or any of my other models as she likes, and reassess once she gets a little more comfortable with her knife skills. I was impressed that she came to the, personal inexperience = possible need more security, conclusion without any input from me and then used that conclusion to decide which knives would work best for her in that role.
This was a cool experience for me because I got to share one of my hobbies with her and she actually seemed genuinely interested in it! Thank you Jerry, and everyone else, for giving me that opportunity.
