choil vs no choil

B

BrandonEDC

Joined
Aug 12, 2014
Messages
190
Specifically on a 5 to 6 inch blade for wood work "survival" bushcrafting... ? Does it affect the lateral strength? What are the pro's and cons? I know a lot of things come down to preference but knowing the pro and con will help me choose a preference lol thank you all for always helping out with great info.
 
They're okay as long as it is big enough to fit your finger. My Esee 4 could easily have too small a choil for some.
L0280859.jpg


I've found them to be worse, or exactly the same as no-choil, comfort wise. I can do the same grips I normally do with our without a choil. If anything, the wrong choil would serve to get in the way.
The plus I see is a nice spot to anchor a finger against.

You can see in my pictures that someone could easily hold it the same without a choil.
L0280853.jpg


In fact this picture shows that if my Esee 4's choil is actually in the way; if it wasn't there I could hold it pencil style for very precise cuts like I do with my small knives.
L0280863.jpg


So overall:
+ anchor point

- can be not large enough
- gets in the way of some grips
 
On a fixed blade, I can see the use if there's still a good 4+ inches of cutting edge. Otherwise, make the blade shorter. I have choils, especially in folders. A 3.5" blade that has a choil is really a 2.75-3" blade, but that's not how stores or state laws measure them. One knife I'm particularly butthurt over is the Spyderco Schempp Tuff, which would be my end-all go-to done-and-done-for-life knife if it didn't have that stupid choil. The same thing keeps me from enjoying or carrying Striders.
 
Revolverrodger said:
No choil for me for blades under 7-8 inches.
They are useless in shorter blades in my opinion
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree with this ^

It ruins a smaller fixed blade for me, in fact the 2 things that ruin the most important real estate on a sub 8 inch blade are serrations and or a choil.
 
I generally don't care for 'em... just wasted edge in my opinion. I prefer the grind come back as close to the handle as possible so there's no need to "choke up" on the knife. You can use the pinch grip and other styles whether the blade has a choil or not.

But if you like choils and find one that's comfortable for you, by all means use it and enjoy it. I doubt they make a whole lot of difference in the overall strength of the knife - unless it's a really abrupt shape with a sharp inside corner that forms a stress riser... which of course would make it really uncomfortable anyway.
 
Here's how I feel about finger choils.


Knife as delivered:

dEE64TV.jpg



Knife after I made it my own:

hB7EZLH.jpg



But to each there own. ;)



Big Mike
 
james terrio said:
I generally don't care for 'em... just wasted edge in my opinion. I prefer the grind come back as close to the handle as possible so there's no need to "choke up" on the knife. You can use the pinch grip and other styles whether the blade has a choil or not.

But if you like choils and find one that's comfortable for you, by all means use it and enjoy it. I doubt they make a whole lot of difference in the overall strength of the knife - unless it's a really abrupt shape with a sharp inside corner that forms a stress riser... which of course would make it really uncomfortable anyway.
Click to expand...

I would have to disagree. I like choils because they make it easier for you to sharpen the blade all the way back, whereas production knives that don't have them usually come with bevels that terminate in strange ways near the handle, eliminating any advantage of having the edge go back to the handle anyway.

Basically, knives with choils are better:p

Pics for proof!


This


imagejpg2_zps28eb3a30.jpg


VERSUS THIS..... On the ESEE 4 I can choke up on the choil and be right behind a usable part of the edge, whereas with the ZT, I can only be right behind a wonky and unusable part of the edge


imagejpg1_zpsbdc547ee.jpg
 
This is about as good as it gets for me:


 
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I agree with the following statements already posted:

Choils are wasted edge. Just choke up on the blade, you don't need no stinkin' choil.

I would also like to add:

Choils are the flavor of the month. Knife makers put them on because that's what they believe the market wants.
Choil is much less comfortable than the handle, so they are a blister agent if you work for a while, especially for wood working.

I disagree with the idea that choils are useful for longer blades. Gee, you can choke up on a 10" blade and make it a 9" blade. How much difference does that make?
 
I like my RAT 3 but I'd much rather it had an extra 3/4" of edge I instead of that damn choil.
 
On some knives I like choils, on others I prefer to not have them. Depends on the size and configuration of the knife, but I can take them or leave them (choils, that is). Its no biggie.....and certainy not something to get ones panties in a bunch over. Choose your battles.
 
No choil for me. Had a Manix 2 with a 8" OAL and a 2.8" cutting edge. No matter how well the knife is made but that much real estate lost in the pocket. Sorry, only Spyderco Ill be reaching for is a Tenacious (no choil). Oh yeah, lets not get into "its not a choil" debate. For all intensive purposes we are talking about finger choils in common terms so get over it :)
 
cEdge said:
No choil for me. Had a Manix 2 with a 8" OAL and a 2.8" cutting edge. No matter how well the knife is made but that much real estate lost in the pocket. Sorry, only Spyderco Ill be reaching for is a Tenacious (no choil). Oh yeah, lets not get into "its not a choil" debate. For all intensive purposes we are talking about finger choils in common terms so get over it :)
Click to expand...

Many Spyderco knives have superior ergonomics and follow the credo of function over form IMO.
Thats a good thing in my book.
BUT it can make a knife handle seem large for the length of cutting edge available.
I like the look, others dont. Fortunately we dont all use the same knives and all that.
I happen to like the Manix 2 design for the very reason you dont, but thats just me.
How ever, I dont own a Manix and havent handled one for extended lengths of (testing) time.
I can certainly relate to what you say and its food for thought.
 
FTR-14c said:
This is about as good as it gets for me:


Click to expand...

See that's a nice one :thumbup:

I think most fixed blades avoid the issue I posted about by doing what that knife did. In which case, I agree that choils are unnecessary.
I still like my ESEE 4 choil though :p
 
Big Mike said:
Here's how I feel about finger choils.


Knife as delivered:

PIC


Knife after I made it my own:

PIC


But to each there own. ;)



Big Mike
Click to expand...
Wow, you really hate choils!:eek:
Not sure, that I would have done that (in fact I kmow that I wouldnt), but its your knife.
 
A short sharpening choil is a big plus in my book. No need to choke up on a hunting knife... get another knife with a shorter blade, or use an extra knife like a folder...such as a Spyderco Sage series or Caly series 3" or 3.5" blade.
 
I use a small knife (no choil) when hunting and I still choke up on it, in the sense that I place one finger along the spine of the blade all the way out to the point, in order to not poke any organs when skinning. Other fingers remain on handle or dont you define that as choking up on the blade (Im asking, not stating)?
 
Only time I ever even notice if it's choil or no choil is when I notice how much shorter that edge is because of that stupid choil. So no choils for me....although I have a few. For me it's like serrations---not really desirable but in the case of a 'want-it' knife not really a deal breaker.
 
No choil. Used to be my sig line for God's sake.

ESPECIALLY for bushcraft, the most important cutting edge is right in front of the forefinger or guard...why have an empty gap there? Also...knives with guards have them for a reason..but choil lovers always talk about automatically putting a finger in front of it (?)
 
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