Knives that you're glad you gave a chance

C

carrot

Joined
Jan 9, 2006
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After collecting and using knives for many years I decided to widen my horizons and try carrying blades I'd normally never have carried. What I found surprised me- many knives I thought I would not enjoy carrying and using became favored carry pieces. The Spyderco Dragonfly Salt, Byrd Cara Cara Stainless, and Boker Urban Trapper are some surprises of late.

What knives did you initially pass up on that became favorites? Why?
 

Schrade 33OT after a little while if carrying it as a kid I discovered it had come with some major blade play and just stopped carrying it.
I recently decided to give it another chance, and discovered I don't notice the blade play during use. I now love the knife and it's a perfectly functional cutting tool.


Saw this at a yardsale and almost didn't give it a second look Because I figured it was made in china, but as I was walking by I noticed out of the corner of my eye that it seemed study, I stopped and picked it up to notice it was made in the USA and took it home for 50¢.
It doesn't have the best walk & talk but easily takes a real razor edge , and it's a cool cross between a Vic and a scout which I like. It's a bit bulky in pocket for me, but its great functional edc blade and I'm glad I took a gamble on it and gave it a chance despite it's size.


I'm not into finger grooves or partially serrated blades and I think the blade shape of the SOG seal pup is kind of stupid, however with that being said I took a gamble on it thanks to njbillk in the pay it forward thread and I'm glad it did.
The finger grooves don't bother my hand , the steel is great, the partial serrations don't really get in the way too much, the blade shape doesn't bother me and is kind of growing on me, and in general it's a great relatively low cost light weight urban utility fixed blade.
 
Slipjoints in general. I ignored them for a very long time, thinking that the omission of both locks -and- pocket clips was just madness and regressive. One caught my eye in one of the knife picture threads, and I just went for it and am glad I did. I have since replaced that one with a stainless equivalent (carbon steel and humid weather are not best friends) and it has been one of my favorites of all time.
 
I had a bad experience with a cheap liner lock years ago. It soured me on the lock design in general. So for years I avoided liner locks in favor of other lock mechs.

Then this past year I was completely seduced by the Spyderco Military 204P/Green G10 which is indeed a liner lock. So I bought one and loved it immediately. Then I bought another one just because. And yes , it is now one of my absolute favorite knives of all-time. It has also rid me of my anti-liner lock attitude. Glad I finally woke up. This liner lock is super solid , very secure yet light weight and has the best THWACK sound upon opening. Love it.
 
The Delica and PM2. Avoided both because while I do like Spydies, the designs of these two are relatively boring to me. First I got a PM2 and was smitten with the compression lock. Then I got a Delica 4 and was smitten with its size, ergos, and slicing prowess.
 
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GB940Rookie said:
Manix 2 LW. I don't like the looks. Too much of a pocket hog. Blade looks ridiculous.

It has become my daily work folder. Can't recommend it enough.
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I thanked Eric Glesser personally and specifically for designing the Manix 2 way back when I visited Spyderco HQ and got to meet the Glessers (who seemed shocked that anyone would want to meet them). It's just the best freaking knife. Also, really nice people.
 
Comeuppance said:
Slipjoints in general. I ignored them for a very long time, thinking that the omission of both locks -and- pocket clips was just madness and regressive. One caught my eye in one of the knife picture threads, and I just went for it and am glad I did. I have since replaced that one with a stainless equivalent (carbon steel and humid weather are not best friends) and it has been one of my favorites of all time.
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That's a good one for me as well.
In general after getting modern folders as a teenager and was really able to start carrying a knife, a small non locking folder without a clip didn't didn't seem exceptable to me.
I had my case sodbuster jr that I carried and used a little bit, but i didn't like the loose in pocket non locking thing.
Then I joined the forum, saw all the beautiful traditionals on the porch, and once r8shell gifted me an old imperial Barlow that was it. This forum motivation me to keep carrying it and eventually I started to feel stupid if I carried a comparatively large modern one handed folder.
I've gotten past that though.
 
Emerson CQC-7

The look / aesthetic never appealed to me for years. I had other Emerson's, and other knives from other makers. I was never interested in getting one, always 'meh' when an opportunity to buy one came up. This was until a friend left one at my place, and I actually carried it for a day and used it before giving it back (it was his user so he didn't care). Now I have five of them with the BW-BT being EDC most days.
 
Comeuppance said:
Slipjoints in general. I ignored them for a very long time, thinking that the omission of both locks -and- pocket clips was just madness and regressive. One caught my eye in one of the knife picture threads, and I just went for it and am glad I did. I have since replaced that one with a stainless equivalent (carbon steel and humid weather are not best friends) and it has been one of my favorites of all time.
Click to expand...

Curious what knife you're speaking of?
 
Spyderco Delica. Never liked the looks of it. Great knife, though. It's still my only Spyderco. It's still ugly. :)

Zero Tolerance 0566. Really didn't have a need for a heavy-use folder. I like the ergonomics and the sturdiness. When I feel like carrying something more than a slipjoint, this is pretty much my go-to knife.

Stockman pattern traditionals. Originally, I was not interested in 3-blade patterns, preferring 1 or 2 blade jacks. Now, a stockman is my preferred pattern for general purpose daily carry, though I do still carry jacks occasionally.
 
It's kind of funny now that I think about it, I had multiple traditional folders and had no problem buying them because they appealed to me, I just didn't see any worth to them as a user compared to a larger clipped one handed folder. As a teenager in independent studies who didn't have to go to a highschool campus I could carry knives and I had about 30 different knives. for some reason though I had no problem buying cheapo traditionals that I had no interest in carrying.
It wasn't until i was an adult and joined this forum which influenced me to give them a real try that I got over my nonsensical concerns and discovered their virtues.
 
I'm only going to decide on one that I'll pick because there is a few that I have been surprised by but I would have to say the Spyderco Gayle Bradley 1.
 
I was into mid techs and custom, but starting to re-appreciate production knives not. Very glad I gave Spyderco's a chance. Very glad I gave my Real Steel Sea Eagle a chance, ended up buying a 2nd I liked it so much. I always had Benchmade autos, that is what my first knives were, but I am very glad I gave the Griptilian line a chance! Great knives. PM2, Manix 2, and hopefully soon a PM3, really like those knives!
I was always into large fixed blades for keeping the property up, but I am glad I gave smaller fixed blades a chance.
Will always be glad I gave Ferrum Forge a chance. I have become a huge fan of their knives!!
 
Delica 4
Military
Small Sebenza 21 (kicking myself for ever getting rid of it)

The Delica was just a delightful surprise. It's relatively inexpensive but built well, and slices like a laser. Easy to put an edge on, and retains said edge for a respectable amount of time. I like the curve in the spine towards the tip, gives me confidence to use it for whatever reason (whereas I try not to snap the tip of my PM2).

The Military is just a beast. I love it. I'm glad I own it. I take it everywhere in some capacity, and would use it for anything.

I never appreciated my Sebenza until I owned a couple dozen other knives. I just miss the simplicity, tolerances, and cutting performance. I also enjoyed the ease of disassembly and reassembly.
 
Spyderco P'kal! Was just getting into higher end defensive knives and was looking into Karambits. I bought a few karambits but didn't love the them. The angles the karambit naturally wants to attack from I didn't find intuitive. I came across the P'kal and bought it without really giving it much serious credence as a SD knife. I thought the karambit was buying into the hype. I thought maybe with some practice I could make the kbit work for me. I still like flipping them though.

So I started looking into the P'kal's fighting system which I totally didn't understand intuitively. How am I supposed to use this backwards knife to protect myself? Learning about how it worked it made perfect sense and felt very natural. I was like, how did I not think of this style earlier? I now love RGEI grips though many P'kal style moves can be done with any dagger or pointed object, such as a tactical pen.

Here's story number two, style is wild stinkin' like doo doo. It was last year before my bday. I tell my local knife store owner, "order me a large Sebbie 21" thinking it will arrive in time for my bday. So a few days before my bday I call up the store, "is my large 21 in?" "No, it hasn't come in yet, we have the new large Inkosis in though" I'm like, Inkosi what the hell is that? "No thanks, I guess I'll wait for my large 21 to come in" I said, completely dejected. Hold on though let me look up this Inkosi, I mean the Zaan is nice maybe this will be too. So I whip out the phone and bust out that google images. Time to call the store back! "Yeah hold onto that Inkosi for me, I'll be there in 20 minutes to grab it!" The rest is history...
 
The Spyderco Paramilitary 2. I never liked liner locks, and the compression lock of course is just a variation on that. But then I discovered two things- the virtue, in Minnesota, of having a knife that does not have the fashionable all-Ti handles but rather the temperature-insensitive G10 ones, and the virtue of the extra-large Spyderhole in opening a knife. A bonus third is that the compression lock does not require you to put any part of your body in the path of the closing blade and such knives can be closed as quickly and safely one-handed as they can be opened in the same manner. Wonderful knives.

Also traditionals. Now, I've always liked traditionals at least a bit, but the LionSteel Euro Barlow really converted me. There was a knife that was basically the best of both worlds. The modest size, sleek looks, classic attractiveness, and suitability for any audience combined with the modern materials and a pull that isn't foreign to someone who started on modern folders.
 
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