Choil (its like banging your head on the wall so that it feels good when you stop)

U

ukknifer

Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Messages
424
Hi
Sorry if you love choils.
Many people say that the choil is good for choking up for control work.
In my opinion, the reason you need to choke up is because the knife is too long because of the choil.
 
I agree, make a knife where the grind of the blade goes right up to the guard/handle and it is just as good as having a choil.
 
If it's a folder, usually I prefer a choil, thanks to the added safety feature. The choil, I feel, saves handle space on a closed knife, and I appreciate it.

Optional choils are cool, and when done well they don't really get in the way at all when not needed, and knives which force a choil grip (think Spyderco Caly3 or Kiwi) are even cooler.
 
Pete1977 said:
:confused:

I don't like them personally. I find for the style of cutting (rope) that I do most often they are a hinderance and borderline unsafe.
Click to expand...

No questions were asked and only a statement was expressed. What more do you expect from: "I don't like choils because they are useless"
 
I can generally do without them on fixed blades. On some folders they work well with the design, but not all.
 
I don't like a choil on the blade. I feel it wastes what could be useful cutting edge. A forefinger choil on the handle though, is a desirable safety feature.
As Pete1977 says, a choil on the blade can interrupt a good cut, depending on the material you're cutting eg rope, cardboard.
And if I need to choke up on the blade I still don't need a choil.
And from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, the cutting edge then becomes relatively short which, in my view tends to make the knife look 'odd' eg the Stryder AR - huge handle, big blade, about 3" of cutting edge. This reduces the 'sweet spot' of the knife to a very short piece of blade.
 
Last edited:
I like´em with and without choil´s .

I will also admit too liking knives in General , there I said it ! :cool:

1234,,,,,:D
 
xtestifyx said:
No questions were asked and only a statement was expressed. What more do you expect from: "I don't like choils because they are useless"
Click to expand...

you don't always need to ask questions, he stated his opinion and feelings on choils. I expected an interesting discussion on the pros and cons of choils, part of the purpose of this forum.

Kaizen1 said:
I can generally do without them on fixed blades. On some folders they work well with the design, but not all.
Click to expand...

I like them on smaller folders like the dragonfly or dodo where they can give a fuller grip on the handle of the knife.

Lazydog1 said:
I don't like a choil on the blade. I feel it wastes what could be useful cutting edge. A forefinger choil on the handle though, is a desirable safety feature.
As Pete1977 says, a choil on the blade can interrupt a good cut, depending on the material you're cutting eg rope, cardboard.
And if I need to choke up on the blade I still don't need a choil.
And from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, the cutting edge then becomes relatively short which, in my view tends to make the knife look 'odd' eg the Stryder AR - huge handle, big blade, about 3" of cutting edge. This reduces the 'sweet spot' of the knife to a very short piece of blade.
Click to expand...

On a cut where you need to use the full length of the blade, say, for instance, cutting a piece of rope with the edge up, I have found the choil to catch, interrupting the cut, or on occasion, causing me to almost lose the knife. (I wear gloves that are often wet or slime covered.) When a cut means the difference between damage to my gear, boat, or fingers or is a life or death situation, I'd prefer to not use a knife with a choil.

1234 said:
I like´em with and without choil´s .

I will also admit too liking knives in General , there I said it ! :cool:

1234,,,,,:D
Click to expand...

we knew it! :D
 
I think choils are mostly made to make the lines groovy. Other than just it's just pretending... in most cases.
 
I don't like the full choil like the Striders but the semi-choil like the Spydercos are fine...
 
Love the look and safety benefit of a choil. Usually when I cut something I dont use the entire length of the blade, so I personally haven't found them to be a hinderance. If there's not going to be a choil, then I want a pronounced guard on the handle (my cqc-14 is a great example of this) so if I stab something with lots if power there's no chance for my hand to slip onto the blade. :eek:
 
I love sharpening choils, since they let me sharpen the whole edge, but otherwise I'm not a fan of choils, either. Aesthetically, they can be nice, but functionally they're generally a hindrance.
 
I don't like choils at all. The grip without the choil leaves the beginning of the blade way far away from the hand, and the grip with the choil is ok. I just like one smooth handle, without the bump of the choil. With any of my folders without choils I am never wishing that they had choils, and you can position your hands in many different areas. I think choils are just a gimmick. On my bark river north star the beginning of the blade is right next to the hand, and it has no choil and I have never cut myself with the knife.
 
I actually really like choils. I find that many knives that don't have them have rather large gaps between the handle and the blade. For folding pocket knives, I really like to have my hand close to the blade, at least on my 3" or less blades. On something like a Spyderco Military, the choil seems kind of wasted. Probably part of the reason why I prefer the BM 710 over the millie.

I do find the choils on say the ESEE series of fixed blades interesting looking, have not handled them, but I would definately like to try one.
 
bobusx said:
I do find the choils on say the ESEE series of fixed blades interesting looking, have not handled them, but I would definately like to try one.
Click to expand...

The "choil" on the ESEE knives is one of the things that ruins them for me. On a fixed blade knife I want to be able to either choke up using a choil, or not have one at all so I don't have to choke up. To have a such a large (not large enough) un-usable space between the edge and the handle is ridiculous to me. YMMV etc.


EDIT:
You can see in the pic that the choil is much too small for my index finger to fit in.
100_1108.jpg
 
Last edited:
This thread could be more interesting with pics illustrating the preferences and objections. At least it'd save a fella the trouble of wasting time looking for a pic of the knives mentioned.

tipoc
 
I don't know if you'd call it a choil or not, I do, but I really like the one of the RAM.

3502363051_5b3a6d8f3f.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top