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So the questions are:

-Do you prefer a thong hole or not and why?

-If you prefer a thong hole do you prefer to have a tube liner in it and why?

-Where do you like the overall balance point or to be a little butt heavy or blade heavy and why?

Just for grins.
Tim

Tim, I do prefer a thong hole on a knife. The need for a liner is determined by the material used for the scales. Most of the time, no.
As for balance, on a general purpose knife a 'woods' or 'camp' blade, I don't mind butt heavy. On a knife for processing dead animals, I like the weight forward, as that seems to help with fine work inside the body cavity, and with trimming silver skin and fat off the meat.
By the way, that skinner in M4 is the BOMB. Genuine deer zipper Tim. I am so very pleased with it.

I do prefer a thong hole, don't always use it but it's there if I need it and it doesn't hurt anything being there.

I prefer a liner in the hole just because it seems like it would seal things up a bit.

Butt heavy has always felt better in my hands

I prefer a thong hole as well. I like a loop of paracord large enough to wrap around my wrist. If I am processing game in the field or skinning shed, and I need both hands for something like pulling hide down, it is very convenient let the knife dangle briefly instead of setting it down in leaves or dirt, etc.

For a camp knife or chopper, I like having the same paracord loop to cinch a bit if I have to do any impromptu chopping. Just a bit of insurance against slippage out of your hand.

Using a knife on the boat, the same paracord loop has kept me from dropping knives overboard a few times.


To the liner, I do prefer one when possible. I believe it helps polish off the look of the finished product and can provide some protection to the scale material (mostly woods) but don't feel the lack of a liner is a dealbreaker if the knife has the features I want.

I'm still working on my balance preferences. I find knives I like in each balance category...pretty situation dependant too. I've yet to find a fillet knife that isn't butt heavy and I clean fish or cut bait FAR more than any game processing or camping that I do. Additionally, the knives that have handles large enough for my hands often means it take a serious sized blade to balance...sometimes more blade than may be needed for the task at hand. Those caveats aside, I probably prefer a neutral balance overall or a very slight balance to the butt...just makes for a "quicker" feeling blade in the hand to me.

Butt heavy because I like a little longe blade. No thong hole and no thong because it's just more to clean up.

Thong don't matter,I never use them .

Tube. I feel it protects everything better.

balance isn't critical to me unless it's a fighting knife,and I prefer as near the guard as possible on those.

Field Hunting Knife I can go either way on the hole. If its there a liner, just another piece in the puzzle to keep things tight. As for lanyard if its there its very short. Balance a touch blade heavy or neutral is perfect.

Skinning knife, Bird and Trout No hole. As stated above just more to have to clean. Slightly Butt Heavy Skinning, Neutral bird and Trout.

Utility Knife Yes Please with liner and medium lanyard. Butt heavy

I'm a little scared to say one way or the other about a thong hole........my appreciation of or lack of appreciation of a thong really has to do with who's wearing it. I do like a lanyard hole on a knife....grin.... I generally change the lanyard length/ties/knots so that I can run my pinky finger through it and let go of the handle to use my hand, then just turn my hand over to get back on the handle. I also do this with working knives (especially those for trimming goat's hooves) so that the lanyard around the pinky limits how far up the blade my hand could run should I slip.

I like a tube liner in the lanyard hole, mainly because that's what I'm used to.

I like a little forward balance on the blade when skinning and field dressing (but it's not a big deal). When boning out or processing it doesn't matter much to me.

Lanyard hole with a liner for my taste. Like a single finger choil in the handle and for the knife to balance right there, just slightly handle heavy.

Do you prefer a thong hole or not and why? No thong hole on knives used for gutting and dressing animals and food prep. It just gets in my way. I like them on knives that are carried to split small pieces of wood, used as a striker for fire starting, or fishing in my canoe as it makes it more secure and prevents me from dropping it and losing it.

If you prefer a thong hole do you prefer to have a tube liner in it and why? If it has a thong hole then yes it should have a liner. I like wood scales and the liner (at least to my eye) gives the knife a finished look and, I believe, more strength to resist splitting.

Where do you like the overall balance point or to be a little butt heavy or blade heavy and why? Ideally at the choil/handle junction but if it isn't then I prefer the blade to be slightly heavier than the handle....... but not by much.

I don't care about a lanyard hole because I don't use em...matter of fact the only custom I own that I had made to MY specs doesn't have one.....but if it has one I don't care. Common sense says it should have a tube though.

As far as balance goes I'm not sure I can tell the difference when actually using one.
I know it's a popular internet topic but I've skinned/field dressed at least a hundred big game animals and probably a couple thousand predators in my life and never once did I stop and think...."boy is this knife out of balance"....I'm more concerned with the edge.

Thong, don't care.


A little weight towards the butt, or neutral, with hunting blades (2 3/4-4"), I don't want blade heavy but I also don't want an anchor in the butt either.

I like the balance point to be between the middle and index finger on the handle.

No lanyard hole. Don't use them and the hole is just another place for dirt, blood and guts to accumulate. I like the balance point to be at my forefinger, although a little variation in balance point doesn't matter much.

Don't really care one way or another on the lanyard hole. i took out your semi-spear point hunter to see where the balance point on that thing was, and it is a little toward the butt end. That's where I like it. That knife compared to most of my other game knives is like a Ferrari versus a tank. We ended up with 4 deer this year, and fully processed two of them all the way down to deboned and very cleanly trimmed. Your knife did the bulk of the work.and I was very pleased. Not even a hint of a hot spot and the edge on the blade hung in there very well.

Thong hole?
And Butt heavy?

Are we talking about women?
(sorry.. I couldn't resist)

I dont really use a thong, but after reading this I should because I do set my knife down and forgot it stuck in a log once....

The thong hole should have a liner if its there to prevent edge wear and custom appearance

cant speak for weight, but a neutral balance seems reasonable

Adam at manmadecustoms has requested that the knives he gets to sell have lined thong hole (if there is one).
I kinda got away from lined holes and did not hear negative comments.
But in listening to the above comments and looking at the Gentlemans Hunter and the Loveless style hunter, they would dress up a bit with lined holes.

https://www.manmadecustoms.com/c/knives

I have really enjoyed (and am sure the rest of you knife loonies did too) the above comments and hope more are to come on this thread/topic.

You sure can not make a knife handle that would be preferred by the majority.

How about a thread where we focus on the blade more.

Thanks again for the input.
Tim