Dragonfly mainly for small handed folks

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waterford

Joined
May 19, 2012
Messages
156
Hi,
I just LOVE the look of the Dragonfly in the green color, but im concerned that its just too darn small for someone with medium-large hands. Do folks with somewhat medium to larger hands own this knife and what are your thoughts?
Thanks
 
I've got decently large hands, and the dragonfly is very comfortable IMO. I don't really use it for anything heavy, but it's light weight and small size make it one of my favorite EDCs! However, if you're gonna be doing anything substantial, I would probably go for a larger handled knife.
 
I bought a Ladybug to try out and decided it was too small for me. I would like to try a Dragonfly but I think it will be too small for some uses. I think the suitability of the knife will depend on what you intend to use it for. I read discussions about knife size and while I don't worry so much about blade size I do like a handle that is big enough to get a grip on it. If the handle is too small then this affects the ability to get a grip on it for serious cutting tasks. So for that reason I think the dragonfly would be good for light cutting duties but not if you have to apply a lot of force into the blade.
 
I have large hands (xl gloves) and the dragonfly fits nicely. It's not going to give you am extremely long blade, but for day to day use it's a nice, compact edc.
 
The Dragonfly is small but has excellent ergos for large hands in a 3 finger grip. If you have small hands I suppose you might be able to use a 4 finger grip, but there are plenty of folks like me with sausage fingers that have use for a small and handy knife like the Dragonfly. If you look at the finger choil it is cut for a full size digit. If by "green color" you are referring to the British Racing Green FRN model with ZDP-189 blade, then that is one of my favorite small folders. Excellent edge holding ability, great slicer, grippy handle, and subtle wire clip.

I often carry my Dragonfly as a second small knife as it's a great knife to use in a public setting where a larger knife might draw unwanted attention. Mine probably gets more use at slicing peppers in public than any other use. My ZDP DF is a Jalapeno's worst knightmare, but looks like a cute little knife to the general public.
 
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It fits fine in my medium sized hands when opened, but I find that I have to concentrate more when opening it.
 
Yeah it isn't the easiest knife to open one handed, but then neither is the Ladybug but I manage. I wear LG/XL gloves and get a lot of comments from people about how big my hands are.
 
My G10 DF2 fits my med-sized hands great! But I do almost always hold it with my index finger on the choil. If not then it doesn't feel as good that's for sure. Are you using the finger choil to grip it?
 
waterford said:
Hi,
I just LOVE the look of the Dragonfly in the green color, but im concerned that its just too darn small for someone with medium-large hands. Do folks with somewhat medium to larger hands own this knife and what are your thoughts?
Thanks
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I have relatively small hands, and find the Dragonfly handle too small for comfort. Navigator handle is much better and the Kiwi handle is even better than that. Too bad they're both discontinued.
 
Fairly large hands here (xl gloves), and the dfly fits just fine for its intended uses. It's a small knife, and isn't intended for hard use, but it's forward finger choil and pinky shelf mean a full 4 finger grip is possible.
 
I like the DragonFly's ergonomics. For me, it handles like a much bigger knife and I carry my ZDP model once or twice a week. I tend to carry all by DFlys deep in my pocket and have removed the clips. I also add a little paracord lanyard to the tail end of my Dragonflys. It gives you an extra couple of inches without adding any bulk. In the picture, you can see my ZDP lanyard - I tied it with a bronze bead by Peter Atwood topped off by two diamond knots.

TedP

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I'm another with XL hands and I've been very surprised at how comfortable a fit the Dragonfly is. Dropping that front finger into the choil allows a four finger grip and it sits really nicely in the hand. It disappears in the pocket until you need it and I've never found it difficult to open one-handed, although I've not tried with gloves as I rarely wear them. As others have said, it's not going to do the big jobs, but for a small EDC it's outstanding. The fact that it's in super-sexy British Racing Green and ZDP-189 steel just completes the package.
 
I commented in another thread that some knives just aren't designed to be held behind the choil, and i think this is one of them. If you choke up on it, there's plenty to grip unless you have insanely big hands.
 
What knife in the Spyderco line would be similar to this but slightly larger? Would it be the Delica?

I've also read that the Byrd Robin has a slightly larger handle than the Dragonfly. Has anyone made a direct comparison?
 
bdmicarta said:
What knife in the Spyderco line would be similar to this but slightly larger? Would it be the Delica?

I've also read that the Byrd Robin has a slightly larger handle than the Dragonfly. Has anyone made a direct comparison?
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The chaparral is going to be the closest in terms of ergos in a slightly larger package. The caly3 would be the next size up. The delica is a great knife, but lacks the finger choil so ergonomically is very different from the dfly.
 
Evil D said:
I commented in another thread that some knives just aren't designed to be held behind the choil, and i think this is one of them. If you choke up on it, there's plenty to grip unless you have insanely big hands.
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I agree, but you know what, I cut up a pizza box the other night with my DF2 G10 and held it behind the choil & it worked fine! That said, I much much prefer to choke up and use the choil. But surprisingly it worked pretty good behind too.
 
jon1all said:
I agree, but you know what, I cut up a pizza box the other night with my DF2 G10 and held it behind the choil & it worked fine! That said, I much much prefer to choke up and use the choil. But surprisingly it worked pretty good behind too.
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I'm sure it does, but again from an ergonomics perspective I have no doubt Sal intended it to be choked up on. It reminds me a lot of the original Paramilitary and Caly 3...but that might just be because my hands are huge and only fit comfortably when choked up on.
 
What knife in the Spyderco line would be similar to this but slightly larger? Would it be the Delica?
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The Urban is much closer in size and profile than the Delica although it is a slipit. It's total length is 0.5" longer and the blade is 0.31" longer. The Cat is just a little larger than the Urban and is a liner lock.
 
Its a great knife, just like the spyderco website says its a "little big knife". No doubt is it a small knife but it feels like a big one in hand. Its my number 1 favorite spyderco. I'm having some silver twill scales made for my zdp189/g10 fly.
 
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