The Superfluous Knife Features Thread

R

RedLynx

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Aug 5, 2011
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Hi guys,

Gotten to thinking recently how much I enjoy relatively uniform knives without unnecessary bells and whistles.

I'll start by saying that, although I find some of the following features superfluous, I've never been in a situation where I needed to use them to escape desperation, so perhaps they have their place and if so I'd love to hear some stories. But some knives I tend to avoid are those with:

Glass breakers
Seat belt cutters
"Extra" stuff in the handles (SAKs being a notable exception of awesomeness of course)
Flashlight attachments (ach, these are the worst and they look horrible.)

Do you have your own set of superfluous features you tend to avoid?

Again, any cool stories of any of the above being useful are welcome. I'm stubborn so they probably won't change my mind, but I love to hear stories. ;)
 
marcinek said:
Extraneous pointy "tacticool" design elements. Blech.
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Yes, especially the kind where the handle is just as likely to injure you as the blade is someone else. Some knives I tried in the past can't even be pocket carried they're so much into this realm, it's ridiculous.

I have my fair share of tactical stuff, the most "tacticalish" of them probably being the Cold Steel AK-47, but it's got a decent blade shape and side (blade to handle ratio is wonky though) and that butt end of that knife would make a far better glass breaker than any glass breaker. I can't claim to not like some of the tactical offerings but I avoid the "uber-tactical" mostly made for the sake of helping me feel like a commando. I can go commando any day I want. ;)
 
For items that have glass breakers and seat belt cutters, I say it's the blade that's the extra addition. You're not buying the knife that comes with a glass breaker and seat belt cutter, you're buying a glass breaker and seat belt cutter with the blade as a bonus.
 
Rey HRH said:
For items that have glass breakers and seat belt cutters, I say it's the blade that's the extra addition. You're not buying the knife that comes with a glass breaker and seat belt cutter, you're buying a glass breaker and seat belt cutter with the blade as a bonus.
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An interesting and not untrue way of looking at it.

Sort of like a multitool. Very useful but you don't buy primarily for the blade.
 
Along with what's been mentioned I'll add AO, recurves, flippers, Damascus, scaler (spoils a perfectly good large toothpick), skulls, coating on stainless blades and the color black. The grumpy old man speaks.

Edited to add anything camouflage, specifically grips or blades.
 
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Hinderer and other lock bar stabalizers. A solution looking for a real problem.
 
GronK said:
Along with what's been mentioned I'll add AO, recurves, flippers, Damascus, scaler (spoils a perfectly good large toothpick), skulls, coating on stainless blades and the color black. The grumpy old man speaks.

Edited to add anything camouflage, specifically grips or blades.
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Are you saying that anything under those classifications is considered tactical?
 
highestpoint said:
Are you saying that anything under those classifications is considered tactical?
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I think he is just saying those are the features he finds superfluous. Example, I like A/O knives sometimes, and I like flippers sometimes. GronK finds them unnecessary.

To be fair, the thread isn't aimed at just tactical stuff. It's aimed at anything various users find to be unnecessary on their knives.
 
highestpoint said:
Are you saying that anything under those classifications is considered tactical?
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No. I'm saying those classifications are superfluous to any use I might have for a knife. That being said I am no fan of the tactical, operator, secret squirrel bad-ass trends in knives.

While I'm at it, add ball bearing pivots and thick blades to my list.
 
GronK said:
No. I'm saying those classifications are superfluous to any use I might have for a knife. That being said I am no fan of the tactical, operator, secret squirrel bad-ass trends in knives.

While I'm at it, add ball bearing pivots and thick blades to my list.
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When I'm looking for a knife to just cut and slice with, maybe poke with too, yeah, I want a fairly thin blade. Usually 3mm thick or less will be best.

But I like having thick blades for when I want a knife to be able to handle a little bit of abuse, whether that means prying or whatever.

Personally, I'm not a fan of knives with brightly colored handles as a means of easily locating the blade while not in hand. Florescent colors... haha. I see how it could be useful, but I just don't like it.
 
Folding knives with ridiculously thick blades. I want to cut with my folders, not pry open a door, dammit! Folders with a G-10 scale on one side, and a titanium (or steel) framelock on the other. Yes, those so-called blade stabilizers too. Proprietary pivot screws, Teflon blade coatings, camo patterned blade coatings, zombie-green blade coatings or handle scales, anodised pocket clips. Not only do I find those traits superfluous on a knife, I also find some of them rather cliché these days.
 
All I want is a handle, a blade, and a sheath. My Bradford G3 or my Dozier Straight Personal are about as good as it gets for me.
 
If you ever flip a vehicle you will be glad for that glass breaker and seat belt cutter. Been there it was unpleasant.
 
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