- Joined
- Jan 23, 2017
- Messages
- 519
Hey everyone! You may have seen me on the sale forums the past few months, I've got a super high turnover in my collection. Sold >70 knives just since April. I do a lot of buying to try, realizing I don't like a knife, and then selling it to buy another. The more I handle different knives from different makers, I find that things I used to think were important just aren't anymore, and little things can absolutely ruin a knife design for me.
Things I used to think were important:
A blade steel >CPM154. Let's be real for a second. We're not using our knives in a way that it actually matters what the steel is, as long as it's not unnamed Chinese stainless steel (nothing against China). As long as it can slice a decent number of Amazon packages before going dull, that's good enough. Realistically, the extent to which a steel chips or rolls shouldn't matter. You shouldn't be punching your knife through oil barrels in the first place. A steel that effectively ups the price of a knife by $50-100 (cough Terravantium cough cough) just is not worth it. Just get the Invictus in the M390, not the one in Terravantium. You're not going to actually notice a difference, especially if you ACTUALLY MAINTAIN YOUR KNIVES.
Brand/Maker. Just because someone is good or popular doesn't mean all of their knives are winners. I'm not going to call anyone out, positive or negative. Just don't buy a knife for the sake of owning a knife from that brand/maker. Buy the knives that actually get you excited. Buy the knives that are actually interesting to you. If you just buy based on name, you're going to sell that knife eventually and lose money on the sale.
Perceived Value. This is the same as the previous. Don't buy a knife thinking "This is a $500 knife, so it's going to be great and totally worth it". I think we all know by now that not every expensive knife is actually worth it's cost (cough James Brand cough cough). This especially applies if you're punching above your weight class. If your collection is <$300, don't just buy a $600 knife for the sake of having something fancy. You're going to feel bad about actually carrying/using it, and you'll probably just end up selling it eventually. Same goes for buying knives just because they have some fancy material, like Damasteel or Timascus or fancy Carbon Fiber. Again, buy knives that you actually want, not knives you think you should want (the griptilian is a bad knife fight me).
Things that are important to me now:
A real, useable sharpening choil. One where the plunge clears it by at least a few millimeters, so you could reasonably sharpen it a few times before hitting the plunge and making a smile. Why this is so hard for makers to do, I do not know.
A design where the tip of the knife is buried deep enough in the handle that it can't bite you when closed, whether it's the original edge, or a design where after a few sharpenings it'll start biting you (cough Spyderco Shaman cough cough). Same goes for edges that are too close to the open spine of the knife and can slice you when you slide your hand into your pocket.
A clip that is actually designed for pockets. I'm not talking about a stupidly spacious clip that'll fit on your cowboy boots. I'm not even saying every knife needs a deep carry clip. The more I collect, the more I actually prefer shallow carry because it tends to be more ergonomic and less hotspots. I'm talking about a clip that has JUST A FEW MILLIMETERS OF CLEARANCE (cough CKF cough cough) that could only fit a silk handkerchief underneath them. Same goes for clips that have no clearance at the lip (cough ZT 0640 cough cough) or that have a lip that is so pronounced it digs into your palm (why does no one called out CRK for this?).
I'm not posting this to say I'm right and people are wrong. I want to hear from you all! What's important to you when you're choosing which knife to spend your hard-earned money on?
Things I used to think were important:
A blade steel >CPM154. Let's be real for a second. We're not using our knives in a way that it actually matters what the steel is, as long as it's not unnamed Chinese stainless steel (nothing against China). As long as it can slice a decent number of Amazon packages before going dull, that's good enough. Realistically, the extent to which a steel chips or rolls shouldn't matter. You shouldn't be punching your knife through oil barrels in the first place. A steel that effectively ups the price of a knife by $50-100 (cough Terravantium cough cough) just is not worth it. Just get the Invictus in the M390, not the one in Terravantium. You're not going to actually notice a difference, especially if you ACTUALLY MAINTAIN YOUR KNIVES.
Brand/Maker. Just because someone is good or popular doesn't mean all of their knives are winners. I'm not going to call anyone out, positive or negative. Just don't buy a knife for the sake of owning a knife from that brand/maker. Buy the knives that actually get you excited. Buy the knives that are actually interesting to you. If you just buy based on name, you're going to sell that knife eventually and lose money on the sale.
Perceived Value. This is the same as the previous. Don't buy a knife thinking "This is a $500 knife, so it's going to be great and totally worth it". I think we all know by now that not every expensive knife is actually worth it's cost (cough James Brand cough cough). This especially applies if you're punching above your weight class. If your collection is <$300, don't just buy a $600 knife for the sake of having something fancy. You're going to feel bad about actually carrying/using it, and you'll probably just end up selling it eventually. Same goes for buying knives just because they have some fancy material, like Damasteel or Timascus or fancy Carbon Fiber. Again, buy knives that you actually want, not knives you think you should want (the griptilian is a bad knife fight me).
Things that are important to me now:
A real, useable sharpening choil. One where the plunge clears it by at least a few millimeters, so you could reasonably sharpen it a few times before hitting the plunge and making a smile. Why this is so hard for makers to do, I do not know.
A design where the tip of the knife is buried deep enough in the handle that it can't bite you when closed, whether it's the original edge, or a design where after a few sharpenings it'll start biting you (cough Spyderco Shaman cough cough). Same goes for edges that are too close to the open spine of the knife and can slice you when you slide your hand into your pocket.
A clip that is actually designed for pockets. I'm not talking about a stupidly spacious clip that'll fit on your cowboy boots. I'm not even saying every knife needs a deep carry clip. The more I collect, the more I actually prefer shallow carry because it tends to be more ergonomic and less hotspots. I'm talking about a clip that has JUST A FEW MILLIMETERS OF CLEARANCE (cough CKF cough cough) that could only fit a silk handkerchief underneath them. Same goes for clips that have no clearance at the lip (cough ZT 0640 cough cough) or that have a lip that is so pronounced it digs into your palm (why does no one called out CRK for this?).
I'm not posting this to say I'm right and people are wrong. I want to hear from you all! What's important to you when you're choosing which knife to spend your hard-earned money on?
buck 110 gets the exception cuz it’s beautiful but I wouldn’t want to use it in a SD situation.