Name a brand you didn't like but do now

fetzer85

fetzer85

Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Messages
2,163
I found BF a couple years ago when I started getting seriously interested in all things knives. Spyderco seemed to be such a popular and talked about brand but I kept seeing those stinking opening holes! All my knives had thumbstuds so I just couldn't comprehend why on earth you'd want a hole there instead. If I recall correctly I also thought they looked a little goofy. :p

Fast forward a couple years and they're one of my favorite brands. The Tenacious was the first one I tried as it was said to closely rival my at-the-time favorite Ontario RAT 1. I quickly realized why some people like the opening hole so much and suddenly it no longer looked 'goofy'. :o Since that time I've had quite a few Spydercos including the Tenacious, Military, PM2, Sage 1-2-3, Endura, Stretch, Delica, Dragonfly, GB, Southard and some others.

Recently I picked up a Kabar Dozier Hunter with opening hole and it's great. I tried one with a thumbstud but it just wasn't a very good combo IMO with the backlock. My 'new found' love of the opening hole allowed me to find an incredibly cheap knife that I'm very satisfied with.



Feel free to share any stories you remember about how you used to not care for a particular brand of knives but then changed your mind.
 
Becker

Looked clunky and "unrefined"

Boy was I wrong! I now live with my BK-9 in the woods of New England.
 
I also didn't like spyderco. I thought the hole in the blade looked terrible. Then I tried one and now I love them.
 
Definitely agree with Becker. Always thought the handles were butt ugly cheapo clunky turds. I definitely see the reasoning behind their design now.

Another company I was wrong about is cold steel. When I was a kid growing up, I thought they were sooo expensive. They were every little tedneck kids dream though. When I got into "real knives" a bit later I assumed they were crap. I saw so much hatred and bashing that I just ignored them. I've come to respect their knives quite a bit.

Another one that flew under my radar for a long while was zytel handled spydercos. I used to despise zytel. I was given an Endura by my brother. I actually told him "I don't want this cheap piece of crap. Keep it!" After I carried it a few weeks I saw that I was wrong about them. Big time.
 
ZT. Most of their knives seemed too big to comfortably carry to me. I love their smaller recent offerings. The 0566 was my first, followed by an 0770CF, now a 0566BW. I want a 0562 when they come out.
 
Buck - heard that QC had gone down in recent years and wasn't really into the idea of 420HC (cheap stainless? - meh).
Though I don't carry the 110 I purchased, I think it's great.

Because of the experience with 420HC, I tried a Utilitac II, and I think the AUS8 is very respectable for the price. So add Ontario to the list, also.
 
Growing up in the world of traditionals, I was biased against the colorful plastic and "stupid hole" of Spyderco. Acquired my very first, a Persistence, along with some other cheap knives in a trade for some AR mags. The rest was history. Hold one and cut with one, and your mind will forever be changed.
 
Mora.

Then: Why waste money on a cheap $14 flimsy knife with a plastic handle?

Now: One of the best values on the market. My go to hunting brand for almost everything now.
 
Spyderco. Thought they were weird. Now they are my favorite company. I have more companies I no longer care for than companies I didn't like and now do.
 
I had been a benchmade fan for approx four years untill I joined this forum. I decided, six months ago, to finally give spyderco a try so I pulled the trigger on a sage 2 and that specific blade model changed my perspective about the knives which they produce.
I'm now officially spyder bitten and lovin every minute of it.
 
I had been a benchmade fan for approx four years untill I joined this forum. I decided, six months ago, to finally give spyderco a try so I pulled the trigger on a sage 2 and that specific blade model changed my perspective about the knives which they produce.
I'm now officially spyder bitten and lovin every minute of it.
 
fetzer85 said:
I found BF a couple years ago when I started getting seriously interested in all things knives. Spyderco seemed to be such a popular and talked about brand but I kept seeing those stinking opening holes! All my knives had thumbstuds so I just couldn't comprehend why on earth you'd want a hole there instead. If I recall correctly I also thought they looked a little goofy. :p

Fast forward a couple years and they're one of my favorite brands. The Tenacious was the first one I tried as it was said to closely rival my at-the-time favorite Ontario RAT 1. I quickly realized why some people like the opening hole so much and suddenly it no longer looked 'goofy'. :o Since that time I've had quite a few Spydercos including the Tenacious, Military, PM2, Sage 1-2-3, Endura, Stretch, Delica, Dragonfly, GB, Southard and some others.

Recently I picked up a Kabar Dozier Hunter with opening hole and it's great. I tried one with a thumbstud but it just wasn't a very good combo IMO with the backlock. My 'new found' love of the opening hole allowed me to find an incredibly cheap knife that I'm very satisfied with.



Feel free to share any stories you remember about how you used to not care for a particular brand of knives but then changed your mind.
Click to expand...


:eek: This is my experience verbatim.........
 
wvriverats said:
ZT. Most of their knives seemed too big to comfortably carry to me. I love their smaller recent offerings. The 0566 was my first, followed by an 0770CF, now a 0566BW. I want a 0562 when they come out.
Click to expand...

Yup
Yup
Yup
And yup

My first impression of ZT was that they only made ugly, overly heavy tank-knives (read as "ZT 0350 tiger stripe"), so I didn't think much about them. Then I started seeing the new stuff they were coming out with over the last year, and I realized I had misjudged them. When I bought my first ZT, a 0566, I was blown away by the quality. It was heavy, sure, but it was clearly a very well made knife, and it's now one of my favorites to carry when I feel like something beefier. So just a couple days ago, I got a 0770CF, and again I was amazed at how great it was. It's so light and slim, and truly a work of art. I'm currently looking into the new black 0801, so it's pretty obvious that I love ZT now:p:thumbup:
 
This doesn't quite fit the bill, but it nearly does: it wasn't until I started buying other knives that I really started to appreciate. Victorinox. Perfect fit and finish every single time at bargain prices. I always took that for granted/assumed was the case across the board.
 
This is what I came in here to say, though I haven't pulled the trigger yet I think I'm going to have to get a bk-9 after all the praise they get.
 
Never thought much of Cold Steel through the years, but I recently had a couple catch my eye at a local shop.
 
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