What's your favorite utility / user handle ?

Wowbagger

Wowbagger

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Mostly I want to hear about shape.

No machetes now. We are talking small stuff but something you regularly put some significant force through in multiple orientations.

Also to include discussion on handle material and texture and finish of the material.

For instance a fine point here is between the three wooden handles I am showing the preference of the Pro Japanese carver would be for a bare wood handle with no finish on it or a "bellow the wood" finish like very thin shellac. Which is exactly what the Mora has. The Flex cut has some unintentionally gritty yet slick lacquer on it; I'm not sure what the Opinel is finished with, maybe linseed.



Yah . . .
that's an Opinel #12 with the blade shortened.
Sick huh ?
I bought it just for this experiment. I learned empirically that the steel in Opinels is quite good from a stand point of hardness verses toughness. I took an abrasive cut off wheel and scored the blade all the way across. I then put the blade in a vise, gripped the other end of the blade with a large Knipex Pliers wrench and expected the blade to do one of two things :
1. snap off easily
2. bend over disappointingly in which case I would have to bend if back and forth until it work hardened and then snapped off.

I was surprised and pleased to have the knife bow way over and when I stopped cranking on it it came back to straight ! Seriously ? ? ? ? That is pretty darned impressive for a $16 dollar picnic knife ! ! !

I had to really crank on it like in a serious arm wrestle and it finally snapped off.

The part of the blade still in the handle, that I wanted, was not bent at the score mark and I could see fine grain structure which I left raw when I ground the sharp corners off around that area . . . as kind of a reminder and tribute to Opinel.

I showed it to my girl friend partner "The Chef" (who couldn't be less interested in knives and sharp things if I put horse pucky on 'em. Knives totally creep her out. A chef . . . go figure) . . . any way I came up from the shop and triumphantly showed my "creative invention" to her like wags with a dead rat and she says :

Congratulations . . . you've made a box knife.

Ha, ha, ha that's why I like her . . . pulls no punches and sharp as a whip.

So I've shown you mine . . .
show me yourn.
 
Bump
the pop up said my message was too short and that I needed to lengthen it so . . .
bump, bump, E, bump, bump, bump.

PS:
by the way the one that got me looking at EDC knives in a different way, (more handle / less blade length) and this was way back, was David Boye (the knife maker). I was carrying a Buck 110 back then (1970's ). Here is a photo of a page from his book about knife making.
He says modern man has gone away from the longer blades like those at the bottom of the photo and toward shorter blades but with a substantial handle like those at the top of the photo, . This combination gives better control for modern man's utility knife.



For me I thought I would like the round handle of the Opinel best because it didn't lock me into specific angles. Then I found I preferd the oval cross section of the Mora AND the belly in the middle. That made me appreciate the tear drop and the sway back.

By the way and oddly enough I can carry that monster Opiel #12 in my front pants pocket all day at work and never know it is there because it is so light and it is long enough it never goes side ways in the bottom of my pocket.

PPS: the extra long handle on the #12 has come in handy while cutting up stuff and I need a little more reach; I just let the handle slide out of my hand some but the tail on it keeps me from dropping it every time. Nice touch. Something Lynn Thompson could appreciate; I think. He says that's why he made the Hold Out I with such an overly long handle.
 
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Cold Steel Tuff Lite:

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I've never felt a more ergonomic handle in my life. It doesn't look like it, perhaps, but it feels like a natural extension of my hand.
 
My EDC trio has the shapes I like. Buck 110, a Buck 301 stockman or Buck 389 canoe, and a SAK 2 spring (4 tool) scout type. Some days I'll switch out the Buck canoe for a Rough Rider large sunfish, if I anticipate heavy use where a spear point blade is needed.
I also like the shape of the Barlow handle.
 
Spyderco Delica and Endura and the Benchmade full size Griptilian got to be popular due to the shape of their grips and how they fit naturally into the contours of the average person's hand. Can't argue with success.
 
Spyderco Pacific Salt. The frn handle has no liners and obviously needs none. I beat mine like a rented mule on a daily basis and can't even make it squeal.
 
I like the classic Mora handles. They get a little slick when field dressing game and fish, but it works great and doesn't cause blisters with extended use.
 
Through the years, I have found that I prefer a grip that is neutral in it's performance. That is, it should perform about the same no matter how I hold it. IMHO, most folding knives will be great with one type of hand hold and be marginal performers the rest of the time. Give me a handle that isn't great in any hand hold but just good in all of them and I should be a happy knife owner. Something like the Emerson CQC7 looks about right.

One of my all time favorite knives is the CRKT Prowler. In some ways, I like it better than my Griptilian. Yes, I know the blade steel is not the greatest but the handle ergonomics work well for me. Just wish it had better steel than AUS 6.
 
For folders, it's a toss up between the Spyderco PM2, the Benchmade Griptilian and the Cold Steel AK-47. All three have spectacular handles with awesome ergonomics.

Fixed blade, either the Cold Steel Recon Tanto/SRK or the Mora Companion. Very interested to try the handle on the Cold Steel AK-47 Field Knife.
 
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