Things you used to prefer, but now avoid

Comeuppance

Comeuppance

Fixed Blade EDC Emisssary
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
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Title is pretty self-explanatory, so I'll just jump right into it.

Waved knives: Up until about 2015, I thought waved knives were a fantastic idea and that every knife should be waved. Really, though, I was actively ignoring the drawbacks that made the minor (and almost universally needless) speed increase not worth it.

- Damages your pants
- Typically requires drawing it in a very specific manner that takes more focus than you're likely to have in a high-stress situation
- Draws a lot of attention due to the motion/sound
- Often means opening the blade while moving it away from your front (potentially hitting something/one behind you.)
- Failure to open them properly can be somewhat catastrophic (especially with lockbacks shutting on you)

Side-opening autos: When carrying autos was legalized in my state, I understandably went all-in. The Launch series came out around that same time, and I basically -had- to check out Pro-Tech, RatWorx, Microtech, Hogue, etc. Eventually, though, I came to terms with the fact that basically everything I dislike about assisted knives are present in side-open autos:
- the resistance when closing them, and
- the anxiety of having a button in my pocket that, if accidentally pressed, might send me to the emergency room.

I prefer a well-made manual knife that opens smoothly.

Tip-down carry: For many knives, it is a much more natural way to draw them, but I've had at least two instances of the blade opening partway while in my pocket. Not really a problem for lockbacks and axis locks, but any knife with a lock that doesn't shut the blade by itself after a partial opening should probably have the blade spine pressed against a seam.
 
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One time I bought an assisted opening knife, not a switch blade. Lol, only once!
 
I cannot say I preferred these things but I didn't mind them or were not something that's presence would cause me to overlook the knife, now I consider them dislikes and avoid these features on knives.

Tanto blades
Coated blades
Serrations
Work blades under 2 inches.
 
Peel-ply anything. I love the feel of a Cold Steel Recon in hand... but I don't need the traction. Never once have a dropped a knife because it's "slippery". My pockets have thanked me for eliminating the peel-ply from rotation.
 
I did not prefer them but I did buy them

Frame locks & most liner locks
Overbuilt folders
Serrated blades
Waved knives
Full tang non tapered fixed blades
Pocket carry is probable the biggest ..... I hate pocket carry
 
Assisted opening... high quality flippers killed that....

Thumb-studs.... Generally a deal-breaker now....

(however, I never liked waved-blades)
 
550 cord wrapped and camo or coated blades. Cord wrap looked cool but was the worst handle I have ever used. Got some fairly serious blisters one camping trip.

And expensive folders. My folding knives are only ever used for mundane tasks and don't need to be fancy or overbuilt.
 
I was more on flippers and ball bearings for a while but nowadays I prefer manual opening folded on washers

I also had a long love period with coated blades and I really enjoy stonewashed a lot more than quoted blade

Thumbdisk was a deal breaker for me and now I just don’t mind and actually like it sometime better than thumbstuds
 
All overbuilt everything.

I don’t mind them, and have actually come full circle understanding cutting performance. I’m familiar enough now to understand that thick stock is frequently irrelevant, and to understand that a lot of cutting tasks really don’t emphasize much past the apex or bte. But, I’ve also come to understand that there isn’t much reason to specifically seek out overbuilt knives, either.
 
I avoided partially serrated blades at one time - but now almost prefer them.

That's kind of a backwards way of properly responding to this thread whereas I should have said that I used to prefer plain edges and now avoid them (only a little) in favor of partially serrated.
 
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Thick blade overbuilt knives.

In my 20s I bought into the tough tactical style knife that was necessary to do all kinds on non-knife related tasks.

Then I remembered that the main job for a knife is to cut and thinner blades with proper geometry did that very well.
 
I used to think partially serrated blades were useful, particularly for outdoor activity. Now I only use smooth blades.
I used to avoid coated blades. Then I acquired some outstanding folders that only came with DLC blades. Now I don t mind the coating.
 
Plain black finely checkered g10 like on the benchmade 710 or spyderco military ;not that they are bad,but theres too many nice handle materials and colors out there that are nicer.....
 
Might come as a surprise, but carbon fiber scales is definitely something that I used to rave about and look for in my knives. But over the years I've started to move away from them since every CF scaled knife that I've owned has felt subpar compared to their Ti-variant (if they exist). They just.. feel like plastic-y toys compared to a full ti-framed knife and they've also always felt less smooth as well, maybe I'm just tripping. Would rather have the knife weigh another extra .5oz if it meant the knife felt more satisfying in the hand overall.

Anybody else get what I'm talking about?
 
Automatics...bought a few Kershaw Launches (3,4,7) but eventually came to realize that they’re really no different than an A/O knife in the sense that you still need two hands to close them.
Much easier and more convienient to have a manual knife that can be closed with one hand.
 
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