What details makes your favorite knife your favorite?

Absintheur

Absintheur

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Many of us have more than one knife...I suspect a few of us may have more than three :rolleyes: . When you reach for that knife to go in your pocket in the morning what factor go into guiding your hand. Does one of your knives have specific details that make you reach for it over and over? There are obvious qualities that could lead to a particular choice such as ...

Pattern
Scale material
Size
Blade materials
Shape
Number of blades
Color (I know some folks do color coordinate)

And then there are less obvious intrinsic value options that might come into play...

Sentimental value
Is it a "lucky" knife
Feel in hand
Mood
Other subtle differences


Looking at my stockmen I have traditional stockman patterns but I also have equal end stockman pattern. I normally carry my Cold Steel but the round, smooth ends of the equal end versions feel better in hand and pocket and when you add in mine have rather colorful celluloid scales makes me reach for them on days when I choose rather than just grab.

I realize that different factors can come into play on different days. For example I like colorful celluloid and I have one in particular my Mother really liked, I bought it not long before she passed and on days when Mom is on my mind I will often carry her favorite. My dad has also gifted me quite a few knives over the years including passing along family knives, often these will find their way into my pocket when family is on my mind.

For me it usually a combination of a couple factors.

Pattern: I like smooth, round ended knives, This may explain my fondness for barlows as they tend to be round knives.
Scale material: I like color...bright colors.
Size: Three to four inches is about optimum for me for pocket, larger than that and I use a belt pouch

Days when I just grab you will likely find a CS Classic in my pocket or a smaller Case but if I take the time to choose it will be something colorful, smooth, and will have special meaning.

So...how do you choose, what makes that "one" knife your favorite or "go to" knife?
 
For me it has to do with a few things:

Size, anything over 3 1/2 inches is too bit for me.

Thin, most of my favorite knives have two back springs or three thin ones.

Blade/tool variety cause sometimes I need a single blade and other times I want something like a congress with a large assortment of blades

Handle Material, I like bone but will take other stuff if it just "feels right"

Stainless/Carbon, I like the IDEA of carbon but I think I have toxic oils that come from my skin and upkeep is a pain in the butt. SS works great for me and I can get Case stainless quite sharp.

How is that for you? That the kind of thread reply you were hoping for?
 
The difficult part with a thread like this is selecting just one knife; there are so many I like in my collection for different reasons.

I current, consistent for the last five or six weeks has been a Buck 303. What I love about it is plainly obvious: the fit and finish are great, it's light, the size of the blades (length, width, and thickness) is just about right for me, and the spey blade is shaped more like a pen blade, which I adore. Add to that bolsters integral to the liner, indestructible delrin scales, and Buck's peerless heat treat and warranty, and I have one knife that I absolutely adore and haven't put down since I bought it in early December (I actually accidentally bought two because there was an error on Buck's store one day).

My other favorite (if I were to pick one) is my Chestnut Swayback Jack. The scales don't match, the one without the shield being several shades darker than the other, but that makes it unique to me. I have several CV knives, and several in 1095, and I like the way CV patinas much better. It reminds me of a gasoline rainbow floating in a puddle of water. I like the blade shape; it's my only user wharncliffe (the other being a show knife I won on this forum not too long ago). I like the weight and pocketability of the knife. Definitely a favorite.
 
Several things make my favorite knife my favorite. They are mostly sentimental values attached with the knife. My grandfather carried a full size trapper all his life, so that is the pattern I love and its the knife I carry. The specific trapper I carry was given to me as a gift by my wife when I graduated college. I like the full size because of the size at just over 4 inches. My knife is a case in yellow with CV and I love the steel and the patina that grows with it over time. I feel like as the patina grows with my knife it, in some small way, details my growth as a person.
 
What I'm wearing is also a factor; not necessarily in a fashion-sense, but in a practicality sense. If I am wearing thin dress pants, I'll reach for something small and light with rounded bolsters, like a Peanut. For jeans, something more substantial can be carried comfortably.
 
This is a great thread topic.

Well, first I want to say that, the longer I hang out here, the harder it is to choose the knife for the day, because the number of choices keeps growing. There was a time when I grabbed my one daily carry pocket knife with my keys, and that was that.

When you reach for that knife to go in your pocket in the morning what factor go into guiding your hand. Does one of your knives have specific details that make you reach for it over and over?
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For a traditional, my parameters are:
Blade steel (I like low alloy steel, carbon steel, and D2)
Size (I like ~4", but not much bigger)
pattern (I like Stockmans, but I like others, too.)
Handle material.
 
My favorite changes . I always like early Case red bone, and lean towards two bladed specimens over 3 bladed patterns.
Although lately, I have been getting kinda fond of big (4inch +) stockman offerings. Which doesn't make sense because I usually prefer knives at around 3 1/2- 3 3/4 inches.... :confused:
 
It seems like sentimentality is playing a largish part here,along with shape or pattern.
 
For me, I love stockmans, so that is almost always the first thing I look for. From there, I love carbon steel. It takes such a great edge. Next, I prefer larger knives due to my larger hands. So so far I am looking at a carbon steel stockman in the 4 inch range. From there, I pick what looks right that day. Usually one of my Schrades. They are amazing with now blade play and I love them. It all just depends on what I am looking for at the moment.
 
Ah....that is a criteria I didn't include in the OP...Branding. I left that out intentionally and wondered if/when the maker would come into play in this thread. For me the maker is less important than some of the other attributes given the quality is equal. Case, Canal Street, Cold Steel, doesn't really matter to me as much as the steel and scale material used does.

Is branding a deciding factor for others?
 
Absintheur said:
Ah....that is a criteria I didn't include in the OP...Branding. I left that out intentionally and wondered if/when the maker would come into play in this thread. For me the maker is less important than some of the other attributes given the quality is equal. Case, Canal Street, Cold Steel, doesn't really matter to me as much as the steel and scale material used does.

Is branding a deciding factor for others?
Click to expand...

Got no favorite brand. But prefer American made.
 
knarfeng said:
Got no favorite brand. But prefer American made.
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Same here. Granddaddy carried a case, but brand is much less important to me than pattern and being American made. That said, I do carry a case because thats what grandaddy had.
 
For me it is all about feel. Some days I feel like a mini Trapper other days I feel like a Barlow or a Peanut small Jack. I usually always feel like CV steel.
 
Peanut. yellow handle cv blades. ever since I bought it it's been in my pocket. Heck, I just bought another one just incase I misplace it.
 
I choose a knife because;
A) I can get a good edge on it. It's usually carbon steel, D-2, or ATS-34 or equivalent.
B) The knife is old, but well made, or a custom and well made.
C) It's different than the ones in my other pockets!!:D
 
I usually only carry 1 knife a day. I dont exclusively choose slip joints as I actually just got my first ones over the past month. I have all my edc knives lined up on my desk. Which on do I choose? Well my newest knives tend to get the most pocket knives for a while (usually a month or so).

Not considering new knives, I sometimes just change my favorite for no particular reason. Sometimes t might be a sebenza for a couple weeks, a spyderco the next. This is given my past. However, I find something special about my traditional blades. They really seem to have more character and have a whole new respect for them. They are simple yet all unique and get the job done. I have two GEKs and a little buck and I like them all very much. I hav my GEK Texas toothpick with me atm and enjoy the character I have added to the 1095 blade.

Summed up? I dont really know heheh
 
Thalestin said:
Summed up? I dont really know heheh
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That is a good answer...I often don't know why I pick the knife I do but I do know it feels right for that day. Can an inanimate object acquire karma? (I want to avoid the use of the word soul but that might be a better word in some ways) I don't know but when I handle my Grandfather's knife I do feel a connection. And when I hold my Ken Coat's I know he poured part of himself into there. I only feel this with my traditional knives tho.
 
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First I must admit that I have been untrue to the forum and have lately fooled around with a cocktail waitress small lockback made by Buck (Vantage). But when on the straight and narrow, I will carry a Buck 303 Stockman, one of their overseas opposite ended small trapper, or maybe a 301 stockman. All in hanging pocket cases. But I belt case carry a TL-29 if I think the screwdriver might come in handy, hunting I carry a 112.......Since the 112 and TL-29 falls within my traditional commitment and my 303s know about it, I don't feel I am doing anything wrong when with them. ~(:- } 300Bucks
 
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