Thoughts on jimping?

Simply cutting some evenly spaced grooves on the spine is OK in a tactile sense, in my opinion, and can be useful on some knives, in some situations. I have knives with and without. I prefer some nicely done file work, however. Does the same job, traction for the thumb if desired, but looks MUCH better doing it...
 
Good jimping has to be fine like the teeth of a file.
A lot of jimping is deep and widely spaced , causing you to have to dig the meat of your thumb Into it in order for it to grip.
proper jimping will grip your thumb without requiring all that much pressure, and in fact you should be able to press as hard as you want without your thumb digging in or getting sore.
 
My Protech's have it on the scales before the blade. I like the look but have yet said I actually depended on it.
I actually like it before the blade or on the very top of the blade.

Here is my thumb naturally on the jimping of my TR-5. Not the blade and to me, I feel confident my hand will remain on the knife handle through any task.
This pic was taken well before this thread was created :)

 
Blues Bender said:
For me, it depends on the knife. On blades where the spine ramps up where your thumb goes, I strongly prefer good jimping. On blades where the spine and handle flow together, I find it unnecessary.

Thumb Ramp
644DB12A-65C8-48E5-8CAA-D38455A4F2C0_zpsxclma6ti.jpg


No Thumb Ramp
EB1EE47A-92D5-42D6-A03B-F405F5E55D34_zpskz13emsx.jpg
Click to expand...

Eco your sentiments.
 
I like jimping when I wearing gloves, especially fabris gloves of some kind. Other than that, I guess on occasion it can be useful. Not a deal breaker for me when buying a knife though, with or without, I don't mind!
 
Jimping HAS a purpose. It is generally, and rightfully, used on knives that are intended to be used hard, such that one's thumb doesn't slide over the hump; lose the grip, and get a bad cut on fingers or palm of hand. Of course I like it.
 
Some jimping is nice. I don't normally plan on forcing a knife into anything, so don't require too much traction on the thumb. Some knives definitely overdo the jimping though.
 
I've never cared one way or the other. If the knife has it, great. If it doesn't, I don't really miss it. A properly designed handle is much more important. For me at least.
 
I've never personally found jimping to actually be necessary on just about every knife task. Skinning/hunting, it can be useful.
Only jimping i've found to be "perfect" is the stuff Winkler does. Its unobtrusive, very grippy, and looks good.
 
My EDC tasks tend to be rather light, so I've never needed it. I do like the coarser, more rounded gimping like that on the techo just for indexing and whatnot
 
Depends on how long your using the knife.

5 mintues of cutting anything using the jimping Will make you hate jimping.
 
I like jimping when I hold the knife in my hand, but the moment I start using it for any tasks where you really have to push on the knife (wood, thick cardboard, etc) I begin to hate it real quickly. It gives great short term traction, but is a crazy hotspot after extended use.
 
I prefer jimping on any hard use knife. When I use my knife and my hands are dirty or sweaty I really appreciate it. Maybe for a secondary carry knife for cutting fruit without jimping that would be okay.
 
Jimping on my clothes has helped me lose weight.
 
I've not found a single knife where actual retention was significantly aided by the presence of jimping. The sensation of it is more of a mental pacifier than anything else in my experience, and seems to often be added either for aesthetic reasons (makes it look/feel "tactical" and/or more secure) or as an attempt to compensate for lacking ergos. A well designed knife handle should be controllable even if it was made of oiled glass. Roughing it up in any way can add retention, but it should be done in a way that avoids creating hot spots in extended use, and in my experience jimping always creates hot spots.
 
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