Last knife purchase of 2017

[stabman]

I have wanted to try a swick but never got ahold of one. There is also the older Spyderco SPOT but I didn’t love the blade shape. (Those little tight recurves are a pain in the butt to sharpen.) There is also the Emerson La Griffe which has a little hawkbill. Then there are rarer ones like the Ban Tang Pikal La Griffe (I lust for this).

I think pretty much any of them including the Swicks would make excellent last ditch or close in defense knives. The reason I prefer the Perrins to the Emerson model is because the straighter edge lets me use it as a punch dagger. The handle on the Swicks look like they wouldn’t be as good for the punch dagger grips.

Ok here’s the break down. If I am carrying one as a little backup SD knife along with another bigger knife. (Usually a folder) then the Perrins are extremely light and thin. Even lighter and thinner is Le Shark which is even lower profile. (Also for my hand the Le Shark fits perfect for lunch dagger grip)

If I am going to be carrying just one of these little neck knives as my only knife I usually prefer the Brous Silent Soldiers because they are thicker and more capable as utility knives. I actually don’t wear them as neck knives almost ever. Usually i put them in my coin pocket or in my waistband. The ball chain doubles great as a static cord. I wear the Le Shark as a neckknife sometimes if I am going to the gym or have no pockets, or no belt loops.

Edit to add pics: Note, hand is held partially open so you can see how the handle supports against my palm. (Sorry about the ugly cuticles, dry winter)

Brous Silent Soldier Ranger

Perrin La Griffe (auto-hamon can be seen here, but not well)

Le Shark. First picture shows it works best for my hand if you make sure to hook the butt around your middle finger. Easy to do if you practice drawing it this way. Still in a rush I would probably draw in standard grip. The butt supports against the meat of my palm connected to my thumb.

For me if you don’t hook the butt around your middle finger it can stull be used, but it is less comfortable and presents at a weirder angle. This is shown in this last pic. (Check that friggin’ auto hamon! Captured great here)

Ever try actually punching something that provides resistance while gripping them like that?
Good chance you won't enjoy it much, or think that grip is all that great in the future.

I have the Perrin La Griffe, the Le Shark, and the SOG Snarl.
They all seem great in that grip...till you hit something with them.

 

[Lapedog]

Ever try actually punching something that provides resistance while gripping them like that?
Good chance you won't enjoy it much, or think that grip is all that great in the future.

I have the Perrin La Griffe, the Le Shark, and the SOG Snarl.
They all seem great in that grip...till you hit something with them.

That is actually the first thing I tried. The one that supports best is actually the Le Shark with the butt hooked around my middle finger. The other two are decent but not amazing, a real punch dagger is way way better. Even still if you are going to use them like this I wouldn’t recommend punching full force. The knives work better with with light punches letting the blade do the damage.

I did do strikes with increasing strength because I wanted to see how the handles support against my palm. Last thing you want is to break your hand with your own knife. The only one where I found that it may be a real danger of that was the Le Shark held without the butt hooked around my middle finger. (Somehow that little tiny adjustment makes a huge difference.)

Personally I am not much of a puncher anyway as my martial arts background is in judo. Thus the standart grip used with these knives is actually very preferable for me. I also definitely think it is hand specific how feasible punch dagger grip is.

Edit: it was big tires I was punching, if you wondered. I definitely think you have to check out how it works out for your hand. They definitely aren’t ideal for punch dagger use. I was just answering about the handles vs the Swick.

 

[stabman]

Edit: it was big tires I was punching, if you wondered. I definitely think you have to check out how it works out for your hand. They definitely aren’t ideal for punch dagger use. I was just answering about the handles vs the Swick.

I had a chance to try out a variety of push daggers...I was not impressed with them.
They were great for concealment by gamblers back when folding knives had crappy locks, I guess.

I am not sad that living in Canada meant I could not buy any push daggers in 2017.

My last purchase of 2017 was this:

Discontinued by Cold Steel due to most customers wanting the most uncomfortably huge folder one can shove in their pants pocket, I guess.
This one is actually a great size for a knife to carry.

 

[DocJD]

I had a chance to try out a variety of push daggers...I was not impressed with them.
They were great for concealment by gamblers back when folding knives had crappy locks, I guess.

I am not sad that living in Canada meant I could not buy any push daggers in 2017.

My last purchase of 2017 was this:

Discontinued by Cold Steel due to most customers wanting the most uncomfortably huge folder one can shove in their pants pocket, I guess.
This one is actually a great size for a knife to carry.

"Darn them huge impractical folders from CS" , says the creator of "Mega-smatchet ", with no sense of irony or shame !

 

[TonneauOne]

My new-to-me Buddy Gaines. CPM154 4" blade, full ti scales, frame lock. Built like a tank, and love the custom pivots he uses

 

[jeffsenpai]

Ended up getting a browning gimmick knife from Big 5 - I like the look of the hemp scales, the blade markings are not my thing though.

 

[stabman]

"Darn them huge impractical folders from CS" , says the creator of "Mega-smatchet ", with no sense of irony or shame !

I have a number of those impractically large folders.
I have one pair of pants that the Espada XL fits into the pocket...and they're the pair I hate the most.

The Rajah 2 is okay to carry, but gets in the way of putting much else in the same pocket.

The XL Voyagers are "okayish" to carry, but still get annoying after a while. The Spyderco Tatanka sits in the pocket far better than the newer versions of the XL Voyagers (the old, pre-Tri-Ad lock versions were nicer to carry).

 

[Wunderbar]

I bought an Emerson A-100 again. I thought they might be discontinued but I was wrong.
Didn't really want another but oh well. I'm going to trade off the remainder of mine in 2018 and go back to my origins of a 3.25-3.5" bladed folders.