Why doesn't Benchmade....?

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darthsoaker

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May 2, 2006
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I wonder why Benchmade doesn't use finger choils on many of there knives.

I was looking through some knife catalogs that I have, and then it hit me. All my favorite knives have choils. I started to wonder... and I looked through the Benchmade catalog. I noticed very few of them have anything that resembles a finger choil.

Anyone else notice this?

Thoughts?
 
darthsoaker said:
Anyone else notice this?

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Yep.

Knives with choils are safer, more ergonomic knives. Wish Benchmade would make some more. I go through a lot of knives from a lot of compaines but have only ever owned three Benchmades precisely for this reason.
 
IMO, you can get the same effect as a choil by having a shorter blade. The choil only allows you to choke up on the blade, effectively making it shorter.
I prefer to just carry a shorter blade.
 
The choil gets your hand closer to the cutting edge, which gives you more control.
Also, by letting you use part of the blade as handle, the choil lets you get a full-hand grip in a very compact folder.

My favourite folder and near-constant EDC is the Spyderco Native, in large part because of the excellent choil.

I'd love to see a mini-grip-sized Axis folder with a good choil...
 
I dislike choils, to me they simply shorten the edge. The knife has a HANDLE, use the HANDLE to grip and get control of the knife, what is the point of compromising the edge of the knife to make it act as a "sort of" handle? I disagree that this is safer, putting your fingers past the hilt/guard and onto the blade "protected" by a finger-shaped cutout, is false safety IMO. The blade and the handle serve different functions, don't screw up the blade making it serve as a half-ass handle.

That said, that is MY feeling, everyone's mileage will vary. So you prefer a choil, benchmade doesn't make them that way--well, then choose knives by a maker whose designs you like! What is the point of wondering why such and so doesn't make knives in such and such a way--they make the knives they believe in; there are loads of makers, look elsewhere for one that suits your preference.
 
My favorite knives too, for the most part, have choils. It is for that reason that I like Mike Snody's designs so much. Check out the Activator line (for fixed blades). For folders, there are quite a few out there with choils incorporated into the design, but I don;t care much for them in folding knives.
 
I prefer folders with great blade to handle ratio, meaning the most blade for the length handle. Jens Anso is known for this and I like his folders. A well design handle should be good enough to hold without sacrificing safety! I agree that a choil on the blade just lessens the cutting area. It is simply a curvature to prevent slippage, so why not do it on the handle??
 
I personally dont care for choils as well. It is really not a reason for me to not buy a knife though. Just not a big issue for me
 
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