Commander vs. Mini questions

[Hawkins]

i'm seriously looking at one of these as a little graduation gift for myself after the holidays. (until then, money's tight)

i was just wondering whether the extra .35 inches of the commander gives you is worth the extra $40.

what is that extra length getting for you? does .35 of an inch of range make a difference in an SD situation?

other than that .35 inches (and i guess handle length), they're pretty much the same, feature for feature? (clip, etc)?

i'm leaning towards the cheaper and more PC mini unless you guys can explain that the extra length is critical, etc.

(p.s. i'm not familiar with the 154cm steel. i'm not a steel junky, but what would you compare it to in terms of edge retention/sharpenning?)

edit: also, after reading what don rearic had to say about the La Griffe, i'm considering one of those too! (in addition? or alternatively? i dunno, it depends on where i can find a good price!)

incidentally, anyone know of any knife shops in NYC or LI that carry these and has decent prices (or willing to give me a deal if i walk out with a laGriffe and mini? )

 

[Brandon -B-]

Aloha

Between the two knives the Mini Commander just feels better in my hand. I have smallish hands and for me it just feels better than the larger commander. the mini still has a large enough blade for me and the recurve blade is an awesome and effective shape so It wouldn't make that much difference to me in cutting power. The Wave works just as good with the Mini and is just as fun (I have only used the wave for fun as I have never been in a situation yet where I required a quick one handed draw and so far haven't had to use it in a self defense situation). If you can't tell i'm a big fan of the Mini

On the other hand some people just like or need a big a$$ knife. I'm not opposed to that either I just don't need it. If the large fit my hand better than the mini I would be inclined to go with that.

for the same money like you said you could get a Mini and a Lagriffe and walk with two Chrismas presents. That's the route I'd take!! I would recommend checking them out in person if you can do that.

Brandon

 

[blade man]

Get a LaGriffe, too, wicked little thing. As for a mini or full-size, its more an issue of which fits u better. 154CM is real good stuff, IMHO, its a little better than ATS34, but some people think they're the same. In any case, its 100% homegrown!!! If u have anywhere that u can handle the commanders, i suggest doing so. Knifeoutlet seems to have good prices. Do a search for mini commanders in the emerson forum, u should find a link for somewhere that had minis for $99. It was, like, "Found Mini-Commanders!", or something to that effect. hope it helps

 

[malazo]

I think the extra length is worth the money.

The big commander is not just longer, it also has more area and what not. I think it is great. The small commander is fabulous, don't get me wrong, but the big commander is well, bigger. It feels BIG in the hand while the mini just feels, kinda decent.