Knife design features that you now find unacceptable in new purchases

Most of my cutlery pet peeves have been listed above. One trait I cannot stand, and so far has not been mentioned, is excessive/flashy branding on any knife. I've no qualms about a brand name, maker's mark, logo, etc being stamped onto a ricasso. I don't mind a sensible logo on a pocket clip or sheath. But plastering a logo or name on nearly every facet of a knife/sheath is a major turn off for me.
 
For the most part I rule out:
Thick blade stock
Axis style locks
Deep carry clips that aren't recessed into scale
No clip
No one hand opening
Front flippers
Steel frame locks
Assisted opening
Weak detent
 
Lemme see...

Partial serrations

Most tantos

Overly thick blades on folders

Assisted opening

Overly aggressive G10 (pants cost more than sandpaper)

Traditionals with weak pulls

Almost all choils (a few exceptions work for me)

Most all metal handles

Shallow blade grinds

Most Damascus

“Dangler” sheaths (like mine high and tight - no flopping)

Overly tight kydex (I’ve bought my last sheath from a couple of select makers)

Any knife with a handle less than 4” (tried several times and I just can’t do it. It’s like trying to stuff Shaq in a Smart car)

Most cord wrapped handles

I’m sure I’ll think of more. Some of mine are absolute dealbreakers, but some are not.
 
K.O.D. said:
No:

Thumbstuds
Assisted
Plain Ti, really metal handles in general, except for automatics
"Tactical"
Heavy overbuilt
Thick blades
Framelocks
Black blades
Partial serrations
Tantos

When I was in my 20's, I was all about tactical and assisted. I owned 6 SOGs, two with partial serrations, one with P/S and a tanto, P/S tigerstripe fixed, and one straight edge clip point. 3 were assisted. Two blacked out. I also had a CRKT M16-12Z, partially serrated tanto.

I only have one of those left. The rest were sold, traded, or given away. The CRKT was disassembled and thrown out. The lock failed reliably.

Now, it's spydiehole, flipper, or auto.

Going from Mr. Badass to Mr. Crippled sobered me. I'm walking well but will never be able to run again. This means my dream career of becoming an assassin is over.
Click to expand...
Your post made me think of the Microtech socom elite, partially serrated, tanto, auto DLC I was considering as a future purchase this morning.
 
Partial serrations - I used to think they were the coolest thing but they just got in the way. On all my knives, it's either plain or fully serrated, or both if it's on a double edged OTF but it would be 1 plain edge and 1 fully serrated edge, never partial.

Sprint runs - Used to chase sprint runs in new steels but after a while, I just figured out that I'll never even use S30V to its limit. The sprint runs just sat around unused since they were "special" and I would eventually just sell them off.

Texturing under a clip - Used to not care and ruined a few pairs of jeans that way. Now, if it feels like it's eating my pocket, I don't carry it. Pants cost money just like knives do and I'd rather buy knives than pants.

If anything, I feel like I've gotten less picky over time about this stuff (other than the stuff above). If it's done well, most things have their place.
 
Assisted opening, partial serrations, lack of cutting ability, holes in handles (I mentioned this in another thread - I still have two, from around 20 yrs ago; but this is an automatic NO, now).
Stuff I was never into - Cold Steel, "American tanto" (though I've recently been intrigued by CRK tantos), OTFs, rough scales on folders.
 
The only one i can think of is Assisted opening. I started getting into knives at 18, and these were the main knives i was around. Still love Kershaw, but ive grown too fond of actual autos to go back to the diet auto.
 
I'm sick of G-10, FRN, etc. Especially black. Like Ti, it's boring to me. Wood, micarta, carbon fiber, give me something more unique, and colorful.

My last three purchases have been green, purple, and gray. In April (I think) I put tan micarta scales on my Yo2 and what an improvement in look and feel. It has a deep carry clip now as well.

I used to say no S30V, but more recent experience has changed my thoughts. At the I was having issues, I've heard that Crucible was having issues with that steel. That said, my Yojimbo 2 is great. It's almost two years old, can't remember. My Hogue Exploit is also in that steel, but I just got it.
 
  • No assisted opening
  • No chisel grind
  • No steal less than 8cr13mov
  • Nothing less than $100 if you are going to buy a knife that you want to last you years spend more and get something good
  • Nothing with more than one blade or tools unless it's going to be a secondary carry
  • No coated blades that will scratch and look used after a year or so
  • No tip down carry
 
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I don't buy assisted or auto knives of any kind any more.
I dislike coated blades (black, etc.).
Generally dislike metal handles but I have made exceptions
Thick steel stock, especially on folders.
Big folders that require a belt sheath or pouch to carry comfortably (edc). Ok with 110 type knives for hunting applications.
Partially serrated edges.
Folders with blades over 3.5"
Acrylic handles on slip joints.
Fixed blades with rubber-like handles
Plastic handled fixed blades except for kitchen use; but I make exceptions for Beckers.
 
  • DLC
  • Copper
  • Micarta; disgusting, really
  • Tantos, Spantos and Recurves
  • Liner-less knives (talking to you Spyderco :) )
  • Folders with blades under 3.5"
  • No assisted or automatic knives (the latter because of where I live)
  • No thumbstuds for opening
(of course, there are exceptions to each rule :) )
 
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Despite what I've mentioned, I've kept a few that no longer meet my criteria. Whether it's nostalgia, (SOG mini X-RAY Vision which I got for my 20th birthday in 1999), limited edition, or I just like the knife despite the "flaws" I may seem hypocritical.

However, the majority of my knives are well loved enough that I wouldn't consider selling them.

I have a three day rule. If after three days I don't love it (without using it, just how it fits my hand, deployment, etc) I return it or sell it.

Luckily, in the past three years, I've only returned two. One because of issues with QC (which I made the retailer aware of, one because I couldn't like it.

Though I own a few, I two dislike billboarding. Looking at you Kershaw/ZT. One of the reasons I love WE is because of that. My Deacon has a "sterile" blade (except a tiny M390 mark ) and a very unobtrusive logo on the pivot. Meanwhile, my ZT 0095 tells me it's life story.

As far as choils go, there are few I like, mostly Spyderco. Too many choils are too short or too shallow for my finger. At least the Spyderco's have jimping to protect your finger from slipping on to the blade. I also feel blades larger than 3.5" should not have them. That's too large a blade for "detail" work. Just my $.2 or whatever.
 
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