Folding Blade length preference Poll

[Gary W. Graley]

I've owned a LOT of knives over the years, many years now.
I do miss those I no longer have, but it seems I don't learn
very well as to what really works best for me, regarding blade
length. I've had the Rukus, a Police, Calypso, the new Police which
measures in at close to 4 1/2" and also a long time ago, a BIG
Cold Steel with a 6" blade, yikes was that a monster

So, I THINK I've figured out that for me, a folder that works best
for every day chores, not one falling into a SelfDefense style,
would be those with a 3" to 2 1/2" blade, in the poll for this thread
you can vote, only paying members are allowed though I think,
so if you can't click to vote you can add your preference in a post.

Right now I carry the David Boye cobalt folder, just at 3" and very
handy knife, a review is shown in this Thread here

For me I like the control the smaller blades provide, a longer blade
seems to have it's point get in the way a lot of times. The new Police
I have, after using it for a short while, is a bit too long and will be
going to a friend soon.

So choose your preference , select the option that is closest to your blade size you like.
G2

 

[miro44]

For EDC chores I like mine to be around 3"-3 1/2".

 

[batosai117]

I chose 3 1/2", but my range is usually 3 1/2" - 4" Any smaller and I feel like something is missing, any larger and well, it takes up a bit too much pocket space to sit down comfortably.

I'm carrying my Large Sebenza 21 which has a 3.625" blade length, or my Ritter Griptilian which is right at 3.5"

The Ritter Grip is surprisingly the same length as the sebenza on the edge, but when lined up side by side the griptilian is overall shorter than the large sebenza.

 

[rackness]

I have found that 3.5" - 4" blades suit me best for edc.

I use my knives for a wide range of tasks from the job site to the kitchen and I find anything shorter is inadequate for some of my uses and anything larger is just to damn big to carry around, and draws too much unwanted attention.

 

[Peregrin]

Most of my EDCs are slip joints or gents folders. I usually carry them in my pocket. Sometimes I'll clip a Mnandi in my shirt pocket.

I find those that have a usable edge of 2.5" or so, making them 3.25" to 3.5" when closed are comfortable for me to carry. That seems to be a good size blade for most anything I do with a folder.

If I'm not at work, I usually have a fixed blade on my belt for any heavier task.

 

[dtownknifekid]

3- 3 1/2 inches. Small enough to not scare the sheeple too much but large enough to do their edc taks.

 

[myright]

3 inch due to state law, but I've also found that I have little use for a folder with a blade much larger than 3 inches.

 

[WongKonPow]

3.5" for me

 

[JTR357]

I like a minimum of 3.25" to (the max) 4.25" in a folder,so I voted 3.5"

 

[John T Wylie Jr]

We have a concealed carry law of 3" or less for blade length.
At first that ticked me off but upon investigating my options I found that 3" or less works just fine for my daily users.

Strider PT CC
Erickson 3.5 EDC
Sodbuster Jr.
Even my fixed blade for daily use is 3" ( Rinaldi Matrix ).

I do have some longer blades that I can carry if needed , though for the most part , these do all this city boy needs.

 

[neeman]

Most of my EDCs are slip joints or gents folders. I usually carry them in my pocket. Sometimes I'll clip a Mnandi in my shirt pocket.

I find those that have a usable edge of 2.5" or so, making them 3.25" to 3.5" when closed are comfortable for me to carry. That seems to be a good size blade for most anything I do with a folder.

If I'm not at work, I usually have a fixed blade on my belt for any heavier task.

Same reasoning as Gary.
If I am 'working' a 4" stockman that has a 3" blade

Also a 3" legal limit, and no fixed blades unless camping!

 

[RKH]

I prefer a 3 inch blade. Also most folders this size carry very comfortable. And as I get older comfort becomes more and more important. And big knives seems to worry non knife users. At this length I am able to control the blade in most cutting applications. I use this folder for most of my day to day cutting needs. If I exceed this size I am not able to do many of the things I need with a knife safely. I also like to do a little wood carving and small wood projects with a knife. Some of my favorite folders have been a Buck Esquire neat little folder, Benchmade Mini-AFCK, a Spyderco Delica and Caly3, Boye folder, Kershaw Skyline and recently a Orange Zing. I have carried a small Sebenza that has been reground by Tom Krein. Wow, what a cutter that turned out to be. I did carry a large Sebenza but like the small much better. I like slip joint knives a lot too but the one handed folders are so convenient. I hope to never have to use a knife for self defense but if needed I would prefer sword. I have had a few serious cuts with stitches need once aand would not want to repeat that. Just some of my experience over the years.

RKH

 

[No_b00st]

3 1/2 inch seems to be the right proportion for me to work with - not too small to be useful, not too long to be controllable. I think it really has more to do with the blade length:handle length ratio.

Thank you for creating an original, different thread! This is a great question.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

I generally find myself with about a 3.5" folder for heavier carry, but I also like tinyknives, fixed and folding. A few of those are small enough to carry comfortably as neckers.

When I was working and needed a blade to cut heavy plastic ties and sheeting, and twine, a couple of the knives I rotated were 2" and 3" and worked fine. I would draw, open, slice, close, and put them away, and people would ask "What was THAT?"

And this was in a knife-friendly environment where the post office itself supplied us longer knives than that where we needed them.

 

[RKH]

Something I meant to add to my other post was the fact that the tactical knife phenomenon introduced larger folding knives. And thicker blades for strength. I prefer my EDC with a thin blade as I feel a knife's purpose is to cut and not pry or hammer with.

RKH

 

[tomcrx]

My preference is really not tied to blade length. I am more into ergonomic handles that fit my hand and allow a lot of room on the handle to assume various grips for cutting chores. This factor makes me trend toward larger folders because they have bigger handles

 

[SaMX]

I voted 3.5" but down to 3" would be just as good.

 

[jimbo@stn23]

Went with 3 1/2. Prefer that for a minimum up to 4" like a military, large Sebenza, etc. Kinda being drawn to smaller knives like a Buck 55 or my meerkat occasionally.

 

[orthogonal1]

I seem to gravitate to knives with approx. 4-inch blades. Such knives not only pass the "sub-sandwich" cut test (cut a sub-sandwich in half without crushing the bread), but they tend to have handles long enough to be comfortable in use.

 

[cmdionne]

I like how the poll results give us a nice bell curve (was to be expected though). I like from 2.5-3, mainly just for the sake of the sheeple. If I'm carrying one of my bigger knives, benchmade grip or Pacific salt, I usually also carry something smaller and end up just using that because I don't want to scare anyone. Not to mention I go to school and work in Detroit, which has a 3" blade ordinance, and my school follows the city ordinance, so that also limits me. If there were no mediating factors I would probably favor knives around 3.5-4" like my pacific salt and full size grip, but I'm overall happy with what I'm allowed to carry.