“Better than the Custom” knives

[Boxer .45]

ESEE goes a long way in terms of what they're capable of, especially for the money. In terms of outdoor knives, there's not much you couldn't accomplish with them.

 

[Boxer .45]

I guess LT Wright is considered production/semi custom. Huge fan of their stuff! Always feels full custom to me.

 

[Banter 247]

I think the fully-contoured scales on the Gemini were seen as a significant upgrade over the slab scales on the original Jasmine.

Certainly possible.

 

[golden_dragon]

I would simply add the ZTs.

 

[sechip]

No midtechs, either?

On occasion, I hear reviewers comment that some knives are better executed by production companies than the customs are. An example is the Kizer Gemini.

“Better” is obviously subjective in many contexts. If we were specifically talking about objective performance, the conversation looks very different. As we’re being subjective, we have to acknowledge matters of individual taste. An individual may be turned off by the gaudiness of a designer’s customs or midtechs, while loving the design changes for production models. They may prefer a blade steel present in a production version that misses a designer’s midtechs or custom offerings. They may prefer a washer or bearing change. Somebody out there may feel that the best Rexford is the 0801 in S110V, based on a preference for that blade steel and muted handle design.

I’m interested in hearing the what and why of these things.

I’ve owned both the Gemini and a Jasmine, no comparison whatsoever, not even close.
As a matter of fact I returned the Gemini!