Knives that barely missed it...

Jim Bob said:
So I'm wondering how many knife guys are like myself and just kept buying knives trying to find the perfect EDC? You thought you had it, then carried it for a week and slowly found yourself not happy, so you searched the internet and forums for hours on end putting in late nights of research until you once again thought you had found it. And the cycle just kept repeating itself until eventually you wound up with 20 or 30 knives.
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Then there are the cases where you end up with a knife whose esthetics you dislike, but after you carry it a few times you decide to use and abuse it indefinitely. BM Griptilian did that to me.

I tried a couple of Gerbers, but they didn’t hold an edge very long and the pivots were inconsistent.

Spyderco lightweights (Delica anyways) feel cheap and almost all of them (Native, tenacious, persistence, etc) take up a lot of real estate in the pocket.

CRKT locks are funky.

SAKs get tangled up with anything else in the pocket...
 
Spyderco Tatanka could be my favorite Spyderco of all time.

Hits:
Great lines
Very strong lock
Reinforced tip

Missed :
Handle is too long, can’t hold it comfortably in any position
Unnecessary finger choil taking up WAY to much edge length

Moot:
Good steel but could be better(worth paying a premium for)
 
MrCookie said:
I’m in the process of culling the herd. In the pile are a couple of knives the narrowly missed being good/great.

Gerber Air Ranger - great handle, good blade shape, fair fit & finish, poor materials.

What have you had that just missed the mark enough to bum you out?
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The air ranger was my first liner lock folder. Smooth operating. The blade grind was near perfect. Light weight. If it had blade steel that was better it would still be in my rotation.
 
I can find something that I don’t like on just about every knife I have ever owned except one or two.

One that I really love is the CRKT Prowler. Like most CRKT products it falls short on blade steel and heat treatment. It is staying in the collection only because I like the ergonomics but, for every day use it has been replaced by a Griptilian.

Let me think about this some...let’s see...one that did not stay was a Ka-Bar Dozier folder.

A couple of others were Victorinox models. Cybertool 34 and the Deluxe Tinker. They just did not fit my needs. On paper they were great but did not work in real life.

What does work for me is their basic Spartan model.
 
A.L. said:
If it cuts perfectly, it’s pain to carry
If it carries well, it is pain to open
If it’s breeze to open, it’s pain to hold
And the list goes on...
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Agreed.

In my case, I will love the grip and hate the blade or just the opposite.
 
Dogdrawz said:
Oh there are so many that have fallen short of the glory. Where to begin.
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Exactly. This brain of mine struggles to remember how many I've bought and sold, even in the last few years.

The ZT 0770CF would have been perfect if not for the assist. I didn't like the aluminum version, and the CF version didn't work well without the assist. Loved the weight, size, blade shape, and Elmax.

I still (somewhat) hold out hope it will return in a manual form. I would pounce on it, at least for the right price.
 
The Spyderco Tenacious is another one. It felt great in hand but did not ride well in the pocket. Blade steel was also not the best.

Overall it is a fantastic knife. Just not for me.
 
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Well, guys, I did find the perfect knife, well, for me.

I bought two of those red-handled Cold Steel Knives. I'll never lose them, even in the dark! The blade blank was thick, and the handle was constructed with four rivets so it will never fall apart. It has a choil for you polishers, a humongous locking system, and even the pocket clip could hold the weight of double the folders.

Both the blade itself and the butt of the handle have large oval slots for any carry method you might want.

...I don't even see a flaw in the finish...
 
Ferrum Forge / Protech Mordax - the button lock one. I had the titanium one Ferrum sold directly, but I'd assume it was the same for the aluminim Massdrop one.

Great knife, almost perfect, but OMG was it thick behind the edge. I had mine professionally sharpened, and even then it was like trying to cut with an axehead.
 
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