What Design Features Are Your Biggest Turnoffs In Knife Design?

[sgt1372]

On folders, thumb studs or thumb disks which don't work well for me.

I don't buy any folders so equipped anymore because of this.

I also have 1 friction folder that I could do without.

 

[David Mary]

I also have 1 friction folder that I could do without.

I will bear this burden for you. My mailing address is....

 

[CVamberbonehead]

I will add myself to the list of non tactical folks. The whole BlAcK OpS nInJa thing is pretty goofy. I don’t mind the tactical look really if the knife is practical but it seems like usually those knives don’t cut well and aren’t comfy, and since I don’t fight ninja’s I don’t see the point. Even when I was in the army the actual high speed dudes I met all carried low speed high drag Leathermans lol

 

[Mistwalker]

I don’t like finger grooves and I really don’t like fixed blade wharncliffe models like the GEC shown. They sometimes come with a wacky sheath (backwards) and it is too easy to get things handled dangerously backwards (finger on blade not spine) View attachment 2728914

If I had this knife in a leather sheath, which I con't care for knives this thin and spike shaped in a leather sheath, it would have to be tightly wetformed to prevent the knife from just being pushed through the sheath by unexpected force applied to the pommel

SCANDI, there I said it. I feel that super low sabre grinds and scandi grinds are a way to make cheap knives from lower quality steel and keep toughness higher. But at the expense of a very obtuse design that with time wears down the primary grind and has to be completely reground. I do own many SCANDI and low sabre ground blades. But not really a fan anymore. Hence, I won't buy any more.

Yeah, I'm not the world's biggest fan of the scandi grind. I really dislike thick blades with scandi grinds, I really don't like them on blades over 3/32 thick, and even then I still prefer it with a higher-than-usual scandi grind. My favorite scandi so far was this Fiddleback Handyman years ago, because the large textured flat doesn't bore me and goes well with the handle

Slots in the handle for cord cutting.

Yeah, I don't care for those either. The seldom cut good and mae an uncomfortable handle. I prefer the Hinderer designed Gerber rescue folder design.

The only one that really kills me is a poorly terminated edge. I won't buy knives that aren't designed to be sharpened and used.

It's one of several things that have kept me from trying a Spartan Harsey.

Yeah, a lot of makers don't use sharpening choils. I prefer a dropped edge that angles out away from the handle at least a little bit, but I don't like dropped edges that angle back to the handle, or any size choil that has a straight drop ar back angle that gets hung up on cordage like fishing line or cloth.

Last but not least, offering their knives in a super steel that costs 40-60% [edited, more like 25-35% more, but still…] more than stainless steel models. I’m starting to get a bad attitude about the cost associated with those super steel models, especially when I have to spend a lot of time trying to thin down a super hard, super thick, super steel bevel. I think I’ll go back to regular steel like AEB-L, N690, and nitro V for a while. They’re just easier to work with. And not stupid expensive.

Yes, not the world's biggest fan of the latest and greatest super steels myself. My favorite thing about all the new steels is that CPM154 is less expensive these days and it's one of my favorites with the right heat treat and quench.

I can't stand chisel grinds. I get the reasoning behind them. I just think it's a great way to ugly up a knife real quick for very little benefit. Pisses me off even more if they don't show it in the preview photo when you're browsing a website. They love to bait and switch you with the bevel side in the thumbnails.

I'm with ya, I don't care for chisel grinds on anything but chisels!

3/16” stock thickness with taper in both directions. It’s strong, and light, and fast, and oh so slicey:

I agree. This Martin Rio is made of almost 5/16 stock, but tapers both ways and has a deep hollowgrind. So it isn't heavy and flick-cuts through briers like they're not even there.

I will add myself to the list of non tactical folks. The whole BlAcK OpS nInJa thing is pretty goofy. I don’t mind the tactical look really if the knife is practical but it seems like usually those knives don’t cut well and aren’t comfy, and since I don’t fight ninja’s I don’t see the point. Even when I was in the army the actual high speed dudes I met all carried low speed high drag Leathermans lol

I wrote for Tactcial Knives and Tactical Weapons for several years, and I got to the point where I didn't want to own a knife that had a black blade or came in a black sheath for a while. And I teach all my students, in a modern urban environment if you can have only one knife/tool make it a good multitool. The Wave + is still one of my favorites on the streets.

 

[Cobalt]

If I had this knife in a leather sheath, which I con't care for knives this thin and spike shaped in a leather sheath, it would have to be tightly wetformed to prevent the knife from just being pushed through the sheath by unexpected force applied to the pommel

Yeah, I'm not the world's biggest fan of the scandi grind. I really dislike thick blades with scandi grinds, I really don't like them on blades over 3/32 thick, and even then I still prefer it with a higher-than-usual scandi grind. My favorite scandi so far was this Fiddleback Handyman years ago, because the large textured flat doesn't bore me and goes well with the handle

Yeah, I don't care for those either. The seldom cut good and mae an uncomfortable handle. I prefer the Hinderer designed Gerber rescue folder design.



Yeah, a lot of makers don't use sharpening choils. I prefer a dropped edge that angles out away from the handle at least a little bit, but I don't like dropped edges that angle back to the handle, or any size choil that has a straight drop ar back angle that gets hung up on cordage like fishing line or cloth.



Yes, not the world's biggest fan of the latest and greatest super steels myself. My favorite thing about all the new steels is that CPM154 is less expensive these days and it's one of my favorites with the right heat treat and quench.


I'm with ya, I don't care for chisel grinds on anything but chisels!



I agree. This Martin Rio is made of almost 5/16 stock, but tapers both ways and has a deep hollowgrind. So it isn't heavy and flick-cuts through briers like they're not even there.

I wrote for Tactcial Knives and Tactical Weapons for several years, and I got to the point where I didn't want to own a knife that had a black blade or came in a black sheath for a while. And I teach all my students, in a modern urban environment if you can have only one knife/tool make it a good multitool. The Wave + is still one of my favorites on the streets.

Beautiful Rio knife by the way.

Not a fan of coatings either, but I understand them on plain carbon steels for people that don't maintain equipment. If I have a choice, I never buy a coated blade.

 

[sgt1372]

I will bear this burden for you. My mailing address is....

It's for sale. Contact me via DM if you want the details.

 

[David Mary]

It's for sale. Contact me via DM if you want the details.

Haha! I'm not actually a friction folder guy, but the joke was mandatory and I wanted to be the first this time!

 

[norcalAF]

I can't stand chisel grinds. I get the reasoning behind them. I just think it's a great way to ugly up a knife real quick for very little benefit. Pisses me off even more if they don't show it in the preview photo when you're browsing a website. They love to bait and switch you with the bevel side in the thumbnails.

I'm with ya there, at least with Emerson you know it ahead of time. I still can't seem to keep a CQC7 in the collection except for a mini.

 

[Mistwalker]

Beautiful Rio knife by the way.

Thanks the other 3in that batch had no choil but since I'm okay with choils on working knives I make other tools with, I took this one and left the non-choiled ones for others. It's my most refined knife of all I guess, and my overall favorite as well.

 

[Monofletch]

A choil on any knife should be punishable by death!

I also dislike flipper tabs

And lastly… when a knife sticks way out of my pocket because some idiot put the clip on the wrong spot!

 

[Tensaw]

No flipper only folders.

Do not like bright, multi colored carbon fiber handles

 

[Chowser]

I guess I'm not especially choosy, but on folders, I really dislike the 'thin handle' trend. I'm not sure what the purpose is, but it certainly is not comfort when cutting. Give me contours and swells, like on a good fixed blade.

 

[norcalAF]

I guess I'm not especially choosy, but on folders, I really dislike the 'thin handle' trend. I'm not sure what the purpose is, but it certainly is not comfort when cutting. Give me contours and swells, like on a good fixed blade.

Or on a good woman

 

[DangerZone98]

I don't like the super hard steels either


We think a lot alike, and yes I still own some too LOL. It's how we know they annoy us!


I don't like flippers either, and any chopper has to have a rear swell or birds beak for me.


Round handles can be a pain

I'm the same way. I bought a Ka-Bar Warthog in the 90s/00's and the short wide blade just really didn't work for me.

It's almost like you don't like assisted opening


Yeah, I get that. Bad pocket clips can ruin an otherwise great knife!

Assisted opening is like the knife telling me how to do my job.

Then when the job is done, it has the audacity to INSIST on remaining open. Like a three year old staying awake after bedtime.

 

[oldmanwilly]

I really dislike blades with a thick final bevel. Sure, the knife may be shaving sharp and slice newspaper like a bandit, but if it binds up 1/8th inch into an apple then what good is it to me for anything other than chopping aged, hardened oak? Few things turn me off more than having to completely reprofile a new "sharp" knife just to get it to cut worth a fig.

I also cannot stand makers/manufacturers who charge a premium for the latest, greatest super steel but intentionally temper to a low, sub-optimal hardness in order to avoid warranty claims (looking at you, Benchmade). Choose the right steel for the job, temper it properly to maximize its characteristics for the desired use, and charge an appropriate price. Don't sell me a tenderloin at full price and tell me it's for my own good when you cook it to medium-well.

Also, carbon fiber. Two skinny little scales suddenly raise the price by $20-40 for little or no actual benefit other than graphitey color? Keep it, I'd rather have delrin or staglon.

 

[Mistwalker]

A choil on any knife should be punishable by death!

I also dislike flipper tabs

And lastly… when a knife sticks way out of my pocket because some idiot put the clip on the wrong spot!

I think that's a bit extreme for choils, being a fan of some of them but not all, but yeah some of them suck.

No flipper only folders.

Do not like bright, multi colored carbon fiber handles

The only colored one I really like is the emerald green that to me looks good as an inlay and matches a ring I have

I guess I'm not especially choosy, but on folders, I really dislike the 'thin handle' trend. I'm not sure what the purpose is, but it certainly is not comfort when cutting. Give me contours and swells, like on a good fixed blade.

I understand this on a working flder. I loved the original iteration of the Case Sharktooth knife because I loved the swell and contours. Not really a fan of the Hammerhead or the Mako. I'll still with my Buck 110 and 112 over those.

Assisted opening is like the knife telling me how to do my job.

Then when the job is done, it has the audacity to INSIST on remaining open. Like a three year old staying awake after bedtime.

Absolutely perfect analogy!

Or on a good woman

Exactly!

I really dislike blades with a thick final bevel. Sure, the knife may be shaving sharp and slice newspaper like a bandit, but if it binds up 1/8th inch into an apple then what good is it to me for anything other than chopping aged, hardened oak? Few things turn me off more than having to completely reprofile a new "sharp" knife just to get it to cut worth a fig.

Same

I also cannot stand makers/manufacturers who charge a premium for the latest, greatest super steel but intentionally temper to a low, sub-optimal hardness in order to avoid warranty claims (looking at you, Benchmade). Choose the right steel for the job, temper it properly to maximize its characteristics for the desired use, and charge an appropriate price. Don't sell me a tenderloin at full price and tell me it's for my own good when you cook it to medium-well.

LOL. another great analogy!

Also, carbon fiber. Two skinny little scales suddenly raise the price by $20-40 for little or no actual benefit other than graphitey color? Keep it, I'd rather have delrin or staglon.

I get that. I only like carbon fiber as an inly between metal bolster/guard and a metal rear bolster or pommel, which then justifies the cost. I'm not a gig fab of plain carbon fiber scales.

 

[David Mary]

A choil on any knife should be punishable by death!

I'm going to charitably interpret this as meaning the choil itself needs to die, i.e. by being reground into useable cutting edge.

 

[bayouace]

Frame locks, as mentioned many times. Plus, that sadistic person with the Loctite who loves cementing pivot and pocket clip screws into eternity.

 

[Wolverine666]

Flippers , plastic handles and non-stainless blades.

 

[SharpBits]

I’m glad I have very few turnoffs so the overwhelming majority of the knives are available to me. Wait, maybe that’s a bad thing.