Was there ever a pattern you once disliked, but now LOVE?

comoha

comoha

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2006
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Well, maybe not dislike so much but rather ignored? I've been indifferent to barlows for the 30 odd years of my collecting. Oh, I've even owned a half dozen over the years, but they've never really revved my engine. I'd have to blame that dern Queen Dan Burke barlow for kicking open the door. Then I got a steal of a deal on a very cool stag barlow from a fellow forumite. Since then I've really come to very much appreciate the humble, historical barlow. Short enough for easy pocket carry, muscular enough for real deeds of heroism.

What floats your boat :D now that was "meh" :yawn: to you for years?
 
Yeah, I never really understood Sodbusters until I got a Soddie Jr. It is so darn comfortable in the hand; light, and perfectly sized. I never understood the design before I did some research and found that it was and incarnation of folding knives from the old world. I have grown to see the "pattern's" lines as something more than utilitarian but having history, comfort and flow behind it. The more I carried one and felt it in my hand and in my pocket, the more I understood what the pattern was about.

It's now my EDC and I am making them. I really love the sodbuster pattern.
 
Peanut for me. Naturally hanging around here for awhile, I read a bunch of jackknife's great stories with a peanut in a starring role. Those got me interested and I finally took the plunge and took a chance on the little knife that could. Now I love 'em.
 
I never really cared for toothpicks but now that I have a couple, I really like the feel in the hand and the cutting efficiency of the long thin blade.
 
Two patterns originally elicited a "meh" reaction from yours truly -- the sodbuster and the swayback. I thought the sodbuster was too plain, yellow plastic or wood handle, simple blade design, and it didn't even have a bolster. On the other hand I thought the swayback too weird looking with its wharcliffe blade.

I've since learned to appreciate the humble soddie and the exotic swayback. As a matter of fact, I've picked up a couple of customs based on these two patterns and they are among my favorite knives.

- Christian
 
Baby Butterbean. The old man gave me one about 10 years ago and it just sat because I saw it as too small and pointless to carry. But last week I decided to give it a go and I love it. My only gripe is that the large spear blade would serve me better at a large pen but I am over that so its no big deal any more.
 
The Trapper (full size). I was into and still am, folding hunters and lock backs like the Buck 110, Old Timer, etc. and fixed blades for the outdoors and didn't see the need for the trapper.
Now I like, buy and use them mostly for meals on the road and cooking outdoors.
This where I like Case in stainless steel. It's care free without a metallic after taste.
 
I'm with Blues. Never cared for the toothpick, but some of the GEC's are making me revisit the pattern.
 
Not so much a pattern, but a blade shape. I used to hate the Wharncliffe blade. Now I'm always on the lookout for a pattern that is sporting a wharnie. I think some of the customs I saw on the for sale forum got me enamored.
 
I haven't really disliked a particular pattern but I have gotten to where a knife wasn't to my liking anymore and just threw it in a tool box or something. Then finding it again a few years later and being overwhelmed at what a great knife it is.
Greg
 
Once upon a time, long, long ago, I didn't like peanuts or sodbusters.

I didn't dislike them, but they didn't do anything for me. I just didn't give a hoot one way or the other. Yeah, it was the knife my dad carried forever, but it wasn't my knife. I was very firmly wed to my Buck 301 stockman. Then I got stationed in Germany, and just for yuk's I picked up a Herter I saw in a shop. Turned out I was very impressed on the cutting ability of the wide thin blade.

Then some years later, my father died. I had his peanut sitting on my chest of drawers for a keepsake. Then one day I put it in my pocket just for old times sake, and maybe because I was thinking about my dad. I ended up using it, and the dammed little thing must have put a spell on me. I found myself using it more and more, and finally bought one just for my use. The rest is history; I was beguiled by the peanut. I started reaching in my pocket while the mill was running a pass, and fondling it whispering to myself "My precious". I think the other guys in the shop though I was loosing it.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Carl.
 
Single-bladed knives weren't my thing for some time, but now I'm seeking them out more because they're easier for me to carry (less in the pocket).

I used to be a major Wharncliffe fan, and I really did not like clip point blades. I've really pulled a 180 on that one - now I don't like the wharny much and I really am drawn to the clip. Go figure.
 
Just over a year ago I saw no use for slipjoints. Now I have 5 Bucks from the 300 series, 3 Sodbusters, and a GEC easy-open barlow. Of late I've been eyeing a GEC muskrat...I still like & use lock blades but now I'm interested in more patterns than ever before.
 
The stockman, canoe, trapper, and basically all multiblade patterns used to leave a bad taste in my mouth.


Since I was a kid I've always had knives with only one blade, started with a little SAK with a main blade and a file, moved up to a fancier SAK, then finally to lockbacks. Till I was 17 all the knives accept a leatherman, which had both a straight and serrated blade, I found had only one blade. when I looked at stockmen or other multiblade slippies I would shake my head at the redundancy and pointlessness of having multiple blades. Then I learned how to and the importance of sharpening knives, and how much nicer a sharp blade was. Eventually it clicked, you could have different edges on different blades to do different tasks! Mainblade for eating and general tasks, sheepsfoot for scoring and messy work, penblade for fine work!

Though I appreciate the multiblades, I still stick with more basic patterns still for how it fits in the pocket.
 
Hated the stockman and the sodbuster for ages - until I realized what it was that they perfected. Now they are easily my favourite older pattern

Went off copperheads for some reason

There's still a load I don't like - peanuts, gunstocks - might be finding love for a big ole coke bottle daddy barlow :D :D
 
I use to not like the look of toothpicks at all, but now I love them. So much in such a little blade.
 
I don't know if I love them now but I've warmed up a good bit on swaybacks compared to before. For some reason the handle shape side of the equation just didn't click for me. After having a chance to handle some nice examples I'm much more receptive to the pattern.
 
I have not meet a whiskey I did not like.

Opps!
I meant
I have not meet a slippy I did not like.
 
I don't know if they fall into the traditional category, but I used to think of SAKs in general as a little kids knife, I'm guessing because of the Boy Scout connection. I thought they were just cheap little gadgets with their red plastic handles, and so many useless tools crammed into them that you couldn't carry one comfortably. Once I started getting into outdoor skills/ bushcraft type stuff, I kept hearing about the alox farmer and decided to pick one up. I was extremely impressed with how much more solid and substancial it felt compared to the plastic ones I was used to. I still found the farmer too bulky and heavy for daily carry, plus I didn't need to saw unless I was going hiking. Once I got on this forum, I started hearing about the soldier, and I picked on up about a month ago. I can honestly saw that I don't think there is a finer everyday knife on the market for my needs.
 
mdsmith said:
I don't know if they fall into the traditional category, but I used to think of SAKs in general as a little kids knife, I'm guessing because of the Boy Scout connection. I thought they were just cheap little gadgets with their red plastic handles, and so many useless tools crammed into them that you couldn't carry one comfortably. Once I started getting into outdoor skills/ bushcraft type stuff, I kept hearing about the alox farmer and decided to pick one up. I was extremely impressed with how much more solid and substancial it felt compared to the plastic ones I was used to. I still found the farmer too bulky and heavy for daily carry, plus I didn't need to saw unless I was going hiking. Once I got on this forum, I started hearing about the soldier, and I picked on up about a month ago. I can honestly saw that I don't think there is a finer everyday knife on the market for my needs.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. Until a year or so ago, I never cared for them. I just never thought of them as a real knife, more of a gadget or toy. I have a few that I received as gifts, etc, but never carried them. Until I bought a Farmer. It really is a great knife. But it's kind of a traditional pattern- almost a modified scout or camper pattern. I always liked the pattern, but just not the maker.

In the past, I was never interested in any fixed blades. I have a few, but was never really drawn to them. But I am slowly coming to love a few fixed blades. God help me, but the Nessmuk and Kephart patterns are calling my name. My wish list just keeps growing. I need to either get an extra part time job, or quit looking at pictures on Bladeforums.
 
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