What knife surprised you the most?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Gary W. Graley

Gary W. Graley

“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 2, 1999
Messages
27,364
As the title states, "What knife surprised you the most?" for me it is those times when a certain knife was just never on my radar due to style, size, make, steel, scales etc etc...and recently my friend @DocJekl had sent along this Case Muskrat as a gift, not a knife that I ever gave a second glance at when perusing those places that carry sharp steely items ;) but when I got it I took and sharpened it up, as I am want to do with most knives that arrive, and was very pleased with how well it performed, Case notorious for softer heat treatment of their knives this one took a nice toothy edge and seems to keep it longer than most that I've owned. That's a good thing ;) and the blades are very handy with they're slim hollow ground pointy narrowness and are able to reach in and cut when you don't have much room to wield a blade any larger. Thanks again Doc, it rides daily in my watch pocket!

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

So, what knife surprised you guys/gals the most?
G2
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Al Mar Sere 2K. I expected to hate everything about it. Loved everything about it and wound up carrying it 20+ years.

Otter Messer 3 rivet. Sooooo much knife for the money. When I got mine my first thought was “these should be a lot more popular than they are”. That thought has only increased the more I’ve used it.

Busse TGM. A lot more useful than it looks with that top guard. That size is the bees knees too. Much more so than the full size team gemini.

Benchmade Adamas. Combo blade, bricklike handle, D2 steel, damn near 3/16” thick blade, fullers on a folder🙄, the list goes on. So many things I expected to hate. Love it. Thing is a down n dirty GSD monster.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Gary W. Graley said:
As the title states, "What knife surprised you the most?" for me it is those times when a certain knife was just never on my radar due to style, size, make, steel, scales etc etc...and recently my friend @DocJekl had sent along this Case Muskrat as a gift, not a knife that I ever gave a second glance at when perusing those places that carry sharp steely items ;) but when I got it I took and sharpened it up, as I am want to do with most knives that arrive, and was very pleased with how well it performed, Case notorious for softer heat treatment of their knives this one took a nice toothy edge and seems to keep it longer than most that I've owned. That's a good thing ;) and the blades are very handy with they're slim hollow ground pointy narrowness and are able to reach in and cut when you don't have much room to wield a blade any larger. Thanks again Doc, it rides daily in my watch pocket!

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

So, what knife surprised you guys/gals the most?
G2
Click to expand...
The Benchmade Adamas in Cruwear. I’ve heard stories about how the omega springs are notoriously easy to break, but I’ve been beating on this knife for a while now, and it certainly has impressed.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hal said:
Which begs the question........did your dog at least come back to you so the story/country song has a happy ending? :D

Benchmade and Leatherman both surprised me. Both took a political stance diametrically opposed to that of (what one would think would be) the majority of their customers.
Click to expand...
I am always surprised by how confidently wrong people are about Benchmades politics.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
BillZee said:
The Benchmade Bugout.........there was a lot of talk about soft scales.......
It is a great EDC knife for daily carry.
Click to expand...
I'll second the Bugout, didn't expect a whole lot from all the negative reviews, turns out the "squishy" scales weren't noticeable and didn't BUG me at all.
It's stupid light, great blade shape and grind, small without being too small so can still get a good grip and control it easily. Now have about half a dozen of em in all different blade steels, the M4 one is a gem, but the original blue handle with S30V has been a beater and is holding up well.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You guys sure have some stories to tell and Bob Denman Bob Denman that pup is just TOO cute !

As some have mentioned, there are knives that you know from reviews that should be good, some reviews propel us to invest in one based on those reviews, sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't, one of those YMMV kind of things.

One thing that always is a draw for me is a thin blade that cuts well, Opinel's are famous for that reason as well as being inexpensive, the regular beech handled ones. I did get one that I thought might be handy for dinner time and it's proved to be just that, a Maxace Beetle-S Slip Joint m390 blade and a stout handle with multiple stops along the way to open ;) but the blade is wide and the behind the edge thickness is quite thin, cuts exceptionally well.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

It's dedicated to for meal time, just a very handy folder ;)
G2
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Many have surprised me to some extent, most in a good way, but some not so much. I think the one that surprised me the most was the Guardian Tactical GTX-025, particularly how buttery smooth it is to operate. It’s smoother and easier to fire than anything else I’ve owned or handled, including my UTX-70.

Oh yeah - the obligatory pic!

18D33F85-C803-4EBE-B8EA-6A4C29D7C5C0.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
007 Agent ZZero said:
I think we need to add some ranges/levels to this. This is my $100 Gorilla. I have been blown away by the fit and action on this. It’s a generic finish so that won’t wow me, but again it delivers on everything else and for 1/5 of a Sebbie.
Click to expand...
That's a good point, as a price range certainly factors in, I recently picked up a Sebenza, I was drawn in by several things about it but it was a bit more than I really should have been spending and trying to recoup that now in fact. When getting it, I wasn't 'Surprised' as I've owned many CRK folders/fixed blades over the years so I knew what was coming, I was swayed by a few things, the new lockbar face, nice wood inlays, Magnacut blade and when I viewed the born on date, that triggered the Must Get need in my head, as it was made on the date of my birthday ;) silliness to consider that a motive but, it was and so I did. I now have it up for sale to recoup the funds as what I really need, sounds familiar...is a smaller version.

So folks that reply to this thread you can preface your comments as to what value level things were that prompted you to get something that did surprise you, in either good or not so good way.
G2
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Spyderco Paramilitary 2 LW. The first time I carried it we were picnicking along a smallmouth stream in Oklahoma. I was cutting up some watermelon with that knife, on a paper plate. When I picked up the plate off my lap, there were probably half a dozen little blood spots on the top of my leg where the plate I was processing the melon was sitting. I never felt a thing, it was that sharp and pointy.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Of all the nice knives I've handled, there are many "nicer" knives out there, but what surprises me about this little guy is how long I've carried it and how frequently it's come in handy. I've even slid it into a wallet at times, it's so thin. Pretty great.

RGjyMrD.jpg


In terms of a TRUE surprise, this one was a great surprise this Christmas. A custom Buck knife with a beautiful inscription. My favorite knife...

YyyUUf5.jpg
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Surprising can be good and bad.

The good:

Cheburkov and Biryukov. I had admired them from pictures on BF, but it wasn't until seeing them in person, fiddling with them, that I truly understood. Phenomenal knives in every sense. Especially the CPM-S125V blade of the Biryukov, just stunning.

Pro-Tech Malibu. I get the hype, and is one of the best flippers I have ever owned, regardless of price.

Demko AD20.5. Love this thing, more than I expected, though I wish I could remove the thumbstud. Ergonomics of a Spyderco with the lock of a Demko.

Civivi: Consistently blown away by them.


The bad:

Spyderco Ikuchi. A flipper that would barely open. I tried adjusting the pivot, badly off centered, would have scraped the liner. I returned it. I've heard the new CQI ones are better, but I've been afraid to try one.

Benchmade Tengu. It had been 7 years since I'd owned a Benchmade, or been interested. Last year the Tengu peaked my interest, but I do not care for BM and wasn't willing to try it. I got to handle one at a knife show, and it was surprisingly worse than I expected. It did not flip no matter what I tried, unless I used a wrist flick, which defeats the purpose of the flipper.

CRK Sebenza. I bought one in 2015, a large 21 with bocote wood inlay. After 2 years of being on BF and everyone raving, I finally tried one. I owned it maybe 4 days. Couldn't open it one handed reliably.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The Spyderco Chaparral.
I took a chance thinking it’d be too small, too slim, and not enough blade.
Even with my XL hands, it’s a great knife. In fact, I bought a second one after my first was stolen. The only complaint I can think of is the wire clip, but that can replaced for a minimal price.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top