So what do you like more.....

3 5/8 if possible. One to three blades. Enticing to the eye. Something I won't be afraid to use, but good luck with that.
 
2 blades
4" handle
micarta or wood preferred
No half-stops preferred

Pretty much this, and then just grabbed a possum skinner in micarta as well. I have a few trappers as well that I'm fond of. I don't need the big blades but I really like the bigger handles for my paws.
jyCkusYl.jpg
 
Hkjay said:
So what do you like more or should I say what is the biggest determining factory when you are picking a knife aside from its function I am thinking more along the lines of what the knife is made of. I will give you a few examples to try and get my point across...

1. Size of the knife like a certain pattern the obvious one that comes to mind are the GEC 15's they seem to be the most popular frame on the porch.
2. Single blade or 2 blade? or even more blades.
3. Is it the handle material jigged bone, smooth bone, wood, acrylic etc..
4. Bolsters or no bolsters, satin blade, polished blade.

I think you guys get my point. I am finding that the handle material seems to be the biggest factor to me and determines if I really like a knife and decide to keep it. Right now I am really loving stag, smooth white bone and Ebony, then probably blade shape, I love sheepsfoot and wharies. So I ask you fellow porch sitters what is it for you?
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When it comes to traditionals, for me it goes:

1. Size 3" to 4" closed
2. Single blade
3. Lock preferred
4. With bolsters
5. Partial to a satin blade but it depends on an individual knife
6. Bone handle

I have a few traditionals but my favorite one which bought because it's a handsome knife that happens to fall into all of my preferred criteria is my Case Copperlock.

y9KgxZk.jpg
 
Generally 1-2 blades
One blade must be shorter
I love clips most of all so clip pen combos work well
2.5-3.5 is a real sweet spot but not a rule
Handle materials can pretty much be anything I don't find particularly ugly
Jack or pen configurations are just fine

If stainless is my only option on a particular knife I'd prefer a brushed or as around type finish over polished if possible, if I really like the knife then It doesn't bother me much.
 
I have so many knives that a new one has to pretty much meet all of these criteria. I've found when I stray that I'm not happy in the long run.

1. Size. My minimum length is 3.75" closed. I like a solid comfortable grip. A 3.75" blade is my maximum.

2. Weight 5oz or so starts to get noticed. 8oz is too heavy.

3. Blade configuration. My favorite is a single-spring, two-blade design. Two springs are OK. Three springs? Forget about it.

4. Design. I have to like the looks of the knife. Some speak to me and some don't. An EDC knife must have thin blades and a thin grind for me to love it. Bling is not my thing, so I generally am attracted to clean classic lines and elegance through design rather than through decoration.

5. Build quality. Has to be reasonable for the price. Standards go up with price.

6. Materials. Decent steel with a good heat treat. 1095/D2/440C are minimums in the carbon/semi/stainless categories. Attractive, durable covers. Micarta is a favorite, with wood and bone the preferred natural materials.
 
1) Pen knives and double-end jacks are by far and away my favorite style of knife, so that's first criteria.
2) Second, I want one of the blades to be a sheepfoot, which has become my favorite and most used blade shape over the last couple of years.
3) Much preferred in stainless.
4) After all that, I start looking at handle material, with stag and figured wood taking top spots on my lists of preferences.
 
Thin blade grinds would likely be the very first thing I'd look for. Every knife I currently use and carry is likely one that I've already spent a good deal of time thinning out behind the edge, to make it effortlessly cut the way I want it to. And even among those, I'm often tempted to thin them some more. I just don't carry knives that I feel are still too thick in the blade or edge grind. I have a bunch of them and they're just taking up storage space somewhere.

Everything else is secondary to me. I've really grown to dislike thick prybar-like blades, and I usually avoid them like the plague. There's got to be something else about the knife, in the aesthetics or ergonomics of use that would have to be so attractive to me, to make me spend all that extra time & effort regrinding it. But nowadays, I'd probably still pass on it.
 
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While I like different blades in several types of knives depending on what I a working with, I think it’s hard to beat the overall utility of the 3 blade stockman. I usually have one in pocket either a 301 and most often a 303 cadet. Back before 1989 the 3 blade stockman was all I had any desire for except when hunting large game which I used my home made fixed blade. Then I got a Buck 110 Damascus Stag and processed a deer with it and that’s when I developed a real appreciation for a well made hunting knife that was compact but rugged. Since then I’ve had many different knives but I almost always have a 303 cadet in pocket as well.
 
veitsi_poika said:
Well John, it's sort of like going grocery shopping when you are starving ;):thumbsup:
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Yeah like when I go to the mall for a specific item and buy heaps of food and a coffee, some beer and get back with it everything except that which I originally went for...impulse buying....Seriously though my penchant is for sea knives.........
I sea a knife and if it looks good I buy it.:rolleyes:
 
I never tried to figure out what I liked best in a knife. I don't think I want to try to figure it out now. Other than maybe it should be able to cut. Here is a picture of a large share of my traditional knives. I think meako meako had it right with his; Sea knife, like knife, buy knife.
BxVrdS5f3rRDavhkqWJoohVSOEud2ZHHAQlv-ednW2CV_Xyg9wPw7i2IUgFulH18uEsOisCrizqYUPMIeUSlFBTNSZdlYObTD88RLu6GskY-Rx7xw3JogQ1xuko15r5H9YSu0WjK9V26KSb_b1ctiMCBB7xIMkKXG4B2E_MckHxEUQlOGnwNbn--Rc8N2Mh-3S4aQGW7TMAPFZf94MxbH8GC5Ubf6LOv56jYGToc2BXMYrnSAWWcR9obK98HAYVxdzEx-8-Iw0T7WrBejTVtBRDE31AXpwil7VxGHu5A9S1zjGhDNr_NFRL7Y9xlQNVAg4K2OhwTsao-_-CcaMEvwR2Gf4tZs-96o7Icmeulh67VzPzyk4gI6q_Hvx3TzqRJyWVPWvjwQQb45UzF6IG0EmBCSKPP6A6Am7-OpVTa9D2NG4-HecVC27ISBMOI0yJYvj61D0gke6ddC6Jm9GugKk0lq-PZg8HFFCrr6WI4dqZuccMC58kgiHPkZMo0uSJE_6m5NQXPmMyos57VAcFRUykkrFQN6PqRkBLiqMBUDaN1wfYbxeGLHJsF9cPGr39W_y_Oh6ddL-AGYQA3jRJiRWxAfyDwMsUAD6NsGxk8ltIjoGdO8Dv2j-fEI1_oPZWsl6qHbN4mFZDuO93wYk-D5N-Zkn4kKaDfE9PX1ZEw4-mlkmP6YoQMDxoHhhxTpFnUBdNf_C1DdpRjUyYc9Q=w1263-h917-no


O.B.
 
It's hard to describe but I know it when I see it.

Handle length 3.50" – 3.75", with a preference for 3.75”. Something that fills my hand a bit. Wood, jigged bone, smooth horn, synthetics from Delrin to G-10, No acrylics.

Single blade, because I discovered I have little use for the second blade. They also carry better than multi-blades.
Also like a little thickness from edge to spine, I don't care for slender pen and clip blades.

1095 if I really like the knife but but a strong preference for the newer stainless steels.
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One, two or three blades. Bone, wood, stag or synthetic handles. Either lock or slip joint. Clip point is good, but a sheepfoot or spear or drop point work too. I'm actually rather difficult to please, but I can compromise.
 
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