btw just wondering, totally opinion-based question, how would you rate knife components and functions? (slice ability, blade thickness, ergo, etc)
In my experience so far, I've formed the following opinions:
1. All other things being the same, blade thickness is inversely proportional to slicing ability. The thinner the knife, the better it will perform as a slicer.
2. Having said that, toughness/durability is directly proportional to the thickness of blade. Ignoring the locking mechanism aporia, the thicker the blade the more force it will take before it breaks.
--My own opinion is that at a certain point, extra blade thickness is no longer
practically useful in a folding knife. Sure, I can see the practical benefits for a thick blade on a knife purpose built for chopping; but I don't really think many of us knife addicts are out there chopping down trees with SNG's or XM-18's. For me, I do far more slicing than prying: therefore, I give slicing ability the priority when choosing my EDC's. That means that the knives I carry most often have 3mm thick FFG or hollow ground blades.
3. Ergos are so subjective I don't think I can say anything useful. My thumbs naturally bend backwards 90+ degrees (think extreme hitchhikers thumb) so knives that are ergonomic for many people are terrible for me. For example the ergos on the Sage 2, after being realistic with myself I have to admit that it feels just
wrong in my hands. I guess I'd just recommend actually holding a knife before dropping ~$400.
4. For me, carriability is the primary attribute I look for in a knife. Does the knife carry well in my pocket? I've come to find that I don't like carrying heavy, bulky, knives. As a result, I find myself more concerned with what a knife is like
closed rather than open. You should also be aware that rough handle materials like G-10 are going to shred your pockets (and your GF isn't going to be pleased when the expensive jeans she bought you get worn from actually wearing them
)
By being honest with yourself, you can really narrow down the attributes of what a 'good' knife will be
for you. Personally, I like CRK's aesthetics, but the reason I usually EDC a Sebenza isn't because of the hype, nor is it because of the aesthetics. I looked primarily at what attributes I find
useful and
practical, then looked for knives that had those attributes.
Plus, it really helps when being a lefty automatically excludes a ton of knives from my list.
I hope this stupidly long post helps you out, lol. It's probably going to get a lot of tl;dr's.
)
I need to be able to trust them.
