How big a folder is too big for you?

Barman1 said:
Relative to my 11.25" hand I need a larger knife so I can get a full 4 finger grip.
I have plenty of knives with a 3 finger size and 3-3.25" blades and I do carry them most but when I'm looking to carry and use something that really "fits" it will be in the 4-4.25" range.
Funny thing is that folks don't really see it as a big knife in my hand and I don't get many complaints about the intimidation factor relative to the amount of scuttlebutt I read around here anyway.
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Funny, there was a movie with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson shooting a S&W .500 snub nose, and in his hand it looked like a .38 special. Same deal I guess.

In my comfort zone, once you start going larger then a 4" blade it starts to feel awkwardly big for me as a folder, to where I'd rather just carry a fixed blade.
 
The biggest folder I ever carried, was an Ontario Hossum retribution -1. I think k if the scales were thinner, it may have been a better knife to carry. Anything bigger than that, just isn't practical for me.
 
A 4.5" blade is about as large a blade as I prefer to carry.
Weight doesn't really matter to me as much.
It's more about how it carries in the pocket.
 
Not sure...So far so good. :thumbsup:
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Anything with a blade over 4 inches. My Recon 1 is the biggest folder that I will comfortably carry.
 
My first decent knife was the small Vantage. When I got the large Vantage, I thought it was huge. Then when I got my 940-2, I thought that was huge. Now I see a 3 - 3.5 inch blade as usable. The large Vantage is now on the smaller end, and the small Vantage seems novelty sized. Go figure.

The largest blade I have currently is the 580 Barrage. Nothing larger would interest me or be carried, at least for this week.
 
For me it’s how big it is in pocket, not blade length. My at 562 is the biggest I’m comfortable carrying, the manix 2 is too big for me.
 
The 9 “ blade knife is a custom S-90-V MADD MAXX by Darrel Ralph. The 7” blade knife is a Camillus MADD MAXX with a custom Darrel Ralph Stellite 6-K blade. The 5.5” blade knife is Camillus CUDA MAXX with a custom Stellite 6-K blade.
 
It is funny. Like many who have posted before me, the 3”-4” blade range is my sweet spot, and so is under 4 ounces weight. In my kitchen I regularly use 6” and 8” bladed knives and I’m real comfortable with those. A folding knife much over 4” of blade feels awkward. I once bought a Recon 1 XL with 5.5” blade. It was great, and pretty light for its size, too. However, at that time I realized I’d never carry it with any regularity, so I gifted it to a friend. I even entertained adding a Spyderco-style opening hole, but decided against it.
 
4” to 4.5” is my realistic maximum. 3.75-4” is the true sweet spot for me. All of my favorite knives are in that range.

I tried and failed to carry a Large Espada (5.5”) - despite how much I loved the design, it was just too stupid long to use with any kind of real control unless I was cutting near the base of the blade... if I need do that, why bother having the extra length?

Then you have all that extra handle, too. It’s just too much. Maybe if I was Andre the Giant... but, since I’m 5’ 10”, I can’t use a 5.5” folding knife for day-to-day stuff without looking irredeemably awkward.

I carried a Rajah II for a while when walking my dog and hiking, but, even still, I probably should have just clipped on a fixed blade and called it good.
 
Comeuppance said:
I tried and failed to carry a Large Espada (5.5”) - despite how much I loved the design, it was just too stupid long to use with any kind of real control unless I was cutting near the base of the blade... if I need do that, why bother having the extra length?
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I used one as EDC for a while too. I think the blade shape contributes as much to it's impracticality as it's size. More so for me.
 
My maximum is about 3.75 inches in blade length, but certainly no longer than 4 inches. When I look at my folders, most of them are 3.25 - 3.5 inches in blade length. I have a weird aesthetic propensity to look at blade length vs. handle length proportion, even in fixed blades. I prefer a blade equal, or a bit longer than the handle length.
 
I guess it depends on the day and time of the week. During the week I work in an office during the day so I don't like to carry more than a 3-3.25 inch blade and under 4oz with work pants. Once home at night and the weekends I prefer to go 3.5-4 inches and under 6oz with jeans or Carharts they seem to handle the weight better. Just seems like anything under 3.5 doesnt have enough blade to cut things around the house without getting into the pivot area. Like some others have said I think I am more sensitive to weight in the pocket as opposed to blade length or handle size. 9in overall length is about my limit ZT 0920 is about the perfect size/weight in my book.
 
I’m not sure on my limit because I haven’t carried anything that I thought was too much yet.
Rajah 2 would be biggest for a multi hour hike with no issues in comfort. 6” and 13 ounces. Reason? Light clearing with the stealth of a folder. Fixed would be better I’m sure but I need the stealth plus it’s lighter overall than a fixed machete.
If speaking strictly on edc the 4 max is the largest I carry and probably carry half of the time. 4” and 10 ounces.
I do have a 4” and 14 ounce folder on the way. :rolleyes:
 
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