Brad Dowdy and Myke Hurley recently discussed what makes a pen their type of pen on an episode of the Pen Addict (found here) and it got me thinking about what makes a knife my “type” of knife. For purposes of simplicity, I am going to focus on folders.

I think the best way to figure out what your type is is to engage in a thought experiment. Here it is: suppose your favorite knife company posts a teaser image on Instagram about a new folder, what information do you need to have before you decide to buy it? Here is my order of information.

First, I want to know what size the blade is. I liked the Spyderco Shaman, one of the most recent evergreen releases for Golden, but it was not my cup of tea, once I got one in hand. It is a good knife, but for me, folders over 3.5” inches are better if they are called the Kabar BK16, which, in case you haven’t noticed, isn’t a folder. Additionally because you can derive other dimensions from blade length, this is the crucial dimension for me. Weight is a secondary thing, but folders over 4 ounces need to be REALLY special.

After blade size I want to know the brand. If TRM posted a teaser tomorrow, I’d probably not spend a single Space Buck until I knew what it was. I like their stuff enough to know that virtually everything they make is something I want to see. I don’t think I NEED a Shadow, but if one came my way I wouldn’t be all that upset. There are few other brands like this—Northwoods Knives, Tactile Knife Company are two. Spyderco and Benchmade are pretty attention grabbing as is WE and Reate. Of course, I think the entire IKC goes nuts when Chris Reeve announces a new model, but they are a special case.

Once I know the blade length and brand, I want to know what the steel is. This is not so much a quest for the best steel, but a desire to avoid the worst. If I see a gorgeous new blade and it has 8CR I am admittedly snobbish enough to lose all interest. The blade needs to be pretty snazzy for a D2 knife to hold my interest. Anything at or above 154CM is perfectly fine for me. Only a few steels really get my attention. Magnacut, of course, makes me sit up and notice, as does Vanax. I am still partial to ZDP-189. I like the Terravantium stuff that Terrain 365 is pumping out. Its quite good.

These are probably the only make or break conditions, with the caveat that I am not interested in production knives over $500. I guess they turn people’s crank, but for me, if I am in this range, I’d rather save and get a custom for a few hundred dollars more. Under $500 and I don’t care how much the knife is, really, which is a sign that I probably have too many knives and I am bad with my Space Bucks. But hey, I review knives as a hobby and have done so for more than twelve years. We all have our financial weak points. Mine happens to be made of stainless steel (or 1095).

I guess I also want my non-traditional knives to have clips. I love my Strider PT CC, but its lack of a clip is kinda a pain in the butt. Its a lump in the pocket when I carry it during the summer in shorts. Traditionals, like the IRJ, don’t need a clip though, so this is not a universal rule.

One other thing I have a preference for is certain deployments. In order I like: 1) thumb hole, 2) front flipper; 3) traditional flipper; 4) thumb stud. That said a well done version of any of these is perfectly acceptable to me. I even like the occasional nail nick. After running with the Sage 5 LW for a while, I am thoroughly convinced that nothing beats the Spydiehole. Reduces weight, promotes a better grip, and increases function.

Handle materials are a consideration, but not a make or break thing. I don’t like really rough natural materials. I am also not a huge fan of carbon fiber. I guess stainless steel that is not milled out is a deal breaker, but beyond those few things, I don’t care that much about handle materials.

Country of origin is a plus factor, but not a make or break thing. I went over why in this article.

Locks don’t really matter to me, but I prefer to avoid compression locks on small knives. Beyond that, I don’t need some massive honking lock, though I do like a liner lock, the CRKT Deadbolt, sliding bar locks, and lock backs. Who doesn’t love the simplicity of the Dragonfly’s obvious to use lock?

So my consideration in order of priority are:

Blade Length
Brand
Blade Steel
Price
Pocket Clip
Deployment Method
Handle Materials
Country of Origin
Lock Type

Unsurprisingly, something like the Spyderco Brouwer was an Instabuy for me. I was also absolutely smitten with the TRM Nerd. Finally, the release of a Northwoods Knives blade is an attention grabbing event. My kind of knife is a small knife from one of a handful of brands that has decent blade steel and sells for under $500. That’s pretty broad. Hence the massive review library.

Amazon Links:

Apparently based on the Amazon links, Spydercos are my knife type. I am okay with that.