Right and Wrong

[walleyeguy7]

When I get a knife in hand for the first time it is often about what I expected but just a bit wrong, a smidge off. As if it has been over engineered and lost itself. On the opposite side of the spectrum a much less desirable knife often is so much more than it appears to be over the computer screen. When you get it in your mitts it's immediately clear that the knife is just right. Of the knives you recently had the chance to see which ones surprised you?

I didn't like the Air but when I got one in hand I realized it's so right!

 

[Wowbagger]

There seems to be some kind of problem with your part of Bladforums.com and every time I try to save/send a reply to your thread "Right Wrong" the attempt times out and I get a message that there is a problem with the server or some such.

And yet low and behold I can use the server otherwise this new thread being an example

WTF

What the heck I may as well post my reply here until I can move it o'r there.

My first and only, so far, Case Trapper (in Stag) (my first one just HAD to be in Stag for the classic look) has surprised me. Very useful and the factory edges though coarse and toothy are really working surprisingly well; haven't sharpened it yet but have used it a bunch.



I would say most of the knives I buy I am pleased with because I spend way too much time agonizing over a knife purchase. But . . . for me . . . that's part of the "fun".

The one I have agonized over but so far have not bought is the Teardrop. I will probably get one eventually. The Trapper has some of that shape and I wanted to go with a larger knife so the tear drop purchase was put on the shelf until 2016 unless something hits the market that I need to pounce on.

On the opposite end of the spectrum my Boker medium stockman in green bone is great over all but disappointed me in two, fairly small respects. First; there may be a problem with the translation from German to English but it is billed as having carbon steel blades. It reacts to reactive foods etc. exactly like my Boker Stockman in Stainless Steel . . . hardly at all. I can force a reaction with fresh lemon juice but is the same on both knives just a slight darkening after leaving the juice on for an inordinate period.

The other disappointment is the spring force is way excessive when opening the blades. If I have washed my hands recently I can count on bending over a finger nail just to get the knife open. The green bone is extraordinary though; that and the etching on the main blade makes up for the small anomalies. The knife feels great in hand and cuts well.

 

[Duane Sanders]

My vote goes for the Spyderco slip joints. Perfect blend of old technology with new design.

They stay opened with a firm spring with no blade play in any direction and are thin and light. The finger choil prevents any risk of it closing on your hand. I am unfamiliar with the steel but it is the only knife I have that holds a very sharp edge longer than most but still sharpens very easy.

My brother gave me one some time ago and it makes a great little office knife. You would not think a slip joint Spyderco design would be so functional but it is and even though it is small it was designed to be held in the hand and not look pretty. Highly functional knife that you will not realize until you hold onto one.

 

[Lee48]

Benchmade's HK Axis, the full size model. Although it sells for about $100, it's still around $50 less than an equivalent model with the butterfly on the blade. I liked the looks and the size of it when I read about it but I still thought of HK's as the low end of Benchmade manufactured knives. Surprisingly it is an extremely well put together, smooth operating knife with excellent G10 and a sharp D2 blade. While it's a little rough around the edges (literally, the blade spine on mine was left in an "as cut" state without any smoothing or polishing and my pivot was full of debris and manufacturing crud), it's comfortable in the hand, near perfectly balanced and performs well as a cutting tool--gotta love that D2 steel. If Benchmade had polished the blade spine and put a butterfly on the side of the blade it would fit right into the Black Class line.

 

[EChoil]

My latest experience like that was with a Cold Steel Ti-Lite. Knew the instant I saw one in person that it was even better than what I'd seen in pics or expected to buy. Still feel that way....blast of a knife.