How to hold a Strider SnG?

Hairlesstwinkie

Hairlesstwinkie

Joined
Feb 4, 2013
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So I just got a Strider Sng LEGO in a trade and I've never owned a Strider. So far its different, I'm kinda confused about the way to hold the knife. So far the only comfortable grip I can get is the choking up on the choil and reverse grip. Using the primary finger groove will just have that really weird hot spot from corner where the middle screw goes as well as the flatness on the spine of the handle. Is it designed to just be used in the choked up position? I have a medium sized hand.
 
Yes, choked up. You can hold back on it but to me it's more ergonomic choking up so your pointer finger is on the blade steel.
 
Why I don't have a strider. Among other reasons. Different strokes as they say. Let us know if you get use to it.
 
I always wondered why Strider designed it like they did :rolleyes:
 
Trade it for a SJ75 if you want Strider :-). The ergos seem much better for what it's worth.
 
You hold it any way you want that works for you. Finger choils are for choking up. Plenty of knives do that.

They designed it for field use and rough cutting, wearing gloves in an abusive environment. Choils give a finer control when needed. I don't choke up on it when cutting strapping or heavy cardboard. When chopping, you hold the butt by pinching it with the thumb and index finger to swing it, same method as used on any other knife.

Striders aren't different in that regard, there are appropriate ways to hold knives depending on what you are doing. Striders aren't pretty pocket knives you pull out to impress others on the golf course. They are working blades for jobs that aren't done in polo shirts around the mall.
 
tirod3 said:
Striders aren't pretty pocket knives you pull out to impress others on the golf course. They are working blades for jobs that aren't done in polo shirts around the mall.
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That presupposes that the only folks using them are the kind of people that Mick the lying douche claimed he was, which is silly. In reality they're tacticool grown-up mall ninja styled knives that on average probably don't see any tougher use than the average SAK. I bet someone wearing a polo shirt is carrying one in a mall right now.
 
evilgreg... Gotta admit that was funny.

I've noticed that with any knife holding it in use is very different than just holding it. Go out in the yard and USE it. Cut in several different ways. Sharpen a pencil/stick. Notch a piece of wood. Slice some plastic. Cut some rope, ect... Think less about the knife and more about the task. I've been really surprised over the years in the difference of handle comfort between sitting there squeezing a handle and actually using the knife. One of the best aspects of the SnGs handle is that it does not require squeezing the knife very hard at all. My fingers just need to apply the right pressure in different places depending upon the cutting task.
 
tirod3 said:
You hold it any way you want that works for you. Finger choils are for choking up. Plenty of knives do that.

They designed it for field use and rough cutting, wearing gloves in an abusive environment. Choils give a finer control when needed. I don't choke up on it when cutting strapping or heavy cardboard. When chopping, you hold the butt by pinching it with the thumb and index finger to swing it, same method as used on any other knife.

Striders aren't different in that regard, there are appropriate ways to hold knives depending on what you are doing. Striders aren't pretty pocket knives you pull out to impress others on the golf course. They are working blades for jobs that aren't done in polo shirts around the mall.
Click to expand...

If it's a knife designed to be used with gloves then it's stupid to ignore the users who don't wear gloves. Compared to the XM-18 which is comfortable with or without gloves, the Strider handle is... odd... to put it delicately.

For the chopping grip that you describe I can see, but I don't get why the back isn't contoured still. Having that part angled or flat doesn't help the chopping motion.

The handle on it just confuses me, I love the blade and the choil, but the latter half is just weird... I probably won't keep it long if it doesn't grow on me. I'll give it another week before I put it on the exchange.
 
I have to agree with you on the odd grip hairlesstwinkie. My SNG doesn't get a ton of carry time because of it. They are still great knives, and I did become accustomed to the grip enouogh to keep it though. I would give it a few weeks if I were you, it may grow on you. And as a guy who has used Strider's warranty service, I can sya it is the best in the biz and that's worth a lot in itself if you like to really push your knives.
 
How a handle fits for someone depends person to person. I just got the SnG and it's got a high level of comfort for me- both using choil and not. I was just thinking this morning how this surprises me, because I usually prefer a thicker handle around the area of my index and middle fingers. YMMV...
 
archieblue said:
evilgreg... Gotta admit that was funny.

I've noticed that with any knife holding it in use is very different than just holding it. Go out in the yard and USE it. Cut in several different ways. Sharpen a pencil/stick. Notch a piece of wood. Slice some plastic. Cut some rope, ect... Think less about the knife and more about the task. I've been really surprised over the years in the difference of handle comfort between sitting there squeezing a handle and actually using the knife. One of the best aspects of the SnGs handle is that it does not require squeezing the knife very hard at all. My fingers just need to apply the right pressure in different places depending upon the cutting task.
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I completely agree with archiblue. I had the same first impression as you when I got my first SnG, but it was through the use and abuse I put it through on my farm that I've come to love it. I carry SnG's and SMF's all the time now..and use the crap out of them. Now they seem completely natural in my hand.

It maybe that Strider knives are like work boots. It's not so much the new boots that need to get broken in, but your feet. But once you're all adjusted, you're comfortable all day in them...

Give it, you, some time..and use. What you primarily use it for will probably be important, too. Not really the best knife for 'delicate' chores...
 
A lot of people, including myself, like the handle on the SNG. It fits my hand well in a variety of different holds. That being said, no handle can fit every hand.
 
To me, the sng would be perfect if the finger grip on the blade was turned into cutting edge. My only gripe w/ the knife is the small cutting edge. The handle itself is plenty big for me, which is why I kind of know the SMF wouldn't suit me either. The handle is larger and the cutting edge is insignificantly bigger. Oh well.
 
Maybe the ergos don't work for you, for me the ergonomics are comfortable in any position, more so than any of my other knives to be honest... And I have a big variety
 
evilgreg said:
In reality they're tacticool grown-up mall ninja styled knives that on average probably don't see any tougher use than the average SAK. I bet someone wearing a polo shirt is carrying one in a mall right now.
Click to expand...

...and you took your factual sampling from? I don't find it tacticool or mall ninja at all. What I do find is a heck of a working knife that I indeed put to hard use regularly. Recently I built a deck and used my SnG to notch out several wet, heavy 2x8's and it worked well. I have some great knives, but putting some of them to the 2x8's wouldn't have made me as comfortable. I use it at work daily to cut zip-ties (something that has deformed many a blade), cardboard, plastic and if I don't have my side cutters or Klein scissors sometimes light gauge wire. Their heat treat seems to be excellent and I've been very pleased with the CPM154. It can be held in a variety of ways making it useful for a lot of tasks.

I'm inclined to believe there aren't a boatload of polo wearing mall ninjas carrying $400 knives. Generally I see SOG, Gerber, Smith & Wesson and the likes.
 
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