THE knife, often sought, never found...

Thanks guys, you are probably correct, there have been a few knives that I could envision how it would look under my lights, and a few knives were borrowed from friends because I always liked the different facets that the designer came up with so yep, I do like to photograph them.

One recent one I borrowed to shoot was this rascal;

IMG_7194 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr


IMG_7202 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr


IMG_7205 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr


IMG_7198 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2
 
Silly rabbit
:)
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IMG-20190520-151951-185.jpg

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These are as close as I've come to "the knife". Spydiechef and a ZDP Endura with Boomer52 scales.

The ergonomics are perfect on both and the blade geometries lend themselves well to work. The lc200n never corrodes and is easy to sharpen. ZDP-189 is "corrosion resistant" and is a beast to sharpen, but only needs to be done once in a blue moon. Mine's still hair popping sharp after 9 months of intermittent use since last on the stones.

If they combined the two and made a ZDP-189 Spydiechef (seems natural given ZDP's use in Japanese kitchen cutlery) I might lose my mind, buy a dozen and ride off into the sunset.
 
The one for me is a Benchmade Bugout. It’s been my literal every day carry since purchased in August 2017, excluding a week vacation in which I didn’t check any bags on the flight.
 
Memories for sure, the one I had, well I had a couple of the wood inlays over the years, but the one that stands out was one I dubbed as "Freedom" as I saw an image of an eagle flying through swirling black clouds of smoke, model year was 2001 and always reminded me of 9-11 of that year. Again, one more knife that I dearly miss, I have no idea where it resides now, hopefully with someone that appreciates and can see what I see within the wood.

freedom by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

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This is a great and relatable post. My girlfriend has got me a few really nice blades that she thought would be a good reason to “hold out on buying any more for a while”......I didn’t have the heart to tell her there will be some knives in the mail shortly.....
 
When I got my Pheasant Tail Sebenza I knew it was "the one" and for many years it was. Somehow I slipped back into the rabbit hole and started slowly replacing the folders I had gotten rid of. I still carry my Sebenza but there are several others getting pocket time including a TSF Beast and Grayman Dua. The newest addition is a Medford Slim Midi Marauder that brings a smile to my face everytime I cut something with it. I know I don't need all of them and have no reason to buy another but things happen:rolleyes:
 
I have found THE ONE everytime i get on the exchange or BHQ. I cant keep the same knife in my pocket even for one day carrying A different primary and a smaller backup for work, then something with high fidget factor when I get home, and the fancier ones on the weekend. I have more knives than i could ever use but i have fun buying selling trading them and honestly theres worse things to spend money on. My wife doesn't understand it but she doesnt have too and THE ONE is the next one!
 
I’m more in THE 10 than THE 1 camp.

I’ve always thought of knives as situational. What I carry while wearing a suit is very different than what I carry in the wilderness. No one knife can cover the spectrum of activities I participate in.

So... I pretty much look for THE knife for each niche. That has boiled down to:

EDC - 4 fixed blades and 3 folders
Woods - 3 fixed blades

That said, I could probably cut it down to two - a small CRK Sebenza for EDC and day hiking and a 5/32 Fiddleback Forge Bushfinger for more serious outdoor work.

But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that!
 
Realistically, if there was a "the knife" for me, it would probably be one of the countless variations of the Spyderco Manix2. The design is just excellent and I've described the virtues of the design many, many times over the years.

The cold, hard truth, though, is that I will likely never have a "the knife" because there's too much variety in the market. With the endless niches that exist, I would be hard-pressed to keep my assortment of carry knives to fewer than four. I'll likely always want to have a:
- General EDC, jack-of-all-trades knife (Spyderco Manix2)
- Small, non-threatening knife (Spyderco Pingo)
- Big, slightly impractical, rough-but-capable knife (Cold Steel Recon 1)
- Slim and slicey knife (Cold Steel Hold Out II)
- Fun flipper knife (Hogue X5, Factor Iconic)
- Car knife (Rough Rider Dog Bone)
- Knife I use basically just to cut my cuticles (Spyderco Roadie)
- Indestructible fixed blade (Cold Steel 3V Master Tanto)
- Smaller fixed blade for general purposes (Bad Blood Decepter)

... And more to fill niches as I invent them.
 
Got your We Practic after seeing this post. I don't think I would otherwise.
This is a well made knife, the blade is ground evenly and balanced on both sides. The flipper works easily and locks up nicely. Will test the M390 later.
Thanks!
 
I find that the heat treat is very good on that blade.
I recently got a David Boye folder so I’m parting with my Practic but only because I don’t want to have a lot of knives anymore, a shift in priorities and the Boye folder is a dendritic cast cobalt blade which gives a unique cutting action
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