Does knife weight matter to you?

Weight only factors in if it affects the use of the knife. For carry purposes other than choosing an appropriate knife for the occassion function far exceeds any weight or size concerns.

If I planned an extended length hike or one that involved lots of climbing I would at least consider weight and size ... but it would still not be the deciding factor for me. The knives usefulness and function are a must.

Now if I only carried but seldom used my knives weight and size may then become bigger factors. But since they get used multiple times daily for a large variety of tasks ... function is foremost and a little extra weight or size is not even noticeable.
 
jackknife said:
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.
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That’s an awesome perspective. Thanks for sharing.
 
Does knife weight matter to me?
Let me put it this way:
I've carried a Buck 110 on my belt since roughly 1968 or 1969.
I recently added a Marbles MR417 two blade slipjoint folding hunter on my belt that weighs a bit more than the 110, to keep the 110 company.
I also have at least three not precisely small and light weight multi-blade traditional knives in the bottom of my right front pocket every day.
(one is a 100% stainless steel "Demo" knife.)

I doubt I am carrying around more than 2 or 3 "extra" pounds because of my knives.

I received a lot more extra pounds than that from getting not young. :(
 
I don't give weight much thought. I've typically gravitated towards larger folders and I've never been put off of a design that I dig due to weight.
 
90% of the time, I carry an OTF, but in general, I prefer light weight now. A few years ago I sold off most of my big heavy ones.

Now the 5 knives I most often carry weigh in at;

Hogue Exploit 4.00oz, 3.5" blade
Brian Tighe Twist Tighe OTF 1.80oz 2.75" blade
Kershaw Launch 8 2.40oz 3.4" blade
WE Deacon 3.25" blade 2.72 oz
WE FF Massdrop Gent Select 2.4oz 3.0" blade

I usually carry the Tighe though, and I don't even feel it. Today was the Kershaw though.

If I'm wearing jeans, it's always a slim, light knife. My Duluth flex firehose pants it doesn't matter.
 
K.O.D. said:
90% of the time, I carry an OTF, but in general, I prefer light weight now. A few years ago I sold off most of my big heavy ones.

Now the 5 knives I most often carry weigh in at;

Hogue Exploit 4.00oz, 3.5" blade
Brian Tighe Twist Tighe OTF 1.80oz 2.75" blade
Kershaw Launch 8 2.40oz 3.4" blade
WE Deacon 3.25" blade 2.72 oz
WE FF Massdrop Gent Select 2.4oz 3.0" blade

I usually carry the Tighe though, and I don't even feel it. Today was the Kershaw though.

If I'm wearing jeans, it's always a slim, light knife. My Duluth flex firehose pants it doesn't matter.
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Those are some impressively lightweight knives. Blade length-to-weight ratios are nice too.
 
Weight doesn't usually bother me, but in the Summer lighter weight knives don't flop around as much when clipped to the pocket of my cheap Walmart Wrangler cargo shorts. And since this thread needs more pics, these are my lightweights.
DSC00299-X4.jpg

IMG_0686-X4.jpg
 
Ironbut said:
Weight doesn't usually bother me, but in the Summer lighter weight knives don't flop around as much when clipped to the pocket of my cheap Walmart Wrangler cargo shorts. And since this thread needs more pics, these are my lightweights.
DSC00299-X4.jpg

IMG_0686-X4.jpg
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Beautiful Native and Manix over there, friend. I agree we need more pics. I’ll send mine soon.
 
It depends on carry and use pocket carry I don't want something that I can feel weighing down my pocket so ~5oz is the limit there typically. I would say at a point if you were packing for a hike you might start to look at trimming weight and might care a little then but generally for larger fixed blades I find more of the reverse in that if I want a solid blade it will need to be weighty enough for the tasks ie don't bring a thinner lighter machete to chop down limbs and branches in the woods but do to clear light brush and tall grassy growth. My pocket carry is always for light duty use so it never needs a lot of heft in material a light blade will do the cutting task my pocket blade is intended for and comfort in also import and small changes in weight on my pants is drastically more noticeable and uncomfortable than a 12oz fixed blade on a belt or backpack.
 
jackknife said:
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.
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Lifestyle makes a difference and certainly when you're retired, you are not doing the same sort of things when you spent your days at a job and recreated when you could.

I enjoy thinking back about my habits at a young age and comparing to the present. I didn't carry a large folder and didn't own a fixed bladed knife. I was just a kid growing from elementary school into high school. Present day knife preferences are remarkably similar to those days. I never even owned a fixed blade outside the kitchen until I was in my early 40's. I could never see the point. But, that's when the Randall interest took hold for a while which I attribute to my brother in law prior to his marrying my Sister. Never heard of a Randall until he showed me his assortment. Still like their knives quite a lot, but like CRK's, I refuse to purchase one due to cost and my sense of need and use. After that point in time, I became interested in fixed blades, but honestly never used them. I just liked them. Only recently have I been using fixed blades. Prior to this, even when I carried one in the woods, I seldom used it for anything.

Folders have moved to more traditional designs after a surge in interest in modern knives in the 90's and after I joined the forum. So, I have essentially moved back to the same preferences of my youth except now I carry a SAK all the time where as a kid, I carried a Case Barlow and later a Case jack knife (always two bladed) for many years and about the same size. A Gerber was my first modern knife. A Spydie Native was my first "better" modern knife.

It's not just weight. It's convenience and lifestyle.
 
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In the warmer months may-september I often wear lightweight, synthetic shorts. Usually not an elastic waist, but more than 3 oz and longer than a ~3" blade is cumbersome to me. I have the utmost faith in my Tighe despite being 1.8 oz. It has no upward blade play (blade doesn't move when you cut basically) and barely perceptible play if I push down on the knife. Solidly built does not mean it has to be a brick.
 
I have rather large hands. And used to using a 110, most of my adult life. Getting into collecting and holding all these new ultra light knives just doesn't feel right. To me these light handles make the knife unbalanced. The blades weigh more than the handles these days. I like larger bladed folders too, which compounds that unbalanced feel. So yes weight is a factor. Although I don't want to be holding a brick attached to my blade. Just prefer a bit of heft to my knives. My favorite newer knives are Benchmade's 570 and 581. Oh, and the Crooked River. I believe they are about 5 oz each. Definately lighter than the 110's 7 oz, but any lighter would be pushing it for me. I do have a quite a few lighter ones, but they aren't on the EDC list.
 
5oz is my limit weight on an EDC knife, if Im going out of town or somewhere else I take my Hinderer XM 18 Fatty Spanto to beat on anything
 
I dont really care about it too much. The only time I worry about knife weight is when Im in gym shorts, and then it matters. Even then, I often just carry a neck knife instead of a tiny pocket knife. I carry a phone that is bulky and heavy, so a knife is practically nothing in comparison. Plus, I have a concealed carry permit and a pistol is WAY heavier than any knife. So I dont get bothered by knife weight at all really.
Im more worried about putting on weight around my middle than a little weight in my pocket!
 
I figure if the knife is too heavy, I can loose a pound...
But I do really like the new Bugout with the CF scales. I forget it's clipped to my pocket. I don't know why I always carry a decent locking folder (Mini-Presidio, Mini-Grip, and a few others) as 99% of my daily use is well covered by a little SAK (currently, the Executive and, previously, the Ambassador).
 
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