"Finger" choils

Hi Sal.

To me, the finger choils are yet another reason why I usually buy Spyderco. The knives feel smaller in the hand (which is good where I live), gives me more control, and just feels better. My three Spydies are the Caly Jr, DragonFly and Nav II. I really really like the deep choil on the Nav.

Guy
 
I prefer the handle for gripping and the blade for cutting. When the blade edge is as close to the handle as possible, greater leverage is the result. A well designed handle gives the most secure grip so the increased leverage can be used to the greatest effectiveness.

So, as you may have guessed, I do not favor finger choils. I would rather have more control and cutting power while gripping the handle.

Just my two cents.
 
For a strictly utility knife, I like finger choils. They work great on the Calypso Jr, for example.

For a that might be used for self-defense purposes, I do not like finger choils. I find that the finger choil disrupts a full hammer grip (works fine for sabre grip, but like many people, I don't find sabre acceptable for self defense) and makes the grip "wobbly". So I like to see knives with defensive uses with no finger choils. Or, one that was designed so that the finger choil helped rather than hindered a full-on hammer grip.

Joe
 
I love 'em.

1. They feel safer to me. To me, it feels less likely that my fingers will slip onto the blade.

2. Easier to close with lockbacks.

3. Grip feels more secure too.

I much prefer a deeper finger choil eg. Native, UKPK though-the Calypso Jr doesn't feel enough. The Cricket could also do with being a touch deeper and I think the Pride would be greatly improved with a deeper finger choil. It's a feature that adds a lot to slipjoints IMHO.

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The Atlantic Salt is perfect wrt the finger choil! :thumbup:
 
I like the finger choils and find that I incorporate it a lot in my own knives. For detail work it is great for the additional choke up. If the handles are long enough to still allow a grip behind the choil too its that much better to me because then you have the best of both types of handles.

STR
 
I like finger choils on smaller knives, because it makes the knife feel bigger. For example, the Delica is too small to fit my hand comfortable, but the Calypso Jr, which is almost exactly the same overall length, fits my hand perfectly. Even the Kopa fits my hand nice.

On a bigger knife like the Military or Manix, I feel that this space would be better used for cutting edge. There's plenty (unless you're Andre the Giant) of grip space on the Military without the choil.
 
I like to be able to get close to the edge for good control of the blade. This can be achieved by way of a finger or good design like the Centofante III and !V. So, I care more for the end (control) than the means.

JD
 
on some knives the handle is not big enough to grip without putting your finger in the choil. The mini-persian and calypso are two knives that I would rather did not have the choil. I do like the choil on the navigator though.
 
Finger choil is a must for me.

I simply don't trust any folders lock 100% and this feature has saved my fingers several times.:thumbup: for finger choils!
 
Planterz said it best...and I agree.

I like finger choils on smaller knives, because it makes the knife feel bigger. For example, the Delica is too small to fit my hand comfortable, but the Calypso Jr, which is almost exactly the same overall length, fits my hand perfectly. Even the Kopa fits my hand nice.

On a bigger knife like the Military or Manix, I feel that this space would be better used for cutting edge. There's plenty (unless you're Andre the Giant) of grip space on the Military without the choil.
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Planterz said:
I like finger choils on smaller knives, because it makes the knife feel bigger. For example, the Delica is too small to fit my hand comfortable, but the Calypso Jr, which is almost exactly the same overall length, fits my hand perfectly. Even the Kopa fits my hand nice.

On a bigger knife like the Military or Manix, I feel that this space would be better used for cutting edge. There's plenty (unless you're Andre the Giant) of grip space on the Military without the choil.
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This pretty much sums up my feelings. On larger fixed blades (>5"), though, a choil comes in handy when "choking up" for detail work, but even with my smallish mitts it's not necessary in large (~4") folders that have a full four-finger handle.
 
I'm a huge proponent of finger choils. On larger knives, choking up for smaller jobs is a big deal to me. I'd rather carry one large knife that is flexible enough to handle both large and small jobs, than have to carry two knives to cover all the bases. The Military is a great example of this philosophy. I can do lots of precision jobs with my Military, that would be either unweildy or even danerous with a more conventional large folder.

On smaller knives, the extra handle gives you the grip of a much larger knife. Never once have I ever wished that my Paramilitary did not have a finger choil. When your smaller bladed knife must be called upon to do a large task, you need all of the grip you can get.
 
I like finger choils veryl well on most folding knives, they maximize the blade to handle ratio, and tend to offer greater versatility and control as far as I'm concerned. The closer I can safely get my hand to the blade, the better control I have of the knife- that's a good thing. It is infact one of the things I appreciate about Spyderco knives.

On a fixed blade my feelings are a little different. I have very much come to favor the straight round grips of most Scandinavian style knives, they're just more comfortable, and offer a broader spectrum of grip styles to fit my needs.

That being said, I realize I'm in a small minority, and almost among a cult following, with my lack of appreciation for choils and guards.

I guess that means there's not much chance of my ever seeing a Spyder Puukko, eh?:D :D

That being said, My Spyderco Perrin was one of the most incredibly comfortable grips I've ever come on a fixed blade, and was also extremely secure, and worked very well for the vast majority of cutting tasks.

I guess maybe ideally one could split the difference with a fairly subtle choil on a fixed blade design.
 
I like the finger choils for the reasons you mentioned Sal. They really add to the useability of smaller blades.
 
Love 'em on the smaller knives, a MeerKat wouldn't work without it. I find them acceptable for the mid-size Native, although the Delica works better for me (without choil). I carry larger knives to get more cutting edge, so I would just as soon see any finger choil on those incorporated into the handle design rather than the blade. I still have (although I never carry it) an old Lakota Lil' Hawk I bought for a heavy work knife a LONG time ago. A huge, heavy beast of a knife...with 3/16" more cutting edge than my Delica4. It has a finger choil (not as comfy as a Spydie) that allows a choke up grip, as well as a thumb ramp on the spine. It took a couple of weeks of everyday carry to decide I could carry a fair sized FB and a smaller folder for fine work easier than lugging around that thing. It was just too much mass for the amount of edge it provided (which is, ultimately, what I carry a knife for - the cutting edge)
 
The finger choil makes the blade feel like a natural extension of your hand. When your index finger is right on the blade you have superb control and tactile feedback that you don't get when all your fingers on on the handle away from the blade.

The choil feels natural and its one of the features I appreciate most on Spyderco knives.
 
Sal,

I love them. I intentionally design my work around them.

Having said that: I think the finger choil is a result of deep/long front index guards. By necessity, these will push the grip farther back. This makes you give up control of the blade close to the edge.

By adding a finger choil, you put your index right up against the start of the edge, increasing control and dexterity because of the shorter fulcrum.

Some people don't like how you give up edge for the choil. Your blade may be 4" long, but you have only 3" of edge. My response: (a) for the majority of my cutting tasks, 3" is sufficient and (b) I prefer a longer, wider, more ergonomic full-grip handle anyhow, so it will hide a longer blade.

But knives with no guards or negative sloping guards (i.e. puukkos) put your index finger very close to the start of the edge. This obviates the need for a finger choil.

-j
 
Finger choils add a whole new level of control and comfort to the blade in my opinion.
Huge fan of the choil on the Buck/Strider 882BKX, its LARGE!
 
I love them on certain knives. The ukpk may be the perfect example of the Finger choil. Safe, makes more room on a small handle, adds a slight guard. I have big hands, but do not often need a 4" blade, even though I need a pretty big handle. The Big/little knives are ont thing that really attracts me to spyderco.
 
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