Recommendation? Which grain/finish?

[jon83]

Considering my next purchase, the Huntsman Wood, the three on the left and spartan, three on the right. I'll probably go with the Huntsman if not both. Leaning towards the Huntsman because it's no longer on the international website and listed as out of stock on my local Vic website. Maybe it's being discontinued. I don't know why that makes me want to get one ASAP.

I know it's a personal choice but I'm asking for input on which grain would you would prefer or recommend. I'm leaning towards the far left Huntsman because it has the most uniform pattern. The wood on middle is nice and smooth but those lines are quite prominent and a bit distracting to me. The Huntsman on the far right, looks nice but the wood, up close has a lot of irregular short dash like marks, I thought they were blemishes at first but just part of the pattern. I don't know what they are called but to me they make the wood seem "cheap", but also more natural looking which I kind of like. In person I did not like it but looking at the pics, it doesn't seem so terrible.



The grain/finish on the Spartan is not as varied among the three samples as the Huntsman, but I like the clean look of the one on the right.

I don't know much about wood so I'm wondering what you guys have to say given the options available.

More pics from different angles and lighting

As with many of my recent sak purchases, there is a high likelihood I will be gifting this to someone. The person I have in mind for this knows a thing or two about wood, dabbles in woodworking as an occasional hobby. Not sure if someone of that ilk would be partial to a clean, uniform pattern or something which shows blemishes and "character".

 

[Enkrig]

I don't really know anything about wood grain, but from an aesthetic point of view, IMHO I would go with the middle one out of the three on the right. The wood seems to be denser and gives me a sense of heft and solidity that I appreciate, but that is purely my opinion. Also, the pattern somewhat reminds me of that of olive wood and I'm a total sucker for olive wood in knives...

 

[315]

I don’t have a wooden SAK, but the center Huntsman and the left Spartan catch my eye.

 

[Sharp & Fiery]

Im a woodworker...the bottom photo, left SAK with the couple dark lines through it is my favorite. OMMV.

 

[jon83]

Thanks guys. I went with the one on the left. They all look great in person, I was somewhat swayed towards the middle one with the dark lines but it was clear it had been dropped or banged against something as there were obvious marks on the wood so I went with my original choice. Shop guy did confirm that the Huntsman wood was no longer in production. I might go and get one more, the one on the right as backup.


Here's what I came home with today. Cleanest and most uniform finish of the three available. I'm very happy with the scales, you can see from the pic, there is a line across the top portion, possibly where two bits of wood were joined that didn't entirely match (I know absolutely nothing about how wood works or how it's put together), which I think looks nice. The line frames the upper side with the logo nicely. All around the knife is really good, there was a very slight nick on the edge of the blade that I noticed at the store, it's tiny and can probably polished or shaved off but a little annoying on a new knife. Also got a Navy Camo Classic. Can't go wrong with a classic.

Next to the Evowood 14 I bought last August. I live in a very humid city, the Evowood which has been stored in the original cardboard box, in a drawer in my room, the scales already feel a bit old or aged, they seem to have darkened some since I last took it out to admire it. The Scales on the new Huntsman which has been stored in an airconditioned shop are dry and smooth to the touch, seems very new, very "fresh". Maybe it's all in my head, but I will be storing these in a humidity controlled cabinet to keep the scales from absorbing moisture.

proper scissors on the huntsman +1

and a proper sized wood saw.

Very small nick on the blade edge. I noticed it at the shop and thought it was a bit of "extra" metal or shaving sort of like what you see on the saw of a SAK sometimes when they are new. On closer inspection it's an actual nick or chip. Not a huge deal, but annoying to get on a new knife. If I hadn't already settled on the scales, i might have considered exchanging it.

Super happy with this purchase today. I'm still considering going back for the other Huntsman. Also, the spartan, I will probably get one or two so I'm still interested in opinions on what you think of the different finishes of wood and patterns available.

 

[Sharp & Fiery]

Great choices! I don’t think you could go wrong with any of them.

 

[Rich S]

RED ! If it ain't red it's not a SAK
Rich

 

[Sawl Goodman]

Do both front and back scales match well? Are the boxes unsealed so you can check when buying new? Poor matching was a common problem with the older “hardwood” scales with T&T. For those I’d avoid blister packs like the plague!

 

[jon83]

Do both front and back scales match well? Are the boxes unsealed so you can check when buying new? Poor matching was a common problem with the older “hardwood” scales with T&T. For those I’d avoid blister packs like the plague!

I noticed quite a few poorly matched scales when I bought my evowood last summer so I have been on the lookout for that, this time around though, it seems all the options I looked at have had good matching scales.
I go to the Victorinox Store, they lay them out in front of me as long as they have them in stock I can take my pick or order from another store if I'm not happy with the selection. No blister packs around here, all are in cardboard boxes so customers can open and check them first. Given my recent experiences of buying these knives, personal inspection is a must as minor quality issues and sample variants exist at a higher rate than I would like. I'm talking all very minor things, some blades don't snap open and shut like the others, grinding sensation when opening and closing some tools, scissors not adequately oiled, minor blemish or scratches on the scales of a new knife. All minor and not affecting the usage but something I look out for.The Huntsman is the first one I have found with a nick on the main blade, highly disappointing but not much choice given this is the one with the scales I prefer.

R Rich S - I was just thinking the same thing. I only bought the Huntsman wood because it was the only wood 91mm with scissors in a pocketable size. I've found that I quite like it and might get one instead of the Climber, in red this time.

 

[Sawl Goodman]

I noticed quite a few poorly matched scales when I bought my evowood last summer so I have been on the lookout for that, this time around though, it seems all the options I looked at have had good matching scales.
I go to the Victorinox Store, they lay them out in front of me as long as they have them in stock I can take my pick or order from another store if I'm not happy with the selection. No blister packs around here, all are in cardboard boxes so customers can open and check them first. Given my recent experiences of buying these knives, personal inspection is a must as minor quality issues and sample variants exist at a higher rate than I would like. I'm talking all very minor things, some blades don't snap open and shut like the others, grinding sensation when opening and closing some tools, scissors not adequately oiled, minor blemish or scratches on the scales of a new knife. All minor and not affecting the usage but something I look out for.The Huntsman is the first one I have found with a nick on the main blade, highly disappointing but not much choice given this is the one with the scales I prefer.

I don't seem to have the opportunity to check wood SAKs at shops before I buy here, so I buy used instead. Got an Evowood 14 with matching scales (lighter than yours) and a Hardwood Spartan I picked up for a song whose scales match in grain, though the back scale is a little redder than the front one.

The nicked blade on your new Huntsman is interesting. It might explain the blade nicks I find occasionally on SAKs I've bought second hand that appear unused.

 

[jon83]

I don't seem to have the opportunity to check wood SAKs at shops before I buy here, so I buy used instead. Got an Evowood 14 with matching scales (lighter than yours) and a Hardwood Spartan I picked up for a song whose scales match in grain, though the back scale is a little redder than the front one.

The nicked blade on your new Huntsman is interesting. It might explain the blade nicks I find occasionally on SAKs I've bought second hand that appear unused.

Not the first one I've encountered at the shops while fiddling with their new knives in the past. I mentioned in a post last year their minor quality control issues I've noticed with their knives, a a few nicked blades straight from production is certainly quite worrying. Today I bought the Spartan wood and I again noticed a similar thing on the smaller blade on one of them. It was very minor, smaller than the one on my Huntsman but that makes it two of the dozen or so knives that I've handled in the past few days.
Also, I didn't notice until I got home, but on the Spartan I bought, there is a gap on one end on one of the wood scales along one end of the knife. I don't know if it's maybe the shape of the wood causing it or if it wasn't fitted properly. It's not loose, it doesn't creek or squeak when I handle the knife but when I press down on the end with the gap, I am able to close it. I tried pulling it away the opposite way to widen the gap but it seems pretty set in position. Whether it will stay that way over time is another thing.


I'm going to use this (very, very carefully) as my edc for the next couple of months to see how the wood handles regular wear and tear.

I'm slightly considering replacing it because of this. It would be a compromise as I feel I've chosen the nicest looking scales of the lot. Getting another pair with more secure or better fitted scales would mean I settle for a less "optimal" pattern... It does seem quite secure despite the gap but I don't trust myself not to endlessly fiddle with it and cause it to get worse.

Gap closes when I apply pressure... Again, it does feel secure as long as I'm not fiddling with it but being wood, I don't know if the constant changes in humidity in my part of the world will cause it to come loose over time. Then there is the matter of dirt and gunk getting into that space...