Educate Me

I personally prefer smaller blades, in the 3 inch range, regardless of any legal or social implications. I find 3" give or take strikes a good balance between control for more detailed cuts and size for bigger cuts, and they are typically 4 inches or so closed, which fits nicely in the front pocket of jeans.
As far as lightweight, for me it is not really an issue of "ugh, ive carried these extra 3 ounces all day today and now im tired". I tend to remove pocket clips and just let the knife ride inside my pocket, vertically, next to my wallet. So what matters to me is more of how a lightweight knife "floats" in the pocket and doesn't sink to the bottom or turn horizontal.
 
Noswad0208 said:
Because not everyone is required to have the same tastes as you.
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Perfect answer.

Not everyone has the same idea of what a good knife is. Same reason that Victorinox sells like crazy, but so does something like a Medford. Without the diversity, there would be no reason for the market to be as great as it is right now.

I will say that I like a larger folder, but also carry a small knife on me all the time now. Mainly because it doesn't freak anyone out, and I don't have to worry about it for small tasks. It also is a Vic Pioneer, so it can perform a variety of tasks very well.
At the same time, I sometimes like to carry a small fixed blade on me, and sometimes I like to carry a 4.25" bladed Balisong as well. Just depends on what I want to do that day and if I need something to keep me occupied ;)
My usual EDC is a Shirogorov 95T or lately the Hati in carbon fiber. I carry a lot of stuff, and I'm used to having a larger knife on me, but some people don't like it.
 
RBid said:
"No, that's not a banana. It's Elmax!"
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Needs to be a Spyderco Southard, and you need to change it to 205-P, for this to really be great ;)
And really, that's what you named it? Huh... :D
 
Joschka said:
Well said collim1.
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Hey Newb. Love your posts. Much respect.

BUT, when you make further comments down in your post, it's helpful to us fans if you hit "Reply with quote" so we can see what you're commenting on (example - Well said Collim1) and don't have to scroll back up to see what Collim1 said originally.

It will make your post that much more enjoyable to read. Keep up the great work (and posts) and welcome to BF.

"I've read all of your posts. I'm your biggest fan".
 
Great post Joschka.

I carry multiple knives daily. Why? Because I'm a knife nut and I can. I can pull out my Lionspy or Manix 2 and no one at work will even blink. Lucky me. I could probably carry my CRK Nyala on my hip, or maybe even the ESEE 6 and most of people at work would only ask why but would care less that I have it.

Plus, I live in Texas so most people out in public don't blink either when larger folders are pulled out and used.

I thinks it's a matter of several things. I like a small knife for ease of carry and I like collecting them. I own a few SAK's and a few nice stag traditionals. I also own some big (medium really) folders and carry one of them daily as well. I always view the large folder as my last ditch blade in a self defense situation ( I carry a gun everyday too). My smaller folders or my necker will cut almost everything I need during the week at work. Cutting an apple at lunch? The SAK Farmer or GEC 77 will work fine. I don't need the Lionspy or ZT0350 for that.
So, I'll ask the question for some of you. Why wouldn't you carry at least two knives (I know you do OP)? Small for small tasks and large for large tasks.
 
Some of us are kind of egg shaped and our belts have trouble holding up our pants if our pockets are full of heavy things, especially when we're wearing slacks. At least that is why I prefer lighter folders.
 
Hale Storm said:
Lucky me . . . I live in Texas so most people out in public don't blink either when larger folders are pulled out and used.
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I'm not sure everyone here would feel lucky to live in Texas, but on that point I suspect they would. ;)
 
abbydaddy said:
Some of us are kind of egg shaped and our belts have trouble holding up our pants if our pockets are full of heavy things, especially when we're wearing slacks. At least that is why I prefer lighter folders.
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And that right there is why the good Lord invented suspenders! :D
 
Joschka said:
I'm a small guy with pockets full of the usual stuff and I can carry a 4"/7oz blade all day
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And I can carry a 4"/4.2 oz folder clipped in the waistband of my sweats and not even notice it. Like I am right now. :)

Not all 4" folders are thick, wide, heavy pocket bricks. ;)

I couldn't carry my 8oz ZT0301 this way.

But as usual, to each his or her own.
 
As far as actual use goes I prefer a blade that's on the short side.

However, for comfort while using a knife I prefer a handle that's on the longer side.

Unfortunately there are not many folders with longer handles & short blades, save for a few.
 
bld522 said:
I'm not sure everyone here would feel lucky to live in Texas, but on that point I suspect they would. ;)
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I would assume you've never lived here. :D
We have very nice knife and gun laws and just passed open carry to compliment our concealed carry laws. Most of us have oil and gas wells and Longhorns in the backyard. We have no real winter here and only two seasons. Crime is low. Gas is $2.00 a gallon. A booming economy (we created more new jobs in Texas last year than all other 49 states combined). A few of us ride horses to work.

Now Joschka will be pi**ed and I'm in trouble with the mods for derailing the thread. Oh well, my wife says I'm in trouble every day anyway.
 
Overall ergonomics of the knife plays a bigger role for me than the size of the blade. A SAK Cadet would work for much of what I use a knife for but, I don't like a blade that small so my Cadet sees little pocket time. My Griptillian fits my hand well but is a little large for office carry. Plus, many of our patients just would not understand a knife like a Griptillian, much less a Becker or a Ka-Bar.

In my mind, if you only carry one knife, you are forced to make some sort of compromise. Because I carry a knife more than I use it, a smaller knife and the comfort it offers wins out. A 3 inch blade is a nice compromise for most of us. Remember, you can get a small blade to do many of the things a large blade should be doing. It will just take longer.

The perfect folding knife, IMHO, has a 3 1/4 inch full flat grind blade and a G10 handle. Give me an Axis lock to keep it together and I would be happy. So far, I have never seen a knife like that.
 
I work in an office and I prefer to carry large folders. The smallest that I regularly carry is a Spyderco Paramilitary 2, the larger knives that I carry are a Manix 2 XL, Spyderco Military and ZT 0561. I have no problem carrying that size and weight knife in my jeans or when wearing dress pants. I've noticed though that I can carry a relatively heavy knife clipped to my pocket and not notice it, but put a lighter knife down in the bottom of my pocket and I do notice it. I think people that wear dress pants but don't want to use pocket clips become much more sensitive to weight because of this.

I carried a mini-grip for several years and could do most of my work with one, but for some things it is a little too short. I used to say that a 3" blade was sufficient but the handle that normally comes with it is too small for serious work, but I've noticed recently that for some things that I do a 3" blade would not be enough. I still have a mini grip and I still have a Delice. I just got a used Dragonfly to play with, but none of these will be my primary carry, I want to use them for second knives.

I read a lot of people say that a Delica will do 75% or 90% of what they need, and it might do that for me too, but I prefer to have a knife that will do 100%. The people that don't carry knives at all manage to do 100% with no blade, so the average knife enthusiast could probably do 50% of their needs with their fingernails. Is that a reason to not carry a larger blade?

I like a lot of the smaller folders, they just aren't big enough for what I need. The Benchmade 470 and Spyderco Sage both have styling that interests me, but I know that they would be too small for me and I would not use them. Just as well, I have more than enough knives in my EDC rotation.
 
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