Knife you weren't expecting to like so much? Or, the OPPOSITE?

Two come to mind, one was an SRM 763, bought years ago, that I thought looked too ugly to use but it became my favourite light folder, the other being a Victorinox pioneer X that I had for a few years , not bothering with it, until I started carrying it as a multitool/knife for traveling. Very useful.

https://imgur.com/Ym38Chh

There are many knives that I bought, thinking they will be "the one" that I have never used or used very little, for one reason or another.
 
SomebodySomewhere said:
I agree with this so much. The Leek and the Bareknuckle show they can make top notch stuff at competitive prices and do it in the US as well. I think they’re caught by the ZT brand … they can’t afford to muddy the waters (e.g., the 20CV Skyline). They’d lose the distinctiveness.
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True but honestly I wonder how much market share ZT really gets these days, I haven't seen anything really exciting from them in years now. Used to be a couple times a year they were releasing really unique/awesome stuff almost everything they released was a superstar. Now mostly they are regurgitating their old limited stuff like the 0990, 0777 and slight variations on old designs of theirs. Changing them sure, but the blade/handle angles shapes are very similar across a lot of models now. Just look at the 0777, to 0707, to 0357, the 0707 is a thiner top to bottom 0777, and the 0357 is basically just adding that height back again, general handle and blade shape/angles are not far off. Even the 0762 is not much of a stretch from those models if you just look at handle/blade angles, they basically just cut some out of the blade spine to give it sharper angles. Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of ZT's knives, but they are not the knife innovator/powerhouse they were 10 years ago.

Most all the ZT's are $200-250+ and 20CV so I'd still say that they could market a lot more "sprint" versions of Kershaw knives with say s30v for $100-$125, still be twice as expensive as most Kershaw's and half as expensive as most ZT's and not cut too much into ZT's sales.

To add onto the thread I will say the knives I most look forward to, are the CR with the Magnacut steel. I've owned hundreds of knives, only 2 makers in that time stand out as really having just something "special" about that "vault like" solid feel lockup, Les George VCEP and my CR Zaan OP and Sebenza. So CR finally doing a steel worthy of the quality of the rest of the knife is very exciting.
 
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I will also add the Buck Pursuit to the list of knives I wasn't expecting to like. I bought one for my son for Christmas for scouts and really like it. I haven't picked kne up for myself but for the price I would not hesitate. It is pretty sweet little blade and Buck CS is awesome.
 
EngrSorenson said:
There is something liberating about carrying a cheap knife that's "good enough".
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I fully agree! For me it is an older Buck 501 that the previous owner sent in to Buck for a new blade. The 420HC blade steel does a pretty good job and the whole knife didn’t cost me much. I don’t abuse the knife but I am not babying it like I would my CRK Mnandi.
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Agreed, I'm sure if it was a no-brainer money maker for them they'd already be doing it. In reality Kershaw might be late to the party, as you said you have companies like WE/Civivi/Artisan/etc. offering not just cheap (but good quality for the price) knives but also offering options with better blade steel in the same form factor, so even that market might be saturated now.
 
I forgot to list my opposites. I tried three community stalwarts this year that I fully expected to love but didn't. These complaints are all specific to me. Not everyone cares about these issues, even in the slightest. However, they were deal-breakers for me.

The first was a CRK. It was beautifully and competently made but slow-rolling has become a deal-breaker with the worsening arthritis in my thumb. If I'm doing studs, I need the right level of flick and CRK just isn't it. Unfortunately, this issue has also been impeding my love for Spyderco back-locks. Sure, some of those can be flicked but the motion with my thumb in the position where it needs to be just isn't right for me anymore.

The second was a Shirogorov. It too was beautifully made and flippers are usually my favorite. While I know the heat treatment is better, the overall feel was not better than what I'm used to in less expensive flippers from Kizer or WE. While it never had a chance to break in, the action straight from the box was downright disappointing by comparison. The scales were more crisp in places than I'd expect for ~$600. The big issue was how close the blade gets to the edge of the scales when closed and how easy it was to touch. Some people balk at such a comment and say "well don't put your fingers there". Sorry to those folks but I have tons of folders where that is not the case. It seems easy to design knives where that does not happen. I feel like there should be no chance of touching the tip or sharpened edge when a folder is closed, and no worry about sliding fingers past it in pocket or fumbling with it while closed.

The third was an Olamic 247. It was the most beautiful of these, especially when done to my specifications. I have nothing but good things to say about the build process, options, and customer service. My complaints are similar to the Shiro above but this one was significantly rough and crisp in places to the point of being sharp. The cuts for the lock-bar were especially bad and it was hot-spot city for me. Thankfully, they offered to smooth all those edges over for me for free if I sent it in. I just sold it to another member here instead.
 
Yeah, I was quite disappointed with the Olamic 247, as well. I didn't make a big deal about it because it wasn't the knife I really wanted anyway. I sold off some knives to cover the cost of a custom wayfarer, but ended up getting ghosted. As a result, I'm soured.
 
Delica 4. I never owned a Delica 3 or previous iteration, but I've sharpened at least 4 or 5, including essentially resurrecting a couple (if you guessed broken tips, you're correct) for others. I always felt that they were just a bit too small. My Tasman Salts (old versions), while having the same handles, didn't feel too small because of the curve of the thumb ramp and the way my hand angled to it when gripping it. But the old Delicas were just too small.

The Delica 4 however, has just that extra bit of handle length that makes it fit my hand just right. It was a long time before I took the plunge and tried one, and I'm glad I did.

The knife I was severely disappointed in was the Benchmade 930 Kulgera. Sexy curves, cool black/blue G-10, perfect blade shape and size for me, etc. But the odd cutaways in the G-10 made uncomfortable hotspots that dug into my hand. I have no idea why the hell they did that. Probably could have been fixed with custom scales, but nobody was doing that sort of thing at the time (or maybe I didn't look hard enough), and the 930 didn't last long in production. I guess I wasn't the only disappointed one.
 
OK, I got another one that I have ended up being really happy with. I thought of selling it at one time and listed it, then changed my mind and started carrying it...really happy I held onto it. Ive had my fair share of WE knives but this one is a cut above and what has really exceeded my expectations is the blade lockup. They got these tolerances tight...like CRK tight. Its a win in my book. Worth giving a try if you want a sterile, thin, flipper; the Speedster.

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Chronovore said:
I feel the same way about the PF818. I did two modifications that made it even better. First, I went around with an emery board and smoothed over a few crisp edges on the scales. (Use the coarse side first and then the fine side. Sure, you can use sand paper but I find the shape convenient to use. The grits on a standard two-sided board like the Revlon 08646 are well-suited to the task.) Second, I swapped the stock bearings for 5mm, 1/16", 11-ball ceramic Skiff bearings. Yeah, $12 bearings might seem a bit much in a $27 knife but it really takes it to the next level.

Speaking of Petrified Fish, I got this on a whim during the release sale and ended up liking it much more than I expected. It is surprisingly practical.

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Nice man! Yea they're really surprisingly well made for the money. I'd like to try another couple of them. That'd be cool if they made some ti framelocks, but I suppose the thing that makes them so amazing is that they're inexpensive. Thanks for the tip on rounding the scales! I'm going to keep that pad in mind for next time the situation arises. 🤙
 
Did not expect to like the small Inkosi Insingo so much. Seemed a little too chunky on paper. And while it is a bit chunky for its size, it has become a favorite small EDC knife. And by EDC I mean it's pretty much with me every day at this point. The insingo blade is basically perfect.
 
Benchmade AFCK and Hinderer XM-**. I buy them but the curve of my he grips just never feels usable in my hand. I buy, sell, re-buy, etc… It’s too bad because I love the designs.
 
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