Ergonomic question, How to hold my Endura 4/ Delica?

[spydutch]

Greetings you all

On BF I read a complaint of Spyderco making the cutouts of the Endura/Delica on the wrong place and therefore make holding the knife cramped and the such.

I grip my Endura/Delica with my first two fingers in the cut out, so very close to the blade. With my Delica4 I must admit that it feels cramped(to a lesser degree wit my D3)

With my Endura it feels about the same as with my D3(the cutout is almost similar in size). A little cramped, but nice control of the blade.

When I put just my first finger in the cutout, my Endura feels "funny" although not bad. If I try this with any Delica, I barely get a 3 finger grip.

So my (maybe very stupid ) question is: How am I supposed to hold my Endura/Delica? How do you do it? And how is it meant to be hold by Spyderco?

I hope you can help me out on this

[Stenny]

I think Spyderco positioned them right; if I need higher level of control, I place two fingers in the first cutout and thumb either on the blade jimping , or directly on the back of the blade. If I need more "leverage" for tougher cutting, I place one finger in the first cutout and thumb tip against the blade jimping - sort of like extreme sabre grip.
These tips apply only to Endura, though, I never really handled Delica.

[dalefuller]

I use a D4 as one of my EDCs and it's seen a lot of use. The cutouts are as close to perfect for my hand as I could imagine. I use two fingers in the first one, one in the second, and my little finger in the last one, your basic sabre grip. It's a fine combination of secure grip and cutting control for me. I'm probably average size (5'11") and I do mostly pull and push cutting chores (bags, boxes, plants, etc.)... no real detailed work.

I have, however, occasionally used my D4 with my first finger forward of the handle on the square part of the blade and my thumb on the ramp. I don't recommend this, but that has allowed a little more control for some tricky cutting.

I think it's a great handle for that sized knife.

[John G.]

The D4's handle fits my hand much better than the C3, Native, PM or Mini-Manix - precisely because the cut-outs are not very pronounced or in the wrong places (for me at least).

I typically use a slightly stretched out sabre grip since it allows me to see what I'm cutting much better than putting my index finger on the choil.

My index finger is up against the forward part of the 1st cut-out,
My middle finger is against the back part of the 1st cut-out (leaving a 1/4" gap between the fingers),
My ring finger sit in the middle of the 2nd cut-out,
My pinky sits on the forward 1/2 of the flat shelf at the butt-end of the handle,
The tapered butt end of the handle tucks nicely up against my palm,
And the "belly of the blade" part of my thumb fits into the forward jimping nicely - leaving about 1/4" of thumb above the blade, and about 1/3 of the thumb pad on the top of the handle itself.