Which one knife attribute speaks most to QUALITY

[Slice-and-dice]

We all enjoy many aspects about our tools of choice. Which attribute do you weigh as the most important, making the knife feel like its a quality tool?

 

[Bronco]

This is a tough question insofar as all aspects of the construction are so critical to creating a truly dependable, useful blade. But since you’ve prioritized its ability to function as a tool, if forced to choose only only one, I would probably have to go with the blade steel. (I will add the caveat here that I’m assuming for the purposes of this discussion that the blade steel, as well as being identified, has also undergone a competent heat treatment process.)

So long as I know that the blade itself is up to snuff, I can assess for myself whatever other limitations might be present in the remainder of the construction and modify my usage accordingly.

 

[Tsujigiri]

Really depends on the knife... since you mentioned walk and talk and bolsters, I'm going to assume you had traditional knives in mind, in which case the blade steel matters very little (basic carbon is considered good and 154cm is top of the line). Walk and talk is more of a preference thing and the material of the covers only speaks to quality when you get into rare and high end stuff like abalone and mammoth ivory (you can find a quality knife with just micarta or delrin covers). I suppose in that case the fitment of the frame and bolsters is the biggest indication?

 

[brownshoe]

Y’all missing the point of a knife. The cutting edge is most important in a knife.

 

[tltt]

I picked steel, but if I was making my own list I go -

Working knife -

1) Ergonomics - I don't want a knife that I don't like picking up to use.
2) General blade grind and heat treat.
3) General fit and finish.
4) Steel.
5) Handle Material.

------------------

Art knife -

1) Design.
2) Fit and finish.
3) Handle Material.
4) Steel.

 

[Another Shepherd]

I buy different knives for different purposes, and different purposes require different qualities.

 

[Shorttime]

Maybe I've been watching Grimsmo's videos too much. I used to equate weight with quality, but after watching Jon go on about it, I've gotten to think that flatness is the benchmark.

I still equate weight with quality, just to be clear about that.

Just imagine trying to shop with a cart of precision measuring instruments.

Honestly, if all you have is your eyecrometer, then I think the easiest way to tell what you're looking at is to look for gaps between handle slab parts.

 

[fishface5]

This poll is too limiting. When I think "quality" I think of both design and execution, including in no particular order:
- is the design ergonomic
- is the blade (steel, heat treat, geometry) suited for the intended task
- for folders, is the action smooth and is the lockup (if locking) solid?
- is the overall fit and finish impressive?
Last consideration is the nature of the materials used for the handle/scales, since fancy materials don't matter if the other criteria aren't met.

 

[LimpCroissant]

Unfortunately, none of the options in the poll. The #1 thing that impresses me the most and makes me feel like I have a quality knife is fit & finish. When I first started getting into knives I didn't understand what fit & finish was. I'd see all these people showing pics of their Sebenzas and talking about the amazing fit and finish and just couldn't figure out how this S30v bladed (it was back in that era of Chris Reeve knives) titanium framelock is worth so much more than the Bradley Alias or the few others that were offered at the time. Eventually I found out that fit and finish is how close the tolerances of manufacturing and finishing are. The Sebenza for instance is machined to within a 10 thousandth of an inch, making the blade, and pivot bushing fit between the scales justtt right so that you have a near perfect action. And then you look at all the chamfers and they are all so perfect and consistent. The blade grind is pretty much perfectly symetrical, the finishing on the blade and scales are all consistent and nice, all that.

Now the thing is now days you don't have to spend as much money to get amazing fit and finish, especially if you're flexible on the place of manufacturing. Now days you can get a titanium framelock, or synthetic scaled liner lock Kizer, for example, that has a level of fit and finish just under a Sebenza. It's crazy times we're living in.

 

[cbach8tw]

I think the overall quality of the knife is the best indicator of quality, however, for this survey I chose the blade material steel. So not only a good steel to do the job, but also how well it is ground or beveled, the quality of the blade’s shape ( and heat treatment) can determine the rest of the knife’s build. I had fixed blades on my mind.

 

[Danny Linguini]

All of the above, and then some. Ergos and overall design are just as important to me as materials and build quality. I can’t say I weigh any one aspect more heavily than any other - I look at the total package.

 

[Tsujigiri]

Now the thing is now days you don't have to spend as much money to get amazing fit and finish, especially if you're flexible on the place of manufacturing. Now days you can get a titanium framelock, or synthetic scaled liner lock Kizer, for example, that has a level of fit and finish just under a Sebenza. It's crazy times we're living in.

Slightly off topic, but did you happen to find the actual tolerance numbers for the newer Chinese knives? Because I'd be interested to see that...

Personally, I feel that the new generation of high end Chinese titanium knives shine in their complicated machining, often requiring the use of small tools that need to be run slowly. They often have excellent fitment, but certainly not at the level of a Sebenza. I think they do a good job of designing their knives so that tolerances aren't as critical, though; it's much easier to put a pivot on bearings than to fit a bushing system and results in action that also feels smooth. Also, one thing that's really different about Chris Reeves is that they've been finished so well that you don't really see any tooling marks.

 

[RoyalHolic]

Blade Steel only matters if the frame and locking mechanism are good.

You can have a magnacut blade on some junk hardware and it possibly won't give you much life.

 

[norcalAF]

I chose handle material, because in the age of the supersteel, there are few poor choices.

 

[LimpCroissant]

Slightly off topic, but did you happen to find the actual tolerance numbers for the newer Chinese knives? Because I'd be interested to see that...

Personally, I feel that the new generation of high end Chinese titanium knives shine in their complicated machining, often requiring the use of small tools that need to be run slowly. They often have excellent fitment, but certainly not at the level of a Sebenza. I think they do a good job of designing their knives so that tolerances aren't as critical, though; it's much easier to put a pivot on bearings than to fit a bushing system and results in action that also feels smooth. Also, one thing that's really different about Chris Reeves is that they've been finished so well that you don't really see any tooling marks.

Yup absolutely on the Chris Reeve knives not having really any tooling marks, which is actually very rare.

I should have explained myself a little better on the fit and finish of the newer high end overseas knives. I do know for sure that the fit and finish on the outside of the knives is very well done with all their crisp (or smooth contours if they're going for that) transitions and chamfers, I do not know how close their tolerances are on the inside between mating surfaces like in the pivot area and standoff areas. Chris Reeve knives have the amazingly small machining tolerances there, but it's very rare for companies to advertise the tolerances that they machine too. I do not think that they are as close as CRK knives, possibly more like to the thousandth of an inch? I don't know. Yeah you're right though, I don't think too many companies could pull of production numbers on a knife that uses a pivot bushing that is consistent throughout the knives that they produce. That takes some doing for sure. I know a few have done it on a model or two, but that's very rare.

But no my friend, I've never seen the numbers on what those guys are machining to, I'd be very interested to see that too.

 

[tony281sc2]

Ergonomics

Fit & finish, including action (tied for 1st)

Blade/handle materials (last of the 3, as long as they are “good enough”…meaning mostly all stainless w/decent edge retention)

 

[VorpelSword]

Quality in a knife involves materials, design and execution. If one is missing, it might be just a pretty good knife . . .but then, it might not be.

 

[K.O.D.]

I buy different knives for different purposes, and different purposes require different qualities.

I agree. I like PM steels with good edge retention in most of my folders, but I also have ones with a good balance of toughness too, like CPM-M4, CTS-XHP, and 3V.

In my heavy use knives ergonomics are very important. I prefer a knife with good ergos to having an aggressive handle texture. Examples would be Spyderco GB1, Manix 2 CTS-XHP, Domino (also XHP), Demko ad20.5, and ZT 0095BLK S90V.

Centering is nice but is not necessary unless it rubs the liners. Many of us know how difficult it is to center a PM2, and sometimes it just isn't possible for it to be perfectly centered and have good action.

Speaking of action, all of the knives in my rotation double as fidget toys. As I've mentioned before, I've pretty bad ADHD and anxiety issues. Fidgeting with my knives helps me not have to take meds. The only time I take them is when flying. It's also nice because I don't have to also carry a separate fidget device. I literally sit in my office during high stress phone calls fiddling with my knife.

As far as handle materials, I'm over G-10, FRN, and metal handles. I have one full Ti framelock and three lock side. My only exception is automatics, as that just comes with the territory.

Lockup is important too, but most of my "hard use" knives have the Spyderco type choil or a flipper tab that prevents closing even if the lock fails.

 

[eveled]

Most of what you have listed are fairly easy to achieve. The real quality is in the fit and finish. Also on fixed blades I look for soldered guards.

 

[Surname]

For me it's heat treatment. A good heat treatment is only achieved by a company/individual that cares about knives.