Buying knives by the way they look

I have said "Wow that knife looks cool but I wish it had XYZ." BTW how does a fortune tellers license look?
 
When form follows function, then a knife that excels at what it does should also be visually appealing.
 
If you have a good amount of experience with a variety if knives, you can pretty much tell (based on its design) how well a knife will perform. That being said, don't buy ugly knives!
 
for me looks are the priority. I hate to be shallow but I look at knives much like I do women. I must be attracted in both situations for me to keep my interest. I dont care how good of a personality either have if I cant stand looking at them its only a matter of time before their ability to perform is a moot point with me. Now on occasion a good (woman/knife) one will come along that at first does nothing for me but the more I get to know them they start to grow on me and I can appreciate them for what/who they are. But none ever become keepers, lol.

Now in relation only to knives I must say my requirements are very minimal. In most cases when I require a knife a pair of scissors would be completely sufficient for my needs yet I choose a knife due to my fondness for them. So when considering one for EDC my primary motivator will always be looks. The only time performance ever even gets considered is if I decide to test a knife to see if it will do what is claimed to do. This is probably why I am not big into super steels as I literally would never experience the differences between them unless I had to sharpen them.
 
I used to not buy Spydercos because I hated the look of the Spyderhole, then I bought one, then two......then seven. So up to a point I care about looks, but Spyderco has me as a customer. I love Benchmade because I think they balance looks with functionality the best.
 
There are so many quality knives that fit my needs, there is no reason for me to buy a knife that doesn't look good also.
 
I've been interested in buying a few traditional folders. Older and worn but not worn out. After looking at a bunch I've decided I won't buy one with a bale. Hate'em. Don't know why exactly. They just detract from the lines I guess
 
I agree with you Chris I don't have a huge collection but certainly more than I need so if I don't like the look I do not buy.
 
After carrying and using for quite some time I find myself against a long list of criteria for each knife I buy. When I am out browsing the knife world I wont even click in for more info if I am not visually interested. So I guess I can say its looks first, and then I proceed to put it through the ringer to see if it qualifies in all other areas. Im lucky because the function I need in an edc blade results in a variety of awesome looking blades to choose from!!
 
If it's a good knife and looks cool like a Cold Steel Trailmaster then I feel cool carrying it.

If it's a good knife but butt ugly like a BK-9 then it's all for nothing because I won't use it.
 
When buying a pocket knife, I think most people(myself included) are interested visually first (similar to dating, starts visually). At which point us knife nuts will group the appealing knives together then pick em apart to choose the projected favorite.
 
eb1118 said:
I used to not buy Spydercos because I hated the look of the Spyderhole, then I bought one, then two......then seven. So up to a point I care about looks, but Spyderco has me as a customer. I love Benchmade because I think they balance looks with functionality the best.
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PURPLEDC said:
for me looks are the priority. I hate to be shallow but I look at knives much like I do women. I must be attracted in both situations for me to keep my interest. I dont care how good of a personality either have if I cant stand looking at them its only a matter of time before their ability to perform is a moot point with me. Now on occasion a good (woman/knife) one will come along that at first does nothing for me but the more I get to know them they start to grow on me and I can appreciate them for what/who they are. But none ever become keepers, lol.

Now in relation only to knives I must say my requirements are very minimal. In most cases when I require a knife a pair of scissors would be completely sufficient for my needs yet I choose a knife due to my fondness for them. So when considering one for EDC my primary motivator will always be looks. The only time performance ever even gets considered is if I decide to test a knife to see if it will do what is claimed to do. This is probably why I am not big into super steels as I literally would never experience the differences between them unless I had to sharpen them.
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I agree. Spydercos were not palatable to me for a long time. I liked how the manix looked and ended up with 2, and since they have become my favorite brand. I might want to bang another company sometimes, but spyderco is wife material.
 
Since I can't handle all of them or see them in person sometimes I buy on looks, but they have to look functional. I stick to name brands and don't buy junk sometimes I get them and am surprised, William henry makes some great knives handles feel much bigger than the blades just feel great but not big. CRK just don't fit my hand as well feel thin and square sometimes, but are great knives and carry well, Hinderers fit great but I have had quality issues they will not warrantee or hold up well but you can change the look which is cool. Sometimes it is nice to be surprised sometimes it is not but I find I can alwas resell with out loosing much if I don't like it.
 
Both are very important. IMO don't buy it if you won't carry it! I'm just as unlikely to buy an ugly $500 blade as I am a gorgeous $5 one. This of course does assume that material quality and function is related to cost (a generally but not always true idea) but I think the point is clear.
 
I don't like skinny, pointy knives. I like robust knives that look like they can kick, or I should say, cut butt, blade shape with big bellies or tanto, semi serrated which excludes the Leek and most Spydies .
 
ONEEYEDJACK said:
Hello everyone very excellent forum.i have learned a lot.Does anyone here buy knives by the way they look as opposed to the way they perform,now I am talking about quality knives not cheap junk.I find that if a knife does not appeal to me cosmetically I will not buy it,anyone else?
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I like to buy a knife that feels good in my hand, and that is solid, and looks like a good user.
 
I agree that there are plenty of knife options out there . . . since that is the case, if a knife is just plain ugly to me, I won't even consider buying it! Now if somebody wants to gift me what I consider an ugly knife, then I'll gladly take it and I won't insult the giver! I prefer to spend the time finding a knife that will perform the duties I need it to but that is visually appealing to me as well.
 
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