Collection Stats and What we look for in a knife

Wow! Warrior, that is some collection of knives!

I don’t asipre to a huge collection. I think I’d rather have fewer with each being used more. Maybe 10 maximum, each with a specific niche.

My preferences in all else vary by use.

Field - 3.25” - 4” in blade length; 1/8” or 5/32” convex A2; Shadetree handle. I think I just want one at each end if the spectrum. I’m an axe guy. If I think I need more than a 4” knife, I tote the GB SFA. I might be done here.

EDC - 2.25” to 4” blade length; 3/32” or 1/8” convex A2; DIW handle. I could see 4 total knives in this range. Have two to go.

Kitchen - Just starting to think this through. I had thought about passing, but the idea of having a few (maybe three) razor sharp A2 blades for my exclusive use is appealing (my wife is very tough on knives).
 
Preferred blade length: 3” - 3 1/2”
Preferred handle length: 4 1/8” - 4 1/2”

As for stock thickness, it really depends on the uses for the knife and the blade profile, e.g. how tall the blade is and how it is ground. If it tapers down to an acceptable BTE thinness, then 1/8” (and even more) is perfectly fine. If weight is a consideration, then 3/32” tapered is king. Otherwise, I focus less on the thickness at the spine and more on how thin it is behind the edge.
 
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Oyster said:
As for stock thickness, it really depends on the uses for the knife and the blade profile, e.g. how tall the blade is and how it is ground. If it tapers down to an acceptable BTE thinness, then 1/8” (and even more) is perfectly fine. If weight is a consideration, then 3/32” tapered is king. Otherwise, I focus less on the thickness at the spine and more on how thin it is behind the edge.
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Panthera tigris said:
I am looking for pieces that speak to me or feel very good to hold. It's hard to tell from specs.
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TrainedBullets said:
I don’t asipre to a huge collection. I think I’d rather have fewer with each being used more. Maybe 10 maximum, each with a specific niche.

My preferences in all else vary by use.
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On all of these, absolutely!! And those would be the sum of the parts (aesthetics, grip/contour/feel, blade height/grind/edge thickness variations, etc.) that attributed to selling/trading a good number of them to someone they might match with better. I tend to really like a more narrow / tall handle vs a round "broomstick" type handle and others are completely opposite.

There was a time I had a lapse and decided 1/8" TT was best (for me) because long-term use is more comfortable than a 3/32" narrower spine that might irritate the thumb after a while. Then I came back to my senses (for my own uses) and decided my ideal is still 3/32" for my typical daily uses and I have a few 1/8" and 5/32" among the herd so that I can use them if situations every call for them. And for my preference in balance, the tapered tang IS king and give is that little extra "somethin somethin" as Robert would say @Fiddleback Outpost Even when it comes to 3/32" I'd prefer it to be TT for the balance aspect; for this reason my favorite feeling and performing knives are Chris' @Osprey Knife & Tool just because he tapers the crap out of all his knives, and they're all thin behind the edge, and friggen sharp.

You can insert whatever model you want here (Bushfinger, Esquire, Handyman, etc.) but when it comes to the sum of the parts, if you've handled 1 custom knife, you've handled 1 custom knife. And if you've handled 100, they would still all be unique in their own way. That is part of the fun and intrigue for me. So yes! they must perform and must appeal to your hand, and i think aesthetics probably falls in place after those. But in general, the specs (blade thickness, height, grind) are usually a decent gauge.

When I was breaking the 20 customs mark in the early days, I was almost in a panic thinking "This is crazy, I can't possibly tie up that much $$ in this" and I've tried paring down a few times but it just seems ... futile. :) Some of us truly do need intervention. lol
 
Warrior108 said:
You can insert whatever model you want here (Bushfinger, Esquire, Handyman, etc.) but when it comes to the sum of the parts, if you've handled 1 custom knife, you've handled 1 custom knife. And if you've handled 100, they would still all be unique in their own way. That is part of the fun and intrigue for me.
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Well said! :cool:

~ P.
 
Well I love 3/32” blades. I have 2x handyman’s, bushfinger, KE Bushie, 2x bear cubs, arete and a handful of Cohuttas all in thin 3/32”. Perfect.
 
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