I totally agree as to handle comfort, and if you are really needing to lean on a knife to push cut heavy wire, etc, or chest lever, the fat handle and stout blade the way to go, and thin blade if it will handle the work. OOPS, there we go talking puukkos and etc again, but, better than Glock.

Folders and handguns much the same. Only field expedient until you can access fixed blade or rifle.

For the record, the large XM is 4.7mm thick blade, 15mm thick handle, 6.35mm pivot.

Let's see. You cut wires and sticks, and lecture me about grenade safety. So, you do demolition work for a living, I see, with IEDs part time, for fun and profit.

As for grenade safety, it is the same as old Texas Ranger Charlie Miller, a very earliest 1911 user in law enforcement, who carried his 1911 on half-cock, round chambered, grip safety tied down with rawhide, and carried IWB up front, no holster. Another younger officer told him it looked dangerous, and Charlie replied, "Son, if it wasn't dangerous, I wouldn't carry the damned thing."

Our grenades are completely safe to carry assembled. Just ask the manufacturer. They even offer a full refund if any problems, and point out nobody has yet to ask for one.

I know the Stanley well, mainly used an older version of this type, though, with no retraction, either. Blades snap under heavy pressure, though, and if your hand flies across broken stuck blade piece during any pushing cut, it makes a ZING sound, ask me how I know. You learn to always have blade trailing hand, after that, and ignore top edge, even for upward cuts when ripping thick plastic sheet.



Thank you very much for posting the knives of yours, as for the big, tough, folder class, had hoped for more detail from more folk as for heavy duty folders they hopefully use.

As for cost, pride in ownership for well crafted tools is one part of it, and for we users, that the knife actually perform as good as it looks, is a huge part of why the money spent. I do not buy pretty junk. If it does not work, it is not bought, or does not stay.

As for cost, Part 2, just recently bought a lightweight version of a knife for circa $120, found scales abraded clothing, knife looked and felt cheap in opening/closing, and ended reordering the standard construction version at $160 with steel liners and relatively smooth G10 scales, as little blade and handle shape quite good. BUT, could now have bought a nicer knife in total outlay of cash. Still make rookie mistakes, which is trying to buy a lighter/cheaper version than the "real" thing.