Knives that you tolerate

DocJekl said:
At this point, I am not taking bets against the Manly, because it really has been with you the longest as far as I can tell. This, despite the fact that I repeatedly keep trying to help displace that knife 😂
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Smart money is on the Manly ;)
G2
 
Yep, after 10-12 years I saved up and purchased both large and small Sebenzas three/four years ago. “Everybody” raved about them and I desperately wanted to find what I had been missing for years. Well, it’s probably heresy but I was thoroughly unimpressed. The action and the awful thumbstuds were simply unacceptable. After tolerating them for a six month trial period I sold both and bought Spartans…..and they’re terrific. (I do feel very much relieved now that I’ve publicly confessed.) :oops:
 
elde66 said:
Yep, after 10-12 years I saved up and purchased both large and small Sebenzas three/four years ago. “Everybody” raved about them and I desperately wanted to find what I had been missing for years. Well, it’s probably heresy but I was thoroughly unimpressed. The action and the awful thumbstuds were simply unacceptable. After tolerating them for a six month trial period I sold both and bought Spartans…..and they’re terrific. (I do feel very much relieved now that I’ve publicly confessed.) :oops:
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This is the way! I have been through a small Sebenza, a Zaan, and two large Inkosis, they all moved on. I have 8 large SHFs and one small, love me some Spartan blades!
 
cbach8tw said:
Gary, still got a folder to use even if still experimenting with small fixed blades. I am experiencing the same thing, like my small fixies but go back to a folder, usually my Opinel #6.
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I took an opinel 5, which is the largest of the knives that doesn't feature the virobloc locking ring, to the beach to do some whittling while watching the ocean, found a sturdy wood staff that isn't like the other drift wood about.
that thing cuts and peels wood off as easily as a butter knife through microwaved butter, even when I reached the knots and other tough obstacles on the Pole, it didn't suffer them. Very handy-capable blade. The lock will only increase the versatility of it I'm sure
 
I had a Buck Marksman Inferno that I tried really hard to love (a factory custom from SK Blades). I worked it pretty hard as an EDC for a couple years. The flipper action was lightning fast and gave me joy. But I never adapted to the strange blade locking mechanism. It would pinch my fingers and I could rarely close the blade fully without using two hands. Also it wasn’t a very pocket-friendly knife. Finally the edge chipped in a couple places, so I stopped carrying it and then sold it on.

IMG_2742.jpg
 
elde66 said:
Yep, after 10-12 years I saved up and purchased both large and small Sebenzas three/four years ago. “Everybody” raved about them and I desperately wanted to find what I had been missing for years. Well, it’s probably heresy but I was thoroughly unimpressed. The action and the awful thumbstuds were simply unacceptable. After tolerating them for a six month trial period I sold both and bought Spartans…..and they’re terrific. (I do feel very much relieved now that I’ve publicly confessed.) :oops:
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In that group/category I usually prefer the Spartan SHF over the Hinderer or Chris Reeve, mostly for the ease and speed of deployment, since the build quality and fit/finish seem to be on a similar level. My large S45VN Spartan Babe and small Damascus SHF both get a lot of carry, taking over the time that I used to spend with my XM-18 or my small Sebenza.

But somehow I keep getting drawn to carry my KnifeArt large Inkosi fairly often. Although I had to take it apart, clean it, lap the washers, get Slick 'em All from OCD-4-EDC to grease it, and tune it to deploy the way my SHF deploys. The action is not typical of an out of the box Sebenza, and I've never liked the out of the box action on those.
 
I'm a heretic. It's Buck 110. A true classic. Beautiful, great blade, secure lock, good sheath. But it's too damn heavy. And I will never be without one.

Used to be my large Inkosi. Perseverance has gotten it well broken in and way past tolerated. It's clipped to the tool pocket of my shorts right now.
 
One thing that I finally come to terms with is that I am just not very good at front flippers or top flippers, just don't have the knack for that opening method. And one brand of folder that I have tried so many of is the Pena X models, one I did have with a thumb stud but found the behind the edge too thick for my liking, barely, actually it was perfectly fine but I had to find some fault with it in order to move it along ;)

Here's one example that I had for a short while.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

They are such well made folders and I am constantly drawn to them but hopefully I am past the point of getting another...fingers crossed!
G2
 
Gary W. Graley said:
One thing that I finally come to terms with is that I am just not very good at front flippers or top flippers, just don't have the knack for that opening method. And one brand of folder that I have tried so many of is the Pena X models, one I did have with a thumb stud but found the behind the edge too thick for my liking, barely, actually it was perfectly fine but I had to find some fault with it in order to move it along ;)

Here's one example that I had for a short while.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

They are such well made folders and I am constantly drawn to them but hopefully I am past the point of getting another...fingers crossed!
G2
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You sold me a Pena Barlow in CF with a blade similar to that Pena above. And you also sold me the Pena Mula with the thumb studs that you mentioned was almost good enough to keep 😂
 
Thanks Doc, I know they went to an excellent home, full of friends !
G2
 
I used to be more of a collector than I am now, at one point I owned a dozen or more of William Henry T10 folders with various scales as well as a few T12's and T15's lovely knives all and I even get to visit one of the T15's when I am near Syracuse NY when I grab coffee with my friend Peregrin Peregrin he also has a small collection of Gary Graley knives ;) But any more those William Henry knives are worth a small fortune...coulda...woulda...shoulda ;)
I moved those when I needed to pay for something else, where a 'true' collector doesn't part with his collection.
Here's a snapshot from back in the day of some of my William Henry's

WH_collection by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

And Sebenza's at one point were piling up everywhere! But those too have moved on to folks with a need for some Sebenza in their life too

CRK_collection by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Do I miss them? you betcha, but I have always managed things so that I only buy what I can afford at the time, never used my day job paycheck as that was just for the family and household. Money for my 'toys' always came from what I could save up from my leather work, or from selling one knife to buy the next. That has kept the wife quite happy ;) so she never worries when packages arrive as she knows I have it covered elsewhere.

And now I am whittling down the few knives I have left to just a select set of knives, leaning more towards small fixed blades.

The Pena X series has a nice look to them and they always draw my attention, but for one reason or another I think I have kicked that particular habit...for now at least :)
G2
 
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Gary W. Graley said:
when I am near Syracuse NY when I grab coffee with my friend Peregrin Peregrin he also has a small collection of Gary Graley knives ;)
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Yes, I've managed to accumulate a nice small collection of G2 knives! I'm happy to meet for coffee or lunch anytime Gary. It's always good to see a friend! I'm also a fan of your excellent leatherwork!
 
Peregrin said:
Yes, I've managed to accumulate a nice small collection of G2 knives! I'm happy to meet for coffee or lunch anytime Gary. It's always good to see a friend! I'm also a fan of your excellent leatherwork!
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I should round up all of my G2 knives and see how many I've got, but I believe that it's between 1 dozen and 2 dozen...
 
DocJekl said:
I should round up all of my G2 knives and see how many I've got, but I believe that it's between 1 dozen and 2 dozen...
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Gary, we neglected a way to leave you feedback on the last couple of knives...
 
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