What's the Point of the "Choil" on the Scrapyard 311?

R

rodogg

Joined
Nov 25, 2011
Messages
279
As the title says, been trying to figure out what the point of the choil on the Scrapyard 311 is. Pic:
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I have wondered the same and that has kept me from purchasing the B4 and a few other Kin. They say for sharpening, I don't see it. The 311, R4, wardog and B4 could have been wicked cool bushcraft knives if they did not have the choil.
 
RWT said:
I have wondered the same and that has kept me from purchasing the B4 and a few other Kin. They say for sharpening, I don't see it. The 311, R4, wardog and B4 could have been wicked cool bushcraft knives if they did not have the choil.
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Agreed! This isn't the only knife I've wondered the same thing about. A lot of knives have choils for your finger but this one is obviously too small. The chunk they've taken out is the area of a knife I use the most. Stops me buying the knife or any similar knife.
 
Stupid question: how does having a choil prohibit a knife from being a bushcraft knife?

Also, I find having a small choil does make freehand sharpening easier. You don't have that part of the knife where the blade ramps up to the handle to deal with.
 
One drawback of the choil that I run into - when cutting fabric, sometimes it gets snagged in the choil.
 
Probably for ease of sharpening. But don't let the choil keep you from buying one! Its a small brute.
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rodogg said:
Agreed! This isn't the only knife I've wondered the same thing about. A lot of knives have choils for your finger but this one is obviously too small. The chunk they've taken out is the area of a knife I use the most. Stops me buying the knife or any similar knife.
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same here - choils are useless to me. people say it lets them choke up on the blade but a properly designed knife doesn't need it to begin with - a mora's edge goes right up to the handle.


umberto00 said:
Stupid question: how does having a choil prohibit a knife from being a bushcraft knife?

Also, I find having a small choil does make freehand sharpening easier. You don't have that part of the knife where the blade ramps up to the handle to deal with.
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for feathersticks, chest lever grip (for carving stakes, spears, pot lifter, notches for traps, etc.) the power and control is best when the part you're cutting is closest to your hand. it has a lever effect - the choil forces you to use the edge further away from your hand and thus making you put more effort into the cut.


try cutting a spear using this technique. start with the tip then progressively work your way towards the handle - you should notice the increasing power into the cut while still being very controllable...choils doesn't prevent a knife from being a bushcraft knife, it just makes it less ideal.

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edit: for a sharpening choil, the ones in the becker knives i find acceptable. anything larger than that and it's removing the most useful part of the edge for me.
 
I also recently just figured out that I dislike ricassos in general for the same reason. I only have the Kabar USMC, and the Kabar MK1 , but the ricassos on there are too short to place your finger on (like a large choil), and large enough that they put a considerable distance between the knife edge and your handle :(.
 
Just choke up on the knife and treat the blade closest to the choil as you would on a non choil blade. Problem solved.

Not a deal breaker at all IMO.
 
The choil hangs up on everything when I am cleaning a deer. I feel the same on the ricasso, I just don't see the need.
 
Deal breaker for sure. It's larger than a sharpening notch needs to be and smaller than a finger choil should be.

In my humble opinion it's simply a design element Busse continues to use in spite of any logic to the contrary - sort of like the exposed guard with the hole in it. I am NOT bashing them for this as it works just fine for their business model AND they offer flexibility from time to time (the Anorexic BOSS Street for instance) so I thank them for that.
 
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