Of course, no offense either way… at least, I don’t think my ego is tied up with my knives… but I also don’t think my Freudian slip was showing. I think I probably just expressed myself badly, probably from trying too hard keep it neutral. This subject is a minefield of egoes and flamebait.<br><br>There’s some disconnect here somewhere though… I guess I don’t know what military knives you’re referring to that orient themselves well in the hand. What I had in mind when I wrote that phrase was of course the Ka-Bar, but also the variations of the USAF “pilot’s survival” knife, all US bayonets since WWII, and the EOD knives… in fact, I can’t think of a US issue knife offhand that doesn’t have a symmetrical handle. Certainly, I concede that many knives from other countries’ armies are better in this regard, as are older US military knives… but then, I tend to think that many older designs are more functional than newer ones, when dealing with such a basic implement. <br><br>In any case, I don’t have anything in particular against military knives. I’m one of those that happen to think that usefulness as a weapon is a good thing in a survival tool- always keeping in mind that any bulky, heavy item that doesn’t actually get carried is of no use for any purpose. I respect the (often-expressed) opinions of those that think that anything resembling a weapon has nothing at all to do with survival, but since many, many times more humans are killed by other humans than by the elements or any non-human animal on the planet, I’ll stick with my opinion for the time being.<br><br>Sounds like Chris is also becoming a convert to the asymmetrical handle concept.. :-)<br>