What makes a knife your "FAVORITE"?

[1623]

The Sage 1 is without a doubt my favorite knife...it's simply a joy to carry and use. For me, everything is there: size and weight, ergonomics, great materials, liner lock and it's classy enough to carry with a suit if need be.

One other model comes close and if the Caly 3.5 wasn't a mid-lock, my answer may have been different.

[phillipsted]

Good thread, Survingringo! I had to think about this one for a minute...

1. Light weight and low profile in pocket

2. Ergonomics

3. Steel

TedP

[Donut]

1. How it feels in my hand.
2. What it enables me to do.

[tvenuto]

2 main requirements for me:

Spydie bug somewheres
In my pocket

Although this sounds like a flip answer, I really do mean this. Every time I pull a spydie out of my pocket and use it I think: "well isn't this the best knife ever." I then do the same thing next time with a different one.

[bh49]

1. How it feels in my hand.
2. What it enables me to do.

This is it.
I am buying only knives, which look attract me. Than I handle them, if they feel great in my hand, than there is a chance to became EDC. The next important thing is how useful blade will be for me. I love the look of Dodo, feels great as well, but "the use" will very limited in my routine. I carry and use all my favorite knives:Native5 (I have three of them in use), Persian, Caly3.5 and 3, Kopa. Feel in my hand is the most important.

[PayneTrain]

This is a fun question, though a tough one. If I have to pick a favorite, it's going to be my Military (Cruwear, grey). I call it my favorite because I feel it is the most versatile knife of all the ones I own. It's big enough for big jobs, yet does just fine trimming finger nails. It works great in the kitchen, at work, and anywhere else I take it. It carries light and slim, though it is long and it peaks out quite a bit with the standard clip, but that's usually not an issue. It just plain works.

The thing is, I don't really carry it more than my other knives. I love them all, and they all get their turn when the situation allows. Some days I want a light knife, some days I want a small knife, some days I want a stainless or H1, some days I just want something that's fun to carry and flick. But if I had to get rid of all but one, the Military can't be beat because it can do anything the rest of them can, and then some.

[Surfingringo]

We've all got our favorites but I just usually don't give all that much thought to why. Great answers so far. It's been interesting reading how everyone has different criteria and a different thought process. Keep em coming! :)

[Brock O Lee]

...

1. Light weight and low profile in pocket

2. Ergonomics

3. Steel

This ^^^

Plus, since I recently got completely hooked on thin grinds, I will put "efficient cutter" at the top of my list.

I have one Krein regrind, which is amazing. But it gets expensive in a hurry if you send a handful of knives to a maker for regrinds, especially for me in SA.

I have discovered that if I flatten a FFG with a zero convex on a bench stone, and run a very small micro bevel, it comes close in performance, especially if the convex is flat and high enough. And its free! :)

[josemfuente]

I do absolutely agree with lance's sentence indicating that his selection of knives is based in functionality. In my humble opinion, such feature is the result of several aspects of knife design, like: blade shape, length and thickness, lock type and strength, steel, etc.

Bases on that considerations, my SE para and my muela kodiak sandvik 14C28N are my top choices.

Enjoy the weekend!

[paladin]

I have a lot of genera of "FAVORITE"s...

such as FAVORITEs : for locking mechanisms, hard use faves, to fondle, in materials, in color, in classy good looks-- the list goes on & on...

But I think the most significant FAVORITE is the blade I grab as my GO-TO for EDC for many years now-- the Gray Caly Jr. in VG10...

The Caly Jr. has a handy pocketclip, it has a decently sharp point, a slight belly, it is very thin, light, & stylish in a unique way. And those qualities have insured that it is always at hand when I need to cut something...thus MY FAVORITE*

*footnote...I am always looking for a new FAVORITE, but until now no blade has met the challenge of the Caly Jr.--- But I just got my box from HKS which contained my LW Navtives & my Spyderco American Bison ( calm down, it's just the Tatanka for those of you who haven't had an opportunity to read the Tatanka's insert ). Based on early returns the LW Native may knock the Caly off my waistband ...but the jury's still out, and that's a different thread for a different day...Great thread Lance! :spyder: :)

[Buendia518]

Good question and I'm still not sure how to answer...

I just want to ask a question, Surfingringo. I believe you posted (maybe a year ago) that you like/ want to keep your 'collection' at five knives. How's that going ? :D

I'm trying to get down to ten knives and stay there. Originally it was five but that proved too painful.

[DougC-3]

I've been trying to avoid this thread because if I try to tell the truth, it's going to be wordy, involved, and self oriented.

I usually consider myself very scientific, logical, and analytical and I've found that most of the people on this forum are the same, much more so it seems than the public at large. But I think this question is one of those cases where most of us go with our "heart" whatever that means (some sort of mythical mumbo jumbo) and then use our brains mainly to figure out, justify, explain, excuse, or rationalize our choice... sort of like picking a girl friend, boy friend, or whatever. I choose my favorite because I like it best and no body can stop me :)

The first and probably most important "grabber" is appearance, similar to gf/bf choice. My current interest in knives is a revival of a long neglected childhood and adolescent interest. I was looking for knives on Amazon and was really struck by the pictures of DLC Pacific Salt, Manix 2, and Military.

Then there's the "aura" of feelings, associations, and memories we have or start getting about any design or model (more mythical mumbo jumbo), anything from carving whistles or figurines or playing mumblede peg, to, for some, fantasies or even plans for self defense or aggression. This would include ideas about rare sprints, who has them, what they've done with them, how good the metal is, etc.

After all that, then size, weight, ergonomics, how they carry and handle in use, how functional they are, how they hold up, all come into play. I'm in the group of people whose "favorites" change from day to day. I like the light ones because they're light and the heavy ones because they're heavy. After carrying Delicas and PMs for awhile, I might go back to my old heavy Manixes and love them just as much as ever. It's like getting a new knife all over again. So I sometimes have different favorites for different reasons. For example, one of the knives I've wanted the worst has been the D2 Millie. When I finally got one, it was in mint condition, and I haven't been able to bring myself to carry or use it yet. It's still one of my favorites, but I could hardly say it's because of the way it cuts or carries, since I haven't done either of those with it. It's because of the body of ideas I have about it, no?

Just my dime's worth (inflation)

[PayneTrain]

Just my dime's worth (inflation)

I'd buy that for a dollar. Great answer!

[Surfingringo]

Good question and I'm still not sure how to answer...

I just want to ask a question, Surfingringo. I believe you posted (maybe a year ago) that you like/ want to keep your 'collection' at five knives. How's that going ? :D

I'm trying to get down to ten knives and stay there. Originally it was five but that proved too painful.

Ahem, well, I'm currently at 14 Spydercos, however I'm about to sell one and give 2 away. Are you sure I said 5?? Hmm, maybe keeping it at 10 would be a more realistic goal...or even 12. Let's call it 15 just to be safe!

[spyderg]

Was thinking about this again when i got my Native 5 cf cpm110v in the mail. As much as I love my Manix2, one thing important for me is a knife that also feels good in hand while closed. This is my only real complaint with the Manix. I find myself in a lot of situations where it doesn't make sense to put my knife away but I need to fold in and keep it in hand as to not raise eyebrows, or when the kids are around as another example. My new Native, my Techno, and my Brous SS flipper work well for this and are more likely to get pocket/in hand time for this reason. The Brous sees a bit less time as it can be quite the eyebrow raiser and a funny thing about it is the skin on my hand gets a bit irritated by the steel used on it for some reason. I get a similar reaction with most watch straps. I went with a surgical steel wedding band to avoid any issues there. Anyways just another thing to add to the "favorite" checklist for me.

[chuck_roxas45]

It's just a feeling with me. I don't try to explain why. Of course, it helps that a knife does well at what I need it for.

[762cal]

when i grabs it every morning and missed it when I carry something else. when I got ahold of it and I can't find (or don't acknowledge) any flaws. in my case this very knife would be Caly3... I only have one in SB and every time I put it in my hands, it's just feels so natural, the geometry is terrific. I hope we can see much more steel variants in this model.

[Knutty]

"Ergonomics" used to refer to the workplace, but I guess it's been expanded to refer to just about any product we interact with.

I don't believe in feelings. Everything, for me, is based on rationality. I am not a fan of detents, so most of my knives are back locks. I am not a fan of heavy knives, so I am a fan of FRN. I am not fan of rust or spending more time sharpening than using, so that steers me away from certain steel choices.

I hate--and won't own, much less use--a knife that's not comfortable. Fortunately, Spyderco makes this point a very easy one. It has to be "ergonomic", which doesn't just mean comfortable in hand, it means it won't dig into my side when I'm wearing it in the waistband of a pair of sweatpants, which is how I carry probably about 99% of the time (yes, I'm reclusive).

For me, unless I'm traveling to a place with a stupid 3" legal blade length limit, the Stretch FRN (C90PBK) is perfect. The other 20+ Spydercos I have are there for fun.

[sok]

I need a handle that fits a four finger grip with good ergonomics, and weight under four ounces as not to sag my pockets and pull my pants down . As I look at my users, it seems like imbedded liners and back locks are a common characteristic.

I also like a deep carry pocket clip when I can get it.

[NoFair]

Some knives are just "right". For me it is the Military. If it wasn't for the rest of the world's opinions on knives I'd carry a Carbon fiber Military every day except for the times I'm in the ocean (one of the Salts), in a suit (CF Walker or C42 Viele) or carrying a fixed blade (Andy Roy customs). The other Military models are great, but the Carbon fiber ones are the best imho.
After using them for years everything is muscle memory so I open and close them faster than any other folder I have as well..