Flow & Design or Fit & Finish or Performance?

Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones

Joined
Oct 28, 2006
Messages
13,363
What’s more important, the flow & design, the fit & finish or the performance of a custom knife?

All are no doubt very important when putting down substantial money to obtain one and the best examples have to have all three to a high degree.

If a custom knife has extraordinary flow & design, pristine fit & finish and I’m drawn to it, I may sacrifice a little performance as the knife will most likely not be called on for such. But this would be a rare case.

I may buy a piece that I was not totally drawn to or didn’t fully appreciated it's flow and design if it were just an outstanding piece from a fit & finish perspective.

However even if it’s a great piece otherwise, if it does not size up to my fit & finish standards then it’s not even considered.

So my priority for selecting a custom knife is Fit & Finish then Flow & Design and then Performance.

What’s yours?
 
I want to say perfomance is always most important in a knife or tool, but in reality most of my collection is just for eye candy. If I felt it couldn't preform when needed then it wouldn't be worth much in my eyes.

Fit and finish, along with flow and design are at the top for me. However, I think that performance and design really go hand in hand.

Edit- Kevin, you mentioned that fit and finish comes before flow and design. Don't you think that with out being visually attracted to a pieces flow and design, you might not pick it up to consider fit and finish?
 
My .02 worth, all three hold equal weight.
The whole package must be there, one element missing means I don't purchase.
 
For users, performance is my number one criteria, then comes fit and finish, and lastly flow and design. For the knives in my collection, fit and finish and flow and design are the most important, but even though the knives in my collection are never going to be used by me, they have to have been made to the same high standards that the maker would put into a user.
 
Flow and design is the most important by far. I'd like to say that performance has to be at a certain level, that there is a minimum threshold, but I really rely on the maker for that. I don't test my blades, especially those I buy for design.
 
Flow and design.
Fit and finish, as long as it isn't out and out terrible isn't such a big factor.
Performance?
It's a knife. It cuts stuff.
It performs.

My favorite for flow and design would have to be Jim Siska.
 
As a maker, when I get a blade done, I must KNOW! and KNOW IN MY HEART that I NAILED that heat treat - or I'm not even interested in finishing the knife.
I'll re-do it until I am certain it will perform before I even consider form, or flow, or fit, or finish, or ANYTHING.
 
Kevin Jones said:
So my priority for selecting a custom knife is Fit & Finish then Flow & Design and then Performance.

What’s yours?
Click to expand...
Kevin,
My preference is for your priorities reversed,I like performance first.
I choose performance first because if not,then why not just buy a wallhanger or a knife with a below optimum steel, heat treatment,blade/edge geometry.The blade/handle shape in addiition to the balance is another aspect I consider in the performance of the knife.
That said,Kevin,I am not saying your selection of performance last is wrong because I've seen most of your knives,Fisk & Dean come to mind and I'm confident the performance is there in spades.So please don't take me the wrong way!

Next,after performance,for me,is flow and design.
The Jason Knight knives that were posted in the not too distant past were very inspired designs and using them for examples,are a style and design I like very much.

Last,but not least by any stretch is fit and finish.The couple of years I've spent here,I've been able to see,handle and acquire some very nice pieces with very good fit and finish.

Different strokes...:)

I am just speaking in terms of forged fixed blades, primarilly,but not exclusively ABS.

Doug
 
Now guys, I'm not saying I will buy an ugly knife just because the guards on straight. :eek: ;) :D

So are you fellows saying as long as the flow & design is there at the glance you will overlook a grind that's off a little or a blade that's off center of the guard a tad or a poor finish on the blade or fittings?

How bad does a defect have to be before the poor fit & finish overrules the great flow & design?

I love to look at a knife closely and see the long hours and exceptional skill the maker invested in getting it so close to perfect.

Now don't get me wrong, I love the design too it's just I can't get there unless the fit & finish is right.

As I said, performance is important too. As I was wiping down the NLT Southwest in my avatar last Saturday afternoon, I thought how I would love to take that baby out and do a MS rope and 2X4 test with it.
I know I could cut and shave with that thing until I couldn't swing it any longer. :thumbup:
 
I'll have to agree that performance is right at the top, and
that Fit, finish, and flow are secondary (but still very important),
But what about Feel..? Ever pick up a good looking piece,
and put it right back down because your hand just didn't
like it..?
 
Feeling is part of flow and design for me. For a user fit, correct HT, flow and design are equal, finish is secondary. Then it all jumps up even again for Lookers. But then I have had several that were intended to be users and have wound up safe queens, and vice versa.
 
Russ Andrews said:
I'll have to agree that performance is right at the top, and
that Fit, finish, and flow are secondary (but still very important),
But what about Feel..? Ever pick up a good looking piece,
and put it right back down because your hand just didn't
like it..?
Click to expand...

Great point Russ. Or picked up one of those pieces you don't want to put down or just from the balance it seems as thought it will cut by itself.

Most makers will agree the performance is most important and that's reflected in how they build their knives even though these safe queens and wall hangers will never be put to the test. That's having pride in your work and yourself.
That's one reason I love these custom knives.
 
Good thread, Kevin. If you're paying a "substantial" price then I think all three should be top notch. I do think that to a certain extent your options overlap on a great knife, but my preference is a using knife, so performance is my first criteria. Design, be it good ergonomics, weight distribution, blade geometry, etc. helps in performance so it's more important than just making a knife look good. I would rate that second. On a high priced knife fit and finish is expected but if price were not a consideration I don't think it makes much of a difference.
 
Fit and finish for me. I tend to have a critical eye when making a purchasing decision and have found that the maker's that exhibit exemplary fit and finish have usually mastered the basics- heat treat, how the knife feels in hand , and performance before moving on to "fit and finish."
For me fit and finish is usually synonymous with basic integrity. A few names that come to mind...John White, Jerry Fisk, Don Hanson, and Tom Overeynder.

Paul
 
There is no escaping the fact that all three elements are vital and intertwined.

Design and flow are the most important factors to me. Fit and finsh are a very close second. On an MS knife, it ranks on the same level with the design and flow, but I will cut a tiny amout of slack on JS piece and a bit more for an apprentice knife.

The performance factor for safe queens lies in the reputation of the maker.

P
 
I cannot separate fit and finish from flow and design. Flow and design are what initially attract me to a piece, and quite often fit and finish are usually apparent in the flow and design. If not immediately apparent, fit and finish must be there or my interest in the piece wanes quickly. As to performance, the makers I collect make knives that, indeed, have no issues with performance. Were I to see a knife that met all other criteria, then performance might just be judged based upon whether it fit nicely into my display cases.
 
I believe that performance should be the primary part of a knife, because what is knife without the ability to cut and hold an edge for at lest a little wile? Or what is a knife that breaks because it is to hard (under normal conditions)? :)

After you have the performance worked out to were you like it, then you can start working with fit and finish, flow and design.:thumbup:

Kyle
 
I apreciate all the aspects but for me it is performance with out a doubt a hard first then if you are putting feeling with flow that would be second. Fit and finish third. Do not get me wrong if a knfe has horrible fit I do not want it and if the finish is a properly done user finish I am fine with that. But for me the heat treat blade style and feel are at the top. Good thread
 
Good thread, I can't imagine a good fighter or combat knife with all the flow and fit and finish if someone had to rely on it and it was pretty canvas without the basics, number one being unquestionable heat treat
Ken
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top