Someone PLEASE Explain Finger Choils on Folders!!

I generally prefer no choils. With that said, I love the choil on my Chaparral. Gives me a nice four finger grip. I would like my Manix 2 even more without the choil.
 
It's true that you could package all the function of the coil in the handle but on a folding knife that's a weird shaped lump in your pocket.

This way the coil/guard folds away for a smooth package in the closed position.
 
NjMS said:
On a small/short little folder like a Dragonfly 2 or Chaparral the choil will let you get a full grip on the knife. If you want to try to appreciate a choil you should handle one of Spyderco's small offerings. Lotta knife in a small package. VERY VERY ergonomic.

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I suppose you're right. I love the Lava and probably wouldn't if it was choilless.
 
Straight up I will declare my dislike for Choils .

I must be strange or have complicated knife requirements , but many of the tasks that I use a knife for don't always use the traditional way that someone uses to grip a knife .
Many times the knife is turned blade edge up when opening up packaging on pallets , field dressing an animal etc .
a knife with finger Choil lumps on the handle scales is downright uncomfortable and far from ergonomic with this type of reversed grip .
I took a few quick pics of me holding a Delica ( no choil ) and a Dragonfly ( a much smaller knife I know , but the only one I own with a Choil )

The first two show the upside down type grip i mentioned that i use often , try using a knife with a Choil for long periods and see how the " Hot Spots " are on your palm



The next two show how close your finger is to the cutting edge when you are really loading up and gripping the knife hard for a big resistance cut , which one do you think looks safer ?




Ken
 
I have a lot of models with choils and I don't mind them, but I never use them. I suppose I just don't use that portion of blade that is close to the handle. It seems to me that the fine detail cutting could be accomplished with a conventional design with sharpened edge close to the end of the handle, but I haven't tried it either way. The choil does seem like an easier way to keep the fingers away from the edge.

Using the choil seems like it provides more control and I'm not sure why, but it may be that it shortens the amount of blade projecting past your hand, and puts the center of gravity more into your hand.
 
Bugs57 said:
On some models the choil can also aid in 1 hand closing sans cutting yourself. The choil can prevent an accidental cut when closing the blade one handed. With back locks you can disengage the lock with your thumb, drop the choil portion of the blade on your index finger, remove said finger and let gravity do the rest to close the blade. So yeah choils have a purpose for those of us who need to close certain models with 1 hand due to the activity at hand.
Like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzu90gN8PGk
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Yeah, choils have saved my finger more than once with back locks and frame locks. The Tuff and Ti Military both have high tension lock bars, and if you put pressure on the spine with your index finger and fiddle with your thumb to disengage the lock, the blade can suddenly fly closed onto your thumb. My thumb would have been lopped right off on a few occasions had it not been for their choils.

I recently bought a Byrd Robin as a first knife for my daughter, and one of my criteria was that her knife should have a choil for the safety it provides.

On some models the choils are bigger than I prefer and often gets in the way while cutting, so I can see why it could irritate someone. I'm thinking of the Tuff and Native 5. On others they don't bother me, like the Military, PM2 etc. I like to have the ability to choke up when necessary.
 
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I prefer a choil on smaller folders for many of the same reasons that others have already stated. I think the OP just needs to get a Starmate and quit trying to over analyze something that comes down to personal preference. The Starmate is exactly what the OP described and said he wanted. The Gayle Bradley 2 would also be good if he could get past the M4 steel.
 
I must admit finger Choils don't always stop me from buying , I just do alterations to meet my requirements .



Ken
 
Ken,

With the upward cut & the way you hold it, I think the Stretch will also do. I believe also that GB1 will be better than GB2, in this this edge up hammer grip. Usually, this grip during work as you describe is a pull cut, so there's no force that can cause fingers sliding onto the edge. Unless of course one is doing IET stab (mercop's)

I like Endura but prefer Stretch & GB1, exactly for the choil.
Don't quite like Tenacious family style though the full edge gives more edge length.

I guess it's really a personal preference. ;)
 
The choil provides a margin of safety for some methods of one handed closing.
Also, I rarely use the proximal 1/2 inch of my blade for cutting.
 
Most of my carry knives have 50/50 choils. I love them. I love them on small knives. They allow me to have more secure grip. I would still have Leaf-storm, if it would have choil. I love choils on bigger knives. I always hold my Caly3.5 and Persian on choils, when I need to make precision cuts. And the last, but not the least: I always hold all my knives, which have choils, when I am using sharpmaker. It is just much easier.
 
I do not like choils, but I tolerate them. They are not neccessary for safety. A Delica and an Endura both will not let the sharp part of the blade contact your forward finger if the lock fails. The only knife I sort of like the choil on is the Military. That's it. I would be happy if Spyderco did away with the choil fashion.
 
I have very large hands... and without a choil, any spyderco smaller than the Para2 is uncomfortable... I also have poor coordination (I realized this after the 30th 'spyder bite' earlier this year...)

I strongly believe that the choil on my military has saved me from a lot of additional embarrassing bleeding over the last 20 years... (I get 'bit' so often, my wife has threatened to take my collection away and lock it up...)

Choils make my edc rotation 95% of the time...
 
Generally my two must have features on my knives are a thumb ramp and a forward choil. My knives are used in more detailed work. So I like the choir being there to rest my middle finger in while my index finger rests on top of the blade.

Like I've seen others say different strokes for different folks. Obviously we all have different tasks to complete with our knives and base our opinions on the features most useful for us to complete them. Choils are a must have for me on my daily carry knife. Your uses may be hindered by them. But that is the beauty of Spyderco. They really make something for everyone instead of a single genre like seems to be the norm from other companies.


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I love choils. Great for one handed closing for one thing. Also great for finer work like skinning. I find that on my knives that have them that I usually always hold them by the choils.
My favorite Spyderco knives are the ones that have them. I've passed on a lot of their designs simply because they didn't have them.
To each their own.
 
I don't mind a choil if I like the overall look of a particular knife. But most of my knives don't have them.

There have been a few times I really appreciated a pronounced kick though.
 
ejames13 said:
I think the main reason for them is that they allow you to choke up for detail work if you're using the tip of the knife.
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Agreed. I don't mind a choil IF...there is a built-in "stop" on the blade just forward of the choil. It's not so much to protect my finger as it is to limit the penetration depth on a stabbing motion. I have had the unpleasant experience of sticking my entire blade into a cardboard box and not being able to immediately withdraw it...due to the choil.
The PM2 does a good job of incorporating the choil with a "stop" at the back of the blade...
 
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