What is it in a knife that would make it a deal breaker for you?

ooh man, like that thin blade on Sog's Fusion dagger, and sometimes hidden tangs/ blunt tantos
 
Dealbreakers for me are:

- bad reputation or intolerable behaviour from the knife maker ( I am looking at you RYP).
- bad material and design choices (Emerson, and again I want to like the HEST 2, I really want to.)
- serrations or halv serrations only.
- Assisted Opening. I want to point out that I have only tried SOG AOs. I`d like to try a ZT302.
- bad price/performance ratio (150-200USD for 154CM? Nope...)
- Skulls, etchings, generally branding the blade or the handle.
- tanto
- bad F&F
 
parbajtor said:
And also some rubbish with a "Made in USA" stamp on it. Quality is all about the skills of the maker (apart from the "China" situation where economics is not separate from politics) rather than some "accident of birth" as to where they hail from.
Click to expand...

I don't think it is a quality issue at all: there are plenty of high-quality knives made in china (or elsewhere). I don't think anyone is saying "all US knives are perfect and all Chinese knives are crap". The issue is that, at least here in the US, we've seen a tremendous amount of jobs shipped overseas and some people think the answer is to buy domestic products, especially when price is comparable. Some people also think that buying anything Chinese is supporting an... "undesirable" form of government.

In my case it is very difficult to justify a Chinese made Enlan for $20, which are admittedly well made, when I can buy an excellent US made Buck for $25 with a lifetime warranty.

My only deal breaker is partial serrations. I had a "no import" rule but that isn't exactly realistic (there's nothing wrong with Victorinox, Mora, Opinel, etc).

-StaTik-
 
Deal Breakers
ANY BLADE PLAY
Flimsy/thin blade/handles. If anything on the knife moves when i squeeze it or use it for cutting -- see ya
Plain metal or plastic/nylon handles (sebenza or similar being an exception)
Stick Tangs (on any fixed blade over 25$)
Im not a steel snob, but I won't buy anything lower than 440C
Gaudy or excessive logos ANYWHERE on the knife
SOG
Poor reputation

Things that don't bother me:
Serrations/combo edge - I don't mind them, but i'll usually go plain edge.
Weight - I'm a man, I can handle it.
Thick Blades - Bring it (unless i'm slicing tomatos)
Recurve - Slices better, doesn't bother me to sharpen.
154CM, 1095, 440C, AUS 8 - Properly heat treated from a reputable company these are GREAT user steels.
Price - I'll pay a good chunk of change for a really nice blade.
 
Deal breakers for me:

Tanto tips.
Serrated blades, especially partially serrated blades.
Knives made in countries that work towards the downfall of the U.S.A.

That's about it.
 
I have red on other places that they are easy to sharpen. O.o I don't see why they would have any better piercing power than other shapes. It's the angle between the imaginary tangents at the point that decides the pointyness, not the shape of the curves.
 
Well, I don't really like tantos all that much because its a one-trick horse. Its good for stabbing but not much else. There aren't many applications in er'day use where stabbing is useful. I don't plan on ever stabbing anyone with my knives or needing to puncture 55 gallon drums on a regular basis (in which case, virtually any blade shape will do just fine anyway). Basically they are not ideal for every day realistic cutting tasks, where a spear, drop or standard blade shape is superior.
 
American tantos are not one trick ponies. They're just comparatively specialized. The yokote (aka secondary point) pierces to initiate a cut on a flat surface. Also when cutting against hard surfaces, only the yokote will dull while the remainder of the edge is free to pass through the cutting medium. The flat geometry of the edge at the point can be used like a chisel or scraper. It's actually a decent style for folks opening a crapload of stuff. It's just not for me.
 
Doesn't cold steel have some funny video where the chubby guy explains why you should buy one of their tantos? :wink: I remember in the video of their war hammer he hits some target hard and says "that's why you buy a cold steel warhammer!".
 
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