Intentional minor details that bugged you ?

[Hickory n steel]

Are there any minor details or features you can think of that you didn't notice before buying a knife which bugged you after receiving the knife and noticing them ?

For me there are really only 2 that I can think of, and they're aspects of a couple Case models that others either outright like or just don't care about.

1st is the unconventionally shaped pen blade on the current Case 032 Texas jack, I found it unsightly and had to modify it.

2nd is the pen blade on the current Case Barlow , the shape is perfect but I found it oversized.

It's a little large overall but mostly just too long by about 1/4", and I like my secondary blades to be a good deal smaller than my main blades.
I couldn't live with it and modified both mine into sheeps foot & coping blades.

 

[afishhunter]

IMHO a Sheepsfoot or coping blade makes more sense than a "baby spear point".

 

[Hickory n steel]

I like pen blades enough to leave a good well executed example alone, but would take a straight edge secondary 9/10 if I had the option.
None of my favorite Case knives offer a straight edge secondary, actually the only knives I have with a straight edge secondary from the factory are my Buck 305's.
If a sheeps foot or coping secondary was mandatory for me I'd have no current offerings to choose from.

 

[black mamba]

I have modified a good many blades, mostly pens into copings. Another thing that bothers me is a clip blade with a too tight belly radius all at the end of the blade. I much prefer a gradual belly around half the length of the blade. I just recently bought this MBK Valar off the exchange and found the belly too tight and reground it as shown below. Much better now.

Original

As reground

 

[Hickory n steel]

I have modified a good many blades, mostly pens into copings. Another thing that bothers me is a clip blade with a too tight belly radius all at the end of the blade. I much prefer a gradual belly around half the length of the blade. I just recently bought this MBK Valar off the exchange and found the belly too tight and reground it as shown below. Much better now.

Original

As reground

I don't think it looked bad before, but you definitely get a pointer tip and better cutting in general the way you reground it.

 

[Hickory n steel]

This reminds me of another thing, that nail nick position is something I can't stand.
It makes the blade look like it has a sharp peak on the spine and completely ruins the looks of every clip point blade in my eyes.
I know it means a nail nick that's easy to acess, and I know that I am the only person to ever have this complaint, but it is something I'll never be able to get past.

There was a time as a teenager when I started to hate traditional knives because the clip blades didn't look like a Buck 110.
I later realized the problem was that 98% of my exposure to traditional knives was from the cutlery corner TV show and most of the clip blades on those frost cutlery knives have this nail nick position.
I believe it was the Imperial Barlow that got me really started down the path of traditional knives that showed me that other clip blades beyond the Buck 110 can look good.

 

[hsherzfeld]

I've discovered that I like my secondary blades to have good distal taper (the thickness of the spine tapering toward the tip of the blade). The small blade on a 91mm SAK is my benchmark for distal taper on pen blades: the spine tapers all the way from the base to the tip without being parallel at any point. I also like the secondary blade to be substantially thinner than the main blade at all points, from the tang to the tip. Again, Victorinox does this perfectly on their 91mm SAKs, but Case's Barlows are the exact opposite. The pen blade's tang is just as thick as the main blade.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I've discovered that I like my secondary blades to have good distal taper (the thickness of the spine tapering toward the tip of the blade). The small blade on a 91mm SAK is my benchmark for distal taper on pen blades: the spine tapers all the way from the base to the tip without being parallel at any point. I also like the secondary blade to be substantially thinner than the main blade at all points, from the tang to the tip. Again, Victorinox does this perfectly on their 91mm SAKs, but Case's Barlows are the exact opposite. The pen blade's tang is just as thick as the main blade.

I've never really thought about this, but I'm sure I've noticed the difference.
My biggest thing is just wanting the secondary blade to be smaller but I do really like small thin blades.

 

[black mamba]

Complete opposite for me on the nick position, the "centered under the peak" is my favorite for a plain nail nick. To me the best looking is a long pull behind the swedge.

This S&M also has the interesting and useful pen clip for the third blade. Has anyone besides Queen/S&M used this blade?

 

[JM2]

I had an 032 Jack for a while and the pen blade was not sized correctly. It was a pen blade out of a full sized jack, but the main blade was in my opinion a touch small for the frame. I actually lost that one when my house burnt 10 years ago.

The Case Jumbo Stockman, 6375, I originally didn't like the positioning of the nail knick on the main blade, but I have since grown to like it. I don't think it looks unsightly at all now.

I didn't like the hump on the back of this Buck 135.

This OT 143OT looks a lot better to my eye after adding a choil.

This is my favorite knife, but I do not care for the shape of the choil. It should be round and not square, and it should be less tall than it is. I've considered turning it into a round choil... but I haven't taken the plunge yet.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I didn't like the hump on the back of this Buck 135.

That looks so much better now.

 

[JM2]

That looks so much better now.

Thank you kindly.

 

[ShaiHulud]

I use to be severely bugged by stains and discolorations, blotches, scrapes and scratches, now I don't care. Should a new knife arrive like that? No but I know the reality of returning things, they'll put it right back where they got it and sell it to someone else and give me the next one underneath, so it really doesn't matter [to me] anymore

 

[jdswitters]

Double nail nicks on one blade.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Double nail nicks on one blade.

oh that's definitely one I don't like, but thankfully it's not very common.

 

[black mamba]

Nail nicks inside the swedge. It lessens the gripping surface and doesn't look right, either. The nick should be below or behind the swedge.

Not like this:

But like this:

Or like this:

 

[kamagong]

Sunken pins.

 

[Modoc ED]

Sunken pins.

Holy mackerel Christian kamagong ya got that right!!! Sunken pins have spoiled the look of many a GEC knife - errrrrrrrrrrrr, not that that has prevented me from buying GEC.

 

[mrknife]

Holy mackerel Christian kamagong ya got that right!!! Sunken pins have spoiled the look of many a GEC knife - errrrrrrrrrrrr, not that that has prevented me from buying GEC.

and their new etching trend

 

[Hickory n steel]

Mirror polished SS blades are something I don't like, but I can occasionally live with it.