Knife Thoughts 💭 Grail Thoughts 💭 ?

[Gary W. Graley]

… and have my wife ask me again , “are you looking at knives again?”

you'll have that in the best of families

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

And it is always best to set a budget, it'll become more important as you continue your collection;

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

as for recommendations, I highly recommend a Kizer Mystic See more detail here at Knife Center

This one is mine, I tied the lanyard on there

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Good luck and Welcome to the forums,
G2

 

[ShaiHulud]

It's always opinel season

 

[ClickBoom]

My Grail Knife is always the next one I said I would never buy or sell ~ Had a made for me Tom Mayo TNT lefty once ( Because I'm a lefty ) loved it until I didn't then we broke up and I sold it for another knife that I thought was most certainly better.
No one has ever found the Grail

 

[Tafkaag]

you'll have that in the best of families

And it is always best to set a budget, it'll become more important as you continue your collection;

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Wow--you must really like the wife and kids!

 

[Gary W. Graley]

actually not my money/image so, not to worry, but, a plan is a plan is a plan
G2

 

[Hackenslash]

Honestly, your list seems like it's just a collection of the most hyped knives on Instagram right now. If you don't have a particular reason for liking each of those knives, you might be disappointed with what they offer considering the cost and hassle associated with attaining one. You might want to try out a few long time favorites to get a feel for what kinds of knives you like first. Personally, I also avoid going after whatever is the flavor of the month right now since you end up overpaying when you could have gotten a better value from something that's underappreciated instead.

This!
OP, your list of knives looks like the week’s review list at the hottest YouTube knife sites. I’m sure each of them are great knives but all have the same “late ’23 early ‘24” vibe. YouTubers and Instagram are nice but keep in mind that they rave about the knife in hand to make sure the next knife shows up in the mail.

Browse through Blade Forums, particularly picture threads to check out “hot” knives over the last 25 years. Don’t make the mistake believing that the newest is the best.

Experiment with some traditionals. Own and use a Spyderco. Make sure you have one, good OTF in your life. Try an assisted open, flipper, thumb stud, button lock, etc. Don’t chase down every $1000 knife that’s the darling of Instagram. Have fun and restraint.

As you find features and styles you love and hate, then you’ll be ready to chase a grail. Most importantly, let your own hand and eye decide what’s right for you, not some YouTube personality who shills for free samples and subscribes.

Good luck and welcome to Blade Forums.

 

[mph57]

My .02 cents…. I took a different approach. Instead of going for the immediate $1K grail home run, I bought a few (3) pre-owned knives over the course of a year to try and see what I liked/dislike about type. They were nothing really special, just nice solid knives that were no longer in demand. A Benchmade 940, Spyderco PM2, and ZT 450….all used and nicely $$ discounted. It was a fun year just carrying those three knives. I eventually moved on from those three, but learned more about my personal preferences knife-wise and realized I didn’t need the latest and greatest to enjoy knives. Best of luck in your journey!

 

[Ozmose]

I don't see anything on the list that I'd consider unobtainable, so that's good. It's when you finally get everything on your list, and start hunting for unicorn horns that things get . . . Complicated.

 

[el gigantor]

I just wanted to add that the last three or four times I’ve had a look at the Knife Exchange here on Bladeforums, someone’s been selling a Roosevelt. There is hope!

 

[beeinak]

My suggestion is to go to a well stocked knife store and handle as many different knives as you can to see what feel good to you. Find what type of opening/lock/handle material/blade shape/size/etc you like, then narrow it down. Just because something is ‘hot’ right now does not mean that you will like it. You can find a great folder to last more than your lifetime, and make you smile each time you use it for much less than $1000. Just my .02

 

[Wolverine777]

Hell yeah! All great responses and recommendations! Sounds like I have countless hours of research to do … and have my wife ask me again , “are you looking at knives again?”

Haha , I hear that question constantly from my wife. So get used to it. Sometimes I’m watching a quick knife vid on GPK and she hears the sound of a knife opening. Then she walks by saying under her breath “I know what THAT sound is”.

 

[Bob Denman]

Grail knives?
Everyone's list of "gottahaves" will be different...
Enjoy hunting yours down!

 

[TrainedBullets]

A CRK Sebenza and a Grimsmo Rask.

 

[mitchnola]

This!
OP, your list of knives looks like the week’s review list at the hottest YouTube knife sites. I’m sure each of them are great knives but all have the same “late ’23 early ‘24” vibe. YouTubers and Instagram are nice but keep in mind that they rave about the knife in hand to make sure the next knife shows up in the mail.

Browse through Blade Forums, particularly picture threads to check out “hot” knives over the last 25 years. Don’t make the mistake believing that the newest is the best.

Experiment with some traditionals. Own and use a Spyderco. Make sure you have one, good OTF in your life. Try an assisted open, flipper, thumb stud, button lock, etc. Don’t chase down every $1000 knife that’s the darling of Instagram. Have fun and restraint.

As you find features and styles you love and hate, then you’ll be ready to chase a grail. Most importantly, let your own hand and eye decide what’s right for you, not some YouTube personality who shills for free samples and subscribes.

Good luck and welcome to Blade Forums.

Completely agree with both of these sentiments. Your personal grail list will develop over time with the more you actually get knives in hand. I’d recommend hitting all your close brick n mortars. The exchange here is great for buying and selling to try stuff out. And I’d highly recommend hitting a blade show eventually.

But I can also save you some time by letting you in on a well kept secret. A Les George is all you really need!

 

[Hackenslash]

Completely agree with both of these sentiments. Your personal grail list will develop over time with the more you actually get knives in hand. I’d recommend hitting all your close brick n mortars. The exchange here is great for buying and selling to try stuff out. And I’d highly recommend hitting a blade show eventually.

But I can also save you some time by letting you in on a well kept secret. A Les George is all you really need!

I’ve gotta get an LG button lock…

 

[mitchnola]

I’ve gotta get an LG button lock…

Indeed but don’t overlook a frame lock either!

 

[XXL]

I'm about four years into learning about and spending money on knives. The most I've spent is $400 or so on a non flip fuller triway XM-18. I don't have a clue what a $1,000 dollar knife feels like, and that's fine with me, so far.

What I have learned is my prefences on what type of knives do it for me and how to maintain them. I found I like micarta scales and really like the feel of a finely tuned pivot with PB washers. So much so, I don't seek out folders on bearings anymore.

I still have a lot to learn on sharpening and blade geometry. I seem to do better with freehand sharpening so that's my next deep dive.

Ultimately I don't have a particular grail knife I'm after, but I've narrowed down my likes and dislikes and seem to find what I like in the $200 - $500 price range.

I still haven't even experienced magnacut steel yet. But that's about to change, I bought a TRM Neutron 2 on the last drop and it's due to arrive tomorrow!

 

[VorpelSword]

IK have always wished I could buy a Bill Moran or one by Loveless.

They are available, but my lotto ticket never comes through.

Real World: A CRK folder. One of the Sebenza models.

 

[mitchnola]

I'm about four years into learning about and spending money on knives. The most I've spent is $400 or so on a non flip fuller triway XM-18. I don't have a clue what a $1,000 dollar knife feels like, and that's fine with me, so far.

What I have learned is my prefences on what type of knives do it for me and how to maintain them. I found I like micarta scales and really like the feel of a finely tuned pivot with PB washers. So much so, I don't seek out folders on bearings anymore.

I still have a lot to learn on sharpening and blade geometry. I seem to do better with freehand sharpening so that's my next deep dive.

Ultimately I don't have a particular grail knife I'm after, but I've narrowed down my likes and dislikes and seem to find what I like in the $200 - $500 price range.

I still haven't even experienced magnacut steel yet. But that's about to change, I bought a TRM Neutron 2 on the last drop and it's due to arrive tomorrow!

Completely agree on all. Especially a finely tuned pivot with pb washers. That puts a LG right up ya alley!

 

[XXL]

Completely agree on all. Especially a finely tuned pivot with pb washers. That puts a LG right up ya alley!

Ive wanted a VECP for a while... but the MK3 folder might be the one for me.