What aspects to you like to see most in a EDC?

Moxy

Moxy

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Oct 30, 2011
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When you buy a new knife, what are the most important things you look for. Rate them from most important to least.
I'm curious to see if I'm in the norm or not. Here is my list. Starting with the most important aspects.
First off I like sleek, thin, medium duty folding knives for EDC. Thats my main criteria.

1 Overall Handle, Blade, & cutting edge shape/length (no recurve, no combo edge, no tanto please)
2 Ease of use *coughAXIScough*
3 Value (I'm poor)
4 Build Quality/FnF
5 Quality of materials (mmm... Titanium, s30v, VG10)
6 Cutting edge to handle ratio (preferably 1)
7 Blade steel (I prefer a balance between performance and ease to sharpen, ie No High Speed Stuff)
8 Strenght/Lock up
9 Aesthetics
10 Ergonomics
11 Feel (no cheapy plastic)
12 Maintainability (can I take it apart?)
13 Clip (tip up please)
14 Tactical (meh...)
15 Collectable?
16 Rarity (I'd rather keep it NIB if it's rare)
17 Reputation (OoOoo Emerson! We got a badass over here! Just kidding)
...
whatever else I forgot


Subject to change of course.

Taking all this into account my new favorite EDC knife is my Spyderco Caly 3.5 in VG10. It pretty much scores 10s across the board, dispite the fact that lockbacks aren't the most fluid and I can't take it apart. My Benchmade 940 is a also very very close 2nd.
 
I'm not sure
I feel like I can beat on my mini grip
I really like that
 
Hmm 1.fit and finish 2. quality of the materials. Everything else doesn't really matter much to me.
 
Looks
Blade design (length, geometry, cutting edge)
Handle design (length, ergos)
Weight
Pocket clip
Lock interface
F&F
Pocketability
Steel
Materials
 
Solid lockup is my #1 requirement by far. Any knife I've had with blade play that cant be fixed by any amount of cleaning, pivot tightening, loctite, etc. I've gotten rid of. I can't stand blade play.

With the exception being my Nemesis Manx. It has vertical blade play but only when you press on the spine without the edge on a cutting surface, because the lock flexes. There is no play when pressing down on the edge so I can deal with it since I really like the rest of it enough to balance out in this one case.
 
Getting a quality knife at the best deal you can find. One knife for each type of carry...work carry, sport carry, gentlemen's carry, hunt & fishing carry.

I truly believe there is a certain knife for a specify duty. If its everyday carry...Benchmade & Spyderco hits the spot.
 
1) cuts well, not a pry bar
2) comfortable in hand, non slip grip
3) reliable lock
4) good blade steel
5) comfortable in my pocket, not too fat or heavy
6) easy one handed opening and closing
7) quality construction
 
Carries unobtrusively
easy to open with gloves or otherwise
ergonomic handle with gloves or otherwise
tip of the blade is on a lower axis than the centerline of the handle
edit: slicey geometry is a must, I've seen thin, slicey knives worked harder and to better effect than most people who claim to need a "hard use" knife could ever imagine.

spyderco military it is!
 
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For me number one is versatility... The grip can't get to slick when wet with what ever. Some of the things mentioned are common sense to me, blade material, weight (not too light, not too heavy etc...), fit & finish (quality of construction). All common sense in my book. You're not going to cut a steak with a box cutter... I carry mostly fixed blades, but the two folders that I have is a SpyderCo Pacific Salt and a Emerson Commander. The latter is in bits being refurbished when ever time allows.

Tactical? Heck, it's a knife, it's dangerous no whether or not you know how to use it.

You've got a hell of a list to consider when looking at knives.
 
For me number one is versatility... The grip can't get to slick when wet with what ever. Some of the things mentioned are common sense to me, blade material, weight (not too light, not too heavy etc...), fit & finish (quality of construction). All common sense in my book. You're not going to cut a steak with a box cutter... I carry mostly fixed blades, but the two folders that I have is a SpyderCo Pacific Salt and a Emerson Commander. The latter is in bits being refurbished when ever time allows.

Tactical? Heck, it's a knife, it's dangerous no whether or not you know how to use it.

You've got a hell of a list to consider when looking at knives.
 
Number one is fun. If it's not fun to flip, flick, snap open, spyder drop etc I don't want it. No lock backs thank you (except for the Native) .

Two, slicy. No obtuse edge geometry. Scratch that, I can fix that, but no thick blades (at the edge). I don't want to spend all day reprofiling.

Three, purdy. To me pretty is Spyderco and a lot of Benchmades. I like some wild designs by other makers too. ZT comes to mind.

Steel, desirability (for possible future trading) , ergos, handle materials, size all of that comes last.
 
I look for American made in addition to ergonomics, quality, pocketabillity, and just general appeal.
 
1. Unobtrusive, which means under 3.5" and lightweight, 2 oz or less.
2. Strong. Does not develop play.
3. Sharp, cuts effortlessly.
 
1. Build quality. Life is too short to buy cheap knives.
2. Handle length, preferrably around 4.5". Ergonomics are in the mix here as well.
3. Handle thickness, preferrably .6" max. I find that I can carry heavier knives as long as they're still thin-ish.
4. Locking mechanism. The easier it is to use, the more I'll use it. It's not necessarily the lock type, but also how it's executed by the maker.
5. Materials. I'll group steels and handles into one category. I'm not a steel or ti snob but I know what I like and I know what I don't.
6. Pocket clip. Preferrably deep carry but most clips are ok for me. There are only a few I've seen that leave too much handle exposed to be useful.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I was trying to find a place for aesthetics in there somewhere but honestly I don't get myself seriously interested in a knife if it doesn't look good in at least one way or the other.
 
1.build quality
2.looks/materals
3.cost
4.locking mechanism
5.ergos
6.well designed clip is a must!

Those are some of the main things......
 
Tried to prioritize as best I could. Probably left something out.

1. safety. Good enough quality to not fall apart and cause injury.
2. sharpness. It should be able to cut what I need to cut (and then some).
3. size/weight. It can't be too big or heavy if I'm going to carry it around every day.
4. ergonomics.
5. materials. High quality materials (blade steel foremost)
6. tolerances. Solid lockup and smooth operation (for folders)
7. design. Pretty design or clever engineering.

3 and down kind of blend together once you get to an acceptable level of size, weight, materials, etc.

The priority is reversed once all criteria are filled to a certain level.
 
1 Portability
2 Design (capable, reliable, versatile)
2a Size/Weight
3 Quality
4 Materials
5 Aesthetics
6 Ergonomics
 
All of the options from the first post are things that I look at before buying a knife :)

Keeping it is another matter. If it's not realistic or comfortable to carry and use, even the most beautifully finished and designed knife has to go :o
 
I look at how well the knife will carry in my pocket more than anything else. If I find the best looking knife with the blade shape I like and the build quality ect., but it's uncomfortable to carry, or I know it will shred my pockets, it's essentially useless as an edc. For an edc knife I compromise looks or ergonomics, if it will carry better. I also would say the price to build quality ratio is a big concern as well.
 
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