Does knife weight matter to you?

If I’m wearing jeans or other work pants I don’t mind heavier folders. If I’m in athletic wear or shorts I prefer under 4 ozs.
 
As a senior citizen, weight is important, not as active so I don't need a large weighty knife.
Usually 4.2 oz is my max weight with a weight of 3.4 oz as my usually carry (3" blade).
 
In my old job I used my knife several time a day and carried a Buck 110 for 30+ years, my new job I go days without using my knife so now carry something smaller and lighter.
 
I own lots of heavy knives, but I definitely prefer lighter knives for carry. A light knife can be carried in the pocket of a loose, thin cloth garment without flapping around like a tiny anchor. For example, I find that with dress pants there is a huge difference between a three ounce knife and a five ounce knife.

Also, my light carry setup of convenience is pocket carry. When I'm wearing business attire and carrying IWB tucked isn't an option I pocket carry. When I'm wearing light clothing and in low risk environment, I often pocket carry. I walked the dogs yesterday in cotton workout shorts and a t-shirt, pocket carrying, so that's gun+phone+knife in my pockets. Even with the crazy light weight of the craptastical little 9mm I carried (a DB9 in a DeSantis Superfly) the phone and gun add up to enough without adding a heavy knife. The knife I carried yesterday was about as heavy as I'd carry like that, ~4oz. With knife+phone (~12oz) in one pocket and gun + ammo + holster (~19oz) in the other that's pushing two pounds of pocket stuff, and that's with no wallet or keys.

I buy heavy knives, but I rarely carry heavy knives.

People who drive their vehicle out to some trail, walk a couple of hours and setup a camp, those people haul expensive heavy fixed blades and brag about how they can baton through an engine block with their three pound knife. People who've actually had to hump a ruck a long way in a hurry because they had to, not because they were playing weekend camper, those people throw a ~$15 Mora Companion that weighs less than three ounces in their pack instead.

One of the silliest knives I've ever purchased is a Busse TGLB. I bought it as a toy, but there is literally not a single useful thing I could imagine doing with it for which it would be a good choice as a tool. It's a boat anchor that looks cool. A $6 Tramontina 12" machete is a great camp knife that will take a beating and not weigh you down, and it's better than that TGLB at almost every actually useful task. People buy heavy, thick knives because they look cool, but in my experience thin and light knives cut better than thick and heavy ones, and of course they're more convenient to carry as well.
 
No, not really. I carry a CRK whether I'm working or just out and about. Sometimes, the second knife I carry makes a difference on the weight.
 
Had the same thing wonder myself, if weight should matter and to what extend and when. Mostly came to the conclusion the heavier knives to wear on the leg or directly attached to the backpack, instead of the belt. Heavy stuff like the hutson bay. The "average weight" on the other hand just on the belt and good to go. So weight is more a secondary criteria, if the filed it's meant for is of importance. ^^
 
I have enjoyed this discussion on knife size, weight and carry. I have been there.... and it all depends on what you normally do with a knife and of course what you like. I seldom do "power cuts" much anymore where a hand filling folder is important. It was a knife choice criteria for years and years. Now I have settled down and carry a small knife or two and they do everything I need doing with a knife. I still have a yearning for the big traditional folders, but I seldom really need one any more.

Life was so much simpler when I owned one knife and that was what I carried..... I got along just fine.

So, your age and assuming you might be less active than when younger, impacts knife choice, what is more tolerable in your pocket (weight and size). I love knives but I have a very hard time justifying carrying anything other than a Vic Small Tinker any more. I did start carrying a little fixed blade all the time and that has resulted in using the SAK much less for cutting. It is to the point that sometimes I question why I have the little guy in my pocket, but it takes up very little pocket space. So, it stays.
 
Definitely factor in weight when im considering a folder. 6 oz is my max and has to be a larger knife with around a 4" blade but prefer 3-5 oz range ideally for daily carry. Love me some linerless models and not a huge fan of 3" blades that weigh 5 oz either. need to get something for the added weight Imo. Most of my heavier folders are larger and also own some mega folders where weight goes out the window lol but not EDC-ing those so its fine. My favorite is around 3.5-4" blade at about 4 oz. native chief or a g10 millie are good examples on the larger end.
 
If the weight is over 5oz. I really give it some thought. My Emerson sheepdog is 5.6oz and at the end of the day, I’m happy to put it on the shelf.

I recently bought a Para 3 lightweight at 2.4oz and love the weightlessness.

My job requires me to carry a good deal of gear and it all adds up. Ounces equal pounds, pounds equal pain.
 
22-rimfire said:
I have enjoyed this discussion on knife size, weight and carry. I have been there.... and it all depends on what you normally do with a knife and of course what you like. I seldom do "power cuts" much anymore where a hand filling folder is important. It was a knife choice criteria for years and years. Now I have settled down and carry a small knife or two and they do everything I need doing with a knife. I still have a yearning for the big traditional folders, but I seldom really need one any more.

Life was so much simpler when I owned one knife and that was what I carried..... I got along just fine.

So, your age and assuming you might be less active than when younger, impacts knife choice, what is more tolerable in your pocket (weight and size). I love knives but I have a very hard time justifying carrying anything other than a Vic Small Tinker any more. I did start carrying a little fixed blade all the time and that has resulted in using the SAK much less for cutting. It is to the point that sometimes I question why I have the little guy in my pocket, but it takes up very little pocket space. So, it stays.
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Age definitely has a lot to do with it. Totally. Absolutely.

My choices of knife carry now are a universe apart from what I carried in my 20's then 30's. My knife carry in my 40's started to change even more. Now as an aging septuagenarian, my knife choices have zero resemblance to what I carried 40 years ago. Or even 30 years ago. And age aside, my lifestyle has changed even to a whole other part of the country with different terrain, and hazards while outdoors. Every decade older was a step down in size.

Even being a retired senior with now unlimited time for fishing, woods walking with my wife of almost 50 years, and as much plain old screwing off and loafing that I never had time for in my younger day, I need a knife now ,more than ever. Fishing, dealing with fishing line, woods walks, teaching grandkids how to make a great hot dog stick, how to make tent pegs from sticks, all need a sharp pocket knife. With time to travel now, we go on cross country drives to our daughters place in California, our two sons places in Maryland, sight seeing and camping in between.

I've tried the small fixed blade thing a couple of times, but I keep coming back to my default setting that is a small pocket knife in a size that fits in the coin pocket of my jeans. Getting older, you get to realize your limits more and live life a little more carefully. I don't need as much knife as I used to carry because I'm not in situations where I actually need one. As an arthritic old fart, I know I will never see the real wilderness again, and thats okay. Been there, done that. Now at this stage of life, its nice to take it easy and watch Old Faithful from the veranda of the Yellowstone Lodge with a cocktail in hand. The most strenuous knife use there was spearing an olive from a martini glass.

On our trout fishing trip to Mammoth Lake, teaching our granddaughter how to tie a blood knot, the hardest knife use of the day was the SAK classic scissors trimming the line. When the fish were processed for cooking, my son-in-law had a Martini fillet knife that worked pretty good.

Once you reach the stage of life that you know you're not going after Chinese paratroopers, or going to be marooned in some far off wilderness, you don't really need much knife at all in modern life. Age has a way of dissolving illusions and delusions.
 
DangerZone98 said:
for its application
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That's the key thing for me: What am I planning to use this knife for, and under what circumstances?

For some reason I think of around 4 oz. as a good weight for an EDC all-rounder. Any knife 3 oz. or under is probably going to be a great one to wear in shorts or carry while hiking. Around 6 oz. and up there's probably some substance to the build (beyond just being large), so if I think my knife will be doubling as a hammer/screwdriver/pry bar it's usually a heavier one.

But in terms of whether weight matters to me when I buy I knife, not really. If I like it, the weight is 99% irrelevant. I have enough knives that I can pick out a folder for just about any use case, so beyond that it's just personal enjoyment. :)
 
Weight is of no matter at this point. I prize utility and reliability over anything else. In construction I wear jeans every day so all the knife has to do beyond its job is to be a comfortable carry. Having (and still on occasion) wearing tool bags all day makes carrying a 8 oz knife nearly unnoticeable.

And at 290 lbs, a few ounces one way or another isn't really noticeable. I have to admit though, when I where lighter pants and I'm not going to work I gravitate to smaller light(er) weight knives.

Robert
 
I don't care at all honestly... I mean, lets not get crazy ... for example I wouldn't carry a medford around with me for EDC (or ever as I dislike them quite a bit) -- However I have no problem carrying a Large Seb. 21 or Strider SMF -- just to give you a size / weight idea. If I have jeans on I totally forget they are there... -- Only time I care about the weight of my knife is if I'm wearing like... athletic shorts... then I'd go for a smaller and lighter blade, because in those everything is noticeable.
 
The lighter, the better, especially when carrying. That said, I do appreciate the weight of my Buck 110 and 112 when using them -- that sturdy brass frame just makes them feel solid in the hand.
 
I have so many knives I pick which I will carry based on what I'm doing or where I'm going. Occasionally, weight is a consideration; but in most situations I don't mind a heavy knife. In bicycling, they call guys who constantly obsess over weight reduction "weight weenies". I've never been too concerned with the weight of knives nor with the weight of bike components.
 
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