Bigger Men, Bigger Blades?

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BigNick

Joined
Jul 5, 2011
Messages
32
How do you feel about the size of your knife in comparison to your physical size? I'm a big guy, I'm 6'0 and 280 and wear a big knife. I don't want to say knives are like pants, but in a way they are; if they don't fit, don't wear em! I wont regularly use a knife that doesn't "fit me." I have folders that fit in my pocket, but if I can't feel it filling the pocket I won't like it. I'm a big fan of bowie knives; it's not like I have a small mans complex and I need a bigger truck or bigger bike or in this case knife, it just feels natural. Do other portly gentleman feel this way I wonder? My dearest friend who is a small dude only wears big tactical knives that are as big as his forearm, he drives a big truck and is always complaining how its not big enough, but he at the same time is always wound up and not very mellow, like he has something to prove. So is there a small mans complex with knives? I like bigger knives because I'm a bigger guy but do smaller guys like bigger knives because they are smaller? What do y'all think?
 
I'm 5"11" and 225 and I like the Busse NMFBM as a fixed blade! It does seem to fit me better than any fixed blade I have had, and I have had a bunch over my lifetime.
 
In my humble opinion, sounds like far too much psychology involved :D

Seriously tho, I'm average size and all I ask for is that a knife fits my hand well. I'm more good ergo's and balance than size. YMMV.
 
It's all personal taste. And style fitting knives. I have a 7in. Ka-bar, and I can only pull it off with dark and moderately mono color pants or shorts. Guys will have to search around for the fixed blade that fits them. I started with sub-4in. then moved on to around 5in., then went to over 6in., and have finally settled on around 4in.
Edit: I am about 5'7" and about 240 lbs.
 
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I'm 5'6" a little on the short side, but I'm 240lb with a 33 inch waist so I'm a little on the big side too. People tell me i have ham hands. I like all knives. I just bought the CS xl Espada and the spyderco Dragonfly I love them both and am carrying both right now. like ono said you might be reading too much into your tastes vs your friend's. too small a subject group. either way I'd like to see the rest of the answers to your post. interesting question.
 
@Rick J. That Busse NMFBM is one hell of a pot sticker!!! A bit to pricey for my limited budget. I thought it was a machete when I first saw it haha, very big I don't think I have a blade almost 18'' long.
 
@ono724, I never really thought of it that way, my friend and I do compete the "sizes" of our knives hahaha, I think your right, to much psychology haha.
 
I love big knives, especially folders. I'm 5'10", and weigh 205 lbs. I have always loved bigger folders and have several in my edc rotation. By big I mean 4.0"+ blades, or if a knife has a shorter blade, as long as it is a bulldog, I'm good. And by bulldog I mean thick components, such as blade and handles. My SR-1 is a bulldog. Currently my two biggest folders are an Ontario Retribution 1 with a 4 5/8" blade and my JW Smith Extreme SD-3 with a 4 1/2" blade. I'm looking to get a HTM Madd Maxx with the clip point blade, and then it will be the biggest at 5 1/2" blade.
 
If it's sharp and metal I'll carry it- I carry as many knives as I'm able no matter the size- if I had a nmfbm I'd edc it:D

Size is not important though I wont carry anything under 3.5 inches

I'm about 6'2 and around 235
 
I don't think physical size of the user correlates to the physical size of the knife. But the size of one's ego might relate to their knife size:p

Really though, I used to like big blades, folders or fixed, but I find myself appreciating a little bit smaller tools now. Especially since my edc load out has grown over the years, and the size of my cell phone, not to mention the way "mens" pants are made now...

And if you're wondering in case of your study here, I am 5' 10" ~200lbs, but I'm not round :) My two latest edc knives are a Boker AK-74 auto, blade is just a hair over 3"; and a Case Mini Trapper, blades are just over 2.5"
 
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@crunky, how do you like the Boker? I've was thinking of getting the 74 as an all purpose in my shorts all the time knife. I like the auto feature and it looks hefty enough to really work it, as i go through utility knives quite a bit, i wanted to try something I haven't previously owned before. thanks for your comment!
 
BigNick said:
@crunky, how do you like the Boker? I've was thinking of getting the 74 as an all purpose in my shorts all the time knife. I like the auto feature and it looks hefty enough to really work it, as i go through utility knives quite a bit, i wanted to try something I haven't previously owned before. thanks for your comment!
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I really like it so far, I've only had it since June 29 so I haven't had it for that long. I don't know the weight off hand, but its surprisingly light in hand, and in pants which is always a plus for me. One thing to keep in mind though, if you are looking at the auto conversions, they are button locks; so there is some normal blade play associated with that locking mechanism. I was able to lube mine and tighten the pivot to where there is zero side to side play, and it still opens with good kick; but there is a small amount of up/down play but thats perfectly fine. I don't think it would be a super hard use folder, but I am very very satisfied with mine, especially considering the price.
Blade steel is Aus8, seems to be holding up pretty great so far; as soon as it arrived I took it to the strop and now its hair popping sharp. The factory bevel on mine is very consistent.

Edit: Oh the other thing I love about it is that they offer them in a few blade shapes, including a spear point. I personally love spear points but they are hard to find in modern one hand knives.
 
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@crunky thanks for the info, living in CA i haven't been able to play with many autos seeing that they are illegal (up to a point) I have had one and I loved it, the safety lock was hard to get used to but I used it for a good while. I'm visiting a friend in Oregon for a short time and they are legal there so I figured I will get to "legally" try it out before I am back in CA hahaha. Living in a rural area I don't have to much trouble carrying knives that the state deems illegal, but still, always wanna be safe haha!!
 
I hear ya man, thats the one thing I am going to miss about AZ when I move, the laws. The weather, and the traffic, not so much.
Oh I did forget to mention, there is no safety on mine, the push button is countersunk into the handle. Its still easy enough to open, and I haven't had any issues with it opening on its own.
 
I'm a small guy and carry all sizes of knives. I prefer 3.5-4" blades, but will carry 3" or under.
 
6'1" and 279, My Ontario MKIII USN is my go-to fixed blade with an OAL of 11". My go-to folder is a Benchmade 551SBKSN (Full sized griptilian with a serrated black blade and sand handles) and at over 8" it is a great folder. My hands are also relatively large, so usually smaller knives have handles my paws swallow up, so therfore the larger handle I need usually translates into a bigger blade. Also, i'm usually outdoors and I carry large knives with me in the outdoors out of habit, because I know my larger knives will be up to any task I put in front of it.
 
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For me it's more of how the knife fits in my hand and how secure I feel when asking the knife to do some hard cutting.

The guy who owns the local B&M store can full grip a small Sebenza - for me it's a three finger knife at best.

I'm regularly amazed when visiting the B&M store after watching video reviews of knives - usually the knife disappears in my hands when the video gave the impression it was a folding sword.
 
ono724 said:
In my humble opinion, sounds like far too much psychology involved :D

Seriously tho, I'm average size and all I ask for is that a knife fits my hand well. I'm more good ergo's and balance than size. YMMV.
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The NMFBM fits me very well, the best out of all other fixed blades I have had over the years!
 
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