YOUR least frustrating knives...

[jmarston]

My knife isn't frustrating overall. It performs well each and every day. The bolsters irk me. Whoever ground them, ground them quite differently as seen in the photo. The spacing between the edge of the bolster and the last threading line is glaringly different. The photos don't show the spine, but whoever assembled the knife then tried to balance out the mistake as best they could, resulting in both threading and bolsters that do not line up.

From either mark or pile side, the knife is very beautiful but from the spine, it is a glaring mistake.

It bothers me but the rest of the knife is just what I like and has been carried every day for the past 13 months or so. But it bothers me.

 

[robgmn]

I understand what you're talking about, and learned how to deal with it from a seminar I once attended.
The theme was about simplifying one's life, and the examples are myriad.

In my case, I collect a lot of stuff - too much (not hoarder, just don't like to get rid of things).
What i started doing was going through my things and if there was anything that I did not touch for over a year (and could not find a reasonable anticipation of near-future need/use), I'd get rid of it.

In your case, when you carry that knife and decide it annoys you, you should get rid of it. It's not likely that it will change while sitting in storage and become more "likable".

Now, if you're like many of us and are happy to collect knives that you will never carry or use, then those knives should be in a nice display case so you and others can appreciate them for what they are.
To have a knife that just sits in hidden storage, never to be used, carried, or otherwise enjoyed, is (IMO) to not have a knife at all.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[Cory Hess]

I think that some of you are missing the point. This isn't a thread about knives that you don't like or a thread about complaining about your knives. It's a thread about knives that you like a lot, but have one or two things you would tweak if you were able. Buying production knives, and often custom knives, requires a certain level of compromise. Most of us haven't found that one perfect knife that we wouldn't change anything about. This thread is about chronicling those compromises.

I think that most of us agree that a Buck 110 feels great in the hand, whereas a peanut feels great in the pocket. Unfortunately, we can't have both aspects in one knife. So, we compromise with knives that fit somewhere in between. Size is just one aspect of this. Maybe you have a knife you love but you'd prefer a different blade shape or steel. Maybe it's only offered in linerlock but you strongly prefer lockbacks. Maybe the knife you love just doesn't fit in with your typical daily wardrobe or carry configuration. Unless I'm mistaken, these are the things that pinnah is talking about. Not the knives that you don't like or the ones that sit unused, but the ones that you absolutely love and wish you could tweak just a little bit.

 

[redsparrow]

pinnah, this is it for me.


The beautiful Case Swayback Jack.

I love everything about it except what it is, swayback.
It's a great size, has a fantastic blade selection, looks beautiful and when using it (for anything except pull cuts) feels perfectly awkward.
What frustrates me is I bought it to use, but I don't and I'm not likely to because it is uncomfortable for me.
Still the Case Swayback Jack is so special that I'm keeping it and will continue to enjoy it's outstanding good looks and admire it's excellent build quality.

 

[pinnah]

Cory, you get it.

Redsparrow, a good example.

You all have been patient with my ruminations on this. We're on journey here. We started with my most frustrating and we're moving towards those that frustrate me less. I should note, that I'm not even bothering to show you a bunch of knives that I keep that never get carried. You have them too, right?

Anyway, here is the first knife that is less frustrating enough to have a quasi-regular spot in my EDC bowl. The large Case Sodbuster.

Untitled by Pinnah, on Flickr

This is a really pretty knife. It's also cherished as something I got in a BF give-away and I'm incredibly grateful for both the connection to this forum and the history of use the knife carries with it. Makes it all the better.

It's so much lighter than my Buck 110 but it's roughly the same size. Just wonderful. But it's not perfect.

A part of the lightness comes form a small frame. Spend an hour working wood with this knife and my hand gets tired. There's just not enough handle. It's too small in girth.

And then there was the time I was cooking frozen burgers on the grill and they were stuck together and I got out the Sodbuster. Yes... I know how to pierce with slip joint. Yes, I got it done safely. But, and I hate to admit this.... I prefer a locking knife.

One thing that keeps this knife in the EDC bowl is just how friendly it is at the table. My wife and I were at a restaurant and like we often do, we split a steak. The servers were running around with their hair on fire and we only had one steak knife. So, I used my Sodbuster which a) was long enough to be comfortable to use and b) was so discrete that nobody in the restaurant would have noticed. That's really cool.

So yes, the lack of a lock frustrates me, as does the frame sometimes. But overall, this is among the least frustrating knives for me.

 

[mrknife]

Thanks for the suggestion. I've taken a look at the other runs of 48s, and would probably have picked one up if I didn't have a Queen #11 that I already love. :thumbup:

This one just checked all the boxes with the cool shield and great jigging. All except for one.

amen, i have 4 of those queen number 11s, 3 newish, and 1 used so i can carry it, bought used from the bay

 

[AreBeeBee]

Here my two two-dotters:

(And I have others of more recent vintage for both.)

Here's what I mean by frustrating. I love the looks, maybe even the feel in the hand, but... The knife just doesn't fit into my daily routine. So it doesn't get carried. So I look at it fondly, and then pick up a different one and carry that.

But I'm happy enough just owning it. Someday, it may be my wife's problem to deal with. But that's for then — and I won't be around to worry about it.

And speaking of honking big knives, I have (and never carry!) this No-Name, made-in-Japan-sometime lockback. If you think the original 110s had a blocky profile, this pup outdoes it and the 112 alike:

What the above image doesn't convey is how w-i-d-e the handle is:

And here's the three closed:

Then there's the Jet-Aer G-96 model 961 (if I'm getting that right):

— which has to my eye a malproportion between the massive drop-point blade and the skinny-minny handle, which is thinner than a 110's both vertically and thickness-wise. Definitely a frustrating knife.

 

[Bigfattyt]

This Queen Pardue collaboration drives me to distraction.











The springs and liners were pressed together with metal shavings stuck in them. There was blade wobble, which I fixed. The pulls are too weak for my tastes on both the spear blades. But one is a bit stronger than the other (not by enough). I cannot fix this.

The coping blade is strong on the pull.

The blade's were ground thick enough it would not cut an apple well, even after I thinned and convexed the edges.

The one of the spear blades still has scratches from a moment of fury when I tried to use a coarse stone to thin the primary grind. Then I took all three blades to my belt sander. They are much better, and thinner now.

It is a thick sucker. Like thick.



I still carry it all the time. I'm probably going to wear the weak springs out with how much I open and close them. Constantly.

The two spear blades can be opened with one hand. But annoyingly, neither can be pinched open. They are both in each other's way!


If the pulls were stronger on the main blades, I'd like it even more.

 

[chickenfried]

Aren't most knives, even at more modern factories, usually sharpened by hand on a belt?

I understand these are handmade knives, with their edges finished on a belt, and I don't fault GEC for this small imperfection

 

[btb01]

Aren't most knives, even at more modern factories, usually sharpened by hand on a belt?

Possibly? I honestly don't know about the larger manufacturers like Case. I've had a few newer Case knives that came with pretty rough edges that didn't seem like they were put there by hand (or if they were, they were done by lazy and/or indifferent hands). I'm getting my first straight edge Case at Christmas (a Sway Back Gent), so I'm curious to see how "perfectly straight" the edge is (or isn't) compared to the GEC's I have. I will say, while the not-quite-straight straight edges on my GECs have annoyed me a little until I fixed them, the edge on the secondary sheepsfoot blade on my 2015 forum knife was worse (how do you get recurve on a straight edge?).

 

[Snipe 1]

This Northfield #73 frustrates me to no end. It's the most beautiful knife I own. Perfect length, perfect handle shape, perfect blade shape, etc. It would be perfect except GEC decided to put the swedge on the spine of the blade and consequently, the long nail nick is lower and closer towards the pivot. The nail nick isn't as deep as the normal one on my Tidioute #73 also. What frustrates me is that I have to be so careful when opening, otherwise my fingernail slips out of the nail nick and the knife closes quickly, almost taking my finger with it. It's enough of a pain in the you know what, that I don't really use it. GEC 73s are not known for week pulls, so this knife really needs a good nail nick to get a purchase on the blade. If they didn't try to be so fancy and just put a normal nail nick on it like the Tidioute version, it would be such a perfect knife.

 

[AreBeeBee]

This Northfield #73 frustrates me to no end. It's the most beautiful knife I own. Perfect length, perfect handle shape, perfect blade shape, etc. It would be perfect except GEC decided to put the swedge on the spine of the blade and consequently, the long nail nick is lower and closer towards the pivot. The nail nick isn't as deep as the normal one on my Tidioute #73 also. What frustrates me is that I have to be so careful when opening, otherwise my fingernail slips out of the nail nick and the knife closes quickly, almost taking my finger with it. It's enough of a pain in the you know what, that I don't really use it. GEC 73s are not known for week pulls, so this knife really needs a good nail nick to get a purchase on the blade. If they didn't try to be so fancy and just put a normal nail nick on it like the Tidioute version, it would be such a perfect knife

I'd call that less a frustration and more a pretty serious design flaw.

In fact, reports of stout backprings on GEC etc. knives have kept me from ever considering them. If a knife costs $100+, and I can't put my hands on one to test-open it, well, let's just say it's "No sale, pal."

 

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

I get you, and thought about it this morning actually!

The Outlaw is a great knife, but I usually want two different sized blades, especially as most of each blade is just straight edge.... (This goes for most trappers eye as well)

The Norfolk whittler is great, but the purple handles don't fit with anything, except sometimes the Outlaw or other same size bladed knife, as its many small blades compliment two large ones. I use it often, but still don't have a true partner for it!

Although my greatest frustration is also one of my greatest finds- An IXL Wostenholm whittler with punch!!!

But it is a brick, crudely put together, with one liner actually bent to fit the wedge spring, cracking the scale, and the split spring wedge is 90°, not an isosceles to even the angle between liners.

It's almost everything I want in a whittler, except fine details in construction!

 

[pinnah]

This picture makes me happy.

This thread gives me some peace of mind in knowing that I'm not entirely alone in the world. Why can't I just be content with a single knife?

Anyway, this picture makes me want to be outside.

 

[pinnah]

I've been told by many people in many contexts that I think too much. Thinking and dissatisfaction are neighbors. Or they're the 2 guys who are always talking at the corner of the bar in my head. Today, they are discussing this one...

Buck 500 Duke & Micra by Pinnah, on Flickr

Hooooo.... This isn't a pretty knife. This is sexy knife. It's like a nice muscle car. Or a Bond girl. There is a sense of audaciousness about this knife. A sense of danger or self-indulgence in it's style. Maybe it's the zulu like point or the nickle bolsters. It's "classy" in that oh so wrong, oh so right way. Sort of like a gum ball rally Firebird. The micarta is beautiful and the script font logo is really the icing on the cake.

I have knives that when I take them out, women who are around are likely to say, "Oh, that's a pretty knife." No woman has ever said that about the Buck 500. It announces the appearance of the blade with a loud "Clack!" Men, on the other hand, respond differently. "Hey, lemme see that?" This is more of a man's knife, in a boys will be boys sort of way.

This is my easiest carrying knife, at least in the size range that I can tolerate. The frame is thin and flat and the bolsters are round. I don't notice it in the pocket.

Despite the bling factor, this is an incredibly capable knife. I like to whittle in the summer when I have nothing to do and the frame disappears in my hand easily enough. Unlike the Buck 112, the 500 has enough real estate for my XL hands. It's thin enough that my thumb and fore finger can roll off of the front of the bolster comfortably on draw cuts. In the shop, the 500 reveals itself to be a brute. The carbide rich 440C and the rounded shoulder on the hollow grind destroy cardboard like no other knife I have. The semi-hollow grind puts enough width behind the edge to do a decent job making curls.

This knife frustrates me in 2 ways. First, it fails the all important peanut butter jar test. It's just a bit too short in the blade to be super useful for food prep and I use my pocket knives for food every day. Second, it the fear factor. I could use my larger Sodbuster in a restaurant no problem. I can't do that with the Buck 500.

This is one of my favorite knives. I just wish it had a bit more blade.

 

[hatchettjack]

I would have to say my buck 110!
I absolutely love this knife, the feel, the weight, the classic looks, but I just never wear a belt and I have so many other options for EDC! Very FRUSTRATING indeed!

 

[wazu013]

I'm just frustrated that I'm to old to give this one the workout it was made for.

 

[HST]

2 guys who are always talking at the corner of the bar in my head. Today, they are discussing this one...

It's "classy" in that oh so wrong, oh so right way. Sort of like a gum ball rally Firebird.

Cheers buddy. As a long time "Gumballer," I must ask of which Firebird you speak of? The Hoff's GTR K.I.T? Vanilla Ice's Firebird/Camaro? Your speaking my language, but I'm not clear as to which Gumball Firebird...

Sorry for the O/T, but not really.

JIC, here

 

[btb01]

This picture makes me happy.

This thread gives me some peace of mind in knowing that I'm not entirely alone in the world. Why can't I just be content with a single knife?

Anyway, this picture makes me want to be outside.

If we were all content with only a single knife, what the heck would we talk about here?

 

[pinnah]

We started with knives that were more frustrating. The more frustrating knives stay in storage and come out to the light of day only occasionally.

Now, we're considering the 4 knives in my EDC bowl. The first is the large Case Sodbuster. The second is the Buck 500 Duke. Today, we look at the third - the Schrade (USA) 6OT.

Schrade 6OT by Pinnah, on Flickr

Unlike the Buck 110, the 6OT is light enough to carry in my front pocket. It also has the advantage of noticeably more belly in the tip area. I really like the lanyard hole and I'm a sucker for saw-cut Delrin.

You may notice that the grind line looks wrong. That's because I've put this on the stone to flatten and thin the shoulders from the traction of the hollow grind to to the flat portion of the blade. I find hollow grinds to be incredibly frustrating, both when working with wood and in the kitchen like when cutting potatoes. I find the shoulders bind up and so I end out thinning most of my hollow grind blades. At this point, I avoid hollow grinds all together but now that the job is done, the 6OT doesn't frustrate me as much when I use it.

The knife isn't perfect. Like all lock backs, it's prone to lock rock, so when I'm doing hard yard work that involves hard cutting of saplings, I pick a different knife.

And it's a BIG knife. A big and scary looking knife. It's too big to pull out in a restaurant, as I did last night with my friendlier Sodbuster.

Still, the lockback hunter, as in the 110, is so near and dear to my heart. Some days, I just need to carry one. If Buck were to produce a barehead version of the 110 (at a price point under the Loscha 110), I might switch to that. I love Schrades almost as much as I love Buck but I do like most things about the 110 better.... Except the weight and blade shape. And the scale material. I'm conflicted, no?

I'm not alone in that, I know.