What is it that you really like about your favorite knives?

Don't have too many but it's a top up between a Kershaw Vapor as my EDC or some Buck fixed blade that has 471 stamped on it...I found if for $10 at a gander mountian (I actually I found 3!!! lol) but it is NOT the Diamondback 471 on their site. Different, less "skinner" shape, to the blade. I'm thinking they were a bad batch but I've reprofiled it for an index finger grove...I love this thing.

I'm young and I'm cheap...only recently did I splurge for a 119...and I bought a Case Trapper for a friend once.
 
What is it that you really like about your favorite knives?
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For me, it is the people (mostly friends) who made them.
 
There is something about a good knife that catches the eye and one's attention that tells me that there is something 'right' about it- something called personal taste which can be hard to put into words.

It must feel good in the hand and have the right balance.

Fit, finish and beauty that compliments the knife as a whole from pommel to the point, including the function and fit of the sheath.
 
Kaizen1 said:
It’s more to me about the feeling that the knife gives me when it’s in my hand. The novelty on just about all the other stuff has worn off so far. The comfort that I get when holding an ergonomic knife is one of the main things that still keeps me interested in a certain knife model.

So long as I’m satisfied with the quality of steel, handle material and lock, the ergos is what I look for in a knife. What makes you enjoy your favorite models? SD applicability? Cool lock? Aesthetics? A certain combination of the above?
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I am with you on this. Two of my favorite knives are C83 Persian and Caly3.
Both of them look great, I have no doubts about this. But look will not make good EDC, both of these knives like made for my hand and great cutters. A while ago I bought Mini Cyclone Ti/ZDP. It looks nice, the best materials, great lock and the same size, as my Caly3, but not comfortable for my hand, so I do not have it any more. You have to love your favorite knives in your hand cutting.
 
My criteria in choosing a favorite knife would be
It needs to-
A)be sturdy (but not overbuilt to the point of being unnecessarily bulky or heavy)
B)have Good ergonomics
C)Holds an edge
D) be easy to resharpen
E)reasonably priced (so i can buy extras if need be also so i don't feel guilty if i mod it)
F)have replacements readily available/purchasable in case the original is lost
(or mucked up by modding)
:D
G)have aesthetic appeal ( i.e it is not ugly or gaudy), or if its not attractive then at least it should be utilitarian in its looks.

The next two mostly apply to SAK's/folders/Multitools
It needs to-
H)have multiple useful functions without a lot of tool duplication
I)be relatively self-contained without a lot of loose non-attached accoutrement's.

Lately i guess SAKs and Moras are my favorites.
:)
 
I guess for the reasons that Allen so eloquently expressed, the Buck 110 typifies all that I admire in a knife. The 110 FG is the most comfortable knife I own, as well as having great aesthetics, excellent fit and finish and a design that has weathered the test of time. A Custom 110 allows you to pick the scale material and blade steel, allowing one to personalize an already great knife.
 
Kaizen1 said:
:mad:That's a blatant rip off of Spyderco!! Except Spyderco has a black spider instead of a tick...:p:D
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Are you suuuure? Spiders have 8 legs. The Spyder has 6 legs plus teeth, so it is in all likelihood a fat tick. :D:thumbup:
 
allenC said:
I find it odd that one would have an adjustable pivot that really is'nt that adjustable.
Especially since everyone has a different notion of what's the perfect pivot tension.
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Not really adjustable...but its there to keep the blade attached to the handles and for assembly/dissassembly...I understand some people like different tensions on the blade, but when the pivot screw is all the way down, or tightened the blade is perfectly centered, there is NO blade play in any direction, and the blade has very smooth action opening and closing...there is no need for adjustment...If you like a very tight blade for some reason or very very loose all you ahve to do is take out the bushing, but I can't see any reason you would want to, lol...So its not like you don't have the option of setting the ternsion...you know...the bushing is just a small rounded piece of metal that goes inside the pivot area of the blade...

Check out this assembly video of the sebenza...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjAg8_2CcII
 
Kaizen1 said:
What makes you enjoy your favorite models? SD applicability? Cool lock? Aesthetics? A certain combination of the above?
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Tough question - as a previous poster said about personal taste, it's hard to put into words. I like each one for different reasons.

My all-time favorite is a Buck 110, or the old SchradeUSA LB7. I've had one or the other, or both, since I was 12. Perfect fit for me, then and now; great heft, and takes care of you if you take care of it. But, I don't have either of them with me all the time, because I just don't always need a knife of that size.

My constant companion is one of two SAK 'Huntsman' models, and I have used one of those far more than any other knife I own, literally almost daily. I couldn't begin to list all the ways that thing has come in handy over the last 15 years.

thx - cpr
 
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