What are your biggest knife turn-offs ?

Suveges said:
Why all the hate for hollow grinds? I have a couple of Dozier knives (I think most if not all of his knives are hollow ground) and I think they make fine outdoor knives :confused:
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This has generally been my experience as well. Especially when the hollow grind is combined with a good edge grind.
 
Hump back knives instead of a nice long clip point.

Corroded or furnace finish rather than shiny/satin

Flamed wood rather than cocobolo or colorful micarta or G10

Big guards rather than a small feature to keep your hand off the blade

Over priced customed blades (WSS makers don't fit this category)

Amateurish or weird blades at any price
 
hollowdweller said:
I thought we just did this one

(( Please don't link to W&C. You could be treating someone to a surprise without them having seen the forum warning first. ))
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Yeah unfortunately when the thread migrated to whine & cheese it increased in quantity but degraded in quality.
Sometimes W&C can be fun if you are in a nihilistic mood though,lol.
 
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My "Bleah" list
Choils
serrations/saw-teeth
false edges
rubber covered guards
excessive labelling/cut-outs
 
I agree with most of them said above.

I like knives of full flat grind with plain ergnomic handle made with
steels primary developed for cutting edge (O1, M2, plain carbon steels and others).
In short, those often seen here in WSS.

Knives other than these construction, I have no interest basically.
 
choils (okay, maybe once in a great while there's a reason for one, but that's 0.1% of the ones made)

finger grooved handles. I can accept one for the index finger on the right knife, but those handles that look like a cutoff "trench knife"???:barf::barf::barf:

butts that you can't USE. those reverse angled pointy ones just piss me off.

Wedge blades. I'm starting to work more thicker steel, but i generally just cannot find a use for a 3-4 inch blade that's .25 on the spine. (3/16, broad bladed, with a full convex or full flat grind maybe, on the right knife)

I generally don't go for thin handle scales and cord wraps, but both have a purpose and a place. I love a psk knife with a ranger band and cord wrap. And a thin handled necker is great.
 
HornyToad said:
Hump back knives instead of a nice long clip point.

Corroded or furnace finish rather than shiny/satin

Flamed wood rather than cocobolo or colorful micarta or G10

Big guards rather than a small feature to keep your hand off the blade

Over priced customed blades (WSS makers don't fit this category)

Amateurish or weird blades at any price
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Ouch! I think I'm the only one here doing the flame marked wood thing. Fortunately, I do cocobolo and micarta, too :D I only do the flame marks on osage orange and it just looks so purty as it ages. Guess this is a taste issue.

I think that a forge finish can be very hard wearing and durable, and I've deliberately left it on a lot of my knives just because of that. I like the white knives, too, though. Any particular reason you don't like forge finishes?

I'm glad you said you like clips, I was feeling a bit out of things for a while there. I don't think they are universally appropriate, but they are great for balance and weight control on some blades.
 
oversized ricasso
double guards
zdp-189
non-functional curves or hardware
partial serrations

that names off most of my own personal prejudices...
 
MY A-NUMBER ONE BEEF: "Too thick just beyond the edge." A knife is made to sut things, not pinch them in two.

Obtuse secondary bevels. Again, I can BUY wire cutters......

Lopsided, asymetrical handles - my "grip gripes" are extensive and I tend to be very picky about that but, if they are bulky, at least I can fix them.

Asymetrical grind height, plunge line...

Spine not perpendicular to centerline of the cross-section of the blade.

Ricassos (personal preference, not a "fault" actually)

"Ricassos by default" - someone got lazy on the bevels and left me a 1/2" long flat spot where there should be an actual edge.

Most other things I can see and decide whether I even want to buy it or they are more about personal preferences so I can't really complain about them.
 
koyote said:
Ouch! I think I'm the only one here doing the flame marked wood thing.

Any particular reason you don't like forge finishes?

I'm glad you said you like clips, I was feeling a bit out of things for a while there. I don't think they are universally appropriate, but they are great for balance and weight control on some blades.
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I guess flamed wood and forge finishes make knives look like "frontier" knives. Good for re-enactments but not for me. I have hesitated getting a Kephart because of the old timey look but was pleasantly surprised when I received my new BKRT Kephart.

I think Stomper made a few flamed handles. I have several Stomper knives that I like, but not that one.

I think a clip point is good for a big knife. Maybe not so good on a small one. My Stomper long clip has very nice proportions.
 
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Jeff H said:
Lopsided, asymetrical handles.

Asymetrical grind height, plunge line...

Spine not perpendicular to centerline of the cross-section of the blade.

"Ricassos by default" - someone got lazy on the bevels and left me a 1/2" long flat spot where there should be an actual edge.
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I agree but these are poor craftsmanship, not poor design. Unfortunately these things can be hard to tell in a picture but are painfully obvious when the knife arrives. I know. :grumpy:
 
For me the biggest turn offs with knives I am looking to purchase personally are: Big bold writing on the blades, big logos or fake etched in signitures. I don't mind too much if its a collector piece and they are real handwritten autographs on a folder by a big name but otherwise I can do without that. Couple examples are the Gerber Fairbairn folder which I find appealing other than the fake etched in autographs on the blade that go down the full length of it on one side. Also, the Steven Segal folder by Kershaw and some of the logos in my opinon are too big and gaudy. I prefer smaller signitures like Gene Baskett uses personally.

I also don't care for generic looking pocket clips, especially on a custom folder or ones that are so large they advertise you have a big fancy folder in your pocket. These, in my opinion take away from the folder by drawing all the attention away from the masterpiece lurking under that ugly clip instead of the clip adding to the package by enhancing it.

STR
 
I used to have some definite turn-offs, but I'm more open minded now.

A useless choil will make think twice. I think Ed Fowler really made me notice choils more. Thanks Ed.

Fantasy tacticool blades with built in wire-cutters, bottle openers, and microwaves will not make it through the door. This rules out just about every Gil Hibben knife ever made.

Saw teeth are a big no-no, but I could be convinced I suppose.

"Chisel grinds." This tells me the maker doesn't understand knives or is lazy. Or both.

440C. I know I should be more open minded here, but too much crap 440C has turned me off completely. A good knife maker could probably change my mind.

I used to mind bad quality sheaths, but now there are enough good after-market sheath makers that I can over look a bad sheath if I really like the knife.

Thick steel used to make me think twice, but I have a couple .25" blades and they work well. Still something more reasonable always seems more...uh...reasonable.

I am not dogmatic about blade design. Each design has a strength. I love the look of a clip blade, and they are functional. Upswept doesn't do it for me, yet one of my favorite knives has a slightly upswept blade. I love a Wharncliff--the antithesis of the upswept blade. Go figure.

A big ricasso used to annoy me, but even here I am willing to tolerate one. Most cutting takes place further out on the blade anyway.

Currently the thing that catches my eye is the stress riser. A knife with a curved, soft stress riser looks like it was well thought out. A sharp cornered stress riser causes me to wonder if the maker thought about it and why he/she didn't eliminate it. Makes me hesitate.
 
Serrations, false edges, double guards, AND THE WORST....too short of a handle. I like a meaty handle I can move around on.
 
Rotte said:
440C. I know I should be more open minded here, but too much crap 440C has turned me off completely. A good knife maker could probably change my mind.
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I know exactly what you mean, the only 440c I like is from timberline and buck.
 
Thick edges. What's the deal with knives coming from the factory with edges resembling a cold chisel? Damn near every knife out of the box has an edge bevel that's way thicker than necessary. The best, hardest, most exotic steel is easily outcut by 420J2 with a thinner edge. It's a pity when a $7 Opinel cuts great out of the box, and a $150 knife needs to be reprofiled before it even comes close.

Everything else I can live with. Everything else, I can live with. Cheap steel... no problem. Serrations... I'm coming around to loving 'em. Tactical looks, choils, false edges, etc, all this stuff doesn't matter. Thick edges are the only thing I can't stand.
 
Other than the big fantasy knives and saw teeth, almost everything is a possibility for me.

I don't like chisel grinds or tanto blades...but then you can use them very effectively for woodwork if you know what you are doing (which is probably why woodworkers use chisels more than knives.)

I don't like choils generally...but occasionally they are useful if you need a knife where you can switch your grip around to change the balance substantially.

I don't like thick edges at all...but then that's easy to fix.

I don't like the deep finger grooved handles at all, that's a pretty definite no, I guess.

I don't really like hollow grinds...but as stated they can be quite good, depending on what you want to do.


Most of the problems described in this thread are usage-specific, in my opinion. Lots of them wouldn't be problems for some users. It just depends on what you do with your knives.


But I do hate the Bud K/Dark Ops/Hibben knives.

And I really don't see the point of knives that don't cut well.
 
uporg1794827.jpg


Dared to draw typical turn-off
 
Cord wrapped handles

Blades that just say 440?,or stainless...or:rolleyes: surgical

Big,ugly pocket clips

Combo edges...though there are a few exceptions

tanto blades
 
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