So close to perfect it annoys you

[mmyron1]

The constantly moving pivot on my Bugouts. No matter how perfect i get it, the pivot will "adjust" and produce some blade play.

 

[cbach8tw]

I like Knives with character and will take a custom knife with some cosmetic issues (mostly Fixed blades) over a near perfect knife. It has character and shows the nature of a knife made in that manner. Some of my favorite knives are made by redsquid2 here on the forums. Also like a Windless Steel craft soldiers knife from India in carbon steel, maybe not so well made or hold a great edge for very long, but I like the heft and character of it. And lately I am carrying my Old Hickory folder for EDC.

 

[Reswob]

ZT 452: great knife, terrible pocket clip (placement and design). The handle is so long that the deep carry clip made the knife bottom out in my pocket. Tried to remedy with an aftermarket 'standard' clip, which raised the knife in the pocket enough, but the angle of the clip just doesn't work. I would have loved to have kept this one (even though it's a frame lock flipper!), but it NEEDS a tip down, non deep carry clip to be functional.

ZT 920: didn't even get to be mad about the clip on this one (although it isn't great), because I couldn't get past that the detent was way too light, making it almost impossible to open without wrist. Exchanged it for another one, same problem. Sold it and moved on.

MKAD Loro: again, bad clip design. Would have kept this one if it had a tip-down clip (and not a 3D titanium one either!). After this one I finally swore off buying knives over 3" without tip down clips, no matter how much I like the design otherwise.

WE Banter: if only Ben had teamed up with a US company, this would be an easy "perfect design". Sigh.

 

[GAGL]

American Lawman needs thicker scales like the old one...also orange G10

 

[sabre cat]

Boker had a knife out a few years ago. Almost perfect for my needs.
I think it was an AK74.

Perfect drop point blade. Reasonable blade steel for the price. Comfortable grip. Amazing pocket clip. Decent price that did not drain the bank account. All in all, a perfect knife for the money. Except… the metal scales.

Another is Spyderco’s D’Allara 3.
Perfect except for the pocket clip and locking mechanism.

If Spydrco had just made the knife with their compression lock instead of the ball lock…

 

[Dr Rez]

If the Terävä Jääkäripuukko 140 was made in a decent stainless like 12c27 or more I could buy 2 and die happy. Seriously its the only outdoor knife I would ever need.

 

[ktataragasi]

To me the Bugout is a great knife but the omega springs make me hesitant to carry it as much as I want. I'm now in my 3rd set. If anyone ever makes a frame lock version I'll take 2.

 

[tony281sc2]

ZT 452: great knife, terrible pocket clip (placement and design). The handle is so long that the deep carry clip made the knife bottom out in my pocket. Tried to remedy with an aftermarket 'standard' clip, which raised the knife in the pocket enough, but the angle of the clip just doesn't work. I would have loved to have kept this one (even though it's a frame lock flipper!), but it NEEDS a tip down, non deep carry clip to be functional.
Idk about all that ! lol…sounds like you need better pants.

ZT 920: didn't even get to be mad about the clip on this one (although it isn't great), because I couldn't get past that the detent was way too light, making it almost impossible to open without wrist. Exchanged it for another one, same problem. Sold it and moved on.

That sucks to hear :-( I have a lot of ZTs, and of all the ones on bearings, I’ve only had weak detents on a 0095blkS90V, and a 0562ORBLK… (and the 0200s are a little weak, but they’re on washers). But the 0920 was one I stupidly passed by, originally, and have wanted to pick up ever since they were discontinued. Thank you for the heads up about the detent.

 

[K.O.D.]

That sucks to hear :-( I have a lot of ZTs, and of all the ones on bearings, I’ve only had weak detents on a 0095blkS90V, and a 0562ORBLK… (and the 0200s are a little weak, but they’re on washers). But the 0920 was one I stupidly passed by, originally, and have wanted to pick up ever since they were discontinued. Thank you for the heads up about the detent.

Interesting, my 0095BLK CPM-S90V is perfect detent. Slap on a deep carry clip and it's one of my favorites, and one of my best flippers.

My 0561 had a very weak detent,but that was common with that model. Otherwise, 0470 is great and the 0801 was too.

I really don't like the Bill Cosby sweater weave CF on my Spyderco Domino, but no one seems to make scales for it anymore.

 

[tony281sc2]

Interesting, my 0095BLK CPM-S90V is perfect detent. Slap on a deep carry clip and it's one of my favorites, and one of my best flippers.

My 0561 had a very weak detent,but that was common with that model. Otherwise, 0470 is great and the 0801 was too.

I really don't like the Bill Cosby sweater weave CF on my Spyderco Domino, but no one seems to make scales for it anymore.

The 0801 is one of the best IMO, great working knife, perfect size, weight, very smooth, and they came in Elmax and S35VN, which is both awesome stuff, plus sprints in M390. I still kick myself for not buying one of those 0801BRZs when they were new @ $240. I had a regular 0095bw that I gave to my dad, and that one kicks open with authority!

 

[midnight flyer]

There's a reason custom knives exist.
If something about a factory knife bothers you, just have a customer maker make one to your specifications.

Anything made to cater to the masses is going to fall short for some people.

I agree to an extent. But for what would be common sense issue like all possible screws being the same size, I think the original design should consider ease of maintenance and repair.

I am spoiled with this; as a contractor I have (sadly) a few thousand dollars worth of RIDGID brand tools, bought for their lifetime warranty. (Which for the scoffs and grunts of disbelief, they actually honor!) They are OK tools to actually pretty good. But they do cater more towards the professional and very serious DIY guy in their upper end tools. When something goes wrong in the field and I don't have a spare handy or I know it is something I can fix, I can usually break down the whole tool with one size Torx. Talk about nice... I have a wrench in the truck box I sprayed with red paint so I can grab it and go.

I don't know when RIDGID started doing that as I have a few tools that take 2 - 3 sizes to get the tool apart. Makes me appreciate the new designs even more. So what did it cost RIDGID and now my newer Metabo tools to do that? They probably save money by having all one size in the assembly process. To that point, I just put together an EGO weed trimmer a couple of days ago that had 4 different screws used in assembly. Since they were all one size (hope that means a trend is starting) EGO even included an assembly wrench.

If you are talking about the usual conversation here of "If they only upgraded the steel" and if "they changed the grind from sabre" and "I hate the big logo/scales/lock/lanyard-hole/texture/etc." or I would buy 2, I agree.

 

[HexY3co]

I love my Benchmade adamas mini however the clip was a pain to get onto the pocket so I did a reshape using a torch and vise with a pipe for shaping, now it works perfectly. Also wish this had a lock for when open. Otherwise perfect.