Which one knife attribute speaks most to QUALITY

Which aspect of QUALITY do you weight the heaviest/ MOST IMPORTANT? [pls pick one]

  • The blade material (steel)

    Votes: 18 37.5%

  • The movement of the blade (walk-n-talk)

    Votes: 25 52.1%

  • The material of the handle/scales

    Votes: 1 2.1%

  • The frame and bolsters

    Votes: 4 8.3%
  • Total voters
    48
  • Poll closed .
The highest quality knife I own--I think most people would agree--is a large Sebenza 31 UG. It is a beautiful knife, excellent materials, great F&F, will probably outlive me. I love that CRK trusts its customers to do some basic maintenance. But I never use the Sebenza. I would never buy another CRK knife. I just don't like them. I don't like frame locks. I don't like slow-rolling a blade.

My all-time favorite knife cost $5 on ebay. I think it was outstanding quality for a $5 knife, but I can't claim that it was on a par with dozens of other knives I have in terms of quality. It did exactly what I wanted it to do, which was cut baling twine, with exceptional efficiency.

High quality is good. I am in favor of high quality. But there are lots of other factors that contribute to how much I like a knife.
 
Performance and functionality .
 
I think manufacturing skill shows itself both at rest and in action. A knife that's put together poorly is never going to impress me unless it's got an insane price:materials deal or something else about it makes me not care.

A knife that can't open and close without making me wish I had any other knife that day is not going to strike me as quality no matter how uniquely perfect the heat treat might be. A company that can't make a pivot that feels correct in operation is a company that is doing their best to avoid my business.

A blade that is ground like a door stop or a maul is a disappointment that would render the most lovely handle and superb lockbar into a worry stone.

But the one thing that really lets me get s feel for the 'quality' of a knife is the lock itself. It's hard to explain, but a truly perfectly executed liner lock is immediately apparent when you use it. Stable and secure lockup, zero friction disengagement that feels like it needs the right amount of pressure to operate, and proper access.
 
It's all of the above and more. Only the combined attributes can determine this since I would never buy a knife based on one attribute.
 
On a folding knife, it's going to be things like the action, and fitment of things like bolsters, or scale materials. In a fixed blade, the ergonomics of the handle, as well as the grinds are what will point out a poorly (or cheaply) made knife to me pretty much immediately.
 
brownshoe said:
Y’all missing the point of a knife. The cutting edge is most important in a knife.
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And you've unsurprisingly missed the point of the question. Do you do all your cutting with a sharpened tuna can lid, or did you elect to go with something of a higher, you know, quality?
 
Spyderhole and spyder bug emblem :p

I think the combination of the factors you listed are all important. Some with or without some of these combinations.
We all have varying degrees of satisfaction. Locks, materials, scales, liners, steel, grind - we all like something different.
 
For me, it's gotta be the blade steel. You can tell a whole lot about a knife's quality by what it's made from. If that blade can hold an edge like a champ and resists corrosion, you've got yourself a keeper.
 
Quality is having a friend in a tool. Something that's an extension of your abilities.

Mine is an old Benchmade 522 in 440c. Purchased at a nearby flea market way over a decade ago. There's nothing remarkable about it except, it did everything I asked of it and more. That's quality.
 
Those things are all important but fit, finish, and a good heat treatment all matter. In other words, quality is holistic.
 
LimpCroissant said:
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.
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Excellent explanation. I’ve a friend with several Chris Reeve knives. I haven’t held one to experience the feel, but you explained what I was seeing.
 
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