#1 & #2:
Mora and
Gerber Gator fixed blade (image from
http://rockymountainbushcraft.blogspot.com/2012/04/made-in-usa-gear-review-gerber-gator.html)
Tied at #3 (same handle)
Swamp Rat HRLM and RMD (image by
=MAX= http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Street-and-HRLM-RMD-Pic?p=8130817#post8130817)
And I hope to report soon on the comfort of the new Survive! Knives GSO-4.1 handle! (from
https://www.surviveknives.com/)
The Gerber and Mora are simple, contoured, non-slip, and also slightly flexible.
The Bussekin handles are exceptional at contouring to fit the hand as well as surface contouring and texturing for maximum retention.
I am excited about the GSO but cannot yet comment on comfort, but it has many of the correct attributes.
Something noticably flawed about the finnish, becker, and BRKT handles is how
thick they are compared to how
wide - the oval is often
TOO circular or equilateral such that the handle has a tendency to
twist in the hand unless gripped
tighter. The BK 'tweeners' may not suffer from this like their larger siblings, and I do worry about it with the GSO-4.1. But compared to the Gerber, Mora, and Swamp Rats, my Järvenpää Aito and BRKT Bravo 1 are exhausting and dangerous, more so the BRKT due to its polished handle (the Aito is leather washers). That BRKT pictured above may be even worse than the Bravo 1.
Your handle should be, on average, ~2x wider than it is thick. Chamfered edges increase comfort, as does the contouring, though many handles fail by maintaining thickness near the ricasso rather than tapering toward it as the GSO does. A palm swell and pommel swell + beak increase both comfort and retention so long as they do not swell to far beyond that 1:2 ratio of thickness:width.
Its tops for me.
