Bigger Men, Bigger Blades?

Its nice to see a genuinely original thread topic like this once in a while.

I carry everything from a little Dragonfly or SOG Flash 1 to all manner of big knives. So for me its more what suits my mood than anything.
 
I'm almost 6'8" and 315 lbs. As for folders, the good ole state of MI limits blade lengths to 3 inches or less (unless you want to carry a "dangerous" weapon), so it's hard to find a knife that fits in my hands well. My fav is the Delica.

As for fixed blades, I generally look for a handle that is 6 inches in length and I prefer a beefier or thicker handle. I have a few knives from makers here at the forum and I generally ask for liners to be put into the knife along with the reg handles to fill out my hand better. I tend to avoid wood in handles too, I prefer G10or another synthetic.
 
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ono724 said:
In my humble opinion, sounds like far too much psychology involved :D
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Nailed it. That "little guy, big knife" phenomenon is out there. Particularly with folders, it seems. Must be something about whipping it out of one's pants.

Not everybody...but it's there. I'm still waiting for Cold Steel to release their XL Overcompensator Folding Two-Handed Great Sword. I think it's only a matter of time.

And ono nailed the ergos and balance part....you don't necessarily need a big knife to do big jobs. But big knives are a blast.
 
No i dont need big knives one of my most usefull knives that i carry are my Case Peanut and my SAK Farmer. Most of the time that's all i carry. But big knives are a blast to have and play with around the yard and to mess with. Also when i'm fishing or stuff like that i do like a bigger folder.

Im 6'6" and about 270.
 
BigNick said:
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?
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I'm about the same size as you and my go-to knife is an Izula 2 with a 2 1/2 inch blade so...:confused: :D
 
I just prefer large knives but the fact that I'm 6' 2" and about 260 has nothing to do with my knife size preference. I have a few smaller and lighter knives for summer shorts, golfing, etc. but when I have jeans and a belt on, I want a larger folder in my RFP. So about 90% of my rotation is 3.5" and up to 4" blades and weights run from 4.5 oz to just around 6.5 oz.

The way I see it, a longer and/or larger blade can do what many small blades can do, albeit not as well, perhaps, but small blades can't do what large blades can do if the cutting task requires a larger or longer blade. To me, a larger folder is just practical. This is also when a front choil is handy.
 
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Great thread!

At 6'0", 200#, I don't consider myself especially large. But I do have big hands (I wear XL to XXL gloves.)
I CARRY what I feel like for the day.
I LIKE a knife that fits my hand well.
I got a BM Barrage for the fit, but rarely carry it because I got the wrong blade for me, and it's kinda large in-pocket. But when I use it, it feels great.
Rat RMD - great grip. SYKCo War Dog - Love the handle. Spydie Manix2 - Love the grip, carries a little large and heavy for EDC.

EDC tends toward Leek (when I want it invisible) or BM 940 (nearly every day for months.)
I'm getting a PM2 to, hopefully, settle it for me once and for all. It should be the "Big Little Knife" (opposite of the Dragonfly), I expect it to carry small and slice well, but handle tasks like the full-size blade it is.
My palm is 3.75" wide, so hopefully it'll be the perfect one for me.
- Tom
 
Im 6' 2" 220lbs. I have very large hands as well, not palm a basketball big but big. I like small knives and big knives. It is more how it feels in the hand and during use that matters. I had a Zero Tolerance 0200 I loved that knife everything felt right. I have carried a tiny kershaw chive. It all depends.
 
Hm, Well I'm A Female.
I Am 5'8" 220lbs. And Have Rather Large Hands.
I Love My Large Knives And I Have A Few, Spyderco Manix 2, Kershaw Tremor, Meyerco Catch Dog.
But Small Knives Work For Me Too, Kershaw Black Gulch, Spyderco Dragonfly, Spyderco UKPK, Kershaw Scallion, And The Victorinox Classic.

I Love And Use Both. I Guess It's All On What Feels Best To Me.
 
Hi,I'm 6'4",270, and pack a Damascus Case Peanut.It does what I need to do without any fuss,I like it!
 
My first fixed blade was a very much abused KABAR given to me by a family friend when I was about 7, and my next was a Case 516-5(five inch blade) given to me for my 8th birthday. I took a Puma White Hunter to Nam, and since have owned lots of knives. When I carry a fixed blade it is either a KABAR or something with about a 4 inch blade, or even a small caper style,depending on what I think I will be doing. My EDC is either an old Spyderco Worker, a Gerber 500 , and sometimes a Kabar 1100.
I am small, 5'6", about 150lb. Never thought about a knife being reflective of size, but then Viet Nam pretty well cured my "small Man" syndrome>
 
I'm 6'5" 230 lbs.

It depends on what sort of use the knife will be seeing. For a slicing blade, anything from 3" to 8" blade works for me. Sometimes less is more. Sometimes more is better. Depends. But for a "striking blade", something used for hacking or chopping, I've got to have a big blade. I prefer my khukri's to be a minimum of 20" OAL and if I buy a tomahawk with a haft under 20" long, the handle gets replaced immediately or it just feels like a little Bag Axe to me. I wish more tomahawk makers offered longer handles. It sure would save me a lot of work and anyone who wants a shorter haft could simply cut it back to the length they want.
 
I'm 6'1" 160lbs and I like a blade between 6 and 7 inches for in the woods.

no idea if that means anything. lol

cricket
 
I'm 6'1, 230 and find that although I really like big knives (and have a lot of them) I rarely carry them. I tend to go for light and/or pocketable. When hiking or camping I tend I go with the SAK/Mora combination. Seems like whenever I strap on something big and heavy, after about an hour I change back. I keep a MOD-4 in my truck bag though so if I ever need a sharpened pry bar I have one handy.
 
I am small in stature. I prefer 3.5"-3.75" blades for EDC/self-defense. I have a SAK on my keychain for discreet cutting.
 
I'm only 5'8" but I like big folders. My favorite ones to carry are my Military and Spec Bump. I also have a 15" chopper being finished up by Daniel Fairly. I guess I am compensating :cool:
 
Many of these guys with big trucks and knives weigh-in at 130-160lbs. But their woman weighs in the 200+ range.


WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?

Everything should be proportional. A guy that is 5'8 and 160lbs should be carring a 3" blade. Bigger guys need bigger handles like a Spyderco Military.


I think a mans other half should not weigh the same or even close to him. And certainly NOT outweigh him.. More like 2/3rd of his weight.

160lb man = 106lb woman
200lb man = 133 lb woman
230lb man= 153 lb woman
 
lol. I'm 5"11 150 lbs. I usually carry one medium folder 3.5-4 in blade and a small 3 in blade slipjoint.
 
I'll be honest here, I was wondering about this last week. If larger people liked knives that were proportionally the same size on them as smaller knives were for more average sized people. I'm glad someone started a thread about this, as I find it kinda interesting.

Personally, I like folders to be small and so unobtrusive that I can't tell its in my pocket. I also have no problem with them not filling out my hand.

Fixed blades on the other hand I like it the other way. I like larger fixed blades (5-9in so far), and I like big old handles on them because I do much heavier work with them than I do with my folders. Just seems to make sense to me.

EDIT:

I'm 6'1 and about 185-190. I generally like 2.5-3in folders, and 5-9in fixed blades.
 
colubrid said:
I think a mans other half should not weigh the same or even close to him. And certainly NOT outweigh him.. More like 2/3rd of his weight.

160lb man = 106lb woman
200lb man = 133 lb woman
230lb man= 153 lb woman
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Yeah let me know how that works out for you. Especially after she has kids.

cricket
 
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