Which knives look good after being used hard?

S

SteelDriver

Joined
Jan 28, 2002
Messages
790
A lot of knives only look good NIB (and some not even then ;)). After years of EDC, scratches, sharpenings, and hard use, which ones still look good to you?

My Buck Strider Solution is one of those; even with the blade all scratched up and the handle dusty it looks in it's element. Scratches seem to disappear on my Camillus EDC's stonewashed blade, and that 420HC handle strongly resists wear. My friend's HI khukris also look great with all their stains and scrapes. I have a few coated blades that don't look too hot with the coating worn and beat up. Those knives don't look as clean and precise as they used to, but my uncoated knives for some reason can still look 'sharp' after prolonged wear and tear.
 
Sweet, sweet used Busse blades . . .

Mmmm . . .

And Swamp Rats don't look bad after hard use either. :)

It might be more a sentimental thing to me, but hey, whatever works!
 
Hey SteelDriver,

As a forum "housekeeper," I deleted your other doubled-tapped thread (there were no responses).
 
Stonewashed finishes hold up best in my opinion. So any MT with SW blade still looks good used to me, as well as any Sebbie. The Ti slabs look good worn as well.
 
Another vote for Busse. And a vote for Himalayan Imports. Those mirror polished blades are so purty, but they still look good after they're scuffed from steeling, sharpening and chopping the hell out of everything. I have a few antique khukuris and I want my HI's to look like that someday- gouged and scuffed with dark patinas showing they had a history of hard use.
Old beat-up KaBars and Fairbairn Sykes commando daggers have a certain appeal too, no?
 
For the most part I think they all look better with a bit of use.

With the exception of upscale or dressy knives I find something that has clearly provided it's owner with lots of useful service far more appealing than any "safe queen".
 
Sebbie, BM710HS, BMStrykerHS, and, OK pretty much all of them look good to me with some character.
 
Any all Black "tactical"
always looks better with scuff marks,
especially teflon coated ones
IMO, of course.
 
Cheap Italian imports. They break if you try to use them (not to mention hard use), and they look better broken, because they are a disgrace to the knife community.
 
I agree, as a knife gets used it gets character!

When I see the marks and scratches on my knifes I remember the stories of how those scratches got there which.

Makes me look forward to future adventures.

Collector
 
I think my pre production grind Microtech Socom Elite M/A looks pretty good, even if it's a bit scuffed up. It's no safe Queen, it gets used.

jmx
 
Thanks Ron, I couldn't delete it myself.

TBG, I agree that stonewashed finishes look best. Next I would say beadblast. I really dislike the look of worn anodized coatings (makes corners and scratches stand out big-time).

stripey357, classic military blades always look good worn! :)
 
anything with a blued blade gets a great look with age (imo). I also like good sandblasted blades, scratches doesn't seem to bother them too much.
 
I have a couple old Kabars myself, including the one my Grandfather brought back with him during his WWII tour in China...piece of history right there, the knife I value most.

Warthog
 
My Spyderco Micarta Calypso Jr got scratched up pretty good when I was helping w/ a seminar where I used to work (working w/ stone-cutting equipment)- Luckily, we had a sandblasting cabinet. I took the clip off & blasted the whole thing. The scratches are gone & the smooth Micarta is "grippier" than it was.
 
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