Knives that surprised you

This is me going out on a limb here…..
Borderline sacrilege….
But the knife that really surprised me is…..

Well, first, let me explain. In my experience the surprises are usually negative. When you put out a decent amount of money you expect (and usually get) an equally decent product. Positively pleased and surprised by rubbish.

Now the knife that surprised me cost $10.
I expected rubbish despite the reccos of trusted friends.

And I am surprised.



The Walmart Ozark Trail Special.
Lightweight, thin in the blade & edge, sharper than the proverbial mother-in-law’s tongue & $10.

For the last 5 years I’ve been carrying a GEC 47 Viper. Sometimes questioning my sanity when using it to open sacks of peat moss, top soil or recycling heavy shipping boxes.
Especially so with the expense & availability of GEC nowadays.

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While the WOTS hasn’t totally 86’d the Viper, it has earned a surprising place in the rotation.
 
I posted this in another thread in the autos forum, but I think it fits here pretty well.

I used to think OTFs were cool but gimmicky and impractical. Then I got a Kershaw Livewire and completely changed my mind. In short, being able to open and retract the blade with a simple thumb movement makes it really safe to use one handed, which I greatly appreciate as I often need to open packaging, make minor repairs, etc. with one hand while restraining a toddler with the other. I don't have to worry about dropping a fixed blade or miss while re-sheathing, nor do I have to risk catching my fingers between the handle and the edge while closing a folder. Just *flick-cut-flick* and back to being safe. I don't use it often for foodstuffs or adhesives, but when I do I wipe the blade before closing and haven't had any issues. Out of an abundance of caution, I will often keep a Gerber LST or Spyderco Dragonfly handy to spare my Livewire if I need to cut something particularly grimy or gristly.

It is stupendously ironic to me that OTFs, and autos in general, have a reputation for (or at least an association with) being more dangerous when practical experience makes me believe my OTF is actually one of the safest knives I have in general use.

I love my other folders, including OTS autos, and use them frequently when more demanding tasks are on the menu. But, my Livewire has completely won me over as the primary knife I carry around the house or when I'm in charge of the kids.

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It also pairs nicely with a Perrin Bowie, in case anyone was wondering.
 
While I have recently been working on reducing the size of my collection, I happened upon a YouTube video, I watch far too many YouTube videos btw, of this fixed blade knife. And while I am not a big fan of this blade style it interested me as it looked like a good cutter and had good steel as well. So long story short, I purchased it and I was correct about its cutting ability, while it arrived fairly sharp it took a very nice edge after I cleaned up the bevels. I used 17 degree bevels and it is exceedingly sharp

https://flic.kr/p/2shDorh

https://flic.kr/p/2siHys9

In using it I was reminded of a small Giant Mouse folder that had a similar blade shape, not an exact shape but it has a wide thin curved edge.

https://flic.kr/p/2n3xBnM

G2
 
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For years I heard about the Kershaw Blur. Was not really a fan of recurves or assisted opening, but I got a limited M4 Blur several years ago for a good price. This is now one of my favourites. So good in fact, I bought a second one, and one each for my two sons.
 
I'm cheating on this and going to say the Civivi Elementum family of knives. I was fashionably late to the OG Elementum party when they released and only bought my first one a few years ago. Wow. I get it. Great hollow grind on D2 with a grippy G10 and very positive liner lock? Yup, I get it. Button Lock Elementum that in reality is actually a top liner lock that locks both open and closed letting you wrist flip the knife open and closed? Yup, I get it. Elementum II button plunge lock with back flipping action? Yup, I get it. Anniversary edition with the smoothest crossbar lock I've ever felt with the most positive lock up I've ever seen? Yup, I still get it.

Family photos:

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And the embarrassing part is this isn't even all of them. This is just what I could quickly gather up. I LOVE THESE THINGS. These are why I tend to gush about the brand. The jade G10 one is the one I beat the hell out of the spine to see if the lock would fail and it never did. Then I took it apart to see how damaged it was and I don't even see anything wrong. The Pyrite I did the same to had mushroomed metal all around the lock enough I blunted the edge and tossed it. The crossbar lock is the first time I've seen where the crossbar isn't resting right at the very edge of the blade end and instead has a bit of travel to slip off. I've only once had my 940 unlock on me cutting a box when my hand dragged the lockbar back just enough by accident to just unlock the blade. Made me jump. My fault for sure but still. And I love a good top liner lock and wish more brands would offer them which they finally are somewhat. But the Civivi Button Lock version is the only one I know of that locks open and closed which I admit may not be to everyone's liking but I like it with the wrist flip. It would be nice to have an either or option though. Not sure why only that longer length though. And that's the only one in 14C28N while most of the rest of the line has the basic steel as either D2 for the liner locks or Nitro-V for the Elementum II and Wharncliffe liner locks oddly enough... Don't ask me which one is my favorite, I love all my children. And I don't care where they come from, bury me with my Elementums.
 
Swamp Rat Bandicoot in 52100. Got this probably 20 years ago, and once I thinned out the edge, it turned into an amazing slicer/outdoor knife. By far one of my all time favorite knives that I have ever had. Very easy to resharpen also. If you compare the blade profile to a Buck 110, it's similar.

When this knife first came out, I really disliked the looks of it. Then Yvsa (anyone remember him?) gave it a glowing review, so I had to get one. Loved it so much, I got another one for backup. I forget the handle material (Respirene C maybe?) but if you damage it, you can fix it easily (and I have) with a match or a bic lighter.

Not nearly as pretty as the knives here so far, but for me, its beauty is in its performance.

https://imgur.com/a/okDxnKc
 
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