What knife do you surprisingly love?

Dr Blazer

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What knife do you surprisingly love? Yes, the question is somewhat vague, but it's intended to be vague. Basically, what knife do you absolutely love that you thought you would hate or you thought you would never use that you now have as part of your routine EDC collection/ensemble?

For me, it's my blue nishijin Spyderco Spin. I also have an aluminum Spin
, but I only bought that after I developed a very strong love for my blue nishijin Spin. Originally I bought it because I got it unused for very cheap and I love tiny knives. I didn't think I would ever routinely use it, but I do. I love the blue nishijin scale and it actually looks like a very cute antique knife. After actually using it to open boxes, I instantly fell in love with it. It can't do much more than open cardboard boxes, but that's all that I need it to do and it does it very well. I even bought a second blue nishijin Spyderco Spin just in case I lose my original, and I have an eBay search saved so that I will buy more when I can get them for dirt cheap.
So, what knife(s) do you have that you shockingly fell in love with?
 
I think I'm open to polyamory - for knives. I like most of my knives better after I get them in hand. I've only went, "meh" to one of two of them after opening the box.

If anything I was surprised by the Armatus Architect Black Carbon Kydex sheath that I recently bought. It MADE the Bradford Guardian 3 and 4 knives complete.
 
This Lambsfoot knife. Always wanted one, knew I would like it, but when I got it there was an instant connection. Has been with me daily since
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Blackstar in black G10 is really nice, fits my hand really well for a three finger grip. I dusted the bottom two corners of the handle with 220 grit sandpaper now this little unit melts into my hand, quick eyeball test looks like the Blackstar has more cutting edge than my buck 112. Really practical for my work environment, usually carry a small/slightly larger/more fun combo so this slides right into rotation. Snappy flipper once you’re accustomed to the motion, great one hand operation with a stellar finish to boot.
 
Mine is an itty bitty Wenger Patriot. Two small blades, skinny aluminum skin. This is the only knife that I carry every day and use every day for some small task. I feel odd til it's in my pocket. My other edc is an sak huntsman but I don't obsess about it if I don't have it. Who'da think a little pos of knife would be so important to someone.
 
Olamic Wayfarer 247. I talk about it a lot now, but wasn’t really a fan before going to Blade West. I went to that show expecting to leave with a Liong Mah Eraser or a Koenig Arius. The Wayfarer was on my radar as something to see, but I expected to not like it. Once I got it in hand, I was blown away. I handled it back to back to back with competitive options from Koenig, Reate, WE, CRK, Begg, CKF, etc, and felt like it was the right knife to buy. I like it even more now than I did the day I got it.

Also...

Real Steel Megalodon 2017. That’s not a $200 knife. It feels every bit as good as many $500 knives. Construction, materials, action, user blade... it’s all there.
 
Cold steel broken skull. Thought it was ugly. It has a dumb name. But i like it. Built well and super slim. Its light but comes with a large blade. My only complaint is the super tight clips cold steel uses. I wish the endura and delica were constructed like this. G10 and no liners. I know you can get some g10 sprints but not for a price that rivals the broken skull.
 
Every one I've bought so far. There's not enough days in the year, weeks in a month or months in a year for me to carry all of them. I've thought about carrying like four a day, but the would be a tad bit too much. I do need pocket room for other non knife things. I'll just have to stick to two knives until I can figure out what I really don't need to carry. A wallet and keys are over rated anyway.o_O
 
Honestly, Spyderco knives in general. I've lived in near Portland, Oregon my whole life and I've been surrounded by what seemed like an endless number of options from Kershaw, CRKT, Leatherman, Gerber, Coast, Benchmade, ZT, etc. (Admittedly some are better options than others.) I kind of turned my nose up at Spyderco knives because I thought the hole and the leaf shaped blades looked funny.

About 6 months ago I traded one of my less used Benchmade knives for my first Spyderco. I ended up with a used PM2 and after a week or so it had displaced my Benchmade EDC choices. A few weeks ago I received a new Mantra 3 and I found myself carrying it whenever I could. Last Friday I received a new Spydiechef and it's been in my pocket since then. They're all full flat grind, and hot damn do they cut well.

I've got too many new knives right now to name a specific one, but I've found that I like Spyderco knives way more than I ever expected.
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It MADE the Bradford Guardian 3 and 4 knives complete.

I almost went with Bradford, but I knew from the moment I pressed "order" that I'd love them. I bought a 4 first and then picked up a 3 later for EDC. After meeting Brad at Blade Show west, I love the knives even more. He's an awesome guy, and to top it off he makes awesome knives!
 
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This was one I didn’t expect to like nearly as much as I do. Two blades is one too many, but on this pattern it really works. I use the wharncliffe a lot more than I do the clip, and with the clip point sitting so low I hardly even notice it’s there. I also really don’t like the nail nicks on the same side, mostly because it makes the second blade tough to retrieve. Again, this one defies my past experiences and is a joy to open, super smooth pull coupled with the higher profile on the wharncliffe completely changed my mind. Lastly, Bloodwood. I never expected to like it as much as I do. It has completely surprised me to become one of my favorite covers, quite possibly my absolute favorite thus far.
 
Honestly, Spyderco knives in general. I've lived in near Portland, Oregon my whole life and I've been surrounded by what seemed like an endless number of options from Kershaw, CRKT, Leatherman, Gerber, Coast, Benchmade, ZT, etc. (Admittedly some are better options than others.) I kind of turned my nose up at Spyderco knives because I thought the hole and the leaf shaped blades looked funny.

About 6 months ago I traded one of my less used Benchmade knives for my first Spyderco. I ended up with a used PM2 and after a week or so it had displaced my Benchmade EDC choices. A few weeks ago I received a new Mantra 3 and I found myself carrying it whenever I could. Last Friday I received a new Spydiechef and it's been in my pocket since then. They're all full flat grind, and hot damn do they cut well.

I've got too many new knives right now to name a specific one, but I've found that I like Spyderco knives way more than I ever expected.
8Hbsdio.jpg

Wilsonville, OR resident who grew up an exit over in Tualatin. I got a Spyderco Persistence before I heard of ZT. While I don’t care for many Spydercos, they have shaped my tastes. I love full or very high flat ground blades. Kizer Gemini, Real Steel Megalodon, Laconico Keen, Spyderco Domino, etc.
 
Wilsonville, OR resident who grew up an exit over in Tualatin. I got a Spyderco Persistence before I heard of ZT. While I don’t care for many Spydercos, they have shaped my tastes. I love full or very high flat ground blades. Kizer Gemini, Real Steel Megalodon, Laconico Keen, Spyderco Domino, etc.

IIRC we were having a conversation on Reddit about Blade show west and you suggested that I sign up for Bladeforums. Hello from Canby!

Did you ever go to the Kershaw garage sales when they were still in Wilsonville? For the record, I hadn't heard of ZT until very recently either. I still haven't bought one, but eventually I'll have to give one a try.
 
Cold steel broken skull. Thought it was ugly. It has a dumb name. But i like it. Built well and super slim. Its light but comes with a large blade. My only complaint is the super tight clips cold steel uses. I wish the endura and delica were constructed like this. G10 and no liners. I know you can get some g10 sprints but not for a price that rivals the broken skull.
All CS clips I've owned were too tight. Simple solution: take them off, clamp in a vise and bend out, then reattach.
 
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The universal Victorinox 40547. Young cooks are using them in place of traditional chef's knives.
 
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IIRC we were having a conversation on Reddit about Blade show west and you suggested that I sign up for Bladeforums. Hello from Canby!

Did you ever go to the Kershaw garage sales when they were still in Wilsonville? For the record, I hadn't heard of ZT until very recently either. I still haven't bought one, but eventually I'll have to give one a try.

I remember that! Canby is right around the corner. Maybe we’ll just grab coffee and bring things to check out. I have four ZTs. 0550, 0566, 0562, 0609. I’ve never handled a Spydiechef or Mantra 3.
 
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