The little/simple things.... Three small things you appreciate in a new knife.

anthonycastorena2014

anthonycastorena2014

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Good Morning BF,
I was just cleaning out my new ZT0357 and realized that I appreciated something somewhat dumb about the knife and any other knife that shares this quality. Then it dawned on me that I don’t know if there’s been a thread about goofy/little things that we appreciate in a knife. I figured that we could all come up with a 3 small things we appreciate. Here is what mine are.

1. Being able to fit a Qtip into the action,between scales, and the part of the blade where the blade stop falls. For example this 0357 will fit a qtip with a little convincing and you can slide it all over the internals picking up loose debris and dirt. I’ve used pipe cleaners before and they just don’t work the same. One of my favorite knives is the Stretch. I have to pull some of the cotton off and twist it some before I clean it out.

2. No grit left in the knife that has to be cleaned out before the action is optimal. It’s not a huge deal but I don’t like having to clean out a new knife before carrying it. I’d imagine that I don’t “have to” but I like them as smooth as possible within reason from the factory. The 0357 came a little gritty hits the inspiration of this post, but nailed the width between the scales and width of the stop pin.

3. Knives being nice and sharp out of the box with even grinds. If your sending out your product shouldn’t it be at its best within reason and within your means before you ship it? Cold Steel, Spyderco, and Benchmade as well as a bunch that don’t come immediately to mind come sharp as hell. I love this.

What are you top 3 goofy/ simple things you appreciate? You can make them as short or as well explained as you would like. Moral of the story here is enjoy the small things!!
 
No hot spots or sharp corners. Especially when closed if the base of the blade sits above the handle. There is a term for this but it escapes me.

Came back to add another irritating detail when a rivet is not peened properly and has a sharp edge. Seems to be most common on bail rivets.

Those little details make a huge difference.
 
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eveled said:
No hot spots or sharp corners. Especially when closed if the base of the blade sits above the handle. There is a term for this but it escapes me.
Click to expand...

I cant think of a term for it but i know what you are talking about. Thanks for the reply. Loooong time reader and commenter. Second time poster. I appreciate your input.
 
Even factory grind lines & a sharp factory edge.
Blade centered, & with '0' to very minimal blade play.
Good to great Lock up, is critical, and if it's a slipjoint, than having a 1/2 stop, or similar 'safety'
mechanism is a nice feature on some models,
but on others, does not seem to be necessary.
No sharp edges, along with the afor mentioned pin construction that were not done properly, leaving a
sharp edge while handling / using the knife.
Another thought came to mind, in regards the type of 'thread locker' they choose to use, making for a
good, strong lockdown on the hardware, but Not a fight, to the point of 'stripping' screws.
-As far as some Little aspects that I also personally. appreciate are a well Jimped Thumb ramp or spine.
A good, deep carry pocket clip, & if it is a flipper knife, a well designed, but somewhat unobtrusive flipper tab, but enough to still act as the finger guard while open.
One other 'small' thing that I have found myself appreciating is when a blade design has a forward finger choil option, than it had Better be cut properly as to Not have the rear of the blade edge contacting the user's index finger. :cool: B.T.B.
 
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On flippers, I like the observing the subtleties of flipper tab geometry and how it relates to the mechanics and feel of opening a particular design.

An illustration:

83F94C5E-52DD-418A-BA1F-792DF79CDAFC.jpeg

The ZT 0900 has a large, perpendicular flipper tab with the leading edge ahead of the center of rotation. It’s an obligatory light-switch action that leads to an explosive opening from a relatively small blade.

The Southard tab’s leading edge is curved rearward with an apex that’s further back, lending itself a push button motion and more “fluid” opening that I really enjoy.

The Southard is the knife that started me thinking about all of this. When I first got it I was trying to light-switch it and was really disappointed!
 
Appreciate:

1. a good pocket clip. Good tension, not too loss, not too tight.

2. A good fixed blade factory sheath. Good shape and size. Comes with a good belt attachment.

3. Solid hardware. Hard screws with well cut slots for bits to fit in.
 
Blade centering. Nothing like a new knife with blade dead nuts down the center. Vice versa. Nothing worse than getting your new PM2 with blade off center.
 
I think sharp out of the box and even grinds are big things, as opposed to small. It's supposed to cut and be symmetrical, unless you are paying for a chisel grind. But I would be a happier person if I thought they were no big deal.

If there is a small thing that I like about a new knife, I suppose it is the oil paper in a GEC tube.
 
I'll keep to fixed blades which have been my staple for the last years.
Small things ? :
1. A sharpening notch. A touch of class (towards the end user), it just makes sharpening easier.
2. Smoothly rounded edges on handle and spine. It's not a must but it is such a treat. A definite touch of class.
3. Mirror polish on the blade and apparent steel surfaces. Once again, it's not needed but it makes the care for a carbon steel blade so much easier.
Big thing ? :
4. A well functioning sheath. The knife may be fantastic but if the sheath doesn't do properly its job, the knife will end in a drawer. And, yes, in matter of sheath, there are many, many failures...
 
Billy The Blade said:
Even factory grind lines & a sharp factory edge.
Blade centered, & with '0' to very minimal blade play.
Good to great Lock up, is critical, and if it's a slipjoint, than having a 1/2 stop, or similar 'safety'
mechanism is a nice feature on some models,
but on others, does not seem to be necessary.
No sharp edges, along with the afor mentioned pin construction that were not done properly, leaving a
sharp edge while handling / using the knife.
Another thought came to mind, in regards the type of 'thread locker' they choose to use, making for a
good, strong lockdown on the hardware, but Not a fight, to the point of 'stripping' screws.
-As far as some Little aspects that I also personally. appreciate are a well Jimped Thumb ramp or spine.
A good, deep carry pocket clip, & if it is a flipper knife, a well designed, but somewhat unobtrusive flipper tab, but enough to still act as the finger guard while open.
One other 'small' thing that I have found myself appreciating is when a blade design has a forward finger choil option, than it had Better be cut properly as to Not have the rear of the blade edge contacting the user's index finger. :cool: B.T.B.
Click to expand...

Those are great points! Thread locker is a good one! I've had a couple reputable knives come without the locker at all. Had to apply and Rosholt down. An even grind is equally as important. I love jumping! It feels like every knife should be jimped with aggression equal to its intended purpose.
 
4mer_FMF said:
On flippers, I like the observing the subtleties of flipper tab geometry and how it relates to the mechanics and feel of opening a particular design.

An illustration:

View attachment 1311597

The ZT 0900 has a large, perpendicular flipper tab with the leading edge ahead of the center of rotation. It’s an obligatory light-switch action that leads to an explosive opening from a relatively small blade.

The Southard tab’s leading edge is curved rearward with an apex that’s further back, lending itself a push button motion and more “fluid” opening that I really enjoy.

The Southard is the knife that started me thinking about all of this. When I first got it I was trying to light-switch it and was really disappointed!
Click to expand...

It took me a long time to come around to flippers. I was raised on Cold Steel and Spyderco so flipping was not natural to me. I liked having control of the blade. Now I am used to flippers an have come around. Monofletch Monofletch gave me my first couple of flippers. Great guy! He opened my eyes to many different things I didn’t know If I would like or not.
 
115Italian said:
Appreciate:

1. a good pocket clip. Good tension, not too loss, not too tight.

2. A good fixed blade factory sheath. Good shape and size. Comes with a good belt attachment.

3. Solid hardware. Hard screws with well cut slots for bits to fit in.
Click to expand...

I agree when it comes to the pocket clip. I have had some bad ones in the past. I think I am one of the few here ho does not care for deep Cary pocket clips. I’d rather a little bit of the handle stick out for easy access. I actually kind of dislike deep carry pocket clips.

NewBlades16 said:
Blade centering. Nothing like a new knife with blade dead nuts down the center. Vice versa. Nothing worse than getting your new PM2 with blade off center.
Click to expand...

I cannot stand when a blade is not centered. This is something that most non knife guys would probably not even recognize. When I buy I typically put “Please check blade centering, and lockup (up/down/side to side”. Most reputable dealers will open it and inspect the knife.

Monofletch said:
Am I by myself if I say “drop shut” is a dislike? I can’t count the times I have “drop shut” on my thumb!!! Those annoying little cuts that bleed and bleed!!
Click to expand...

Haha man I love drop shut knives!! There was a thread and poll on them a few days ago that was pretty interesting.

In other news...... Sorry for the 5 different posts. I just figured out how to effectively use the Multi Quote function.
 
On a Crk, the crowned spine and ease of disassembly. Also on the insingo and the drop point umnumzaan the swedge on the back of the blade. I like to scrape with it. The double click sound of a 21 locking up, gets me every time
 
I only really care about if it's sharp out of the box. If it is, I check the evenness of the edge. ZTs usually come with way too obtuse angles. I usually will reprofile a ZT right away. Spydercos are usually good to go. Benchmades are hit and miss. More hit than zt, but I've reprofiled 2 of mine. They may have been sharp, but one side was at 10 degrees and the other at 30. Almost chiseled!

That's about it. I usually adjust the pivot myself, so don't fault a knifes out of box action. Centered? Don't care as long as it's not rubbing or causing some other problem. Pocket clip? I'm not that picky. But they can be replaced.
 
Blade centering is one of the first things for me.

A well placed and designed thumb stud is something I appreciate.

The same holds true for a pocket clip.
 
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