Your Traditional knife turn-off's

I really don’t like “ California Clip” blades. I won’t own a knife with one. Other then that there are some things I like / dislike more then others but it only that one that’s a deal breaker for me.
 
Carbon steel and acrylic covers.
 
My two main beefs have to do with the knife in a closed position: 1. I can't stand when the back corner of the tang sticks way up. 2. I really dislike knives with sharp, square bolsters that poke you in the thigh when you're walking around. A POCKETknife spends most of its time in your pocket, and IMO designers should always keep that in mind.

-- Mark
 
Hickory n steel said:
There have been many threads about traditional knife preferences, but I don't recall any about what we dislike.

So what are the things you don't really like ?

For me the biggest would be swedged spear point blades, for some reason I just don't like the way they look.

Next I'm just not huge on folders with 2 equal length main blades, this means trappers, moose, and especially muskrats.
I have a couple really small trappers that I carry sometimes because they were gifts, but in general I'd much rather have a main blade and smaller secondary.
Some people really love them, but it's just not a configuration I find useful for me.
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Squidman24 said:
Blade etches and "shiny" are a huge turnoff for me. That's why of all the GEC lines I tend to purchase the Tidioute products the most.
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Ernie1980 said:
I can't stand California clip blades, and don't like excessive blade rub either. But my least favorite thing that a traditional can have is a nail nick that goes under the liner so accessing the blade is a pain:mad:
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black mamba said:
Weak snap
Too shallow or too small nicks
Double pulls
EOs
End caps on jack knives
Multi-blade knives with too similar blades
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cbr1000 said:
Not a fan of weird shields - I like them simple. For example, GEC's use of the hot dog shield is not for me... why would anybody want a hot dog on their knife! Every time I see that shield I think how much better the knife would look with a bar shield.

I don't like to worry about anything to do with operating the knife. I like the sound of a slip joint closing. I don't want to worry about closing the knife and having it hit the back spring. I don't want to worry about the tip poking me when I reach in my pocket to use it... I'd like to get a knife where the tip sits just right from the factory so I don't have to file the kick.

I like stag knives that have polished stag to the bolster. I don't like seeing under the bolster due to recessed parts of the stag.

I like a softer pull on small secondaries. It's tough to get good leverage on tiny secondary blades. Sometimes they can be a bear to open without pushing the blade into the liner.

Not a fan of most synthetic covers.

I like the jigging to match and not look like two different people did it... especially when it's on the same side of the knife.

That's about it for today :)
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Emspop said:
I really don’t like “ California Clip” blades. I won’t own a knife with one. Other then that there are some things I like / dislike more then others but it only that one that’s a deal breaker for me.
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SteveC said:
Weak springs and nail breakers
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I'm somewhere in some boat with each of you. I don't like two of the same blade profile, i.e. spear and pen. I don't like when secondary blades have heavier pulls than the main. I don't like jack knives much as it is, I prefer pen configurations, and so I really don't care for a jack with a finger-pokey tang. I don't like weak springs. California clip blades aren't my favorite, but there are knives for which I will make an exception, because it's pretty much purely aesthetic.

The rest of my "turn-offs" are all fit and finish issues, and I'm inclined to think that's not the spirit of this thread, so those don't appear here.
 
Railsplitter said:
Tangs that tower over the handle when closed like on this Laguiole. I have two or three knives like this. I like the knives in general but I don't like that feature. I will often pass on a knife that has a towering tang even if I like the looks of it otherwise.

View attachment 797111
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I'm not understanding what you mean by "tangs that tower over the handle when closed." In the photograph are you referring to the blade towering over the scales? :confused:

Edit: Never mind. I see it now. :oops: That would be a real pocket shredder.
 
Wardo46 said:
I'm not understanding what you mean by "tangs that tower over the handle when closed." In the photograph are you referring to the blade towering over the scales? :confused:

Edit: Never mind. I see it now. :oops: That would be a real pocket shredder.
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I was wondering if my terminology would throw anybody off. :) I couldn't think of a better way to describe it at the time so I thought I better include a photographic example. Mark described it better in post #25 above but yes, we are both referring to the same thing.
 
Another turn-off would be milticolored acrylic and kyrinite scales, for example the fire in box by Case.

I'm also not a big fan of fixed blades with lots of different stacked wood types ,combined with stacked leather,and a bunch of different colored spacers.
less is more.
 
Stainless steel. I hate that I can’t trust them to hold an edge. I have a few that were given as gifts but never carry them.
 
I do not like that the Case/Bose Cattle knife I want so badly costs $470!!!!!

I cant stand when they have multiple identical blade profiles on one knife.

When knives dont have half stops

I dislike spear points for the main blade

I know they are traditional knives, but I would really like to see some better stainless steels. I dont know why someone cant make a modern PRODUCTION traditional with modern materials and not charge $470 for it! I guess traditional folders require hand fitting?
 
My number one above all else turn off is weak/ soft snap. I have been tempted on multiple occasions by the new 66 stockmans, but the tales of weak walk and talk have scared me away.
Bottle openers are another huge no go. I just don’t understand the trend. I’ll take a bottle opener on a multi tool, but keep that dang thing away from my jack knives!
 
Easy opens, poor blade to handle ratio, lack of end caps and the muskrat clip or long skinny clip. Learning to live with some of these issues.
 
Blades not centered, and I mean way off, especially on expensive knives. Excessive blade wobble too.
 
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I’m definitely not a fan of mirror polished blades. Too darned hard to photograph.

Horizontal blade play drives me absolutely crazy.

Both weak pulls and overly strong pulls are a turn-off.

I’ve never been a fan a California clip and Turkish clip blades. The skinny profile just bothers me to no end. A knife has to be pretty amazing for me tolerate them.

I’ve never met an acrylic cover that I was willing to own.

A knife has to be really, really nice for me to carry it, if it doesn’t have a bail. I live by the bail. The bail keeps me from ever losing my knives.

Wow. I’m really picky!
 
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