Does Size Matter?

Hey, Jim

How's the blade retention on that big AMK ?
I had a couple of the early Quicksilvers and the blades would fall open under their own weight.
Retention was by a little "flip over " hook device at the butt. Damned thing was a nuisance....was always in the way when I wanted to close the knife. And the thing could not be relied on to keep the blade in the handle when it should. AND it added the need for an extra change of grip in the deployment procedure. Releasing the hook was a conscious action.
Just curious if AMK ever fixed the problem.



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Brian W E
ICQ #21525343

 
Maybe I'm missing something here, but wouldn't the size of a knife be somehow related to the function of a knife?

A scalpel has a small blade and large handle for control. A larger blade would not improve the function of the knife. What do you plan to do with the knife? You don't see too many Hummers whizzing over the twisty mountain roads in Colorado. The performance comes from the smaller vehicles like sports cars and crotch rockets.

If intimidation is the function of the knife, size is everything! If your going to tangle in close, a small quick easily handled blade. If you're skinning an animal, a mega folder is next to useless. A tractor stops traffic on a highway and the ferrari is poor at pulling a plow.

Size matters, if function matters?
sal
 
You`ve hit the nail on the head Sal. Different sized knives for different jobs ,that`s why a sub 4" folder simply can`t do everything well. For an all around camp knife or defensive knife a little bigger blade can be very handy. A big folder with a strong lock could do all the chores of a med. sheath knife while remaining a smaller and lighter burden on the hiking trail than a comparable fixed blade. In defensive applications short blades simply lack the penetration to reliably reach vital organs if a lethal blow is called for. The extra reach, intimidation factor and slashing potential are also bonuses. Bear in mind that a 5" blade may be large for a folder but it`s still not a very big knife in the grand scheme of things. We`re gonna bug you till you make one so you might as well just give in! ;D Marcus
 
Sal,

On that note, would you make a mega Civilian? As far as intimidation is concerned, there would be nothing that can come close!

Oh, also put a Rolling-lock on it
wink.gif



[This message has been edited by tallwingedgoat (edited 10 February 1999).]
 
Bob,

Put me down for a large Pioneer in 440V. Ok I may settle for something else but please not ATS heh. I have wanted a mega folder but I will be honest there a lot of things I do not like about Cold Steel. First they like silly. Second I hater serrations. Third iIhate the lock. Now I like your designs and your lock. How many orders would you have to have to make a batch? I am guessing you could sell quite a few to members of the forums.

Regards,

Tom Carey
 
Brian E: YES they solved the "blade dropping free" issue! They later added a "slipjoint style" bar spring exactly like a SAK or whatever to support the spine, yet kept a linerlock on the other side.

Sal: In several martial arts that have knife skills as "core concepts", the first thing you do when attacked with another blade is "fade out of the way" at about a 45 degree angle to the incoming threat while nailing the incoming limb with your blade. "Range analysis" is CRUCIAL to this sort of thing working, and the longer your own blade the further "the hell out of the way" you can get from the OTHER guy's blade. It's a literal "game of inches" and requires precision and every inch of blade length you can lay hands on!!!

The concept is found in Kali, Silat, Escrima, Arnis and the Bujinkan systems and god knows how many others. It's an alternative to "stand there and make your arms go faster than the other guy's" which is what the little 4" pieces of crap you've been specializing in are good for. Fine. Guess what? I'm 6'4" tall, 275lbs - if I have to play a "speed game" I'm fookin' DEAD hence I wouldn't carry your current lineup on a dare. But if I can use reach and footwork and give the "fast little untrained booger" assailant no target to strike, I'm right back in the game. And as a beginner in the Bujinkan who's not all that good at the "high speed range analysis" part I need all the blade I can get.

All that ignores the "street reality" of intimidation. Gee, for some reason when bad guys see you're counterattacking with a knife they often run away, it's amazing. And the odds of them doing so go up with every inch of blade on your part.

Jim March
 
I wholeheartedly agree with Marcus and Jim. I really do not like carrying fixed blade knives on my belt. Lying down, sitting, stalking through brush are all more difficult with a f/b in my side. I have carried my VG with little or no inconvienience whatsoever. It is a handy knife, much more suited for playing outdoors than my other, smaller folders, but it has some serious shortcomings that make it not as functional as it could be. Those shortcomings have been hammered out a million times before so I will not reitterate them.

I am also of the "big and slow" camp, and would prefer to have as much blade as possible between me and the other guy. Intimidation caused by a large knife seems to increase exponentially with every inch. Clacking open a VG does make a greater impression than thumbing open the spearpoint blade on a swiss army knife.

My point is this....I want a strong, high quality, 5-6" folding knife that is suitable for use outdoors and could, in a pinch, perform in a defensive role. Such a knife is not too far fetched of a concept.

For the FIRST time in human history the metallurgical and engineering technology is available to produce a knife that can fit the bill. It is mind boggling that we can sit here on the threshhold of a new frontier in cutlery and just sit and stare. Giving up the oppurtunity to see if such a project can be done is insane. To mill about and drag our feet because we are afraid that some ignorant fool in Inaneville might get offended at a TOOL is to be defeated before we even start. Saying that a Megafolder is useless before one is even made is jumping the gun a little bit. I have seen skinning knives with blades that are as large as 6", are they useless?

I used my VG for everything. I cut down small trees, opened boxed, unwrapped Christmas presents, and stirred my coffee with it. Even with all of its faults I have been able to put it to good use. It comes to mind then, how much better could a more conservatively designed and consumer friendly knife be? The answer is ALOT BETTER. I have read nothing but good ideas coming out of this forum. There is a demand, at least among the KnifeKnuts here, for such a product. Proper marketing will insure the success of a well mad MegaFolder.


There are other benefits as well. Any advances in improving locks on Megafolders could be translated into smaller knives, increasing safety across the board. A knife that is almost as capable as a large F/B, but folds to a more compact size, would certainly find its way into emergency kits in cars and small planes.


We are looking at the last great frontier in knives. It is something that has only been dabbled in in the years previous. These earlier attempts have been only moderately successful because the final products did not appeal to the enthusiast, or to the average man. I know it is possible to design and create a knife that will overcome the earliers attempts' shortcomings. The final product will not be the "Be all-End All". It will not replace the fixed blade knife, or the smaller folders, but it will allow us to have just a little more freedom. Freedom of choice. Freedom from having yet another doodad hanging off of our belts.

Sal was using automobile analogies in his descriptions of knives, I would venture to say that, Megafolders are not going to be the tractor trailor of the cutlery world, nor are they going to be the Ferrari of knives, their niche is probably going to be somewhere around a half-ton Chevy truck. It is about time a knife came around to pick up the slack.

YeK

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"No, it's a Vaquero Grande in my pocket, but I am happy to see you!"
yekimak@hotmail.com
MegaFolderians Unite!!









[This message has been edited by Yekim (edited 10 February 1999).]
 
Regarding my earlier post, honesty requires me to apologize for a "constructive memory" where my Al Mar SERE folder is concerned. I had not used it in quite some while and my memory had grown the blade from 4 1/16 inch. It is one heavy duty item. It is built like a bank vault and is quite handsome to boot. It is just too large and heavy for my current needs.

[This message has been edited by FullerH (edited 12 February 1999).]
 
I'll admit that 5 inch and even 6 inch folders are scary looking when done right. However, at what point do you sacrifice easy of carry, and possible legal issues. It seems that no one ever questions a sub 4 inch folder as a legit carry item, but if you are carrying a 6 inch CS vaquero grande, people look at you like if you were a psychopath. At some point it becomes easier to just carry a fixed blade if you are in the zone allowing such carry. I personnaly don't feel that there is enough difference between a 4 inch and a 5 inch folder to warrant going to the 5 inch. The 6 inch is definitelly a lot more knife but at the cost of ease of carry. My solution is to carry two 4 inchers with me at all times, this can be as or more scary than a single larger folder.
 
Wow, yeah what Marcus, Jim and Yekim said.

I do believe everything that could possibly be a problem with a monster blade folder has been countered on this thread and at least two others, so I'll offer a personal insight.
In contrast to the large and 'not yet lightning quick'(I refuse to believe you guys are that slow)camp, I am only 5'7 and 170ish lbs. I trained a little over seven years in hard-style karate(many years ago) and just under a years worth(a couple times a week) in modern Arnis. Though it's been couple years since I last trained under any instructor, I distinctly remember in my karate class how difficult it was for a skinny 5'6"ish kid,quick as I was then, to spar with guys in the 6'+ range(which there were many) for the simple fact that I had to cover so much space to get anything done, defensively and offensively, I learned alot about range and space then.
After studying arnis for awhile, I really appreciated the use of weapons and was still haunted by the "giant guy" factor, only this time I imagined them with a weapon. For me that was enough to seek knives with the most blade that was legally allowed. I would carry an ASP baton but club and 'like' instruments are a no-no in Texas(not including flashlights of course).
The whole point is that #1) size of blade translates into greater reach and space coverage for shorter people in a defensive situation. A 6'+ guy(who's quick) with a 6"+ blade knife is suicide for me to try and "get inside",so to speak, with my 3.5"-4" folder. Why would a shorter person want a small blade for anything but utility? #2) Small blades are great for precise fine cutting work and larger blades are great for heavy-duty chores where more 'cut' per stroke means less energy expended, so there is a place and function for both lenghts. If alot of this seems redundant I apologize, but like I said, the subject has been countered already here and in other threads.
Everyone's willingness to toss around ideas here is great and I hope something cool and 'big' comes out of all this.

Thanks,
Ken
 
I didn't think I would like a mega-folder but then I got my Gunsite(it came today)I am a convert.

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-Greg Johnson
ICQ#4236341

 
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