Does anyone else not enjoy palm swells?

[SwissHeritageCo]

Particularly on knife handles that have the area where your pinky rests, being inset. Maybe it's just my hands but I've always preferred blockier handles with more uniform shaping, don't mind if the front of the handle is more narrow, but something about knife handles that have a taper towards the pinky area make my grip feel less secure. Either that or I just have a long pinky finger that doesn't require the taper, but I always end up trying to "grip up" on those types of handles to avoid the taper.

 

[Another Shepherd]

I like a palm swell as long as there are also swells at both ends of the handle. Maybe hand size makes a difference? My hands are medium small.

 

[DocJD]

Not a problem for me , unless the swell is just just too big for my medium hand size .

 

[Tsujigiri]

A palm swell with a tapered pinkie fits the hand more naturally and is more comfortable, but a wider section at the end gives your pinkie more leverage when pushing the blade down or pulling back. I like having both in my collection.

 

[Delgadonine]

My rule:

If my pinky isn't happy, my thumb isn't happy. If my thumb isn't happy, my pinky isn't happy.

Therefore, I avoid unhappy purchases and uses.

The Pinky is far more an indicator on ergos than I ever realized.

YMMV

 

[shinyedges]

We need pics of examples

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

We need pics of examples

Roger that. Will post some shortly.

 

[Ratatoskr]

I divide handle shapes into 'positive', where the shape of the handle favors a single grip that's relatively useful (think Helle), 'neutral', where no grip is forced (like your classic barrel or oval puukko handle), and 'negative', where the shape of the handle forces your hand into an uncomfortable or un-ergonomic grip. I tend to dislike both positive and negative; tapers towards the hilt or big swells are typically negative, for me.

 

[ShaiHulud]

It's like buying new shoes, sometimes hot spots aren't discovered until after you spend some actual time using the item, therefore if there is no hot spots I'll most likely be okay. I don't however like finger slot handles, at all

 

[jbmonkey]

don't hate them if done without a big hump in the middle, but not my favorite. I don't care for split handles with a peak in the middle of the handle. dont know the proper name for it. never seems to fit my hand between my fingers.

 

[NapalmCheese]

Usually, if I'm making a handle for myself, I'm making a pregnant guppy! (as you can see, I'm pro palm swell).

 

[Chronovore]

Like finger grooves, I like them if they fit my hand. Because I usually won't know until I get it in my hand and either returning or selling a fail can be a hassle, I'm more inclined to skip knives with this feature.

 

[jeepin]

I hate them. Busse continues to make their handles like that but it doesn’t feel as good as they think It does.
I wish they would bring back the regular scale option.