What knife surprised the hell out of you and made you rethink everything?

The Kershaw One Ton was something of a game changer for me. I previously was mostly a tanto fan, and beyond that, preferred knives with long, slender blades. I bought the One Ton at Cabela's at some absurdly low price, and almost immediately started second-guessing the purchase, as it initially just seemed uncomfortable and oddly shaped for both carry and use. Well, a year later, it is my favorite EDC, cutting through everything from the usual tape and cardboard to zip-ties and various cables while still cleanly cutting paper without any sharpening. I just bought another as a spare.
 
I had a similar moment with literally that exact same knife (I sold the OP the Squail) - I was blown away by everything about it. I knew I wasn't going to want to sharpen the recurve on that monster, so I was able to convince myself to sell it, but if the CF/VG-10 Kwaiken had the same feel to it, I would have my soul blade.

The only Böker product I have ever liked enough to carry out of my apartment is their bolt action aluminum pen, which I use at work and love.

Anyway, PICTURES because this thread is desperately lacking them.




And my work-carry setup, with the bolt-action pen at the top.

 
My first small sebenza. It took a while for me to get used to it but it's my main edc. I could have saved hundreds if I had bought one sooner rather than trying to chase lower price knives and not being fully satisfied with what they are.

My first fiddleback forge. If you have one you know what I mean. If you don't have one I can't recommend it enough.
 
My choices have already been hit on - the Spyderco Delica and Victorinox SAKs. All the comfort and utility you need for average day-to-day use in small, well priced packages.

Of course, I still want more of those nice expensive modern folders, and don't feel bad about the ones I've got!
 
Benchmade Adamas. This was my first overbuilt "heavy" folder. I got it because it was cheap on a good price and thought I wasn't going to carry it much but since getting it it has hogged my pocket. Feel like I could cut open a car with this knife and it melts in my hand....
 
The US made Kershaw Zing.

I will not go so far as to say that it surprised the heel out of me but it did FORCE me to rethink everything about how I used a knife and what kind of knife I needed. It was my first time with a knife that used Sandvik steel. Now, I look for Sandvik steel in a budget knife.

Because of the Zing, I have taken a second look at Kershaw knives.
 
There's a lot of nice knives out there. I've tried a lot of different knives the last few years and although some make great work knives, I went back to the Spyderco Endura for EDC. Simply a perfect knife for me.
 
"What knife surprised the hell out of you and made you rethink everything?"

Spyderco Military. The blade was so thick that my SAK blade cut through cardboard boxes way easier.
 
Easily the ZT0550, I've thrown a good amount of functional abuse at it and it's just shaken it off every time. It was also my first experience with S35VN. Having seen what it can do I'm extremely excited ZT is moving away from Elmax and back to S35VN.
 
Umnumzaan, and 0562cf. I fully expected to like both knives, but not this much. Just wow.

The 0562cf is a superb slicer, much better than I thought it would be, and the Umnumzaan is just an excellent all around EDC. I also love my Sebenza, but it was not a suprise.



 
Benchmade 722 Mel Pardue Tanto Folder. ATS-34 steel/ G-10 scales/ Axis locking system. Perfect EMC.

When dressed up: Benchmade 940 Osborn green handle, s30v steel.
 
This is a bit of a different take on the question, but a simple cheap paring knife from Kuhn Rikon really surprised me and led me to rethink everything.

The yellow one is the first knife I reground on stones (now ~0.005-0.007" behind the edge). It's not going to win any beauty pagents, but the difference in performance vs. the stock one was really an eye opener and has changed my expectations about how I want most of my knives to cut.

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Comeuppance said:
I had a similar moment with literally that exact same knife (I sold the OP the Squail) - I was blown away by everything about it. I knew I wasn't going to want to sharpen the recurve on that monster, so I was able to convince myself to sell it, but if the CF/VG-10 Kwaiken had the same feel to it, I would have my soul blade.

The only Böker product I have ever liked enough to carry out of my apartment is their bolt action aluminum pen, which I use at work and love.

Anyway, PICTURES because this thread is desperately lacking them.




And my work-carry setup, with the bolt-action pen at the top.

Click to expand...
Have you seen their new bolt action pens? One is micarta and the other is carbon fiber. The bolt is located at the top, so it can accept Fischer space pen cartridges, and the clip is a normal clip that is very robust. They're awesome, should check them out
 
Hawk45 said:
When I made my own friction folder and realized it's pretty much all I need. That being said I still continue to get make and purchase other knives, b/c diversity is the spice of life.

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Click to expand...
Just wondering......where can I get one of your friction folders? Thanks in advance.
 
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