Ever get a good knife that was not right you?

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cmd

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Feb 7, 2004
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There are plenty of discussions about what knives people have that they really like, but I would like to know about knives that are perfectly good but just did not work out for some reason or another.

I have learned a lot about great blades here, but it would be interesting to learn more about ones that were not quite right and why.

For me, it is the Kershaw Chive. It is a great little knive that I bought to check out the new speed safe opening mechanism (very fun) and the black boron coating (very smooth and pretty) and I liked it a lot at first but just stopped carying it after a while. The novelty of it wore off and I found it to be less useful so it was replaced with a Spyderco SS PE Cricket.

The things about the Chive that made it loose favor with me are
* Afraid to use it for moderate or hard tasks - it is a little slippery and the steel is relatively thin, hollow ground 440A.
* Blade size, shape, and grind make it not as versatile as I would like.
* Lockup is not absolutely perfect - yeah, I'm very picky.

So what good knives have you had that were not right for you, and why?
 
I'm gonna get shot for this, but I had original PE Calypso Jr. that I tried my hardest to like but it just never worked for me. The ergonomics just never worked with my hands and the point over the hole would poke my hand whenever I went for my keys. That full flat grind was sure a slicer though.
 
For me it was the Kasper/Polowski (spelling???) series by CRKT.

They seem to be really liked, but I just didn't care for them after carrying them awhile.
 
I have had a few of them Xikar is the first one that come to mind. It was a small one with abolone scales. Just wasnt right, didnt feel right, looked cheap, I returned it.
Also, I got a couple of knifes with Chisel edges, I dont like em. Dont like the edges, The Kiss is an example, it sits in my dresser drawer.
Good knife huntin
Jack
 
I have this happen all the time. I'll buy something (usually on the internet and just never end up using it because it just doesn't suit me for some reason. Sometimes I just give them away, other times I re-Bay them.

Spyderco Ayoob - got the $19.95 deal from SMKW but could never see it seeing daily use so I eBayed it at a nice profit.

Impala - I don't really hunt, so my Endura made it seem redundant.

Kershaw Blur - nice and solid but I often carry IWB up front and the skate tape rubbed me the wrong way. Plus, I'm certain that Speedsafe is going to become dangerous territory here in Michigan.

Kershaw Storm - also nice (and cheap) but most Onion's have too much recurve for me - like having a folding boomerang.

Emerson QC7 - made me decide I wasn't a fan of chisel grind.

Police - too big to see daily carry.

Military - sold it when unemployed and needed money

Stryker - too tactical, made me decide I wasn't a tanto fan.

BM 940 - didn't like the blade, swapped it for a 943

Delica II Full Serrated - made me decide I wasn't a serration fan - my chores didn't benefit from them.

Griptilian - I keep it for the woods but I find it too fat and too agressively textured to carry w/o a sheath - like trying to put a pineapple in your pocket.

BM 710 - too big for day-to-day, downgraded to a 705 in D2. If I know I'll need a big blade I can reach for a fixed blade.


So, I've spent a lot of money, but most of them were re-sold on eBay as 'gently used' or 'sat in a drawer and did nothing'. But, this way I got to "rent" a whole pile of nice products for a relatively small fee.
 
CRKT M-16: The knurling on the thumbstuds/bladestop was too rough and would sometimes snag on the inside of my pocket. My dislike of chisel grinds also started with this knife; it just doesn't work for me.

Combo edge FRN Delica: Everything was great except for the combo edge; not enough of either, IMO. Now all I get are plain edged knives.

Stainless steel handled Delica: The SS handles were too slippery and heavy for a relatively small knife.

Spyderco Harpy: I'm sure this knife has its uses, but I didn't find any. Not a fan of the hawkbill (I think that's what you call it) styled blades.

SOG Seal Pup: Only reason I didn't like it was because it wasn't practical for me to carry. Other than that, it's a very nice, tough knife; wouldn't hurt if the edge were a little thinner though...
 
M16s were never chisel ground. \

Centofante III: Nice knife, nice looks, that's it (nothing special)
BM710: The slight recurve doesn't work for me. (I like full Emerson Commander style or straight)
 
Lone Wolf Loveless City Knife.
A great knife. Excellent fit, finish, and material. It just didn't carry well in my pocket. The handle was just a little too big and it had too many unrounded corners.

Paul
 
So far I have only had one knife that just never sat right with me, and I think it was probably just a bit of bad luck on my part. The knife was/is an Emerson Commander. I really love the design, and feel of the knife in my hand. It works great to, after I removed the chisel edge as I found I don't really like it that much.

My only problem with it was it has fairly large lock issues. When I first got the knife it worked great and locked up really tight. After a small amount of use, and I do mean small (as in about a year of rotation), and NO abuse I got some up and down play. It just got worse and worse, and now I can close the blade as if it has no lock at all. I really think it is a case of one bad knife more than anything else. If I ever have money again I would buy another one ;) :D . Just due to these problems this particular knife is now tainted in my mind, and I don't know if I will be able to really trust it again.
 
M.O.D. "Dieter CQD". Just found it too awkward to open smoothly. Could never figure out why - I have long fingers, big hands, own lots of other big knives. Too bad. :(
 
Benchmades Axis -lock knives. I love the look of the 551, 420, and others. I have a 520 and 5000. The Axis is smooth, easy to use, and made for right or left hand use. I just don't care for them though. :(
 
Recently got the Al Mar Sere 2000. Great knife but way too big for me. :( I like my Mini-Griptillian better. :)
 
Not a particular knife, in general I don´t feel comfortable with knives that have serrations, chisel grinds, recurves or Americanized tanto blades.
 
Don't care for ANY chisel grinds, have sold them all

I haven't yet found a Spyderco that suited me (sorry Sal),, I have to say I am a fan of PE knives and the only Sydies I've handled were serrated.

I have had several customs that I didn't care for, for one reason or another. But I'm open to try most any!

B.G.
 
Two that quickly come to mind are:

Mini CQC-7: I truly wanted to like that knife. It had a very sturdy feel and pretty good ergonomics but I could not get into the chisel grind so I traded it away.

Al Mar Classic Hawk: One would probably have been in my pocket today if it had a pocket clip.
 
I got this totally awexome CRKT Walker Blade Lock 1 w/o serrations about half a year ago. It was good untill I got a BM. The thing about the bladelock was that it was too heavy, the clip was too tight, and the opening was not fast enough should I ever need it for SD. I liked the look of it though.
 
emerson mini-com. I hankered after one for so long, but when I received it, I had to let it go - didn't want to live with the chisel grind and the thick edge.
 
Yes, the stainless scaled Spyderco Police model. It was an excellent folder, but didn't really work out too well for me, as I'm a "lefty", and the pocket clip was on the wrong side, and wasn't drilled & tapped so that the clip could be moved to the correct side.

Same problem with the excellent Spyderco Military model, in that it has a right-handed liner-lock that didn't work very well for me.

On the other hand, all of my Axis-lock Benchmade folders are PERFECT for me.
 
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