Knives with so much potential, and poor execution?

Tostig said:
Both the M16 and M21 were two of my all time favorite folders simply because of the overall design , like you I wished again and again for upgraded and better versions , CRKT used to use finer materials like titanium and ATS34 then for some reason decided that people don't like those.. ? I gave my M16 to a co-worker and the M21 to my brother , both of which still carry and use those knives.

Lets talk about Kershaw. I love Kershaw , IMO they make the absolute best knife for the dollar out there , ounce for ounce their knives easily stack up to the competition at a fraction of the cost. However on many models they choose these ridiculous looking pocket clips , JYDII for example.. I scored a Ti/SG2 blem for a wonderful price and I will stake my pickup trucks pink slip on that knife being one of the best production knives ever built EVER. Its ergonomics are pure perfection , it's blade is the epitome of the perfect slicer. It's execution in Ti is a wonder to behold and then there's the pocket clip that looks like it fell off of Godzillas back !! They have done this on other models too. Perfect knife , aside from the gaudy clip that screams "look at me !!"

:)

Tostig
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Completely agree with the JYD. I never thought a clip would detract from a knife so much.

Dave Behrens said:
Every Manufacturer has a flub now and then. Kershaw had the Outcast(IMO), Cold Steel had the Kudu, Pocket Bushman, Blackrock Hunter, Paradox, Ring Dagger, Nightshade Series, Double Agent/s, Counter Point Folder, Spyderco had the Woodlander series(again IMO, see Outcast comment for reasons), even Busse had the Nuclear Seahorse incident. Some designs are a just bad idea that can't be made better and just get worse from there. Also, a higher price/cost is little to no indication of quality.
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I actually liked the Couter Point, what do you dislike about it?
 
+1 tostig
I really wanted that jyd with the sg2 steel and the ti frame but would never carry it because of the clip. :(
 
res1cue said:
Completely agree with the JYD. I never thought a clip would detract from a knife so much.



I actually liked the Couter Point, what do you dislike about it?
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Honestly, I don't care for chisel grinds, and it just plain looked funny to me.
 
Kershaw 1900 ET. That knife was soo cool, unfortunately everywhere I read had complaints about how the blade would hit the spring inside the handle and take a nice chip out of it. I wish I had never sent it back to Kershaw. That was such a fun knife
 
Dave Behrens said:
Every Manufacturer has a flub now and then. Kershaw had the Outcast(IMO), Cold Steel had the Kudu, Pocket Bushman, Blackrock Hunter, Paradox, Ring Dagger, Nightshade Series, Double Agent/s, Counter Point Folder, Spyderco had the Woodlander series(again IMO, see Outcast comment for reasons), even Busse had the Nuclear Seahorse incident. Some designs are a just bad idea that can't be made better and just get worse from there. Also, a higher price/cost is little to no indication of quality.
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i'm not talking about knives that are bad designs from inception, but knives that are good designs and could be made better with just a few tweaks.
 
Just about everything from Gerber. I like most of their designs alot, but their horrendous marketing schemes and materials are enough to make me puke. One of the most comfy handles and well designed blades is the Prodigy...
 
Most gerber blades seem like they could of been great but lost their way.

but the one knife that I constantly think "if only they changed one thing..." mostly bc I carry it alot is my waved endura. I understand why they left that thick grind on it and I can appreciate that when I got to apply some lateral force on it. But vg10 has never cut so poorly. They grind keeps it from being my all time favorite knife. I just want a higher grind, hollow grind, ffg, it doesnt matter i would be happy with any of them. the saber grind as it is is too thick for ideal edc use. though it pairs up nicely with my wharny barlow
 
slight said:
Most gerber blades seem like they could of been great but lost their way.

but the one knife that I constantly think "if only they changed one thing..." mostly bc I carry it alot is my waved endura. I understand why they left that thick grind on it and I can appreciate that when I got to apply some lateral force on it. But vg10 has never cut so poorly. They grind keeps it from being my all time favorite knife. I just want a higher grind, hollow grind, ffg, it doesnt matter i would be happy with any of them. the saber grind as it is is too thick for ideal edc use. though it pairs up nicely with my wharny barlow
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Rounding the shoulder where the saber grind meets the full thickness part of the blade will make a big difference on your E4 wave. FFG would be too light to wave out easily, it needs the mass of that thicker blade to open right when wave drawn.
 
buck bones aka 870. first it's made in china. with the name buck on the blade. second the package says 420HC, I called them to find out where the steel came from...answer china. I had it for a month and the lock bar broke from "normal" use aka opening and closing. I think the frame is "nemed" if thats the right word. someone correct me please. but, look at the tip. I think it's great, it seems everybody's tanto's are different and I really like this one, thick all the way thru and sharp. lock is up good, solid snap in place. no play. blade detent great. good "grip". blade to handle size is great. I like steel frame, frame locks.... it's hard to find one made in usa, not sure why. wish buck would have made it in usa. I would pay the extra price because I think it would have been made different. maybe HT'ed screws, milled steel handles, and the 420HC that we all know, and HT'ed by buck.
Now, I feel better I got that out. LoL
 
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The knife that comes to mind is the crkt m16 series of knives. I bought one a while back with the intention of usings the hell out of it at work and did just that. Overall the knife design is great except for one glating ommision there is no blade stop pin. So whenever i reqlly pused on the knife (cutting plastic straps for example) the blade would wedge open to where i had to use a plier to open the liner lock. Youd think someone would have thought of that in a knife that was designed for hard use
 
CRKT as a company, their Brian Tighe designs more specifically, and the Nirk Tighe in particular. I absolutely love Mr. Tighe's designs and I've salivated over his customs too many times to count, but I can't get past the quality issues that seem to keep coming up with CRKT. I really feel that with their stable of designers they could step their game up and start to really compete with Spyderco, Benchmade and Kershaw, but they just won't take that step.
 
Alot of fixed blades are like that for me anymore,great blades but crappy(barely serviceabe)sheaths.I don't believe that you should have to get an aftermarket sheath every time you get a new fixed.I know it raises cost,but for crying out loud at least have a better sheath option for people that can afford it.
 
jimnolimit said:
i'm not talking about knives that are bad designs from inception, but knives that are good designs and could be made better with just a few tweaks.
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List some examples. The reason manuf.'s use cheaper materials it to keep cost low so they can sell more, quantity over quality, more expensive material/features=more expensive product=more exclusive market.
 
I like the Kershaw Shallot as it is, but I've always thought it would be cool if Kershaw did with it what they did with the G10 Leek (G10 handle, liner lock, stonewashed S30V blade).
 
res1cue said:
-CRKT M21/M16 series: I loved the full hilt design, and the Auto-lawks. With less holes, no serrations, beefier liner, and better steel, it really could have been a winner
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I would like those knives a lot better if they had: better steel, beefier liners as you mentioned... but also with a V-grind on the tantos, or at least being ground on the right side instead of the left. I would also like a more ergonomic and grippy handle, the aluminum ones are quite slick. I like the flippers on those knives.
 
I love Kershaw, in fact they consist of the majority of my knives, but I have to agree on the beadblasting issue. My HI khukuri in 5160 has had far better rust resistance than my Zing, whose grooves make it incredibly difficult to maintain. I just try and remove the finish/stonewash my Kershaws now. Here's some other disappointments I've noticed lately.

-Boker: A historic German company who pretty much only makes some horribly overpriced knives in the old country, whereas their excellent Chad Los Banos designs are forced to languish in China with 440C steel (I haven't had any experience with it but I assume it's only slightly better than AUS8). Some of the knives have an appropriate "made in china" price, but most do not. Kershaw has pretty much proved you can make a cheap, good knife in America (Zing/Skyline). They have an RJ Martin fixed blade I love as well, but once again the steel for it is pretty inappropriate. I still intend to buy some Boker Plus' to try them out.

-Gerber: Another historic company who is a shadow of its former self. I understand that business exist to make money, but it's really sad when you see a historic name like Gerber whoring itself out to make cheap Bear Grylls themed knives, and other junk.

Here's the Boker Plus RJ Martin Rampage I mentioned:
BO02BO110.jpg
 
kalis said:
Always been disappointed with CRKT and Cold Steel folders. Cold Steel has made some great blade shapes, but they seem cheaply constructed.
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Have you bought any Cold Steel knives as of late? The lawman and voyager series knives are some of the most well built knives I have, and they are well under 100 dollars.

Perfectly centered blades, absolutely ZERO play, and the blade swings freely (smooth) to boot. I say give them a shot. :)
 
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