What's the biggest deal killer for you?

For me it's no
Liner/Framelock
Partly serrated
Black/mirror finish blade
Spearpoint, tanto, recurve
Thumbstuds/disks
Odd blade length/thickness ratio
Production tolerances, gaps
"jewelry factor"
And certain steels I consider inferior. That's an absolute deal-breaker.
And everything above 300$ in a folder, just too expensive for hard use.

They have to be real world usable. Spreading butter, food preparation, cutting down branches, rope, zip-ties? Of course. Prying, sentry removal? Nah i'm USAR not OPS.
 
Several design components will kill the urge to buy such as recurve, AO, blade coating and death's heads. On the sales forums the big turn offs are "net to me" and "$XXX for PP gift, add % for paypal". Gift would take away my protection. If you want to sell to me do your math and include the PP fee and shipping in the price.
 
Jeru said:
I have learnt the expensive way, but unfortunately I can only, strictly and solely carry folders tip-DOWN. Perhaps because of my XS hands. So the biggest deal-breaker for me unfortunately is: tip-up only. And yes, that is freaking frustrating and annoying.

Also, I would like to say that an obvious deal-breaker is when some smug on the World Wide Web ships (CON)US-only. Not in the least place here in the Exchange too. All those American Knife Nuts that can brag about "this great community" but at the same time exclude the rest of the world of this "great community" when selling or giving away a knife. Of course there are plenty of American individuals and shops that ship international (with The Knife Connection having the lowest international shipping costs) but it is a deal breaker of course for the rest of the world and a freaking annoying one as well. By the way: this ridiculous fear for shipping international (a service that is older than the US itself) is solely and only displayed by some Americans, never I have heard from an other nationality this reluctancy for international shipping, not from Canadians, nor Kiwis, nor Aussies, nor Brits, nor Japs. Anyway, sorry for my mini-rant.
Click to expand...

Three successive incidents caused me to cease offering international sales. Do you want to know what they were since you shared your rant? Perhaps they will enhance your... well, let's not call it exactly "worldly" perspective:

Two buyers (in two different sales), one in South Africa and one in Malaysia called "I'll take it" in my sales threads the day they went up, then went MIA for a day, I presume to sleep. Instead of waking up and asking for Paypal information, they wrote me (similar styled) letters asking me to declare the value of my Busse knives as sub-$100 (one guy asked me to make it sub-$50 and declare it a gift) so that they would not have to pay tariffs or be subject to inspection. Of course that would preclude me from insuring my expensive knives properly. In both instances, I politely stated that I would not misrepresent values. The responses: the Asian fellow was disappointed but polite, the South African guy called me a name in an email; they both declined to purchase without falsified forms. In both cases, I lost two days off my sale threads, which drifted off of page 1 with "I'll take it" claims. Please note here that these were two separate instances; after the first time, I still offered international sales.

The third and final instance was a Buck fixed blade I sent to Canada. The knife had tracking and insurance but stopped moving in the guy's county for days. He started emailing me. After a couple of days correspondence, he eventually asked ME to call the US and Canadian postal services to find out what happened. Like a numbnuts, I agreed and spent over an hour on the phone with USPS for "not our responsibility once it leaves our hands" and about the same amount of time with Canada Post for "Not sure where it is. It shows 'delivered' status on our end". So then the dude said he might have to file a claim with Paypal. I asked him to first visit HIS post office -and guess what? They know him there and had it set aside for him, marked as delivered, because some mail carrier figured he'd see him soon. Big apology? Not for me.

Knife selling and trading for most of us here is part of a hobby, not a business. Bullshit pain-in-the-ass antics by scammers and/or mail carriers in countries where we have no financial recourse to loss does not enhance the hobby. Please do not infer that we are distasteful or unaware of the rest of the world.
 
While nothing is absolutely set in stone, I avoid designs that include flippers/assisted openings, choils that eat up cutting edge and materials that are different on each side of the handle. This removes a lot of popular designs these days, but as long as I continue to have options outside of these three main things, I'm ok with that.
 
I realize that this thread was hijacked in the second post, but could we please stay on topic?
 
1) Tip down only carry
2) Price not equating to product value (cough SOG)
3) Combo edges
4) Artificially inflated prices/maker induced "exclusivity" (cough Hinderer)
 
asdf12345 said:
Here are my biggest deal breakers:


If you were to trace a line around the handle of a knife, that line would need to be at least 12 inches long before I would consider purchasing that knife.

I won't purchase a folding knife that weighs more than 5 ounces and I won't purchase a fixed blade that weighs more than 7 ounces.

For LH folders, tip down is a no go. For RH folders, tip up is a no go. For IWB carry, high carrying pocket clips (where a lot of knife sticks out) are a no go. For pocket carry, deep carrying pocket clips are a no go.

I won't purchase knives with custom or proprietary pocket clips, especially machined/sculpted ones. I want to be able to switch out the clips and continue carrying my knife without skipping a beat if something were to happen to the existing clip. (That's why my Ultratech is the earlier model that used the CRK type pocket clip)

If the balance point of the knife isn't at least close to the finger choil, then that's a deal breaker. For a knife that sees use I prefer the balance point to be there.

I won't purchase a knife using the following damascus patterns:

Razor Wire
Bacon
Mosaic damascus with faces or the American flag
Firestorm
Random pattern
Hakkapella pattern damasteel
Twist
Diamondback
Ladder (if it doesn't have a tight pattern)
Reptilian
Typhoon
Cheetah
Fade
Blackout
Lizard
Intrepid
Sweep
Whiplash
Various San-Mai damascus types
Blued damascus with a deep purple or fade color - yuck.

I won't purchase a knife with the bolstered look on one side and plain Ti on the lock side. I also won't purchase a knife whose lock side is visually busy and chaotic.

I won't purchase a knife with the 66+ HRC steels like YRX7 or Maxamet or the super wear resistant steels like S110-V or ZDP.

I won't purchase a knife with a carbon fiber or copper beryllium blade. Too much to go wrong.

Blade inlays are a deal breaker for me as I'm too paranoid about something happening to the inlays as a result of use or temperature changes.

Camouflage, C-tek & tiger stripes do absolutely nothing for me and I actively avoid knives with that type of aesthetic. Anything "zombie" related is a total eyesore and I won't own a knife with any branding, marking or coloration to do with "zombies".

PVD and Cerakote type coatings look and feel like paint and they are deal breakers on a knife. If I buy a knife with a coated blade, it's going to be a proper boron carbide or titanium nitride DLC.

If a knife has metal handles they cannot be satin or stonewash finished because of the discomfort and slipperiness in use.

To me, anything with copper or brass is tacky & ugly and is to be avoided.

Skulls and skull imagery. Tacky & ugly.

"Moonglow" or various other glow in the dark inlays, scales or backspacers. Tacky & ugly.

Serrations and guthooks are deal breakers, as are awkward or nonfunctional compound grinds.

I didn't have a problem with exotic types of hardware earlier (spanner, tri-wing, other proprietary) but they are now deal breakers. The screws have to be Torx, flathead, Phillips or hex.

I won't purchase a hawkbill unless it's recurved. I won't purchase a tanto if it is recurved. I won't purchase a recurve if the recurve is too deep.



I have a lot more deal-breakers, but these are the ones that will completely and immediately remove a knife from my consideration.
Click to expand...

That's a hell of a lot of deal breakers! I love it! Please add more!
 
None of these are absolute deal breakers for me, but there would have to be on overwhelming attraction to the rest of the specs for me to overlook them.

Combo blades, tip-down only carry, pocket clips where too much knife shows, coated blades, and weight.
 
First off, serrations. I can't stand em! Definitely understand that some guys like them, I wont look at a knife if it has them though.
Secondly, price. I'm a grad student and have to watch where every dollar goes.
 
A half-serrated and/or Tanto blade is a deal-breaker for me.
A recurve needs a lot of other pros for me to consider it.
A Scandi blade needs some serious pros with it as well.
A flipper usually is now a likely deal-breaker, they don't fit what I'm wanting in my pockets.
A frame-lock needs a lot of other pros for me to consider it (left-handed and don't like asymmetric handles)

Price is always the final deciding factor, but all the rest usually determine a knife's viability before I look at the price.
 
No serrations no tantos....basic stuff. I cope with a lot because I'm a lefty who is bound by price.
I carry lots of knives in my right pocket because it's the only way they work, if I gotta make more than one small cut it'll end up in my left hand.
That was quite a serious list back there hahaha I wish I could articulate that much of my own tastes. It's probly best to show a picture of what I have bought...maybe later.
 
asdf12345 said:
Here are my biggest deal breakers:


If you were to trace a line around the handle of a knife, that line would need to be at least 12 inches long before I would consider purchasing that knife.

I won't purchase a folding knife that weighs more than 5 ounces and I won't purchase a fixed blade that weighs more than 7 ounces.

For LH folders, tip down is a no go. For RH folders, tip up is a no go. For IWB carry, high carrying pocket clips (where a lot of knife sticks out) are a no go. For pocket carry, deep carrying pocket clips are a no go.

I won't purchase knives with custom or proprietary pocket clips, especially machined/sculpted ones. I want to be able to switch out the clips and continue carrying my knife without skipping a beat if something were to happen to the existing clip. (That's why my Ultratech is the earlier model that used the CRK type pocket clip)

If the balance point of the knife isn't at least close to the finger choil, then that's a deal breaker. For a knife that sees use I prefer the balance point to be there.

I won't purchase a knife using the following damascus patterns:

Razor Wire
Bacon
Mosaic damascus with faces or the American flag
Firestorm
Random pattern
Hakkapella pattern damasteel
Twist
Diamondback
Ladder (if it doesn't have a tight pattern)
Reptilian
Typhoon
Cheetah
Fade
Blackout
Lizard
Intrepid
Sweep
Whiplash
Various San-Mai damascus types
Blued damascus with a deep purple or fade color - yuck.

I won't purchase a knife with the bolstered look on one side and plain Ti on the lock side. I also won't purchase a knife whose lock side is visually busy and chaotic.

I won't purchase a knife with the 66+ HRC steels like YRX7 or Maxamet or the super wear resistant steels like S110-V or ZDP.

I won't purchase a knife with a carbon fiber or copper beryllium blade. Too much to go wrong.

Blade inlays are a deal breaker for me as I'm too paranoid about something happening to the inlays as a result of use or temperature changes.

Camouflage, C-tek & tiger stripes do absolutely nothing for me and I actively avoid knives with that type of aesthetic. Anything "zombie" related is a total eyesore and I won't own a knife with any branding, marking or coloration to do with "zombies".

PVD and Cerakote type coatings look and feel like paint and they are deal breakers on a knife. If I buy a knife with a coated blade, it's going to be a proper boron carbide or titanium nitride DLC.

If a knife has metal handles they cannot be satin or stonewash finished because of the discomfort and slipperiness in use.

To me, anything with copper or brass is tacky & ugly and is to be avoided.

Skulls and skull imagery. Tacky & ugly.

"Moonglow" or various other glow in the dark inlays, scales or backspacers. Tacky & ugly.

Serrations and guthooks are deal breakers, as are awkward or nonfunctional compound grinds.

I didn't have a problem with exotic types of hardware earlier (spanner, tri-wing, other proprietary) but they are now deal breakers. The screws have to be Torx, flathead, Phillips or hex.

I won't purchase a hawkbill unless it's recurved. I won't purchase a tanto if it is recurved. I won't purchase a recurve if the recurve is too deep.



I have a lot more deal-breakers, but these are the ones that will completely and immediately remove a knife from my consideration.
Click to expand...

All I could think of while reading this is green eggs and ham:

Do you like knives with a cheetah pattern?

>I'd rather be shot from a cannon to Saturn.

How about skull beads, hawkbills, or recurves?

>A white hot furnace each one of these deserves!

If it glows in the dark, has the wrong type of mark

If it's too hard or too soft or the color is off

If there's copper or brass or it's lacking in class

Then I simply won't buy them or just even try them

and if you ask me you'll only get sass.
 
Fire_Brand said:
All I could think of while reading this is green eggs and ham:

Do you like knives with a cheetah pattern?

>I'd rather be shot from a cannon to Saturn.

How about skull beads, hawkbills, or recurves?

>A white hot furnace each one of these deserves!

If it glows in the dark, has the wrong type of mark

If it's too hard or too soft or the color is off

If there's copper or brass or it's lacking in class

Then I simply won't buy them or just even try them

and if you ask me you'll only get sass.
Click to expand...

That is awesome!

You sir, are a genius!
 
Fire_Brand said:
All I could think of while reading this is green eggs and ham:

Do you like knives with a cheetah pattern?

>I'd rather be shot from a cannon to Saturn.

How about skull beads, hawkbills, or recurves?

>A white hot furnace each one of these deserves!

If it glows in the dark, has the wrong type of mark

If it's too hard or too soft or the color is off

If there's copper or brass or it's lacking in class

Then I simply won't buy them or just even try them

and if you ask me you'll only get sass.
Click to expand...

Hahaha!

latest
 
asdf12345 said:
Here are my biggest deal breakers:


If you were to trace a line around the handle of a knife, that line would need to be at least 12 inches long before I would consider purchasing that knife.

I won't purchase a folding knife that weighs more than 5 ounces and I won't purchase a fixed blade that weighs more than 7 ounces.

For LH folders, tip down is a no go. For RH folders, tip up is a no go. For IWB carry, high carrying pocket clips (where a lot of knife sticks out) are a no go. For pocket carry, deep carrying pocket clips are a no go.

I won't purchase knives with custom or proprietary pocket clips, especially machined/sculpted ones. I want to be able to switch out the clips and continue carrying my knife without skipping a beat if something were to happen to the existing clip. (That's why my Ultratech is the earlier model that used the CRK type pocket clip)

If the balance point of the knife isn't at least close to the finger choil, then that's a deal breaker. For a knife that sees use I prefer the balance point to be there.

I won't purchase a knife using the following damascus patterns:

Razor Wire
Bacon
Mosaic damascus with faces or the American flag
Firestorm
Random pattern
Hakkapella pattern damasteel
Twist
Diamondback
Ladder (if it doesn't have a tight pattern)
Reptilian
Typhoon
Cheetah
Fade
Blackout
Lizard
Intrepid
Sweep
Whiplash
Various San-Mai damascus types
Blued damascus with a deep purple or fade color - yuck.

I won't purchase a knife with the bolstered look on one side and plain Ti on the lock side. I also won't purchase a knife whose lock side is visually busy and chaotic.

I won't purchase a knife with the 66+ HRC steels like YRX7 or Maxamet or the super wear resistant steels like S110-V or ZDP.

I won't purchase a knife with a carbon fiber or copper beryllium blade. Too much to go wrong.

Blade inlays are a deal breaker for me as I'm too paranoid about something happening to the inlays as a result of use or temperature changes.

Camouflage, C-tek & tiger stripes do absolutely nothing for me and I actively avoid knives with that type of aesthetic. Anything "zombie" related is a total eyesore and I won't own a knife with any branding, marking or coloration to do with "zombies".

PVD and Cerakote type coatings look and feel like paint and they are deal breakers on a knife. If I buy a knife with a coated blade, it's going to be a proper boron carbide or titanium nitride DLC.

If a knife has metal handles they cannot be satin or stonewash finished because of the discomfort and slipperiness in use.

To me, anything with copper or brass is tacky & ugly and is to be avoided.

Skulls and skull imagery. Tacky & ugly.

"Moonglow" or various other glow in the dark inlays, scales or backspacers. Tacky & ugly.

Serrations and guthooks are deal breakers, as are awkward or nonfunctional compound grinds.

I didn't have a problem with exotic types of hardware earlier (spanner, tri-wing, other proprietary) but they are now deal breakers. The screws have to be Torx, flathead, Phillips or hex.

I won't purchase a hawkbill unless it's recurved. I won't purchase a tanto if it is recurved. I won't purchase a recurve if the recurve is too deep.



I have a lot more deal-breakers, but these are the ones that will completely and immediately remove a knife from my consideration.
Click to expand...



little picky are you. 😂
 
Fire_Brand said:
All I could think of while reading this is green eggs and ham:

Do you like knives with a cheetah pattern?

>I'd rather be shot from a cannon to Saturn.

How about skull beads, hawkbills, or recurves?

>A white hot furnace each one of these deserves!

If it glows in the dark, has the wrong type of mark

If it's too hard or too soft or the color is off

If there's copper or brass or it's lacking in class

Then I simply won't buy them or just even try them

and if you ask me you'll only get sass.
Click to expand...

Well done, made me chuckle silently to myself :D
 
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