- Joined
- May 6, 2001
- Messages
- 458
For me, I will have to say it depends on your hand size, and your own tastes. My first "serious" pocketknife was a delica that I bought at Chesapeake knife & tool in 1992. It was a limited run of 500 that had the chesapeake logo engraved into the blade. That was back when the clip was integral with the handle, made of zytel, rather than the bolt-on metal jobbies now, adn the end was rounder. I think it was 440, too, back then.
That knife saw some abuse during my 4 years in the army. It saw some offshore, too, as I recall. It has been thrown into trees, gotten clogged up with sand, and abused in a variety of other ways I won't even go into here, for fear of turning public opinion against me. I was young, I was stupid, and I was hard as hell on my knife. But I still have the knife. The blade's been sharpened down to the point where I had to retire it. The steel's a little gouged towards the point, and it's a little bit looser in the lockup than when I got it, but it's still got the clip on it, and is otherwise in good shape.
When I bought it, my hands were still slightly smaller, and it just felt right for me at the time. The endura's a little bigger, adn handles like a bigger knife. Not too bad, but it's just bigger. Closing it one handed means your hand has to extend a little farther to contact everything, but it's not necessarily awkward. Just bigger. I had one of those for a while, too, while I was in the service. Dumb-ass that I was, I lost it in the field. (ugh) But I also learned to throw that one, and was throwing it into hardwood, but it held up to that abuse as well.
I'll second the opinion of the guy who recommended the native. It's halfway between, with a wider, thicker blade. It's tough as nails. Tougher, probably. And once I realized how it was supposed to be gripped, I realized that it fits the hand better. I haven't thrown it yet, since I've reformed somewhat as I aged, and treat my tools with more respect. The only stipulation I'd add on that knife, adn your buying it is that you only carry it in work pants, or in a sheath. The notches in the back of the blade are great for gripping the thumb, but they tear the hell out of the material in your pants when you draw, and they're starting to work on chewing up the side of my wallet as well. But as I said, they make for an excellent grip, and I know the knife will be with me for far longer than the pants will, even without the wear and tear. That pocket is threadbare at the edge of the pocket anyway, from the clip on any of the various knives in my rotation. BUt I did eventually decide to reserve the knife for only the toughest jobs and for things like camping, which can be hard on a knife... because the native is one of the few that I know will hold up well. So far, I use it mainly for ripping up boxes at work, adn it's done that for a while now, and still feels as sharp as it did when new. Gotta love that 440V.
That knife saw some abuse during my 4 years in the army. It saw some offshore, too, as I recall. It has been thrown into trees, gotten clogged up with sand, and abused in a variety of other ways I won't even go into here, for fear of turning public opinion against me. I was young, I was stupid, and I was hard as hell on my knife. But I still have the knife. The blade's been sharpened down to the point where I had to retire it. The steel's a little gouged towards the point, and it's a little bit looser in the lockup than when I got it, but it's still got the clip on it, and is otherwise in good shape.
When I bought it, my hands were still slightly smaller, and it just felt right for me at the time. The endura's a little bigger, adn handles like a bigger knife. Not too bad, but it's just bigger. Closing it one handed means your hand has to extend a little farther to contact everything, but it's not necessarily awkward. Just bigger. I had one of those for a while, too, while I was in the service. Dumb-ass that I was, I lost it in the field. (ugh) But I also learned to throw that one, and was throwing it into hardwood, but it held up to that abuse as well.
I'll second the opinion of the guy who recommended the native. It's halfway between, with a wider, thicker blade. It's tough as nails. Tougher, probably. And once I realized how it was supposed to be gripped, I realized that it fits the hand better. I haven't thrown it yet, since I've reformed somewhat as I aged, and treat my tools with more respect. The only stipulation I'd add on that knife, adn your buying it is that you only carry it in work pants, or in a sheath. The notches in the back of the blade are great for gripping the thumb, but they tear the hell out of the material in your pants when you draw, and they're starting to work on chewing up the side of my wallet as well. But as I said, they make for an excellent grip, and I know the knife will be with me for far longer than the pants will, even without the wear and tear. That pocket is threadbare at the edge of the pocket anyway, from the clip on any of the various knives in my rotation. BUt I did eventually decide to reserve the knife for only the toughest jobs and for things like camping, which can be hard on a knife... because the native is one of the few that I know will hold up well. So far, I use it mainly for ripping up boxes at work, adn it's done that for a while now, and still feels as sharp as it did when new. Gotta love that 440V.
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