H1 - Atlantic vs. Pacific

A

arijer

Joined
Jul 13, 2009
Messages
745
Hi all,

I got both knives and have been using them off and on for the past week. I cant seem to grasp the atlantic with its straight blade shape. For opening boxes the tip is great. it feels stronger for boxes and such. The pacific seems just a more natural curve for most things that i do, including cutting up stuff in the kitchen, opening envelopes, etc...

What are your thoughts on the two knives, which one do you like more and why? i think i am missing what makes the atlantic a great blade.


thanks for the input.
 
My EDC progression went from the Pacific for 2 years to the Atlantic for 2 years so I've got some time on both too.

I love the Atlantic. The front-heavy blade opens and closes very quickly and the handle is just divine. I think the Pacific is a better design for general use but, as whole, the Atlantic just works for me.
 
In what way does it just work?

Honestly, i am asking because it seems to be a pain in the slicing dept in the kitchen. for opening boxes and such its got a great tip.

the Pacific its just a tad to big, a bit too long of a handle and blade both. The atlantic is a great size. but the straight edge throws me for a loop. any thoughts of the straight edge???? anyone? Bueller? Bueller????
 
The straight edge is excellent for cutting rope. There is less likelihood of the rope slipping off of the curve of the blade. In fact, if you look closely at the Atlantic Salt, the blade itself is offset from the handle. The blade angles down towards the point from the tang. It is difficult to describe but this works similar to a hawkbill or recurve cutting edge, creating a concavity that holds the media to the cutting edge in pulling cuts.

My only dislike with the Atlantic Salt is the finger choil. I always found that it would catch the rope I was cutting. I cut most smaller rope by holding the knife edge up and pulling it through a bight or bend in the rope.

Beside the finger choil the only other issue with the Atlantic is the serrated version does not have a portion of plain edge at the very tip which decreases the usefulness of the sheepsfoot blade for precision cuts.
 
I recently bought the Pacific Salt plain edge. Very large to my surprise but I like it. I already posted some of the uses I accomplished while fishing, so no need to repeat myself. I did read a post on the attributes of the H1 so i will get to the point [pun intended ] :)


I used the Pacific to .............................
cut up blue jeans for rags on the boat. A shorter blade woud'nt done as well.

food prep, bread tomatoes, onions, etc were accomplished better with the longer blade.

choking up on the blade is easy to cut fishing line

the handle provides a good grip and leverage cutting 1/2 inch manila rope

it provides a sense of security being bigger

cutting bait was easy with a long blade, cutting mullet transversely, a smaller blade couldn't do it.

wading is no problem with a "plastic" handle and H1 steel


That's all I can think of now, got to go water the grass.

I will add more later if I think about it. I need an Aqua Salt for the boat I think. :D
 
I've been carrying a PE Pacific for over a year now, and just received a SE Atlantic a couple of days ago. I've been using the Atlantic at work cutting the plastic strapping holding bundles of sheets, and I don't have to worry about puncturing the sheets underneath with a pointed tip. Also, the straight edge doesn't allow the strapping to slip off the blade. Sometimes with the Pacific (PE), the straps would slip off the blade. The Atlantic works very well for this role with its straight-line edge, though not quite as smoothly as my SE Tasman. The SE Atlantic would probably be really smooth-cutting if its serrations were cut a tiny bit shallower.

In terms of the handles, I like both, but the Atlantic's handle is particularly comfortable in-hand. If I have any complaint about it, I agree with Pete 1977 in missing the bit of PE near the tip that most SE blades have, which would help the knife be more versatile for precision cuts. Well, for now I've been carrying both the Pacific and Atlantic, and they seem to complement each other quite well. Plus, they're both good-sized folders but are super-light.
Jim
 
I prefer the Pacific of the two for general outdoor EDC where moisture is a given. Mine's done four aggregate hours of snorkeling in Maui, literally dozens and dozens of man hours fly fishing on local rivers here around Reno and California and I wet wade whenever it's warm enough. I just used it on a rafting trip down the Truckee River near Tahoe and I carry it on golf courses when it's hot and I expect to sweat. And I have never done a thorough cleaning or lube job on it yet in almost 2 years. I dunked it in a sink full of fresh water after the Maui trip is all and all it has to show from all that is the "1" got the rust dust in the H1 blade etching as is normal. All in all, my yellow Pacific PE still looks like new with no TLC given to it whatsoever. All I do is keep her razor sharp ;)
 
Last edited:
arijer said:
In what way does it just work?
Click to expand...

Ergonomically it lines up with my hand/wrist when cutting at or below waist level. The straight blade is like an extension of my fingers (example, pretend your index finger is a knife and cut something, the Atlantic feels like this, more natural to me) and the location of the point gives a different feel of control.

It's not going to work in a slicing role in the kitchen like the Pacific or a regular sweeping edge profile but for more general use I like it better.
 
I've had both & only have the Pacific Salt now. Love it. Mine's a PE yellow handled model. I don't think it's too big, it's a little smaller than the Endura.

I think the ergos are great & the blade shape's very useful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top