Features You Don't Care For

meako said:
Just to clear up the misuse of the word "fossil" ..if something is fossilised it has been turned to stone or its impression has formed a cast for minerals to replace the original material...so mammoth ivory is really really old but made of ivory not stone...it can have colouration from minerals but its not fossil.
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Well thanks for clearing that up. I wasn't sure what I had ;)
 
A couple that come to mind are the double nail nick (deal breaker on 97 Yellow Rose), shield placement (deal breaker on 93 Ramsfoot), and uneven stag.
 
meako said:
Just to clear up the misuse of the word "fossil" ..if something is fossilised it has been turned to stone or its impression has formed a cast for minerals to replace the original material.
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Thanks for correcting the record, Jon!!
I knew that - I was just seeing if you knew!! ;)
🤣
 
A couple more that came to mind reading these:
All metal covers of any kind
Carbon fiber
Novelty acrylic (I'm looking at you 94/49) or really themed knives of any sort
Upswept blades
And unless we're talking about a lot of increased utility, no third layers.
 
mrknife said:
indeed!

I for one love endcaps on a knife as well. A lot of the points mentioned are also consideration points when I buy a knife, but usually a secondary blade is one of the big hesitations for me as then ill have to decide if i like the knife enough to buy one to delete and one to keep stock. Take the 86s. That is a big knife as it is. Now the secondary blade is so large on that its almost possible to qualify as another full blade. The coping or pen offered on some 86 models are almost bigger than some case main blades. But in the hand, with the main open, holding that knife becomes uncomfortable at least for me. Its a very fun project knife as I have had a few deleted and still working on an 86 build atm.
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I prefer bareheaded jacks, but endcaps are certainly not a deal-breaker.

I don't really have many deal breakers:
blade-wobble
nail-breaking pulls (a knife that hurts to open is just no fun)

BrotherJim said:
Ivory ... pre-ban, post-ban, whatever. None of it is pre-poachers
I don't support the killing of Elephants and other Ivory bearing animals just for the Ivory, especially to make pretty pocket knives
And Ivory covers are not "sheds"
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I agree, but I do make an exception for 100 year old antiques.
waynorth said:
I support the ban on killing elephants, but I've recycled old ivory for handles, and prefer using it, to burying it!!
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I've used recycled piano keys, too. I sometimes wonder though, if I had one of these "guilt free" ivory knives in my pocket and happened to meet an elephant, how awkward would that be? I feel like he'd know somehow.
meako said:
Just to clear up the misuse of the word "fossil" ..if something is fossilised it has been turned to stone or its impression has formed a cast for minerals to replace the original material...so mammoth ivory is really really old but made of ivory not stone...it can have colouration from minerals but its not fossil.
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I get confused sometimes, but I believe "petrified" is the term for a type of fossil in which the object has been replaced by minerals. Other fossils can be preserved in other ways.

At any rate, no one is killing mammoths or mastodons, so I figure that's okay, too.
 
Deal breakers for rhino:

* Only one blade (if it's one blade, I'd rather have a modern folder).
* Main/large blade is a sheep's foot or wharncliff.
* Smaller than 3 inches closed.
 
As others have said, “fat” stag is absolutely a deal-breaker, and and I’m not a fan of overly thick scales of any sort.

I absolutely don’t do ivory. I think it’s beautiful, and I bear no ill will toward those who own ivory knives, but by my way of thinking purchasing even the old stuff keeps the market alive and encourages poaching, so *for me* ivory is a hard no.

No Chinese-made knives. I want to know whomever made my knife was paid a living wage to do so.
 
The only thing I really don’t like are non traditional shields (and weird shields and cartoony shields).

And I don’t really like the hotdog.

Some things I really prefer, match strike pulls, wood or jig bone, etc. but I would rather have no shield than a non-traditional (or hotdog) shield.

I also try to buy USA and European made knives only.
 
Dislike:
Double Pulls.

Under 3.125 ~ 3.25 inch closed.

Super thin mark side to pile side.

For the most part, single blade slipjoints.
I'll make exceptions for special purpose knives such as pruners and Marlin Spikes. (would it killum to put at least a pen or coping blade in them?!?) I prefer at least two different blade profiles, or a blade and a tool.

Hard/Stiff pulls. I don't want or need to fight with my knife to open it, even if my hands arn't wet/cold. As for using a "steel fingernail" or pliers/vice grips to open a blade ... no thanks. Just more to carry.
Besides, I have plenty of knives with a reasonable pull in the patterns I like that I don't need to tote one that needs a tool to open.

Excessive blade play.

Shallow nail nicks. (fortunately I have a faux Dremel and can fix that)
Blade rub that affects the functionality.

Celluloid (Please pardon my language) covers on a new knife.
No excuse for that. Acrylics can look the same and will never outgas.

Mirror polished fingerprint and smudge magnet blades and bolsters.

Gaudy covers.

Oversize shields.

Prefer:
Carbon Steel Blades, with carbon steel backsprings.
Brass, Bronze, Copper, or Steel bolsters.
3.625 ~ 4.625 inch closed for pocket carry.
Thin edges, with an acute edge angle.
The blades can be sharpened in the field with a smooth rock if I misplaced/lost or forgot my sharpening stone.
2 hand opening. No nail nick on blades that can be pinched open.
Something that is unlikely to be confused with/for a "weapon" by Mr. and Ms. Gertrude Mae Publik, and/or the local Constable, or Polly Tishunn.
Depending on the pattern, a shackle for a lanyard.
Durable covers.
 
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Reading this thread made me realize I am really not too picky. The only thing that is a real no go for me is really thick stag where deep slopes are present to make the stag meet the bolsters. To me those examples look amateurish and lazy. It is far better if they had removed more stock from the mating surface for a nice transition to the bolsters. I used to routinely carry multi blade knives but nowadays my tendencies are for single blade with steel preference depending on the season. Winter fall early spring is OK for carbon steel. Summer in NC I favor SS.
Edit, oh, BTW, I hate peanut knives. They are way to small and I have been bitten by them too many times, to me they are useless trinkets.
 
I'm OK with most of the things mentioned here. The only things I am really resistant to is etched blades. I want to be able to use my knife without having to baby someone's logo. I don't collect brightly colored handles on knives, just black, white, grey, brown and tan, but that is just what I collect. I'm not opposed to other people collecting colorful knives, and I enjoy seeing them in other people's collections.

EDiT: Oh! I forgot. Lady's Leg Knives. I'm not fond of kitsch. And I don't like tactical knives that look like a movie prop from some cheesy 90s action movie. A knife is a tool, not a fashion statement. Form follows function.
 
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I didn’t like leg knives until I realized they were bottle openers. If you add a bottle opener to the knife on the left you cannot help that it looks like a leg 7EE99FC4-6A92-4AFF-9991-B843F869A331.jpeg

The only deal breaker for me is celluloid and ivory. I have a common sense and morals. Neither handle material makes sense to me.

Dislikes. Double pulls, matchstrike pulls, bails, hot spots, file work, blade cut outs, poor fit and finish in general.

I’ve also found in general I prefer no more then 2 blades same size is fine but I like them to be different shapes and on the same end
 
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eveled said:
I didn’t like leg knives until I realized they were bottle openers.
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Funny enough I didn't mind the idea of 'em that much until I realized this.
I never really thought about having one, but then I knew I definitely didn't want one.

I suppose I'm a person who probably dislikes a lot if things I just don't realize.
I could only think of a handful of things to list, but theres probably more I'll know when I see 'em.
 
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We all have our preferences that is certain Not all of them can be justified.

When I was very young my father had a cutout of a females leg hanging in his shop. I somehow thought it was naughty. Then i saw him use it to push the material at the table saw.

The leg knives remind me of that. In making it useful it ends up looking kind of like a leg, you might as well make it really look like a leg.
 
I only own a few traditional slipjoints but I do have my preferences.

Things I don't like : Carbon steel, carbon fiber, double nail pulls, dull tips, blade play, cap lifters, polished blades, plastic looks with bright colors.

Things I prefer : Stag, wood and micarta, thin grinds, snappy action, Stockmans and Trappers, made in US or EU.
 
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