Knife weight - preferences, light or heavy?

[Nice65]

Now that was marketing gone awry.


I agree that the hole is a shame, but was unavoidable for Spyderco. There are a number of things I think are legitimate criticisms of the knife in design or construction, at least in hind sight. I am sorry you have your objections. If you are going to object to the design not being evolved, not a working tool, just a marketing opportunity or a copy of another design, you should lay that at my door, not at Sal's or Spyderco's.

Their kitchen knives don’t have holes, so it wasn’t unavoidable, it was a marketing choice. Incidently, I have one of the blue handled kitchen knives. Sal sent out a few to BB members to try out. There wasn’t any comment on them at all from anyone because we were all so shocked at how awful they were. A serrated chisel grind doesn’t cut veg or anything very accurately. Their strength lies in pocket folders.

If you’d like it sent over, you’re very welcome to try it out.

Here are some pics of the lovely PITS knife. Made from steel scraps and Harris tweed micarta it was one of 4 he made from workshop leftovers and is just lovely.

 

[Tiley]

@Tiley
Where do you think the "spot on" balance point is?

I suppose inevitably it is towards the front of the handle, just under my forefinger. I find that this means that the tool is neither blade- nor handle-heavy. It allows for a less tiring, more intuitive use of the tool and, arguably, greater control in the cuts.

My current Orford 'user' weighs in at 190g.. It's made of 3.5mm AEB-L - a remarkable steel that works really, really well for me, with desert ironwood slabs.

Another factor in a knife that I find vitally important is the girth of the handle: I have long fingers and some knives are just too skinny on the handle to be comfortable in use. The glory of custom/handmade cutting tools is that you can talk to your maker and get a slightly chubbier handle, which works much, much better for me, as in the case of my Orford.

So, I suppose it's balance point and handle girth that are key considerations for me, rather than weight.

 

[MartiniDave]

What John Fenna says just about hits the nail on the head for me. My mood and the task at hand has a big effect on which knife I reach for. While I love my Woodlore, it really tends to be a quite old Mora Clipper for a lot of jobs. I wouldn't want to part with either, nor many of the others in the collection.

 

[Robson Valley]

Here in the Pacific Northwest, First Nations wood carvers size their tool handles to fit their hands. Makes simple sense. I'd do that first. Then the weight. Nobody makes a plan to buy boots too small, do they?

Same as picking out a tennis raquet. Palm up, fist grip, the tips of your second and third fingers should just touch the fat ball part of your thumb.
Elbow adzes, D-adze, crooked and straight knives, for me that basic handle size is 7/8" x 7/8". The range is from 3/4" to 1". Anything more or less is a strain.

Knife weights? Less as I get older. I've noticed that in the kitchen in particular.
I've made daily use of cleavers for 50+ years. Lo and behold, the handles are 7/8" diameter. I used to like an 8" but now, I have 3 x 6" little cleavers in rotation.