How have your knife tastes changed?

Phil said it well. My tastes have more evolved than changed. I like traditional blades--slipjoints, skinners, hunters, Bowies, khuks, etc.

I am just liking more expensive stuff all the time.

The one other change is my strong attraction to forged blades.
 
I have noticed that I'm gravitating towards smaller knives. I used to favor knives with blades in the 3.5-4.0 inch range. Now I'm carrying a 3 inch long Benchmade 705 and I will occasionally carry a small Spyderco Navigator.
 
When I was a young fella I really liked bowie knives. I didn't own one, but I sure wanted too. Over time I have gone from liking nice stag handled hunting knives and lockback folders, to tactical knives to custom tactical knives, to custom hunters. Recently I decided that I didn't need any more user knives. I have enough users to last me three lifetimes. So I have decided that it is time to start collecting those knives that I have loved since I was a kid. I am now starting to order custom made, forged bowie knives. There are other knives that I love and I will own a Bush by Tai Goo, but for the most part, bowies are going to be the knife that I collect in the future.
 
Originally posted by Runs With Scissors
Had forgotten all about the wood handled, carbon steel slip joints and fixed blades I'd cut my teeth on when I was little.


I'd dusted off my old Chicago Cutlery Stockman my father gave me when I was fifteen, and the Remington Stockman my son teethed on.

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I must be stupid, but I don't get it:confused: Are you saying you chewed on knives as a child??? And your son as well? Sounds dangerous and painful....I just can't picture this:D
 
When I first started collecting knives, I like all those knives which I have not seen before. These days, I am slightly more discerning.

I find myself drawn more and more to knives which are exceptionally well made.

I guess you could say that I am looking for quality products. All this is the result of knowing more about a hobby which I really love.
 
Originally posted by Nugg3t
I must be stupid, but I don't get it:confused: Are you saying you chewed on knives as a child??? And your son as well? Sounds dangerous and painful....I just can't picture this:D
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*L* Well of course I meant it in a literal sense. It's one of the many reasons us Alaskans are so damn tough.... :D

Now to quit BSin' ya' an' be perfectly candid, I meant it in both a literal and figurative sense. My son LITERALLY teethed on an a Remington Stockman my Father in Law had given him (there was no way he could open the blades at the time and he was constantly supervised)

Myself, I tend to recall that I LITERALLY teethed on a two bladed Camillus Trapper.

I meant it in a figurative sense in that they were the very first knives I learned to use, sharpen, oil, and the ones that started my love for sharp pointy things.

The confusion is understood though, sometimes I talk myself in so many circles I even lose my own place...:D
 
Good Evening All-

This is an excellent thread, thanks for starting it! I've watched my tastes and focus change over the years. Here is what I see:

BEFORE:
  • Black "tactical" blades
  • Serrated or combo-edge
  • Automatics (especially Microtechs or Benchmade)
AFTER:
  • Beadblast, double-cut, or satin finish
  • Plain edge
  • Purchase highest-quality with emphasis on manual folders
  • Increasing interest in custom blades
  • Greater interest in fixed blades

~ Blue Jays ~
 
Production knives -> tanto blades -> non tanto blades -> custom knives -> talonite knives -> autos -> talonite custom knives -> production knives again (with so many collaborations + quality materials, "custom" designs & tollerances they are difficult to pass....)....(looking for nice katana now :))

David
 
As I read the threads I find myself nodding in agreement with your posts.
As my taste knives has changed I have also learned what I like and what I don't like.

I discovered that I can never go back to a large folder that does'nt have a pocket-clip, lock, and one-hand-opening. Even my trusty Victorinox Electrician feels like a brick in my pocket when compared to my largest Spyderco (G-10 Police).

I have found that the Leatherman Micra or the Leatherman Squirt are essential EVERYDAY!

And I have also discovered that no matter how many different locking systems I have tried (Liner-lock, Axis-lock, Compression-lock, Phantom lock, BladeLOCK, Rolling lock, ect...) I still like the lock-back the best.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
...more of a focus on small, fixed blades with utility profile. Overall, knife length of seven to eight inches long. Thicker blades and more versatile carry. Knives that look innocuous and non-threatening are more appealing to me now. The more aggressive, the more I would be skeptical to carry it. For what it's worth...
 
I know this is an old thread but it really gave me pause to see that Runs With Scissors is able to put to gather a well thought out question and an intelligent observation of his own maturing taste in edged sharp things!!!! I am so used to seeing some of his postings in Wine&Chease that I tend to forget that there are real people behind the ‘nick’s’…
I find also that I have had some change in taste for sharp things in the last few years of growing older but not growing up … Mostly as a result of realizing that few things will not change….

I felt for many years there were Buck brand knives, made by AL and his kids, and others and now with the advent of china bucks and other world shattering developments that there are also Pumas – very well made; Shearade- which we will miss; tantos by cold steel- unique customs by many talented craftsmen and artisans that like sharp things also…
I even once shared your past thoughts of Balisong, the infamous "Butterfly Knife” of the ‘FarEast’ world were …“cheap crap for show by sis’s”… and now think of them as one of many works of sharp edged art. Though I still have your youthful admiration of the autos!!! I also have the- “can you afford to get caught with it” whispering in the back of my mind….

I find that I also see that the many needs for a ‘sharp’ and/or ‘pointy thing’ are the mother of invention and that in the many ways of meeting those needs and that some have room to include beauty in with the form and function.

I still have some issues with the ‘fantasy’ knives of some of the makers such as G Hibben that have inspired and lead to the proliferation of cheep steel and masses made of ‘knives’ that only get so sharp and then dull up as you attempt to continue to sharpen them … that they now seem pop up every ware one looks…. Tho this is no different then the copies of the ‘folding hunter’ that used to also be every ware!!!

But yet ity is now that many makers are now getting to were they can make a living and not jest a statement in making beautiful yet functional sharp edged things called customs…

Can this be due to the appearances of forums such as this with increasing computer access? we can only wander if blade show's only would have been cause for the grouth we see in the industrey...

Of course being able to rant of our favorite things here and read others rants of their favorite or least favorite things helps to open one’s mind to other possibility’s …

well i must go - what are your thoughts dear next reader? what did you like and now dont or vis versa...
yours dave usn ret
 
glockman99 said:
I used to HATE folders with serrations, but now my FAVORITE folder is my stainless FULLY-SERRATED Spyderco Police model, (and my FULLY-SERRATED Cold Steel Vaquero Grande ain't no slouch, either.:D.).
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LOL, my jaw almost hit the floor when I thought glockman converted from his BM Axis locks to the Spyderco Police model with full serrations, but then I saw the date of the post. :)

My taste in knives is forever changing. Lately I'm starting to lean towards gent folders, rather than tactical. Trying to find a knife that's built well, looks nice, and isn't to big or to small. I may start collecting customs at some point. I think a small Sebenza with wood inlays is on my list of things to get in the future. :)
 
About 5 years ago, I had about 25 Jaguars, Pakistans, Frosts (el cheapos made by Jim Frost's Smokey Mtn Knifeworks and the mainstays of flea markets), and other assorted junk, maybe about three good knives, including a Spencer boat knife, a Schrade cavebear and a Western bowie, all pretty old and worn. After having knives break, bend back on me and basically not perform, I took the plunge, and bought a lot of Cold Steel and CRKT folders. Over the past two years, I've gotten rid of a lot of my CRKT, and just started thinning out my CS collection. While I still like both brands, CRKT and CS are really getting on the fad bandwagon in a lot of their stock, especially CS's sword line, which I unfortunately like a lot :D. I'm pretty much leaving CRKT and CS in the dust, although what I decided to keep of theirs I am very happy with. Somewhat influenced by this site, but really from just using them, I have become a fan of Spyderco and SOG, and really rely on my Delica and Blink. I have bought my second Benchmade, the Apparition, and really like it, although I didn't like the BM Griptilian 550S that I got for a real bargain at a flea market. I have shifted from buying shelf knives to buying only stuff that I will use. I have a nice little collection of slipjoints/stockmans/gentlemans folders/fixeds that I like, and those brands include Kershaw, Gerber, Schrade and Case, with an AG Russell thrown in for good measure. I've just stepped into the multitool market, and I've found that using my SOG Powerlock and Leatherman Juice are a lot easier than dragging out my toolbox and rooting around for tools for little nothing jobs.

The only downside is that I have a knife budget to get at least one $50 knife per month, sometimes I save for two months and get a real good production knife. I'm always hunting for deals, but now, after reading Blade and visiting here, I really want a Strider and a Sebenza! Those are $300 and $400 folders! I'll have to save for about 6 months just to get a Sebenza! Don't even get me started on all of the custom tacticals and damascus knives I've been lusting after! I'll edit this post tomorrow with a list of everything that I have.

I'm not really that bothered parting with all of my knife money come to think of it! I've gone from knife collector to knife user!
 
I started with a Buck 110 as an EDC knife when I was young, followed by a Spyderco Delica later on (the idea of a pocket clip really appealed to me). For a long time, these were my only knives, and the were both users as opposed to collection pieces. The idea of collecting knives didn't occur to me for years.

When I did finally catch the collecting bug, it was due to a quest to find the 'perfect' EDC folder. This search took me through a brief 'tactical' phase, although I could never get enthused over a tanto point on a folding blade. I used to base my purchase decisions on blade and handle ergos + carry comfort only, and at the time I thought that all steels (and handle materials) were more or less created equal. I used to use a ceramic wheel contraption to sharpen my blades, and it worked pretty well for me for a long time. Things really changed for me when I acquired my first set of sharpening stones and began to learn freehand sharpening. I started to take pride in sharpening my blades, and I learned that all steels were in fact NOT created equal. I began to do my research, found Bladeforums, and the rest is history.

For the last few years, I have been interested in fixed blades, particularly those with natural handle materials. I have lost my appetite for tactical knife designs in favour of quality cutters with good steel. And, thanks to the folks here, I have caught the 'modification' bug, such that all of my production knives are starting to look like projects waiting to happen. Incidentally, I've begun to spread my knife enthusiasm around at work (I'm a criminologist); if you listen carefully during break time, you can hear the clicking of folders around my department ;)

Nice thread topic!

Mentor.
 
I've gone from tactical to traditional, from stainless to carbon, from g10 to natural materials. Most recently knives with hamons have taken over.
 
I've gone from the "user" productions (Bucks/Gerbers/Schrade), to production/collaboration (CRKT, Kershaw, Camillus), tactical to currently - Supersteels/usability for EDC'ing - Spyderco/Benchmade in a very general way. Current plan is to buy less but get the ones I know I will be using more often. There is, however, the odd one that catches my eye for the "because" reason.

- gord
 
One of my all time close companions through half my life has always been a Swiss Army Knife. I never leave home without that or my Swiss tool. Two very handy little guys there. I've been a Swiss tool fan ever since it first came out. I paid a premium for this one because I was one of the first guys I know to get one. But it has more than paid for itself.

When I was young I always carried a three blade Case slip joint with the old CV steel blade. I still have a soft spot in my heart for a good high carbon blade of that "blued steel". I love the patina from an old knife that has aged well in someone's pocket but it is even better when it aged in mine.

My personal carry tastes have changed though. I no longer carry slip joints much. I like easy opening one hand knives with good reliable locks. These last few years that has been a Spyderco Delica. But I rotate to others in my collection also.
 
Let's see... for me:
1) I still appreciate an obviously handmade knife. Fred Perrin, Sean Perkins, etc, but I got to briefly own a MT LCC D/A and a Brend-ground Combat Talon II and I have a new appreciation for ultra-precision that used to put me to sleep before (because my experience was picture-based, not 3D kick butt knife based!).
2) I appreciate simple slipjoints more. #1 on my to-get list is a Chris Crawford EDC.
 
I started out with cheap, went to slightly more expensive, and have come back to cheap again. So much of what a knife does depends on the user, and a competent user can use most any knife fairly well. I find the knives I use the most aren't my expensive or fancy ones, just the ones that work well like my moras, my SAKs, and others of similar price point.
 
Before I got "serious" about knives, I'd always thought that Spydercos were overpriced and overrated. They were overpriced, but that was because I used to shop at a mall. And of course, I definitely don't think they're overrated now.

The biggest way my tastes have changed has to do with the fact that I live in Arizona, where autos and balisongs are legal to own and carry. Now, "regular" knives just don't interest me very much anymore.

The change that supprises me is I'm tending to prefer stainless handled balisongs over titanium for flipping. It used to be all about speed, but now I like the smoothness and predictability of the heavy SS. My favorite balisong, the BM43-401 has SS handles. I still prefer Ti for carry (for obvious reasons) though.
 
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