Knives that are very different in person…

Lenny_Goofoff

Lenny_Goofoff

Joined
Dec 9, 2005
Messages
1,725
from what you saw on pictures.
Last Saturday I visited local "Blade Show" and handled some knives i've seen before only as pics.

Spyderco Perrin: i didnt realize its THAT small… The former Perrin was big - more like camping knife than city EDC. Newer one is tiny - good in hand but still too small.

Sebenza: feels just right. It was classic one and i thought its not so pointy. It has look of working knife…*not expensive super-whooper custom but some lab or medical equipment.

BM Morpho: again too small but I was prepared:)
BM Rukus (bigger) this one is too big. I isn't big, it f e e l s big. Not only feels like a tank but also smells a tank!

I know these are old news, I just want to ask:
what knives surprized you when you seen them life-size?
 
Spyderco Captain: I thought I'd love it. T'ill I held it, then the whole package really just turned me off.

Strider AR: Its a TANK and you know it is even when you buy it, then you get it and still its BIG

First William Henry: This was many years ago but I was used to thicker knives and heavier one's too. I hadnt found customs yet. My First WH T-12 it was rediculously light, thin and sharp....still is.

LoneWolf T2: Bought it when it first came out, expected it to be heavier and perhaps a bit bulky. It turned out to be very light, pleasant to carry and hold.

Rekat Sifu: The thing is just big, long and big....but I love it!

There's a few others that I really built up the hype on in my head then when I got them I didnt like them at all for various reasons. Most knives have pleasantly suprise me and I look forward to that and now try not to hype knives up in my head too much no matter what they are. So my high's are higher but my lows arent so low.
 
Cuda 5.5, It really felt ... odd ... at first and did not appear so in the pics. BUT ... when I carried it in my pocket it floated like a a MUCH smaller and lighter knife and now it is one of my favorite big carry knives.

WOOK
 
Spyderco Native - Looked cool in the display case and on the net...but felt like a turd in the hand. Worst feeling knife I've ever held.

BM Rukus - Huge knife. I have very big hands and this knife was big for me.

Cold steel XL Ti-lite - Again, a super huge knife. Very long. Almost comical.
 
Buck Hartsook really did not expect it to be that small expected a 3 finger utility knife and got a 2 finger pen knife
 
mini-rukus - it looked perfect in the pictures, but was too thick for my medium sized mitts. I guess I prefer slimmer knives like Mayos.
 
Buck Alpha Hunter---just felt awfull in my hand.

I have a Mini-Alpha that is just sooo sweet that I expected the same DNA in its bigger brother----was not even close.


Forgot the Bark River Micro Slither----pics on the web are one thing---tiny little knife in your hand is another.
 
Halo's. I dunno, just a lot smaller than I had expected. But after having one for a while it seems bigger.
 
bm 710

in pics i find it looks like a smaller more of a gents folder. In real its a hell of a worker=)
 
Ka-Bar warthog folder (and on the same note, Boker magnums)

I know they are "economy" knives, but you would think that with those names behind them, thier quality would be a little higher than a plastic handle with a single liner that is only there for the lock.

The blades are fine (in fact, the warthog blade is kinda cool), it's the molded plastic handles that make them feel like junk.

I wonder what the A.G. Russell airweight knives(same linerless principle) feel like?
 
Chiller2 said:
Buck Hartsook really did not expect it to be that small expected a 3 finger utility knife and got a 2 finger pen knife
Click to expand...


..... and yet I have mine on me all the time for just that reason. It's light, sharp, and very conceilable.
 
Two knives that disappointed in person after ordering online:
- Benchmade Ally. It's looks and is labeled as ambidextrous. BM's website says the clip is ambidextrous. Wrong. Only right side. Does not open real easy in the left hand.
- Cold Steel 3" blade Voyager. Blade is nice and wicked sharp, but the handle size is so narrow it's like handling a ballpoint pen.
 
i was looking for my first spyderco on the enternet and found the cricket which looked really nice and the salsa that looked pretty bad to me when i finally got to a local knife shop i instantly fell in love with the salsa
 
Buck 516 titanium 420 HC steel. knife looked nice but ergonomics were poor.
the steel did not hold an edge for very long. And after a while the knife developed horizontal blade play.

Spyderco manix PE, recommended to me in spring 2005 still cary it in 2007.
I was eyeballing a Buck strider spear point. But the sales representative said it was like a folding prybar. After reading the review about buck strider on Cliff Stamps site and later the review on the manix, I was glad I made the right choice. The manix is; Tough, reliable, comfortable, and above all it really cuts great. And thanks to the spyderco sharpmaker I can maintain that crisp edge.

Spyderco Manix an excellent knife :thumbup:
 
mmmotorcycle said:
..... and yet I have mine on me all the time for just that reason. It's light, sharp, and very conceilable.
Click to expand...


You and me both. I've been just REELING to tell you guys. I rigged it where it sits just behind my belt buckle (small length of cord that looks like a belt loop tied through the neck lanyard hole) and all I have to do is reach behind it with my thumb, pull up and SNIKT! It's out and ready to go.

I too thought it surprisingly small when I got it. But after I did a bit of noodleing on how to carry it I'm happy as a pig in poo with a hat on! :p
 
For me, handling a Buck 110 for the first time was very different from what I expected in pictures. Probably the most different from what I expected. It is a big and very heavy knife. Looked much smaller in stock photos.

The proportions of the Buck/Strider 881 also surprised me when I first received it. They are small, but BEEFY. Very toy-like and a bit lighter than I expected.

I was also a little surprised when I first opened up my Street Beat. I knew it was small, but didn't think it was small. I can't really describe it. It was just different from what I expected, but I love it. The incredibly light feel and balance might be what surprised me.

Size of the Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter also surprised me. It's massively thick and totally unsuitable for carry, imo. Affordable, tough and the nuttiest lockback I have ever handled, though. Very sharp considering the beefiness too. Goes great in a backpack, but not your pocket or IWB.
 
For me there were a few knives that I wasn't prepared for in person. At a local shop I handled a Cold Steel Vaquaro Grande and it felt cheap to me. I wasn't prepared for how large the knife is. It's just way to big for a folder to be in my opinion.

I also handled a Lone Wolf T2 and it was larger than I thought it would be. It also locked up really poorly. The entire knife itself seemed way more cheap and flimsy in person than I would have every thought.

I used to have a Benchmade 14210 and when I got it in the mail I was surprised on how small it was. I should have known by the measurements but I just must have not put it together. It was way smaller than I thought.

Lastly, has to be the Benchmade Vex. I still have it and it is a lot more solid and bigger than I would have thought it would be. It's really a great knife.
 
BM Vex, looks nice in pictures, very chunky and a stiff opener in hand.
RAT 3 fixed blade, this thing is tiny compared to pictures I've seen, expected it to be much bigger.
Edited to add that I do not own these knives, formed my opinion after handling them in a knife store.
 
MT Vector - Looks like the perfect size in pics but it's a tad on the small side when you get it.

Todd Begg Glimpse - Same as the Vector but opposite. Looks to be medium in size but it's HUGE.

The BIG Lone Wolf folder. Don't remember the model name. - Same as the Glimpse.
 
This relates to one of my pet peeves, bad knife photography. In my area there is nothing even remotely resembling a knife shop within a 1000 miles. Most of my knife shopping is done online.As a result the quality of photography can make or break a sale for me. I don't understand how you can sell online and not realise that good photographs are ESSENTIAL to maximise sales. This should be even more obvious to sellers who do online sales only.

There are good knife sellers/manufacturers who put good pics on their sites (like A G Russell, Leatherman etc). But there are also retailers and manufacturers who don't put any effort into it all.
At the minimum they should at least ensure the pics used are nice, clear, big enough and well lit.

I've seen amateur shots on this website that would put to shame some of the best "pro" shots i've seen on some knife seller websites.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top