Knife changes/wishes

[Psychopomp]

I wish the Buck Vantage line didn't have that silly deep carry pocket clip. It's such a great knife, but the clip is positioned so poorly I just can't bring myself to buy one.

I'd also like to see Spyderco use some colored G-10 other than OD green and digital camo. I'm sure they got a good deal on the materials, so they're using it while they've got it, but they're horrible choices for knife handles if you actually want to find your knife after you've dropped it.

My biggest knife wish? I wish, hope, pray that someday Buck will make a 110 in 1095.

 

[sweet_hitch-hiker]

i wish kershaws didnt come with that bead blasted finish.

 

[FlaMtnBkr]

A chunk just in front of the guard/handle that isn't sharpened, preferably recessed so that you can make a full stroke against a benchstone without rubbing up against a) the handle or b) an unsharpened section of the blade.


Or the Endura, where there's no recessed 'gap', and sharpening 100% of the edge becomes difficult:

I'm not sure exactly what you would call that. The ricasso is the flat unsharpened area and is shown on the endura above. The knife you like just has a dropped down blade and I don't think there is really a term for that. The sharpening choil I mentioned is just a small half circle at the beginning of the cutting edge so that when you sharpen you can get to the whole blade and not run out of room like on the Endura. People seem to either love them or hate them. I will try to think of a knife that has one.

 

[Psychopomp]

I will try to think of a knife that has one.

The main blade on most Victorinox Swiss Army knives have a choil.

Here's a closeup of the choil on a Buck Hartsook.

 

[Dorito Monk]

The sharpening choil I mentioned is just a small half circle at the beginning of the cutting edge so that when you sharpen you can get to the whole blade and not run out of room like on the Endura. People seem to either love them or hate them. I will try to think of a knife that has one.

Like these? These are what I prefer to see on knives:

So the term is 'sharpening choil', not 'ricasso'?

 

[Wildone39]

I wish Victorinox SAKs would put pocket clips on there knives.

 

[Vivi]

I actually prefer the lack of a sharpening choil on Spydercos. Personally I've never had trouble sharpening that part of the edge, and when cutting things they don't slip into the sharpening notch and get hung up like they do on knives that have them.

As for what I'd like to see?

Swamp Warden with no sharpening choil

Scrapyard Mud Puppy in SR101 and no choil, cutting edge going right up to the handle

Military with compression lock and optional tip-up carry

M4 Spyderco Forester with a thicker spine and thinner edge

FFG Aqua Salt

A leatherman pocket sized multitool with corrosion resistance.

 

[Volk]

Just because nobody said it yet, Busse folder.

Also I wish for a functioning Light Saber (What? you weren't as surprised by Busse folder, but we have equal chances of seeing that one as well).

 

[THG]

Have you ever wished you could change one or two things about a knife. Maybe to make it more efficient or just because it would be cool.

I did just that

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=703820

I wish Spyderco would put a ricasso on their blades - it would make sharpening soooooo much easier, imho. Kershaw, too, for that matter could use more ricassos.

You mean sharpening choil. Spydercos all have ricassos (I can't think of one off the top of my head that doesn't).

I mean like this:

I'm not sure what that's called, but it doesn't have a sharpening choil.

As opposed to the Tenacious, where the cutting edge starts virtually at the handle itself:

Or the Endura, where there's no recessed 'gap', and sharpening 100% of the edge becomes difficult:

The edge on both of those knives start at the "ricasso."

So the term is 'sharpening choil', not 'ricasso'?

Ricasso is just the... "base" of the handle that isn't the tang. Not sure how else to describe it.

The Spyderco Spin here has a sharpening choil:

So does the Cold Steel Ti-Lite:

The choil is where they cut out part of the ricasso to make it easier to sharpen.

I actually prefer the lack of a sharpening choil on Spydercos. Personally I've never had trouble sharpening that part of the edge, and when cutting things they don't slip into the sharpening notch and get hung up like they do on knives that have them.

Damn, lucky you. On ALL the Spyderco knives I have ever owned, there is no edge at the ricasso; it's thick(er) metal that hasn't been sharpened to an edge. So when I put the corner of the sharpening stone to the edge of the ricasso, that "raised" portion creates a concavity so that I can't sharpen a section after it. It's a (female dog) to get rid of, too, especially on ZDP-189 (I'm going to have to do this soon because I just got a ZDP knife )

 

[A.L.]

Well, let's just say that there are things I don't like:

Ricasso or finger choil. Why make fingerchoil to "choke up" if the blade could start instantly and you wound't need to choke up? I know that it's for getting closer to tip but I still don't get it.

Another is pivot screws. I don't use folders with pivots anymore, I just prefer slippies without one. No screw, not getting loose.

 

[unit]

Another is pivot screws. I don't use folders with pivots anymore, I just prefer slippies without one. No screw, not getting loose.

If a folder does not have a pivot, how does it fold? Ductile deformation?

Sorry, I could not resist.

Can you clarify what you mean. I am intrigued. Thanks.

 

[A.L.]

If a folder does not have a pivot, how does it fold? Ductile deformation?

Sorry, I could not resist.

Can you clarify what you mean. I am intrigued. Thanks.

My mind wondered, I wrote it a bit wrong way.
What I mean that I don't like folders with screw tightening, where you have ability to adjust the tightness. Although they are good for adjusting, they get loose quite fast for user knives. Im propably at the minority here to think so it seems.

But SAK's for instance, have that solid pin that cannot be adjusted but is "maintenance free".

 

[FlaMtnBkr]

I think he means a knife that is pinned together and doesn't have a screw as the pivot which can come loose.

 

[puukkoman]

Another is pivot screws. I don't use folders with pivots anymore, I just prefer slippies without one. No screw, not getting loose.

I think you mean "no screw, not getting tight again after working loose over time, without the use of a hammer or a vise." Pinned pivots will become loose just as easily (if not more so), and then it's more difficult to tighten them again.

 

[coop1957]

I think you mean "no screw, not getting tight again after working loose over time, without the use of a hammer or a vise." Pinned pivots will become loose just as easily (if not more so), and then it's more difficult to tighten them again.

Really? I have several older Spyderco knives (Delica, Salt1, Centofonte, Native, and Dragon Fly that are pinned and they have not loosened up. I have a newer Delica 4 that I had to use LocTite on the pivot screw because it came loose after about 4 months of edc.
I think that you are mistaken.

 

[unit]

My mind wondered, I wrote it a bit wrong way.
What I mean that I don't like folders with screw tightening, where you have ability to adjust the tightness. Although they are good for adjusting, they get loose quite fast for user knives. Im propably at the minority here to think so it seems.

But SAK's for instance, have that solid pin that cannot be adjusted but is "maintenance free".

Interesting view point. I think you are probably right to think you are in the minority.

Your needs/desires illustrate once again how there is not single perfect/ultimate knife that will be perfect for everyone.

I can appreciate pinned construction as it usually translates to a less expensive package for "disposable" knives. I used to work in hazardous waste remediation. The time, effort, and collateral contamination associated with attempting decontamination for a field knife basically resulted in the S.O.P of getting dedicated blade that never left the site (and eventually became part of the waste stream at close of the work phase or project). Cheap knives were a waste, but a quality, mid-priced, pinned knife worked great and was maintenance free over the duty cycle.

Oops...that was way off topic!

 

[Vivi]

I enjoy my pinned H1 folders for their simplicity, but one my high end knives I admit I like to take them apart to polish the pivot area, do thorough cleanings etc.

Damn, lucky you. On ALL the Spyderco knives I have ever owned, there is no edge at the ricasso; it's thick(er) metal that hasn't been sharpened to an edge. So when I put the corner of the sharpening stone to the edge of the ricasso, that "raised" portion creates a concavity so that I can't sharpen a section after it. It's a (female dog) to get rid of, too, especially on ZDP-189 (I'm going to have to do this soon because I just got a ZDP knife )

I've had some knives that had real bad spots right next to the ricasso. My RAT Izula had an edge right next to the ricasso that actually stuck out about 1.5 mm past the rest of the cutting edge and was completely dull. To fix this I'll take a borwn sharpmaker stone and freehand that area with the corner. If it's a hard, wear resistant steel I'll use my DMT bench stone and do a bunch of strokes with the ricasso touching the side of the stone and grind the edge in there when I go to reprofile the knife.