Choils on Small Knives?

How do you feel about choils on sub 5" knives?

  • Love me some small choil!

    Votes: 13 41.9%

  • I want a full finger choil on these little guys!

    Votes: 5 16.1%

  • Please dear Lord no more choils on little knives!

    Votes: 13 41.9%
  • Total voters
    31
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esdunbar

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Feb 28, 2014
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So I've seen where people want to see a SCABS in Op 2 Weeks. Frankly this makes me wonder, why would anyone want a SCABS over a CABS? Why would someone actually want that small little choil?

I often find myself looking at knives like the GW and AD and dreaming of how great they'd be if they didn't have that danged little choil. On a small knife, I often am using the part of the blade that is closest to the ricaso. The way the talon hole is in combination with the small choil on these blades, I find my hand is simply too far from the part of the blade I often use on a little knife. Plus, I find that whatever I'm cutting often gets hung-up in the choil.

For me, I think any knife under 5" or so shouldn't have a choil at all, and any knife over 5", if it has a choil, it should be big enough to get a finger in there. For example, I use and love the choil on the RMD and TG.

BUT, i realize, I'm not the only guy knife makers have to sell to, so I'm curious, how many people actually like that little choil on knives like the SCABS, AD and GW? and if you like it why? What do you like about it? For me, that danged little choil makes the knife unusable/unbuyable. If it's a thing where it's cheaper to produce with the small choil, I'd happily pay more to get these knives without it. Am I alone?
 
On a small knife I like a small choil for sharpening. The one on my AD is too small to use as a finger choil but bigger than it needs to be for sharpening. That knife was bought with the intent for it to be used as a game dressing knife so the front end is all that will really get used anyway. To my eye, some knives just don't look finished without some type of choil.
 
That's an good point clamp..."bigger than it needs to be."

I don't have any issue with sharpening knives without a choil and I prefer the looks of a knive without them, but I can see where some want them for sharpening. I have a Fallkniven F1 that has a tiny little choil on it and it's never bothered me in use. I'd even be ok with a smaller coil that's less intrusive if I had to compromise.
 
5 votes for loving the small choil. Only clamp said why he likes them. I'm just curious why people like them? and if you like them for sharpening, would you like to see them smaller than they are now?

I'm just really curious why people like them. Trying to understand is all.
 
If I could get my hand closer to the edge for fine work, then without a choil would be ideal. I find that the handle shape near the talon hole often prevents me from getting very close, so I want some sort of choil.

My favorite choil on a small knife is actually the shallow indented choil on my gen1 howling rat (but this works mainly in the absence of a talon hole). In lieu of that style of choil, I do like the small choil on my BA3. A small choil doesn't take up too much of the edge and it allows me to get a fingertip closer to the edge for fine work.

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1. It would match the BGBJ I ordered.
2. For sharpening. I hate recurves at the plunge/ricasso as much as others hate choils!
3. If snagging turns out to be an issue, I'll sharpen the front half of the sharpening choil :)
 
Small choil on less than 6" is good for sharpening and overall aesthetics. Over 6" blade I like a larger choil which allows me to choke up on the blade adding versatility.

With all the talk about choilless knives, Jerry confirmed recently that when offered very few people actually purchased them.
 
esdunbar said:
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Plus, I find that whatever I'm cutting often gets hung-up in the choil.
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For me, this is the most annoying issue with a choil on a smaller blade. To me the bigger the choil the more wasted space there is/loss of edge.

I personally do not need a smail choil for sharpening; with just a little extra effort when sharpening you can have a reasonably even edge right up to where it stops without a choil.
 
Apophis said:
1. It would match the BGBJ I ordered.
2. For sharpening. I hate recurves at the plunge/ricasso as much as others hate choils!
3. If snagging turns out to be an issue, I'll sharpen the front half of the sharpening choil :)
Click to expand...
Apophis, your third sentence hit me like a brick. I love the function of a gut hook on a hunting knife but they are in the worst possible spot for doing other procedures like making the vent cut or making a blind cut on the diaphram. Being located out on the end of the blade, th darn things get caught on stuff. Putting a gut hook back at the choil would be perfect.
 
Give me a full choil or none at all. I don't see how an elf choil helps in sharpening. I can sharpen perfectly fine without it. They are also prone to snags in my experience.
 
A little choil is nice if you like to use round sharpening rods. It's impossible to get the whole edge without one.
 
I love choils like what came with the CABS, CBJ, CB10LE, Muk LE, SAR5, Boom Parang, WTH, Chophouse... oh wait. ;)
If a choil has to be on small user knife, I prefer it to be a HACK choil in place of the talon hole as I'm a fan of INFI/SR101/elmax for the steel it is way more than the trademark, but I'm odd that way.
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On bigger blades I still prefer it without, but can live with it if it looks ok, which it usually does unless ground big enough for a big toe instead of just an index finger to fit in it.
 
Can't remember what thread I saw it in. But Jerry stated something to the effect that, the no-choil sales numbers just don't show that people prefer them,,,
 
I chose no choil. I think a little sharpening choil is ok, but I think Busse's small choil is too big.
 
I'm voting no choil as I fall into that 6% that Jerry said preferred them.
I love my Ratmandu, and the InfiMandu as well but I'd love them even more if the choil were an edge instead. That's the most useful part of a blade that size when I use a knife that isn't a chopper- which is probably why the choil less BossJack that I have has taken over as the favorite of my 8 Busse/Kin knives.

On a bigger blade like the NMSFNO I don't mind it at all, but, could still do without it.

To each their own, I've read great reasons why others prefer them in other threads of this sort.

Choils or not, it's a great time to be into Busse knives.
 
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