My favorite handles

[JimMD]

These are the three knives I own whose handles I like the best. They are the most comfortable for my XL hands. What are yours?

 

[Cogam87]

Manix xl, full size griptillian and........ I'll say steel will mini cutjack

 

[TRfromMT]

Survive! Knives GSO 4.7, or any Carothers Performance Knives handle, because the ergonomics are so good!

 

[miso2]

Really like this worn Whisky bone handle.

 

[Wowbagger]

What are yours?

OK . . . you asked for it.
One of my favorite topics (or rants depending on how you look at it).
I like my handles kind of fat and square as oposed to the norm these days of flat thin handle slabs that are vertically tall. Think Paramilitary 2. That's what I don't care for; how ever I have many Para2s and love the knife over all for many reasons.

One nearly perfect handle in a "smaller knife" is the Case Trapper. I have many Trappers, Case and others.


I tend to remove the spay blade to clean up the grip on the handle; I don't like the ridge of the folded blade under my fingers.


Then I like similar handles in my larger / longer knives such as these


These are all broad across the back and I like some serious texture on there and some rubber like material if I can get it such as my Custom Grail and this Buck 110 LW


OK I'll give you a break and then say WHY I like these handles.

 

[Wowbagger]

Why ? ? ? does 'bagger like them funny handles ? ? ?
I like to be able to grip a knife like this first photo.


This allows me to roll the blade in my fingers and cut kind of a curling or scooping kind of motion. I might be a little too obsessed with this but you asked.



The broad back lets me grip the knife this way with thumb and index finger and have it really stable. If the knife handle is too thin and too tall it feels tippy and unstable when held this way.

A knife that is a good example is the Schrade Sharp Finger. One of my customers had one in a very knice custom sheath today and I got to handle a Sharp Finger for the first time. I like the handle quite a lot.
Ya I'm sheltered.

 

[JimMD]

Manix xl, full size griptillian and........ I'll say steel will mini cutjack

I’ve heard the Manix has great ergonomics. I wasn’t aware of the XL version. I used to have a PM2. I wasn’t a big fan of the ergos for actual use, and I always heard the Manix is better in that regard. I have XL hands, and I find a lot of knives that are well regarded don’t work so well for my grip.

 

[JimMD]

OK . . . you asked for it.
One of my favorite topics (or rants depending on how you look at it).
I like my handles kind of fat and square as oposed to the norm these days of flat thin handle slabs that are vertically tall. Think Paramilitary 2. That's what I don't care for; how ever I have many Para2s and love the knife over all for many reasons.

One nearly perfect handle in a "smaller knife" is the Case Trapper. I have many Trappers, Case and others.
View attachment 1171613

I tend to remove the spay blade to clean up the grip on the handle; I don't like the ridge of the folded blade under my fingers.
View attachment 1171614

Then I like similar handles in my larger / longer knives such as these
View attachment 1171615

These are all broad across the back and I like some serious texture on there and some rubber like material if I can get it such as my Custom Grail and this Buck 110 LW
View attachment 1171617
View attachment 1171616
OK I'll give you a break and then say WHY I like these handles.

While you're preparing part 2, I must say your explanation reminds me of another of my favorite handles, that of the Boos Blades Smoke. It's so thin (short?) from top to bottom that I don't understand why it works well for me, but I like it because it's comfortable in my grip despite being slim. It's a very light knife that takes up very little room in the pocket. Not among my favorite handles, but impressive for the size.

 

[JimMD]

Why ? ? ? does 'bagger like them funny handles ? ? ?
I like to be able to grip a knife like this first photo.
View attachment 1171620

This allows me to roll the blade in my fingers and cut kind of a curling or scooping kind of motion. I might be a little too obsessed with this but you asked.
View attachment 1171622
View attachment 1171621

The broad back lets me grip the knife this way with thumb and index finger and have it really stable. If the knife handle is too thin and too tall it feels tippy and unstable when held this way.
View attachment 1171624
A knife that is a good example is the Schrade Sharp Finger. One of my customers had one in a very knice custom sheath today and I got to handle a Sharp Finger for the first time. I like the handle quite a lot.
Ya I'm sheltered.

I also appreciate knives that aren't too thin. I know that for pocketability, it's nice for a knife to be thin, but I'd rather sacrifice more space in the pocket to achieve a satisfying grip.

For example, I love the grip I get on one of my smallest knives, the Burger EXK Plus. Even though the handle is only 3.75 inches long, I can grip that entire length because, as a front flipper, it has no flipper tab to interfere with the grip length. And the handle width is over half an inch, so it fills the hand well despite the overall size.

 

[Hickory n steel]

For a slipjoint with multiple blades or implaments this Camillus 99 fills the hand pretty well and nothing sticks up too much.