What knife has left the biggest impression - good and bad?

Vic Spartan made the biggest impression. It was my first pocket knife and made me aware of just how useful carrying one was.

After that would be the Kershaw Blur. It was the one that bridged the gap between utility and fun for me with regards to knives. The Blur is responsible for my having amassed more knives for dozens of lifetimes. So maybe it should be classified as a "good impression" but "bad influence". ;)

Some runner-ups are the Spyderco Delica4 FFG (renewed appreciation of a well-made back lock, and a plastic/FRN handled knife that didn't feel "cheap"), Kershaw Leek (super-slim knife and very discrete carry), Benchmade Mini-Griptilian (Axis lock), and ZT 0301 (the beast!).
 
The best impression was the Shirogorov F95 'Nudist' with the Elmax blade. It's the first knife I've owned that exceeded expectations, and mine were high, prime for disappointment. To me, that knife is perfect. It's the only knife I feel that way about.

The worst impression was left by a DDR auto. I doubt it was representative of his work as a whole, but when first impressions are worst impressions, it doesn't bode well...
 
Blues Bender said:
Do as you wish Brother, I'm done discussing ZT though. I want to stay on topic.
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Same here, coincidentally, and fair enough. I'll let it stand. It's not a portrait of Muhammad or anything, so we should be OK.:D

(EDIT: If he wants to, B.B. can pull the plug on them at any time by making them private.)
 
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Comeuppance said:
Bad - Will Moon Mk 6. I bought it directly from the guy, paid full price up front, he said he was going to refit the blue twill inlay and re-anodize the knife to sunset gold. It was already built, mind you.

I send him messages every two weeks asking about the knife. “Just about to ship it”, “Just need to do X and it’ll be on its way”, “You’ll have it by the end of the week.”

Four months pass.

The knife finally arrives. He shipped a $1200 knife uninsured in a flatrate box with no signature confirmation or anything, nor did he send me tracking info. None of the work he said was going to be done has been done. The blade was off-center and had play. The detent is nonexistent and the flipping action is very poor, with a gritty pivot. The inlay is shoddily set and the finish looked awful.

I sent it back for a full refund. I could not believe how full of it that guy was. Everyone had such nice things to say about him and his knives, but… I certainly did not get that experience.

Good - Large Sebenza 21 Insingo with Carbon Fiber inlays.

The only knife I miss.

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Good

Protech Godfather, Godson Tuxedo model. See my Avatar.
 
Comeuppance said:
Bad - Will Moon Mk 6. I bought it directly from the guy, paid full price up front, he said he was going to refit the blue twill inlay and re-anodize the knife to sunset gold. It was already built, mind you.

I send him messages every two weeks asking about the knife. “Just about to ship it”, “Just need to do X and it’ll be on its way”, “You’ll have it by the end of the week.”

Four months pass.

The knife finally arrives. He shipped a $1200 knife uninsured in a flatrate box with no signature confirmation or anything, nor did he send me tracking info. None of the work he said was going to be done has been done. The blade was off-center and had play. The detent is nonexistent and the flipping action is very poor, with a gritty pivot. The inlay is shoddily set and the finish looked awful.

I sent it back for a full refund. I could not believe how full of it that guy was. Everyone had such nice things to say about him and his knives, but… I certainly did not get that experience.

Good - Large Sebenza 21 Insingo with Carbon Fiber inlays.

The only knife I miss.

Click to expand...


Word on the street is that the real machinist in wills family is his father and that will was learning from him. Jim skaelton even stopped pushing his stuff. I never bought into it because even in jims early videos of his work i could see serious flaws in the workmanship. Its not the fact that will stuggles with aspects of building knives that bothers me. Its that he is incredibly arrogant when he talks about his abilities as a knifemaker. He seems genuinely more impressed with his own work than any of his actual customers.
 
Good - 99% of all the Spyderco knives I have purchased. I have found that while I like the smaller knives in the Spyderco lineup - Lava, Dragonfly, Sage, I do not use them and they have been gifted to deserving people in my life. Best - I was lucky enough to be around when Ray Laconico was producing his fixed blades and they were showing up frequently on the custom knife sales forum. I picked up 9 or 10 and find they are my favorite knives - I usually keep one out on the desktop just to mess around with when I am in the office. They work great in the field. I also purchased one of his folders - it is an unusual design - got it before the prices went up and do carry it occasionally.
 
Good - My Les George Talos. It was my first true mid-tech and I'm still blown away by that knife.

Bad - Gerber LMF II. WTH was I thinking?
 
The Good: Rough Rider, Colt, and Marbles traditional kinves. They proved you can buy a high quality knife for well under $20.

The " Bad": Rough Rider traditional knives. They are addictive, and there are so many different patterns to try and so many different handle materials, at such reasonable prices. I can't help but order one or three every payday that there is something left over after paying the bills.
 
Good: Boker Pipsqueak. I wanted it from the moment I saw it, and it hasn't left my pocket since I got it.

Bad: Gerber Remix. My 1st & worst knife purchase.
 
PURPLEDC said:
Word on the street is that the real machinist in wills family is his father and that will was learning from him. Jim skaelton even stopped pushing his stuff. I never bought into it because even in jims early videos of his work i could see serious flaws in the workmanship. Its not the fact that will stuggles with aspects of building knives that bothers me. Its that he is incredibly arrogant when he talks about his abilities as a knifemaker. He seems genuinely more impressed with his own work than any of his actual customers.
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That's interesting, I've noticed the same thing. The inflated ego is hard to miss, I guess.

I've liked his review videos -- to the extent that I'm able to like review videos -- and his designs have some nice features. While he's fine talking about knives made by other people, as soon as his knives become the center of attention, he nearly dislocates his shoulder slapping himself on the back.

Confidence and taking pride in one's work are both cool, but the self-congratulatory bullsh*t he puts out there is just weird. His knives could be the greatest things that ever killed a piece of printing paper, but with his history of treating customers like inconveniences at best, combined with the strange, off-putting braggadocio, I won't be taking a chance on a Mark 6. Or 7... or 8, or 9, or 10.

I'll quit hammering on the guy. For all I know he's a great person who made some mistakes, and is trying to get his sh*t together.
 
Sikael said:
That's interesting, I've noticed the same thing. The inflated ego is hard to miss, I guess.

I've liked his review videos -- to the extent that I'm able to like review videos -- and his designs have some nice features. While he's fine talking about knives made by other people, as soon as his knives become the center of attention, he nearly dislocates his shoulder slapping himself on the back.

Confidence and taking pride in one's work are both cool, but the self-congratulatory bullsh*t he puts out there is just weird. His knives could be the greatest things that ever killed a piece of printing paper, but with his history of treating customers like inconveniences at best, combined with the strange, off-putting braggadocio, I won't be taking a chance on a Mark 6. Or 7... or 8, or 9, or 10.

I'll quit hammering on the guy. For all I know he's a great person who made some mistakes, and is trying to get his sh*t together.
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I don't know how much he's changed since about a year ago, but if it isn't much, he's still a pretty awful fart-savoring responsibility-dodging self-congratulatory unapologetic hack.

Too negative? Maybe. In my defense, my car cost less than the knife I bought from him and doesn't fill me with feelings of rage, regret, and being cheated.

It's also sharper.

I guess I'm a little more bitter about it than I thought I was. >.>
 
Comeuppance said:
Bad - Will Moon Mk 6. I bought it directly from the guy, paid full price up front, he said he was going to refit the blue twill inlay and re-anodize the knife to sunset gold. It was already built, mind you.

I send him messages every two weeks asking about the knife. “Just about to ship it”, “Just need to do X and it’ll be on its way”, “You’ll have it by the end of the week.”

Four months pass.

The knife finally arrives. He shipped a $1200 knife uninsured in a flatrate box with no signature confirmation or anything, nor did he send me tracking info. None of the work he said was going to be done has been done. The blade was off-center and had play. The detent is nonexistent and the flipping action is very poor, with a gritty pivot. The inlay is shoddily set and the finish looked awful.

I sent it back for a full refund. I could not believe how full of it that guy was. Everyone had such nice things to say about him and his knives, but… I certainly did not get that experience.

Good - Large Sebenza 21 Insingo with Carbon Fiber inlays.

The only knife I miss.

Click to expand...

Never dealt with Moon, but still surprised. His work looks really amazing.
 
Very interesting thread!
Bad: sniperbladeworks LPC. The LPC was a knife that I ordered straight from the guys at Sniperbladeworks. I had them build the knife to my specifications: full titanium handles with grey and black camouflage gunkote, compound grind, and CPM-154. The LPC was my first custom knife. At the time, I only had a sebenza with full titanium handles. I thought I'd like overbuilt monsters, because they seemed awesome. I found out that carrying 10oz of knife really wasn't my thing. Lesson learned: buy knives 6 oz and under.
Also, the compound grind was a bit wonky. I understand that custom knives won't be immaculate because they are made by humans, but the grinds were pretty far off. It appeared as if somebody ground the knife and never looked at the blade again. Lesson learned: only buy complex grinds from makers who specialize in doing them (Mick Strider, etc.).
The third thing that I learned was regarding market value of custom knives. Prior to owning the LPC, I never really watched the custom knives for sale forum and had no idea what some knives were commanding and what others weren't. In my naive opinion at the time, I thought ALL custom knives increased in value after being bought direct from makers. Man was I wrong. I ended up trading my buttery-smooth LPC in great condition for a little under half what I originally paid for it.
Lesson learned: Understand the market value of custom knives and try to make the most intelligent decision when dealing with large sums of money.

Good: Emerson CQC-7
The 7 was my first Emerson and to this day my most carried knife. Prior to getting the 7, I had heard almost every positive and negative comment people had made about Emerson knives. I was a bit nervous to receieve it, but once I did I was very happy with my choice. The knife had a solid detent, the scales lined up well, there was no blade play, the knife was perfectly centered, and there was no lock stick. Fast foward a year and a half, that 7 has maintained its lockup at 60% (even with the use of the wave) and is a welcomed friend in my right front pocket.
 
Bad - Gerber.... Last 3 I owned got dull cutting through the air too fast; HT was horrible. Granted they were low end Gerbers, but I still see no excuse when so many other low end companies are getting it right at the same price.
 
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Bad - CRKT M16. Looks so cool to a younger me. Couldnt hold an edge for anything. I had a few much more experienced people sharpen them and nothing. The liner lock was sketchy as hell and the only way it could be trusted is witht he second lock engaged. Which is just shitty. Glad I lost two of them. Feel bad for whoever found them.

Good - CRK Sebenza. Not flashy or presumptous. The first time I opened my 21 I knew it was money well spent.
 
Bad - Benchmade Gold Class Emissary. Fit and finish really need to be better on a knife costing that much.

Good - Kershaw Thermite. Amazing performer for the money.
 
Good: Direware Solo V5 - Construction and fit and finish was astounding. The most flawless knife i've had the pleasure of owning and so solid.
Strider SnG CC - Most recent pick up, fit and finish is also amazing. Was hesitant after knowing their reputation, but their QC has seemed to be on point. Lock up is solid and early, blade is centered with zero play, smoother than my old sebenza (maybe because ive broke it in more?)

Bad: Benchmade 484-1 Nakamura - Not a terrible knife, but it would open 50% of the time when taking it out of my pocket because of the thumb studs being too long, and didnt come all that sharp. Fit and finish was pretty damn good, but that didnt make up for the design flaw (i looked it up, and others had the same issue of it opening when taking it out of the pocket.)
 
The biggest positive impression a knife has had on me was finally receiving a Blind Horse Knives Lumberjack AT. What a beauty! Flawless finish, a great user, terrific steel and blade shape and feels incredible in the hand. An instant favorite.


I'd say that the biggest negative impression has been from my stainless steel Bark River Gunny in olive wood.
I was super excited about the knife and I got a killer price on it. However:
There were finger print rust spots on the blade.
Also, the olive wood scales weren't stabilized or even finished, and they came dirty and dried out.
Finally, that bark river thumb ramp/fire steel striker is just about the most uncomfortable and awkward feature I've ever experienced on a knife. And since I got a close out deal on it I couldn't return it. I think the handle and rust were a result of sitting around in the knife shop so long, and not the fault of bark river.

That being said:
The rust was a quick fix and the blade polished right up!

Regular oiling of the scales has brought out some serious beauty!

And finally, a friend and amateur knife maker recently took off the thumb ramp for me.

Slowly but surely, I'm making the knife work. I still need a better sheath for it, but I've at least gotten it to a point where I can use and enjoy it!
 
Bad - The Lionsteel TRE. If I wanted to wrist flick a flipper open I'd stick with a $30 kershaw. Overall a nice looking knife with great packaging but the lack of a detent for a flipper lost it for me.

Good - Large zebenza 21 with the "tanked" graphic. What a beauty. It's a sebenza, they are all nice but this one just does it for me.
 
Good: Every Spyderco I've ever owned. The biggest good impression was left by the s90v Yojimbo 2. I'm a huge fan of wharnies and sheepies, and also tend to like MJ's designs. For ~$200 it is an amazing value imo. Flawless. And the compression lock is a seriously amazing innovation. I carry it more often than any other pocket knife I own.
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