which is your ergonomic masterpiece?

[sethwm]

No wrong answers here.

It's a close one for me between the para 3 LW and delica frn. I think the para 3 LW edges it out by a hair.

[mikey177]

It's the Native 5 for me, both G10 and lightweight variants.

The Domino is a close second.

[Bill1170]

The Endela lightweight. If a PM2 lightweight or Caribbean lightweight are produced they might give the Endela a run. Much as I like G-10 handles, the bidirectional FRN grips are better in my hands.

Edit to add: I forgot about the Stretch LW. So many good models! I’m temped to try a Stretch XL.

[Wartstein]

Boah, quite some come to mind...

One certainly is the Chap FRN:

It feels great in my hand, truly a masterpiece indeed to achieve this level of ergonmic in such a thin and tiny folder!

The Chap is actually pretty comfortable, even in prolongued use, but first and foremost very "locked in" and stable. For me clearly more so than the somewhat similarily shaped, but much beefier Native 5 for example. The Native feels good when just holding it or in lighter duty tasks, but begins to roll and shift a bit when doing "hard" cutting. Not so the Chap.

[Wartstein]

The Endela lightweight. If a PM2 lightweight or Caribbean lightweight are produced they might give the Endela a run. Much as I like G-10 handles, the bidirectional FRN grips are better in my hands.

Edit to add: I forgot about the Stretch LW. So many good models! I’m temped to try a Stretch XL.

Yep, for me personally FRN beats G10 any day of the week when a model comes in both variants.

FRN is usually just more contoured and has rounder edges than the more blocky G10, and for example with the Manix (ok, FRCP, not FRN) the LW has a closed back rather than the open one of the G10 version. Adds a tad of comfort too, imo.

[Wartstein]

And in my view "ergonomics" can really only be judged when actually using a knife in various tasks!

No disrespect, but I always find it a bit laughable when youtube "testers" just hold a knife in hand and then talk about its ergos... just holding says very little about potential hotspots or lack of stability of a handle, especially in harder use. Or how stable the knife will be in hand when things get sweaty or fingers cold...

[Mushroom]

PPT Perrin is still the best and still my favorite because it’s such an ergonomic masterpiece! Also has the best blade shape ever from Spyderco!

[vandelay]

I'd say the chaparral is the best. It feels like a full sized knife despite being fairly tiny. The way the choil is designed really locks the knife into the palm. The lack of a hump also makes it so there are no snag points when drawing it.

The dragonfly is a close second. You get an amazing amount of grip for how slim the handle is... the blade is just so fat that there's no point in having a handle that slim. That's always felt a bit odd to me.

[Wartstein]

I'd say the chaparral is the best. It feels like a full sized knife despite being fairly tiny. The way the choil is designed really locks the knife into the palm. The lack of a hump also makes it so there are no snag points when drawing it.

The dragonfly is a close second. You get an amazing amount of grip for how slim the handle is... the blade is just so fat that there's no point in having a handle that slim. That's always felt a bit odd to me.

Perfectly said.

[apollo]

Chinook 1 , Manixes , Shaman all of these are perfect for me ergonomically.
I like beefy knives they are so much comfortable for me in use.

[Wartstein]

Chinook 1 , Manixes , Shaman all of these are perfect for me ergonomically.
I like beefy knives they are so much comfortable for me in use.

Agreed!

And to be clear again:

When I mentioned the Chap above, of course I did not mean that it is the most ergonomic and comfortable folder
It is certainly not and can't be by design.

But it is still an ergonomic masterpiece imo, concerning its "ergos/comfort to (slim and tiny) package - ratio".

[apollo]

Chinook 1 , Manixes , Shaman all of these are perfect for me ergonomically.
I like beefy knives they are so much comfortable for me in use.

Agreed!

And to be clear again:

When I mentioned the Chap above, of course I did not mean that it is the most ergonomic and comfortable folder
It is certainly not and can't be by design.

But it is still an ergonomic masterpiece imo, concerning its "ergos/comfort to (slim and tiny) package - ratio".

I get what you mean. What for you is the Chap is probably for me the Rheinhold Rhino and the Urban.

[Wartstein]

[/highlight]

I get what you mean. What for you is the Chap is probably for me the Rheinhold Rhino and the Urban.

The Rhino should be great in hand indeed!
Definitely on my "I'd love to try" small folder list!!

And I'd still love to see a Spyderco version of the Rhino Grande (though the Chinook 4 is already somewhat like that) - and think it could be to your preferences too and an "ergonomic masterpiece". (not my pic, but from here viewtopic.php?f=2&t=80103#p1241509)

[ladybug93]

the manix is number one for me. spyderco couldn't have made it any more for my hands if i had been there during the design process. it is perfection.

the native 5 and sage 5 basically fit my hands the same way and i like them also, but not the overall package as much.


for everything else i've tried, i find they all lock into my hands different ways. none of them are bad, but some are better than others. even the ikuchi with it's thin grip doesn't bother me because it's just part of the design. it's funny that it doesn't bother me when i don't like the pm2 or shaman because they don't fill my hand enough under the ring and pinky fingers, but the difference is in the intended design. the shaman and pm2 are designed to be hand filling and they miss that mark for me, whereas the ikuchi is designed to be sleek and hits that mark perfectly.

the delica is probably the worst of the models i own with the first bump falling directly under my middle finger, but it's not uncomfortable, just less good than it could be. i really think the rockjumper and leafjumper would've disco's the delica if they had all come out at the same time. with the manix being my favorite, it's probably weird to say, but i think neutral grips, like the palm swells on the rockjumper/leafjumper and caribbean, are the way to go.

[apollo]

[/highlight]

I get what you mean. What for you is the Chap is probably for me the Rheinhold Rhino and the Urban.

The Rhino should be great in hand indeed!
Definitely on my "I'd love to try" small folder list!!

And I'd still love to see a Spyderco version of the Rhino Grande (though the Chinook 4 is already somewhat like that) - and think it could be to your preferences too and an "ergonomic masterpiece". (not my pic, but from here viewtopic.php?f=2&t=80103#p1241509)

I like youre style buddy!
I would also love to see the Rhino grande. ( I know for a fact that Eric has one so i hope to see a prototype in a few weeks on the Amsterdam meet )
Michael is such a talented knifemaker i hope Spyderco makes allot more of his designs.
He deserves it not only for his skill but also because he just is such a great guy!

And yes you could call the Chinook a cousin but i would rather compare the Rhino to the Persian both of those have more "style" in my eyes then the Chinook. ( wich i also love )

And if you would find a normal Rhino i can highly recommend it. Its my favorite small knife and offcoarse the taichung quality is top notch. The only negative i can say about it is i wished it would have bin real carbonfiber or even just g10. Not a fan of the laminated stuff spyderco uses.

[TkoK83Spy]

Shaman, Manix and UKPK. Hands down the best ergos of any Spyderco to hit my hands. I find most models I've tried to be pretty comfortable, but these 3 are pretty much perfect.

[standy99]

Most comfortable knife for me is the Knifecenter pakkawood Delica without a clip. Correct weight and the steel construction feels good in the hand.
GB1 has always appealed because of the weight of the knife.

But best knife is a Mule I made for my hand

(Notice the ridges at front and back on this side of the handle)




Funny as many that have handled it call it lumpy

[Manixguy@1994]

I have to agree with others about the Manix and Shaman , but also like a Stretch in any size . MG2

[dsvirsky]

The original Paramilitary, Stretch 1, and the Rockjumper.

[Ric]

Para 3 lightweight

Manix 2 was also nice but a bit too big for carry