Anyone else's folders growing on them?

EZ Bake

EZ Bake

Joined
Mar 5, 2009
Messages
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I started out as a 3-3.5" folder kind of guy myself. I've owned a few longer folders, but got rid of pretty much all of them as they just felt too big to carry for me. Most notably was a 0561 that I got way back when they first came out, but then sold it after thinking I'd never carry a knife that long.

Over this past year, I got a Southern Grind Bad Monkey that sort of made me see these longer folders in a new light (I refer to it as "the catalyst" - I assume everyone who jumped from one type of folder to another has a similar knife that sort of opened their eyes). Since then, I've started getting into longer knives more and more and I walked into a gun shop the other day to look at a Benchmade Torrent and they had a 0561 sitting on the shelf - it felt almost tiny compared to how I remembered it in my mind. I remember thinking to myself "I would totally carry this thing now, why did I sell it in the first place?".

I've started looking at my smaller knives differently and have started carrying them less and less. I've actually gotten rid of a few of them and have actively started looking for some of the longer knives I used to discount as not viable carry options in the past. I just snagged another 0561 from a fellow member and I'm actually considering a Military or a 710 now.

I still love my smaller folders, but I have found that the Para-2 is now the smallest folder I'll grab if I'm only planning on carrying one folder (I'll drag the smaller ones along if I'm also carrying a longer folder, but not typically by themselves).

Has this happened to anyone else?
 
I've actually gone the opposite way. Now I'm all about 3" and under blades. They're legal in more states, more sheeple friendly, and more work place allowable. And I rarely need a blade larger than 3".
 
I know what you mean EZ. Except I always liked 3.5-4"ers, but now I prefer a slimmer profile like my Socom Elite or 710 IN M390. Still lots of blade, but much easier to carry. My GF carries my 0561 these days, its on purse duty (sorry ZT!). But dang, she treats it like a $20 Gerber and it is still as nice as ever. ELMAX is her savior, won't rust and is too tough to damage yet holds an edge forever.

My Socom Elite in 204P has been my EDC for about 6 months. Its almost perfect. It carries like a Delica and cuts like a monster. The edge is ground so thin you can almost see through it. Long and thin baby!
 
Muaddib1116 said:
I've actually gone the opposite way. Now I'm all about 3" and under blades. They're legal in more states, more sheeple friendly, and more work place allowable. And I rarely need a blade larger than 3".
Click to expand...

This happened to me for the same reason. No need to make the people I work with all twitchy when a smaller blade will do just fine.
 
I actually carry two knives for the "sheeple" reason - I don't whip out the large one around anyone that would get nervous around 'em, but most of the folks I work with are cool with knives (they all have them too).

My local laws don't restrict on size, so I rarely have a reason to carry a smaller folder specifically for its size (don't get me wrong, I still own some smaller folders that I absolutely love) but I catch myself finding more and more uses for longer blades lately.
 
I've also gone the other direction. After getting a couple smaller folders, I've decided there honestly is an inverse correlation between size and utility. I usually have a large (3.5"+) folder on me, but for no particular reason. A smaller, sub 3" knife is actually far more useful and easily maneuvered and handled for my use (opening mail, cutting tape, breaking down boxes, and especially peeling fruit).

Really, I don't know too many jobs in which a longer blade is useful besides full-on food prep, gardening, or combat.
 
For me It was the Military that "opened my eyes" to larger folders again. I think the key element is the weight. If it is light enough it will get carried.
 
I began my collection very focused upon staying within legal blade limits, thus limiting my collection to 3" and under. Eventually I relaxed it a bit, but refused to go over 3.5" (a totally arbitrary denomination I now realize), but an impulse buy of a Bad Monkey has opened me up to 4" blades, which I now much prefer over everything smaller. My last 4 knives have had blades between 3.75-4" and they really feel like the sweet spot to me. That being said, a 3.5" blade with a well designed handle can feel just as good. I almost never use my knives in direct view of the public so I could care less about carrying sheeple friendly knives, the idea is that they'll never have to see mine anyway. I carry knives for personal enjoyment so I go with what I personally prefer.
 
If I can get a full grip on the handle then I'm happy with the size of the knife, regardless of blade size.
I still haven't given bigger knives a chance, but the lightweight Spyderco Military would be the first knife I would give a chance.

EZ Bake, what made you switch to larger folders?
 
I also went the other direction. I started with large folders, but every time I put my ZT 0200 in my pocket, I ended up walking with a list. I figured developing scoliosis wasn't worth carrying big folders, so now I carry nothing but small, lightweight folders. And my posture has improved, too! :D
 
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EZ I was the same way, I used to only EDC in the coin/5th pocket of my jeans.

So I used to only carry a Primary and it was always small enough to fit in that pocket.

But once I started front right pocket EDCing a larger knife I began to really digg larger folders.

I still love my medium and small folders, as I usually now carry a Primary and a Secondary.

It also depends on my mood and where I'm going, sometimes carrying a medium sized knife works a lot easier.

Its been pretty hard to keep my Brous Division Flipper out of my pocket and its a beast of a knife.
 
I'm going in circles. I started small then I slowly graduated to larger blades, ZT0560 is probably the largest I'd ever carry, but now I seem to be ramping back down and more often than not I'll find myself carrying a miniGriptilian rather than my Para II or Kershaw SG2 JYD.
 
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