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Biggest Knife You've Ever Carried On A Regular Basis

At one time I worked on a friends ranch ( free housing and I took care of the horses) and was able to carry a fixed blade all day every day . It was a Camillus Navy Mark 1 with the fiberglass sheath, 51/2" of honest tool steel. It was more than enough knife for anything I ran into on a regular basis on the ranch. By the way, I paid 4 dollars and some change for it at a surplus store (well, it WAS 1969 after all) and I still have it. It's still a reliable sharp tool too.
 
My gerber A-F folder. 4.5 inch is consider big at where i'm working. But i carry a delica now due to the fact that it's more 'politically correct'. (did i mention i still carry it hidden?....oh well.)
 
Used to carry a 14" custom Bowie all the time. Then with the changes in the laws went to a 6". Now it is either my CS VG or a Gerber EZout, depending on where I am.

Have several others I carry from time to time but these are the main two.
 
14" Bowie While stationed in Alaska. As I had my own wild-life photography business and was out in the wild a lot. Normally I only carry a 5 1/2" utility or one of my other handmades.

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Curtis Wilson
 
10 1/2 " Bagwell Hell's Belle with belt stud sheath. Easy to carry, conceal, or deploy.

Mike
 
I started this thread for two reasons, one was to see if anybody was carrying in any rigs I hadn't heard of/thought about, and the other was because I here a lot of talk about how big knives are impractical since you can't conceal them, and while little knives are easier to conceal it seems a good number of us are/have concealed big knives.

Mike, I was having some doubts about the beltstud sheath. How exactly are you suposed to wear it?

The way I'd seen suggested was with the stud at the bottom edge of the belt, so when you pulled the knife the beltstud got caught on the sheath and didn't follow the knife up, and the sheath kept from falling by tension between your belt and hip.

This doesn't seem terribly secure to me, and while I haven't had a chance to really experiment with it, I'd think that any serious running or jumping would loosen it.

What's been your experience?
 
In the town area for everyday carry I use a BM 975 and a Bud nealy neck knife. In the field I use a SRK from CS.
 
I usually just carry a 4"-bladed folder witha pocket clip. If you're just curious about what can be carried comfortably, I have somethign to add, though. I have, on occaision, concealed an 8" Katz Alley Kat with little difficulty or discomfort. I'm not a big guy, either! I just don't do this regularly because what the heck do I need that monster for? Some friends of mine made inside-the-pants rigs that allowed very comfortable carry of 5.5" Blackjack knives and carried them daily for some time. One fellow even had a paired shoulder rig for an 8" Katz Aristocat and 6" Lion King. I saw an inside-the-pants rig for a very large Crawford fighter, 9" or so! These measurements don't include handle length, of course. So, in short, you can carry quite a large blade concealed but most folks have no need to.

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-Drew Gleason
Little Bear Knives
 
I've regularly carried a Mad Dog VooDoo Child - 6" blade in an IWB sheath. I have a MD Panther w/ Dundee Rig that I'm waiting for the weather to turn cooler to try out. I like 'm big.
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LD
"Every Dog Has His Day"

 
Snickersnee,

Belt stud sheath goes between belt and pants or IWB (my preferred carry), and the belt stud stops at the TOP of the belt to keep the knife from falling, while belt pressure holds it tight to the body. KISS principle - no straps, harnesses, loops, cords, or snaps to deal with - infinitely adjustable. This is how large knives were carried in the 19th century when the lifestyle was a lot more physical and carrying a big knife was more the norm than the exception. It's still valid today. Bagwell found out how well this system works back in the 70's when he hunted wild pigs in Florida with a 90 lb pull longbow and needed to carry one of his Bowies for "Murphy time". He's made his sheaths that way ever since. I don't have enough fingers to count the number of people I personally know who routinely tote a Bagwell Bowie and you'll never see them. I'm 5'9", 172 lbs, and can wear my Hell's Belle in shorts (swim trunks) and a t-shirt. A Bagwell made sheath takes 3-4 weeks of everyday wear to break in so the knife releases smoothly - the Ontario Bagwell sheath takes a few days of constant wear to break in. As a sheathmaker, I'm always evaluating carry systems and this is among the best.

Mike
 
Mike,

I think Ernie Mayer was telling me about you.
You are my role model.
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I am working on making my 8" FB4 a regular carry, but most of the discomfort in carrying it stems from the illegality in CA. than the size of the blade. But where there is a will...

Harv
 
Reg basis, generic balisong 10" open during younger years.

Indian Khanjar and Gil Hibben Silver Shadow daggers at two different times. They were gifts and I had no transportation. I ended up putting the daggers in a gym bag each time as I had no experience carrying FBs. It's different now.
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I understand about hunting the boar in the wilds of Florida, I do the same thing, only my bow's a 50lbs. recurve...my knife is the primary way I dispatch the beasts.

Your way makes a lot more sense then the way I heard. I've been thinking on it, and I think I'd put a hole in the belt that the belt stud would stick through.

I'm still not sure I like the idea of no retaining strap, though honestly mos tof them get jammed with crud and become inoperable in the field anyway.

Don't take this as an attack or critiscism, I've yet to find ANY sheath I'm wholey satisified with.

Thanks for setting me straight on how that sheath works!
 
Snickersnee,
Why ruin a good belt? I've been carrying one Bagwell or another this way for four years with absolutely no problems.

Steve,
Say Hi to Ernie for me. Since you're thinking of carrying one of his Fighting Bowies, you might be interested in knowing that there's two guys in your area that just completed James Keating's Bowie Knife Instructors Seminar. Either one of them could get you up to speed with a Bowie rather quickly. I'd also suggest Keating's American Blade Concepts video series, especially vols. 1-3. They cover point work, defensive and offensive flows, and the back cut.

Mike
 
Mike, I see what you're getting at, and I'd have to experiment to figure if it was really any better, but I don't consider modifying my equipment to facilitate the carrying of knives as ruining said equipment.
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Years ago, during my wild and mis-spent youth it is rumored I carried a five inch gravity blade on a daily basis.
 
Snickersnee,

We're only playing semantics or definitions here, but if a modification isn't neccesary and it degrades the integrity of the equipment. it ruins it. That said, give the belt stud system an honest look - Bagwell did it doing some of the things you do and found it worked. Functional simplicity. Speaking of chasing wild boars - where in Florida are you located. Have a friend in southern part that was just speaking of doing that today. Maybe I could hook you two up. E-mail me if you'd like.

Mike
 
Biggest on a regular basis? My Polkowski 5" Kasper Pug fixed blade in a IWB kydex sheath.

L8r,
Nakano
 
Mike, I go back and forth between Orlando and West Palm Beach, and a lot of places inbetween, quite often. I don't have a permanent residence.

We used to take a lot of boar out along Highway 50 outside Orlando. They don't run that big out there, but man do they have a bunch of them!

They boar in the `Glades tend to be a bit bigger, but they can be a bit harder to find.

The Ten Thousand Islands is one of my favorite areas, although technicaly I think it's a park or something and you're not supposed to harvest game there... Whoops! Shouldn't have said that!

I hear there's good hunting up North of Sanford too.
 
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