How big a folder is too big for you?

SharpieB

SharpieB

Joined
Oct 31, 2017
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Just curious...

I ask as I almost pulled the trigger on a Cold Steel Hold Out I (13.5” total length with a 6” blade) this week. Luckily a friend has a Cold Steel Voyager XL (12.25”/5.5”) that I got to handle and it is ridiculously huge in my hand. The Hold Out is even bigger.:eek: I ultimately passed on the Hold Out.

I quickly realized that 3.75-4” (Spyderco Gayle Bradley, CS Recon 1, etc.) is as big as folder as I need and feel comfortable using. I have lots of folders with blades from 1.75-4” and 3-3.5” is my sweet spot with 4” my comfortable max.

I have 18-24” long machetes and a few other big fixed blades that get used a ton, but I just don’t personally see a need or use case for a massive folder.

What say you? If you use “folding machetes”, why?... and what do you use them for mainly?
 
SharpieB said:
Just curious...

I ask as I almost pulled the trigger on a Cold Steel Hold Out I (13.5” total length with a 6” blade) this week. Luckily a friend has a Cold Steel Voyager XL (12.25”/5.5”) that I got to handle and it is ridiculously huge in my hand. The Hold Out is even bigger.:eek: I ultimately passed on the Hold Out.

I quickly realized that 3.75-4” (Spyderco Gayle Bradley, CS Recon 1, etc.) is as big as folder as I need and feel comfortable using. I have lots of folders with blades from 1.75-4” and 3-3.5” is my sweet spot with 4” my comfortable max.

I have 18-24” long machetes and a few other big fixed blades that get used a ton, but I just don’t personally see a need or use case for a massive folder.

What say you? If you use “folding machetes”, why?... and what do you use them for mainly?
Click to expand...
I like large folders. I had a LRG Cold Steel Espada and carried it daily at work for quite a while. I carry a Roadhouse daily now, so 9 inches. I have a couple Crusader Forge knives that are 11ish. And some Halos. And a couple Emerson Supers. So like I said, I prefer larger. I have one smaller folder, 7.5, and it feels like a little toy.
 
I can do a 5" - 5.5" blade no problem. 6" is ok, if the design is right, but it's pushing it. This is where design is a huge factor, a stiletto, toothpick, thin navaja, Case '65 style hunter, or Buck 110 type can do well in that range. But a wide pattern or a giant "tactical brick" ? I can't do it.

Edit -

The 4" - 5 1/2" range knives were / are useful as grab and go outdoor knives when I didn't want to add a fixed blade.

Anything larger than that was simply a "because I can" folly of youth :).

Normally I'm in the 3 1/2" - 4" range.
 
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I'd say a 4" blade on a folder, with 9-9.25" overall, is max for me. I've honestly never tried anything larger, though.
(I do have a large Case knife that is approx. 9.75" overall, with a 4.25" blade...but I've never carried it. That size might be okay, clipped in a pocket; but, at the same time, it seems a little ridiculous to me. I guess I'd have to find one that I liked, and give it a try)
 
I don’t think I’ve owned a folder with a blade longer than 4” which is my preferred length anyway. Only exception is the large Opinel, which is over 5”, which I never carry, just keep it folded in a drawer. I love carrying the spyderco military and the manix2xl. I have a few zt’s with blade length between 3.75 to 4” as well. I find that knives with blade length 3-3.25” usually have handles which are too small, with the exception of keyring spydies like the lady/man bugs, which are attached to rings and/or lanyards.
 
And I am completely aware that anything I can do with a large knife I can do with a smaller knife. But small knives feel too small for me (below 3.5). And large knives are just fun. For me.

I also think it's a thing you get used to. I am used to a larger heavier knife, so it's not jarring to me. I would guess folks used to a smaller lighter knife would need an adjustment period to a larger heavier knife that they may not be willing to go through. Or it's just intolerable.
 
its not the blade size...its the handle. i dont care for more than about 5" blade as the handle for that isnt silly and lots of extra not needed for my hand. the 6" like a holdout has just too much handle for my likes. i find it gets in the way more than it helps.

i own a few of the larger cold steels and i like them for what they are but i rarely carry them over a 4" or 5" folder which is more useful for me.
 
Spyderco Military is as big as I want or need ;-) (4 inch blade)
 
:) I actually carried this monster regularly for a month or two , some years back . I never did get to where I "didn't notice it " ! It was just a bit much , even though I do love my big CS folders . I do still regularly carry two 5.5 to 6 " bladed CS folders , on my own land . Not in public places .
 
Haven't found a folder too large yet.

Though I've never owned any of the folding pocket swords that cold steel makes. So maybe the fact that I don't have any says that that's the upper limit for me.
 
I've found that my sweet spot is 4" blade and no more than 6 oz., preferably under 5 oz.

I love big folders, but my experience so far has been that they get a bit unwieldy for EDC past 4" and they definitely become too heavy for my tastes. The ZT 0200 (8 oz.) and Grayman Satu (12 oz.!) both have 4" blades, but they're heavy. The Cold Steel Voyager Vaquero XL (5.5", 7 oz.) has a blade so long there's not much I'd be able to use it for (though in fairness it's not designed to be an EDC knife), on top of being heavier than I'd like.

The Spyderco Military is amazing: 4" blade, 4.2 oz, light enough to drop into basketball shorts without really noticing it, but handles like both a large knife (long blade) and a medium knife (light in the hand, can be choked up on for detail work thanks to the perfect forward choil). It's kind of spoiled me for heavier knives and longer knives.

...And yet, I still get tempted whenever I look at a ZT 0301/03. :D
 
Y'all knowing how much knives weigh makes me thinking about putting my CF knives on my wive's baking scale...

They weigh enough that I am sure I can't jump up and down with one in my pocket unless I am wearing a belt.
 
I think weight has more to do with it than anything. For the last 20 years whenever I have needed to do any insulation work I put a Cold Steel Vaquero Grande in my pocket; it lets me trim those bats to size without needing to carry anything else. It has also seen its share of hikes and yard work, because it is no trouble to carry and easier than searching out the perfect tool for the task at hand. Lately I have taken to using a Frenzy as my large EDC, again due to the relatively light weight and ease of carry. I notice it a lot less in pocket than a ZT 0350, since that brick is always slapping me if I move quick. I don't really need that much blade, but it amuses me and the extra length means I can cut a bagel or whatever without getting gunk anywhere near the pivot.
 
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