What's Your EDC Dealbreaker?

The Burgh said:
This sounds silly and superficial. It will probably antagonize all Spydie fans. That's absolutely NOT the intention. Every one of us has quirks about our knives, some rational, some not. This is one of my "nots."

I can't take a knife out of my pocket and feel like it's a bird looking back at me.

Tried it. Can't do it.
Click to expand...

That was exactly my reaction to Spydercos before I got the "bird flu" and became a rabid fan!

My deal breaker: I will not put anything with a skull on it into my pocket.
 
For me.. no serrations, full or partial, no blades under 3", no Bali, no autos, and no weird shapes like Spyderco...

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Pocket clip and grip texture that destroys pockets. I love my knives, but I love my pants more.
 
Being in canada i can remove autos ballis otf's... So while i like the look of a tanto blade i really dont like sharpening and using them. And recently i tend to avoid aluminium handles. I dropped a mcusta mc4 katana on ceramic tiles just by trying to open it! and chipped the tip. I also tend to avoid mcusta unless heavily discounted...

Oh yeah, i HATE serrations
 
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Its easier for me to say what I will buy rather than I wont. For me it has to be one of these or I have no use for it.

1. Bearing pivot
2. OTF auto
3. Balisong

Those are really my only requirements. And everything else usually gets judged on a knife by knife basis as sometimes I find I like features on a particular knife and not another.
 
I guess I'm pretty dang picky, I've got a lot

-"Plastic" handles/scales.
-Tantos.
-Recurves.
-Two hand openers or closers.
-"Fiddly" lock mechanisms, or those that require major shifts in grip. This includes lockbacks, knives with "safeties" like on CRKT, liner locks where the lockbar is recessed, etc.
-Assisted or automatic knives.
-Tip down knives, especially if they're flippers.
-Anything that blocks access to the pocket or scrapes up my hand when I put it in, as I carry my wallet in the same pocket as my knife.
-Anything longer than 3.25" or shorter than 2.5" (3" is preferred but there's a bit of leeway.)
-Anything that protrudes out of the pocket more than 1/4" or so.
-Clips that destroy anything I brush against.
-Steels that are high maintenance, either because of corrosion or edge retention.
-Overly complex grinds.
-Overly thick or thin blades.
-Grinds that reduce slicing performance.
-Anodized aluminum handles/scales.

My "sweet spot" knives are 3" Ti framelocks, with Ti, G10, or CF scales, and can be flipper or thumbstud/hole.
 
Pocket Clip:
Shiny silver pocket clips that advertise the fact that it's a knife
Wire Clips
"Artsy" clips that are really curvy or strange looking
Thick titanium clips

Blade:
Serrations
Heavy recurve
I'm not overly fond of D2 and/or S30V
Unspecified steel used (yeah I'm looking at you Gerber)

Handle:
Rubber-coated plastic handles (see Benchmade Freek)
Stupid design patterns carved into the handle scales
Having a "window breaker" mounted in the handle

Other:
Made in China, by any company that outsources their production
Rebranded knives or knives sold under gun company names
Knives that cost over $50 that are made in Taiwan (cheap labor should lower costs, so why are some of the Taiwanese Spydercos $240?)
Anything made in Pakistan
 
Any tip down only knives, recurves, serrations, aluminum, hard to open or close, assisted knives, prefer 2.75"-3.5" and refuse anything over 4", weight is a huge factor but varies for blade length generally 1.25 oz or less per blade inch, no non-stainless steals, nothing with too thick of a stock right behind the edge, and nothing with a weak clip.

I'm picky as all hell :(
 
No:
too small (under 2" closed)
serrations (I see I'm not alone here, I wonder who is buying them?)
hard to sharpen
anything with skulls, flames, or any other mall-ninja-ey ornamentation including names (sorry Stone Cold, take "Broken Skull off there and I just might buy one)
odd colors that stand out
no thumb stud (weak fingernails)
knives with "special protrusions" or otherwise oddly shaped blade/handle areas that supposedly offer "added defensive capability" including seat belt/cord cutters, Emerson Wave, etc. Just ugly, to me.
 
Must be one hand opening.
No rattles.
NO clones or counterfeits.
Nothing under $50. I don't have any confidence in cheap stuff because most of my knives come to work with me.
Quality & customer service are a must.
No Emerson or Cold Steel, only because I don't like their designs.
Steel must be 154cm or better.
Joe
 
It has to be left handed friendly. I am pretty much ambidextrous and I insist that my knives be as well.
 
No serrations. Use to say no combo blades but after buying a fully serrated I won't carry them either.
No recurve.
No aluminum or stainless steel handles though I could possibly make an exception.
I don't like overly thick blades and would prefer them thinner but I will carry what I think is too thick up to a point. 0.160" is about as thick of blade stock as I will tolerate on a folder.
I use to say no Tanto blades and probably still don't like most. But something about the ZT 0620 speaks to me and I have been enjoying it.
I don't like tip down but can deal with it.
I don't like frame locks but they are getting better and I would miss out on a lot of designs I like. Though I won't do liner locks again. I didn't buy a frame lock for many years and would prefer all knives to have an AXIS lock though they don't all need to be a Benchmade. There are other locks I like and will use such as the HAWK lock, compression lock, and similar that don't require a finger in the blade path to unlock and are stronger and, more importantly, more reliable and consistent than frame and liner locks.
I don't like small knives and almost always carry a knife with a handle in the 4.5" to 5" range.
I also much prefer super steels that are carbide rich and harder. I don't like steels that are more 'simple' than S30V and don't even like it that much and would prefer more wear resistant. I like the edge holding but I really like the way they sharpen and the aggressive and hair whittling edge they will take without much effort. But 1 micron diamond compound is basically a requirement to sharpen the way I like.
 
brancron said:
My deal breaker: I will not put anything with a skull on it into my pocket.
Click to expand...

Good one, I'm in total agreement. I didn't think of it, but this is 100% a deal breaker for me as well when I'm shopping. Skull? Nope.

Possibly related: I won't buy a knife with a name like "Dr. Death" or "Death on Contact" or anything similarly mall-ninja-esque.
 
Just thought of another that may only apply to me. Holes drilled with no discernible pattern.

I think if you asked Tom Mayo where the holes go on a knife handle he'd say "wherever the hell the drill press lands!"
 
Really wide knives
Flippers
Wave feature
Assisted openers
Combo edge folders
Ridiculous " modified " ( curved and shouldn't be ) sheep's foot blades
Blade holes added for looks
Wehawk or stiletto blades
 
I wont consider buying/owning a knife that is:

Tip up only. I rear pocket carry. Tip up is just unsafe in that position. Also, I find it uncomfortable where the clip is in my hand on a tip up knife. My understanding is that most of your grip strength comes from your last two fingers. So putting a clip there where you're likely to grab the hardest seems counter intuitive to me. I don't even participate in giveaways for tip up only knives.

Partial serrations. Maybe if I had different needs out of my folders I could consider this. Right now, it's a no go for me.

Cost. I don't have a hard limit, but my interest severely tapers off after around $50. I have no intention of owning a >$100 folding knife, at least at this time ( and for the previous 7 years).

Manufacturer. To an extent anyway. I was not impressed be cold steel after their handling of the whole crkt lawsuit. They wont be setting any of my money any time soon.
 
Half serrations and tip down carry only knives are always a no for me


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A blade over 3". That handles 99.9% of my EDC tasks and generally doesn't upset the little old ladies.

My last 3 EDCs were all 2-1/2" or shorter, but I'd be OK with a bit more length if I liked the other properties of the knife.

I have a custom fixed blade on order which will have a 2-1/2" blade with an OAL 6".
 
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