Fixed Blade size for EDC ??

I carry a fixed blade daily as well. Most of mine are between 2-3.5 inch blades with an overall length of 5 to 7.5 inches. This works best for me. I wear Tru-Spec cargo shorts & pants anytime I walk out of my house, the fixed blade rides in a cargo pocket. I never even think twice about it until I need it.
 
I live in a Western state, Colorado. You can only carry knives this big for sporting purposes. Dumb law, but 3.5 inch limit is it.
Bike Doc Bike Doc , it's true, we Coloradans labor under this restriction, but many of us blur the limit. I don't think twice about carrying a Buck 110 or Mora 510 at 3.75" or an Opinel N°10 at 4". While I have many knives over this size, I don't use them often primarily as they aren't needed for most of my tasks.

Zieg
 
A belt knife for camping/backpacking or deer huntingb . . .I am comfortable with a sheth that rides on my blt and fits into the back pocket of my jeans. So something around four inches. To dress out Elk or something larger I would guess \a larger knife would b the thing, but I have no experience there.

I do not quite get the need for a belt knife with a blade sized the same as my locking pocket folder and I see no need to EDC a Bowe or Kukri.
 
It all depends on how and where I'm carrying. For EDC purposes, relative concealment is a factor for me. There are no legal restrictions here but I don't like making soccer moms nervous at the grocery store.

Smaller knives are easy and lend themselves to better concealment across more methods. Here are a couple of production knives that I like very much: the Rainier Fastpak (above the Skaha II), and the new Vosteed Mink. Around town, the largest fixed blade I'll carry OWB is probably this slightly modified Real Steel Pointman (to the right of my Swiss Tool and full-sized Sheepsfoot Domin).

If going to IWB, such as when I travel to states that violate my 2A rights, I'll swap my firearm for a Pinkerton Lancer in the same spot with closer to 5" of blade length.

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I make my EDC blades at roughly 3 inches blade length and try to keep overall length under 7 inches. Large enough to do just about any job you would need, still legal to carry in most areas and not obtrusive on the belt or in the pocket.

Examples below:


I love your knives, finish, the materials you choose, etc. Wish you'd make something longer, that would make sense for me to carry together with a 3.5-4" bladed folder.
 
Bike Doc Bike Doc , it's true, we Coloradans labor under this restriction, but many of us blur the limit. I don't think twice about carrying a Buck 110 or Mora 510 at 3.75" or an Opinel N°10 at 4". While I have many knives over this size, I don't use them often primarily as they aren't needed for most of my tasks.

Zieg

Yeah. Nobody is getting arrested, but it’s a dumb law. Knives I carry are usually between three and four inches long. Fifteen years back, I made a point of wearing a fixed blade whenever I went to court to protest this nonsense.

(Edit: I’m an attorney. I was not a defendant bringing knives to court.)
 
I find that it doesnt matter much how long the knife is if it is on my belt, except that around 7 inches I start having to adjust the knife when I sit in my truck. So I would say maybe, knives under 6 inches for me. Could be sheath related though.
 
I talked about it but didn't show a pic. Here's my own personal EDC. Its one of my Mestano models in 26C3 high carbon steel with dyed and stabilized box elder for the handle. 5 5/8" oal with a blade (tip to plunge) of 2 1/4":

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Sometimes we can get caught up in we gotta have so much blade for this or that. I'm often reminded of these pics. My son filled his cow elk tag close to camp. He drug her in to camp using his belt:

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Then his father in law jumped in and got started on the elk. He EDCs one of my Coyotes a small knife with about a 2 5/8" blade:

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Then my DIL and her sister jumped in and finished off filed dressing the elk. What did they use? A Poco, which is probably the smallest standard knife I make. Poco is Dave Spanish for not enough steel left to make another knife.

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