How long to get the feel for a pattern?

SilverFoxKnows

SilverFoxKnows

Joined
Sep 25, 2002
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How long did you carry a peanut before it didn't seem too small? Did it take a week or a year to figure out that a 4" stockman is too heavy for slacks? Did the SBJ immediately feel right in the hand? How long did you carry a sodbuster before you missed a second blade? Did you notice a difference between CV and Buck's 420HC in the course of an afternoon?

I kept switching EDCs, rotating them every month or so, till I read the peanut challenge. I found a Boker pen at a local smoke shop before I got around to ordering a peanut. I figured the size was the lesson. I backed it up with a SAK camper for a few months. Guess I was worried the little guy would let me down. It never did. I only reached for the SAK when I needed a screwdriver. I didn't need a screwdriver that often and stopped carrying the SAK. By the 8-9 month mark I had pretty much figured out that the tiny pen could do what I really needed it to do but was a little small for my tastes. I finished the year out with it. I think the 6 month mark is about when I have a pretty good idea if a pattern is too heavy, too small, needs an extra blade or has one too many.

I've carried a small stockman long enough to know the pattern works pretty well for my needs. But I'm starting to think a pen in place of a spey would be nice. What's your timeline for getting the feel for a pattern?

Frank
 
ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES. If it is comfortable in my hands all the rest comes easy. If the blades are SHARP the shape of 'em means little.
 
I took the peanut challenge quite by accident.
I got a few knives in a trade, and one of them was a RR peanut.
I dropped it in my pocket, and promptly forgot about it. I even transferred it to the pocket of another pair of pant without realising (I just grab everything out of my pockets and dump it into clean pants before I throw the dirty ones in the laundry)
I found it again while looking for some change. I figured that since I had been carrying it unnoticed for a couple of days, it must have some value based on that alone, so I did a bit of reading...

I decided to give the little knife a real workout, and try to use it for everything I use a knife for, resorting to another knife only if I absolutely had to.
That peanut did everything I asked of it, including breaking down quite a large pile of heavy duty cardboard boxes.
I never did have to resort to another knife.

I'd say my 'conversion' to the pattern took under two weeks, including the days during which I had no idea it was in my pocket.

I continue to carry other knives for 'recreation', but I never go anywhere without a peanut.
I have three more on the way to me this week :)
 
For me, I'd say around a week or so. While the feel in hand is noticeable right away, things like how it carries in different types of clothing and how well it works for a variety of tasks takes a little longer. This also lets me see how the edge retention is on the particular knife.
 
When I open the blade (or blades) and settle the knife in my hand I can tell if it feels right for me. There are many knives both big and small that fit the bill...but ultimately the opening, closing and feel in the hand tells me all I need to know in an instant or two.

(As to which knife to pocket with a given set of clothes or a particular task or destination in mind...well, that's just part of the fun imho.)
 
For me, I know within seconds of holding the new knife. It has to feel right, and that comes very quickly. I have many knives in my collection that I like but they just don't have that perfect fit for me. As far as traditionals are concerned, my scagel fruitport is perfect for me. I knew as soon as it was in my hands that it was perfect for me.
 
Too big, too bulky, to lightweight, shorts, jeans, slacks etc.. sometimes the knife is just too dang cool to worry about all that.

I call that the "Love at first feel" effect.
 
Depends on the pattern. And even the maker. The same pattern, produced by two or more makers, can feel & perform completely differently.

My 'default' is always a large stockman, regardless of what else I might have to choose from. Most of that is due to the larger handle being more comfortable in hand, and the versatility of 3 blade styles in one knife. I didn't reach that conclusion right away, it happened over the course of a few years. I eventually reached a point where I'd automatically put that in my pocket first, and then be a little more choosy about the 'secondary' EDC to go in pocket.

I've also been carrying a No. 8 Opinel lately. That one, I liked almost immediately. Very comfortable in hand, lightweight, and a SUPERB slicer. I love it.
 
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For me, the switch over to a smaller knife was an evolution that took a few years, and was done by notches. I would never have carried a peanut if there was not one sitting right there on top of my dresser. After a life time of carrying a Buck stockman and similar size knives, the downsize was just too great.

But after carrying my dad's knife for a while, then buying a peaut, I'd carry the peanut for abit,m then go back to my regular edc. Not for any reason that the peanut was not enough knife, but my own feelings of it being too small. But little by little, I started carrying it for longer periods of time. The after a year or two of that silly non-sense, I decided to try just walking out the door in the morning with just the peanut in my pocket. Even then, I had a vague feeling of "What the hell am I doing with this mini knife?"

It was an emotional thing. On one hand, intellectually, I knew a 2 inch blade was plenty for a suburban edc. I mean, really, how much real heavy duty cutting is done on construction sites with an inch and a half blade of a Stanley Utility knife?

But on the emotionally fed side, I was used to Buck 301 stockman, Case sodbuster, for my edc. Big change, but I can be a hard head, and stuck to the experiment. After a few months, the peanut felt at home in my pocket, and when I went to carry a larger knife like a sak Tinker or stockman, it felt like a boat anchor in my pocket. In use, the larger knife felt too big, clumsy, while the peanut felt like a trim little exacto knife. It felt precise. Now, I'm fully used to the smaller knife, and doubt I'll ever go back. In fact, I've become so used to the peanut, that I have no desire to carry anything larger or heavier. So far, I've yet to find myself out knifed for the task at hand. If I go camping, I carry a folding saw and/or a light hatchet for woods use.

So, to wrap it up, it took a few months of steady carry, to become totally used to the new knife. I've found it to be soooo liberating. I'm almost a one knife man now. I have a couple of peanuts I use, but no other pattern now.

Carl.
 
Carl, has your peanut conversion spoiled the hobby for you at all?
It seems like we're all searching for the 'perfect knife', which is what keeps us going.
Have you now found yours? Will you still buy other knives? Collect, but stick to collecting only peanuts?
 
It's hard to say how long it takes... Local knife laws restrict blade length to 3 1/2". That's a size that is not too large, but that can be heavy and bulky. Within the first moments of dropping a knife in the pocket I can tell if it's a go or a no go due to size and weight. It takes a couple of days (usually over a weekend, at home) to determine if the rest of the knife functionality is right for my usual tasks.

Some times, however, I change my mind and toss knives that I used to like, or start liking knives I didn't care for. That process can take years...
 
jamesbeat said:
Carl, has your peanut conversion spoiled the hobby for you at all?
It seems like we're all searching for the 'perfect knife', which is what keeps us going.
Have you now found yours? Will you still buy other knives? Collect, but stick to collecting only peanuts?
Click to expand...

I don't know if there is a strait answer to that.

Yes, I have found that my interest in knives is down a great deal. But then I was on a downsize of my life and all the stuff in it before I got where I am now. I found that as I got older, I got way less interested in material things. I had already sold off most of my guns, knives, excess tools, spare vehicles, and stuff. I got to a very pragmatic outlook on things. If I didn't need it on almost a daily basis, I didn't want it around. Both Karen and I took up a very minimalist lifestyle.

As far as my knives went, I finally realized I didn't really need more than a 2 inch blade for day to day use. I think as I progressed through my 60's, I finally learned what my father knew all along; less is more. This played well with my zest for miniaturized stuff from my backpacking/motorcycle/kayak camping.

Now I find that I still like to ogle the knives, but it's like I'm just admiring them like the art works at a museum. I don't have any interest in buying any more knives, I don't want to own anymore knives, and I only want to own what I really can use in my day to day life. No Walter Mitty fantacies allowed. If ever I did buy another knife, it would be most likely some old beat up but still usable pocket knife at a flea market someplace. I'd take it home, clean it up, sharpen it up, and give it another chance at life for a while. But I have this weird feeling of total contentment in what I have. It's enough to go the rest of my life with. If Granny Gatewood could go the length of the A.T. with a penknife as her cutting tool, what more do I need? If I go camping, I'll have something heavier along, but for day to day, I'm there. After a long strange trip, I've found the knife I'm comfortable carrying for the rest of my life. When I look back on my knife affliction, it's like I was suffering some kind of weird temporary insaninty. All those knives I bought, I ended up selling and giving away when they became excess stuff in my life. Now with just a couple of knives in the drawer, I'm actually happy. In fact, this is the only forum I bother to get on the internet anymore, and it's mostly because of the great people here that I've become used to thinking of as a sort of extended E-family.

Carl.
 
I hate to sound negative, but it's much easier to tell right away if one is wrong for you. But, if you pick one up and it feels alright, then time and use will weed out the contenders. I've had knives I bought on a whim, and after using them a while they grew on me to where I was surprised I liked them so much. Very rarely have I picked one up and instantly knew it was perfect . . . just two or three times in hundreds of knives.
 
I know most people aren't like me, thankfully:eek::D

...but I have a hard time getting used to carrying anything over 3 1/8" closed. This is nothing new for me, though. Even when I was a kid and "bigger was always better" I rarely pocketed a knife over 3" closed, mostly 2 5/8" to 2 7/8" in fact:o

Even when I'm deer hunting I tend to go on the smaller side rather than the larger side. For example I used to use a Buck 112 all the time for field dressing when most everyone else used a 110...
 
I know immediately if I like a pattern

How does it feel in my hand?
It heft and shape and how it sits in my hand
The blades open and their lenght in balance to the handle size

So my Queen 4" half congress with a single spring was perfect, but the full congress was too heavy and thick.
My tiny 3" toothpick with the long curved handle sat so well in my hand for a little blade, but the peanut was too short
My Queen Dan Burke half whittler with the wharnie blade is fine as a small knife because I draw the point back to cut

So it depends of many factors...
 
Jackknife, I applaud and envy your place in life where a minimalist lifestyle reigns. At closing in on 49 years old, I am struggling with my own demons in that regard. My "fronteirsman soul" in having a few basic possesions to get the job done is clashing with my expendable income in financing my lust for sharp things right now.
I swap knives in my pocket like I change socks! I'm still looking for that "perfect" companion. I believe it takes me about a week to weed out the stuff that does not work for me. I just don't have the sense to not keep it!
 
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