What are some huge deal breakers for you when it comes to buying knives?

I'll buy any knife if the price is right. Using & carrying them is another thing. I sometimes pick up stuff I know to be lousy POS, if I get it for under €10. Just because. A thrower to see how far I can throw it, a push dagger to see if I can punch it through metal (if I can, I'll get five more!) an auto just to disassemble it, a FB to tape somewhere and forget it's there or to try a weird blade shape regrind, cheesy ninja secret agent forearm or chest rigs just for laughs... I'm just funny that way.
 
Loneriderz said:
For me it is cheap 1095 steel knives that are sold at a premium price. It just doesn't make sense to me. For that matter I feel any knife made of cheap steel (1095, AUS8) and/ or cheap handle materials (FRN, rubber, Kraton) that cost more than USD70 is a deal breaker. Of course this is only my opinion... We can all agree to disagree.
Click to expand...

I don't know about the actual cost of raw 1095 but I love that steel. My dealbreaker is combo edges and Made in China.
 
There are always exceptions, but I try to stay away from :

Made in pakistan ( exception, some I found made out of files. I have seen faked file knives though too). Typical pakistan knives are some strange fake steel like substance that has all of the worst traits of steel, and none of the good ones. They even smell bad coming out of the box.

Most Tanto knives.

Most aluminium grips.

knives labled "surgical stainless", "high carbon stainless", or just "stainless steel"

knives obviously made for mall ninjas.

non ergonomic grips.

knives too small. Typically blades under 3". I prefer 3.5" or better.
 
Cheap materials, lockback locks, flashy graphics on the blade (I call those pimp blades), holes in the blades other that a hole for opening a folder.
 
1) Any side to side play on a folder.

2) Poor guard fit.

3) Cord wrapped handles.

4) Sometimes tanto tips, although once and a while, one might catch my eye on purely austhetic grounds.

5) Giant and goofy etchs on blades.

6) Double guards on working knives knives that don't need them.

7) Most types of file work.

8) Damascus steel. Many times, unless the maker is good, it messes up the visual flow of a knife.
 
Last edited:
Combo edges
unneeded funky blade designs
cheap steel
bad edge geometry
made anywhere than the USA
any handle material other than micarta or G10
lack of a finger choil
i hate coatings on blades.
saw backs, bottle openers, chisle grinds, tanto pionts

I just want simple. Simple doesn't fail. Swamp rat had a great line. One of which I owned and stupidly sold.
 
Gents, we have a winner. The vast majority of BF members wouldn't touch this knife with a ten foot lance:

kissrobin.jpg


(bottom) CRKT KISS.

Tanto blade - check.
Combo edge - check.
Chisel ground - check.
Bead blasted satin finish - check.
Logo etched on blade - check.
Likely to open in pocket - check.
Likely to snap closed under use - check.
Made in Taiwan - check.
Dodgy edge geometry - thick for a tiny knife - check.
Non-ergo handle - check.
No choil - check.
Stainless handle - check.

I could go on, but you get the picture. The Byrd in the picture is ten times more knife for the money.

But don't get me wrong, I love the KISS. The gadget value is immeasurable! It's a lovely piece (well, two pieces) of steel that you just want to play with. So what if it's useless for most things you'd want to do with a knife. :)
 
Text all over the blade (like: this is knife, it's made of 440c stainless steel and as you can see, it's a clip point bowie and the approximate blade lenght is about 5" and it's made in china and designed by mr.x and promoted by cutleryprocuctions limited (tm) 2009 limited edition)

"Designed for military forces at (insert conflict zone here) and used my many (insert special forces here)"

Poor steel
Left hand chisel
Serrations
Made in china
Gimmicky
 
  • Tanto blades
  • Lousy fit & finish
  • Persian shape blades
  • Screws that have been loctited in place (is that a verb?)
  • Backsprings that are too tight on slippies
 
For the most part I avoid:

American Tanto,

Made in China (with exception if good QC exists and it stands out in design),

Serrated combo edges (only if the unserrated edge is long enough and is not affected by the serrations).

Carbon steels in smaller knives (ok for chopping but in food prep it lacks),
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top