3 and 1/4 inch.

J

jackknife

Joined
Oct 2, 2004
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I love peanuts. Light, compact, and pretty. I've been carrying my dad's old brown bone handle one for a while now, on and off, and it works well at most things. pening the mail, the occasional UPS package, jute twine for the garden or odd tie jobs.

But sometimes its a bit small. Not in the blade nessesarily, but the handle. Not being a big person, 5'9'' if I stand up really strait and don't slouch, and about 165 if I don't have a big dinner, I have normal size hands. A J-frame Smith and Wesson with standard grips fits me very well.

Taking turns in my pocket with dad's old peanut is my old friend Andy's Buck cadet. At 3 1/4 inches it seems to be a very nice all around size for a pocket knife. A bit more chunky than the peanut, but with a more rugged construction, it seems like just enough more of something. I guess seeing Andy do a good size white tail with it adds something for me.

I would have never picked a stockman this small, but since I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I could have been wrong. Andy was that kind of guy, who could make you see a different angle on something. Like his pick of a simple Harrington Richardson shotgun for everything. He had his deer not quite an hour after dawn on opening day.

For modern suburban life a small 3 1/4 stockman seems to be a good knife. The peanut is good about 99% of the time, and to be truthfull it only falls short on food duty. On our woods walks Karen and I like to take along fresh stuff. A nice fresh baked loaf of Italian or French bread, the hard dry sausage or cheese, and a small bottle of nice wine. I remember dad saying he did not believe in plastic wrapped food, and I guess I get that from him. The peanut is just a little short to be doing food duty. In defence of it though, I do have to admit that on our woods rambling Karen and I both have a Swedish mora on our persons. Karen likes her old bright green sports knife, and I have my old wood handle laminated blade one.

I love the peanut, but just once in a while, maybe that 1% of the time, I wish the peanut was 3 1/4 inches like the Buck cadet. But mabe the fact that it works well 99% of the time is enough. Kind of like me keeping my 1966 VW bug for 20 years. It did the job just fine 99% of the time, dropping the kids off at school, commuting to work, running out to the hardware store on Sunday for a home repair job. And the kids loved it, they would argue who got to go with dad in the bug. If we all had to go someplace, Karen had the family minivan.

Maybe we shouldn't worry about that 1%. Life ain't perfect, so we adapt, and maybe there's a lesson in there someplace. At 2 in the morning after have a couple toddies because I can't sleep is no time to try to figure it out. And the peanut has so much style to it. I told myself I'm not buying any knives for the rest of my life, just using my familys old knives plus my Wenger SI. But I find myself haunted by the picture of that pearl handled damascus peanut posted by someone, can't recall who. Okay, maybe one last buy.

Good night all.
 
jackknife said:
But I find myself haunted by the picture of that pearl handled damascus peanut posted by someone, can't recall who. Okay, maybe one last buy.

Jackknife,
Give it a go, buy it if you want it. You know after that one, you 'll be haunted by another (pocket)knife and what is wrong with that ? Start worrying the moment you are not haunted by any such thing no more, then you 'll be waiting for The Man to come along.
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jackknife, I'm with you on the shortcomings of really small knives when it comes to food. Living in Europe, it seems over here we eat on the go a lot more than in the States ..... where in the States, many folks hit a drive-through, here it's more common to hit a grocery for the fixin's, then have sort of a makeshift picnic of sorts where you can, be it a park, or bench downtown or whatever. That is where a slightly larger knife comes in handy for spreading soft cheese, cutting up rolls, slicing sausage, opening beer bottles, and so forth. Of late, my usual carry combo has been some sort of a folder (Buck 55, Case jr. soddie, Boker trapper, etc.) AND a Leatherman Micra, which provides some utility and is a great weapon in my quest to rid the world of good beer, one bottle at a time. If I'm feeling particularly Swiss, I might opt for a single SAK.
 
My favorite slip for sausage cutting and an all round very good food slippy is the Queen #11. Heck it even rides in a front pocket pretty good.
 
That's what your Mora is for, the other 1%. I never leave civilization without my mora on my belt, be it hiking, biking, fishing, or camping.

If there was a 3"-3 1/4" peanut in stag and CV, that would be my perfect pocket knife. Maybe someday when I have the money I'll pay to have a custom made.

Most likely though, I'll probably just adapt like you said Jackknife.
 
I like the 108mm Vic Solo as a food knife. I sometimes like eating melon and you need a bigger knife for them. I originally looked for a melon tester knife but found them hard to find so that lead me to the Solo. I also like slim-line trappers for cutting food too.

Funny thing...the last time I had a melon it was one of those big watermelons the ones with the green outer and red inner flesh. Well thinking on what Jackknife always says about the Peanut (i.e.putting a little thought into how you use it) I thought I'd try and carve this melon up with my Case peanut. Well it did it...well some of it anyway...after a fashion...but don't expect big slices...and it made a bit of a mess.....perhaps it was my technique at fault
I recommend everyone with a peanut to try it though, I think it might rival gator skinning as a test. :D

If we promise to use our peanuts for the 1% of jobs they don't handle well can we wear those 1%'er badges like them Hells Angel boys?
 
My "food knife" is the rather unlikely choice of Spyderco Native that I keep in the console of our primary car. On long drives and road trips it is the one that cuts up cheese, sausage, crusty bread, etc. I always thought a small Nessmuk fixed blade would make a good food knife; I suppose it's as good an excuse as any to buy one!

As for small carryin' knives, I have given up on my Boker copperhead for edc at work because it is a bit too big for dress pants. Instead, I have been carrying a beat up 3" Boker stockman that I once found in the road. Its pen blade is broken off at the base, the shield is gone, and the brown jigged bone has a nasty crack in it. However, it is much more pocketable. I hope to get a Case peanut for Christmas or maybe my anniversary, which will become my dress pants edc.
 
I agree on the Peanut deal. It is an AWESOME knife, but does have it's shortcomings. Well, mainly it's size. That's about it, really. That is why when I cary a small knife, it is my Cadet. Not the Buck Cadet, but the SAK Cadet. I'm hooked on SAKs. I love this little guy. Same length as the Buck 303, and with more tools, yet much slimmer. I have the Cadet with the nail file on it, not the Cadet II. I use that nail file as a phillips head screwdriver, and as an awl. Lately, I've put my Super Tinker in the drawer, and been using the Cadet more. Paired with My leatherman Wave, it's the perfect combination for me. Gotta love those 3 1/4 knives.
 
There are a lot of great knives in the three to three and three eighths of an inch range, this summer I decided to try a few out and my favorites were the Case 32087 pen knife and the Case 22087 medium jack. The Case pen knife with its single back spring and wafer thin pen blade is a great whittler, and people friendly edc. I often carry these two models during the weekend and on nights. They fill the niche between my peanut and TL-29 very well, and either of them is all I need normally. They both also ride so well in my pockets that sometimes it is a challenge to find them. I guess like any other tool, every size knife has its place. Joe
 
jacknife said:
If we promise to use our peanuts for the 1% of jobs they don't handle well can we wear those 1%'er badges like them Hells Angel boys?
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1%'er slippy carrier patch. I love it. :thumbup:

Maybe I'll put a 1% patch on the denium jacket I wear when we ride our Vespa's. Go park in front of a biker bar with the Harleys and swagger up to the bar and order an Ensure strait up!:eek:

Yeah, that'll go over good.:D
 
jackknife, my friend, you just hit on something I never thought of before! You have made me realize why I like my Old Timer 34OT so well! It's a 3 1/4" wonder as well! I find it taking a place in my pocket, no matter what other cutlery I may have about my person! Thanks for sharing this.

Ron
 
Agreed, a slimline trapper is pretty good for cutting food as is the Alox Solo. Single blades work well for my uses, smaller is better in most cases.
 
I think that is why that Case Mini-trapper had such a hold on me. Just a great size to carry and still get a handle on with plenty of cutting power. The SAK Tinker I'm carrying every day is about the same dimensions and has the same carrying and cutting properties, plus a few handy tools. I've used both for food.

I have a blue plastic handled Mora and the sheath is a plastic body hung through a plastic frog type setup. I took the frog/belt hanger part off and just shove the sheathed knife in the front pocket of my jeans around a lot. It makes a great table dagger, especially when going after large, crusty bread, cheese, and sausage. Darn thing carries like nothing in my pocket. The edge of the sheath catches at the edge of the pocket and the knife comes out neatly with a soft "click." It is one of the stainless ones, sharp as all get out, cleans easily, and a few strops puts it back to scary sharp.
 
Amos Iron Wolf said:
I have a blue plastic handled Mora and the sheath is a plastic body hung through a plastic frog type setup. I took the frog/belt hanger part off and just shove the sheathed knife in the front pocket of my jeans around a lot. It makes a great table dagger, especially when going after large, crusty bread, cheese, and sausage. Darn thing carries like nothing in my pocket. The edge of the sheath catches at the edge of the pocket and the knife comes out neatly with a soft "click." It is one of the stainless ones, sharp as all get out, cleans easily, and a few strops puts it back to scary sharp.
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Mora's, for those times when the pocket knife is a bit too small!

There's alot to be said for a small light sheath knife.:thumbup:
 
It is really great to see that there are others who still take along a small sheath knife when they go woods-walking and hiking. That's one of the main reasons I just purchased a flat-grind Grohmann Boat Knife kit. It'll accompany my 3 1/4" #34OT and my SAK on hikes.

Ron
 
I too carried a peanut for nearly ten years, until something else hit my fancy, and that was a William Henry, T09. But while carrying my peanut and just fallen in love with Customs by WT Fuller, I spotted this one in Knife World Magazine. Made By Bob Cargill. Bought it, got serial #2, but instead of being carried, I put away as a safe queen. Thought you might want to see it.

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James
 
Ron53 said:
It is really great to see that there are others who still take along a small sheath knife when they go woods-walking and hiking. That's one of the main reasons I just purchased a flat-grind Grohmann Boat Knife kit. It'll accompany my 3 1/4" #34OT and my SAK on hikes.

Ron
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My favorite sheath knives are my Mini Canadian and Northstar, both from Bark River. The Mini Canadian is really a fixed blade pocket knife that I keep in a leather hip pocket sheath and it makes a great edc. Ironically, I gave away my Grohmann #1 when I got it. The Northstar was a pay raise splurge that I got for when I want to use something bigger.
 
Well, couldn't get the Boat Knife kit, so I'll have to find another source for a flat-grind Grohmann...my search continues!

Ron
 
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