-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Finger choils and full flat blades
- Thread starter myplea
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2005
- Messages
- 4,761
Well, Spyderco uses them pretty frequently.
I love both, but especially finger choils. Full flat ground blades are nice too though. Makes me miss my para.
I love both, but especially finger choils. Full flat ground blades are nice too though. Makes me miss my para.
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2005
- Messages
- 3,817
This is my favorite style, but some people concerned about finger choil: placing their finger too close to the cutting edge. For this reason one of my friend prefer Delica4 to Caly3. Some people prefer hollow grind to full flat just because more traditional look, but each type of grind has advantages and disadvantages, all depends on use.
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2005
- Messages
- 4,527
I like full flat ginds but do NOT like choils except on a few models (ex. spyderco Native) where the choil is used to extend the handle for a full 4 finger grip. The common explanation is that a choil allows one to choke up on the blade- to me that is an excuse for a poorly designed handle. Most choils are too small for my fingers to fit in properly and most seem to snag when cutting close to the handle. For the record I prefer a guardless knife where the blade starts right after the handle (not counting combat/ self defence knives)
I realy like the finger coils on smaller folders.
This type of knives you don't use to chop some trees with but you use them for delicate precision work and than the finger coil comes in.
I don't like to hold my mini grip in a reverse grip because my thumb is way to far from the blade. But hey, I also like scandies
This type of knives you don't use to chop some trees with but you use them for delicate precision work and than the finger coil comes in.
I don't like to hold my mini grip in a reverse grip because my thumb is way to far from the blade. But hey, I also like scandies
Full flat blades require a full grind to the top - expensive in a market popularized by the macho looks of saber ground or the custom hollow ground. Actually the less grinding done the cheaper. Check the really inexpensive imports and you will see just the edge ground on a blade with parallel flats, which is about as cheap as you can get.
I no longer see the point of a hollow ground or sabre ground blades "being stronger," as I prefer knives, not prybars. Full flat grinds offer less resistance when cutting, as the material being cut, especially stiffer items like cardboard, will pinch at the grind line and create friction. Full flat grinds do not have a full thickness section to bind. It's a matter of degree, but that's what is discussed here.
Choils take time and effort to put them into the design. They often don't put a finger any closer to the blade than other types which are fully edged right to the grip with almost no relief. Using a choil implies a delicate cutting task requiring precision control, not forceful hacking, so I don't see any danger to a knowledgeable user. The blade does need a sharp tip section to take advantage of it - leaving out thick grinds. Also the inclusion of a choil implies that the loss of an inch or so of edge near the handle will be made up in the ability to do fine cutting tasks, as opposed to wide slicing.
I have a folder with double choils, one on the grip, one on the blade, in a flat ground drop point. This style is often seen in knives marketed to utility and hunting, as the flat grind and choils contribute to small clean cuts, as in dressing out game or woodcraft. It's proving itself capable of a wide variety of cutting tasks - which is what a knife is supposed to do. Along with including useful design features in the S30V blade, as opposed to bling grinds with excess edge or even serrations, this knife is a titanium and G10 framelock which is far more reliable than most linerlocks I've owned. Which is why it's so frequently compared to Chris Reeves' Sebenza - it's a great utility design for EDC. Why some people can't see beyond the name to understand the knife reveals more about them than their objections - full flat grinds are a superior way to make blades, choils are a conscious choice to cut rather than hack and let the guard guide the blade. Both together sell to mature users with experience who choose function over form - which obviously doesn't describe today's knife market.
I no longer see the point of a hollow ground or sabre ground blades "being stronger," as I prefer knives, not prybars. Full flat grinds offer less resistance when cutting, as the material being cut, especially stiffer items like cardboard, will pinch at the grind line and create friction. Full flat grinds do not have a full thickness section to bind. It's a matter of degree, but that's what is discussed here.
Choils take time and effort to put them into the design. They often don't put a finger any closer to the blade than other types which are fully edged right to the grip with almost no relief. Using a choil implies a delicate cutting task requiring precision control, not forceful hacking, so I don't see any danger to a knowledgeable user. The blade does need a sharp tip section to take advantage of it - leaving out thick grinds. Also the inclusion of a choil implies that the loss of an inch or so of edge near the handle will be made up in the ability to do fine cutting tasks, as opposed to wide slicing.
I have a folder with double choils, one on the grip, one on the blade, in a flat ground drop point. This style is often seen in knives marketed to utility and hunting, as the flat grind and choils contribute to small clean cuts, as in dressing out game or woodcraft. It's proving itself capable of a wide variety of cutting tasks - which is what a knife is supposed to do. Along with including useful design features in the S30V blade, as opposed to bling grinds with excess edge or even serrations, this knife is a titanium and G10 framelock which is far more reliable than most linerlocks I've owned. Which is why it's so frequently compared to Chris Reeves' Sebenza - it's a great utility design for EDC. Why some people can't see beyond the name to understand the knife reveals more about them than their objections - full flat grinds are a superior way to make blades, choils are a conscious choice to cut rather than hack and let the guard guide the blade. Both together sell to mature users with experience who choose function over form - which obviously doesn't describe today's knife market.
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2005
- Messages
- 8,161
I am a big fan of flat grinds, many of my spiders and lonewolf's have them. Some knives a choil is nice on others it is just not needed.
gunmike1
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2005
- Messages
- 2,402
I lose maybe a 1/2" of cutting edge on my Manix and R2, and believe me the tips are plenty pointy and sharp to where I use the choil a lot for detail work. For me the tradeoff in cutting edge is well worth it to gain the control you get with the choil.
yablanowitz
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2006
- Messages
- 9,899
In past discussions here and elsewhere, the consensus has been that those features are much less popular with Joe Ordinary than they are with us afi's. Since Joe Ordinary has us out-numbered about a thousand to one, makers have to cater to him if they want to stay in business.
I'm just glad there are a few makers willing to take us into consideration in their model lineups.
I'm just glad there are a few makers willing to take us into consideration in their model lineups.