Big/Large and Small/Tiny are a matter of perspective.
Some people look at William Henry knives and think, "Oh, that is just perfect" Me, I wonder if my meathooks are adept enough to work them(the answer is, sometimes, barely). So, if you remember that big and small are very subjective terms, that helps.
Myself, I take a long view. Swords are long, and some of them go to 4 feet, so that defines long and big. A craft knife slash exacto has a half inch blade, so that defines small. Along that continuum, a 5 inch knife is small. But, if you have never really worked with anything larger than a pen knife, and you are bombarded with messages that demonize larger knives and are around a bunch of guys who brag about how much they can do with their wee knife, then 5 inches may seem like a sWord.
From my perspective, I have yet to find a 7 inch knife that 'chopped', I know what an axe is and how it performs, I know how they throw chips, so for me, that is capital C, Chopping. And by that definition, I find it really hard to believe that any 7 inch knife 'chops'.
Now, with the proper application of a baton, you can make a 7 inch knife perform in a way that makes 'chopping' un-necessary, which is really all a person 'needs', but that does not mean that a 7 inch knife is all I will carry.
I understand the niche for a 7 inch knife, it is the 'compromise' niche. Large enough to do some things, small enough that it is not cumbersome. It falls into the 'one' knife compromise arena. And there are plenty of groups and people who have chosen this size.
But, when you do a survey of the world, you will find that many peoples and groups also use other, longer and/or thicker tools, machetes, larger leukus, golocks, parangs, klewangs, khukuris, etc.
And, the issues is not just length but mass (weight). Machetes do not mass much for their length, but in environments where there is a greater amount of hardwood, the 'long knife-like tool' gets thicker, for ease of use with the hardwoods.
When looking at batoning, I like having more inches, to make the batoning easier, and to have the option of batoning larger wood, if I so choose. It seems to me that there can be no argument, trying to hit 4 inches sticking out the end of the log is easier than hitting 1 inch.
Part of this whole thing of perspective is physical size, I am quite large, my hands are large, I have arms like a model's legs, I have legs like oak. So for me, I can throw around a pretty big knife without much thought. Others, have a different physical experience, and so their perspective grows out of that.
Mentally, there are different arguments. Are you trying to figure out how small you can get something, how much you can conserve and still have an adequate tool? Or you the kind of person who fills the bowl, and then says "Heck, let's throw in a little more"? Do you secretly want to process an elk with a mashed over .30-06 shell, or do you pity the guy that had to do that? My buddy and I have nicknames for each other, he is 'The Extreme' and I am 'Overkill', different strokes for different folks. He wants to find the smallest container that he can fit his kit into, and he spends hours re-arranging the contents for a tighter fit. Me, I grow weary of that exercise within microseconds..... Give me a big ziploc bag anytime, no need for organization, and I am always finding something new, like Christmas every time I open it.
I like knives in the 7 inch range, but I prefer them wide and thinner, more slicers that can baton if necessary.
I also never choose just one knife, a perfect set for me would be 3 knives, a american bushcraft for small work with an acute point at 3 or 4 inches, a mediterranean dirk at 7 inches with a wide blade for slicing and general work, and a 'big 'un', in the 9 to 11 inch blade range.
I have a design that I have been working on for about a year, the large version has an 11 inch blade, 1 inch of choil, and a 6 finger handle, for about 18 inches overall. I am also considering an 8 inch bladed version, for conservation of resources if nothing else. But, it is not 1/4 inch thick, it is thinner, but it is pretty wide, especially towards the tip, like a golock or parang.
I guess I am an equal opportunity lover of cutlery. If I can find a use for it, then I like it, I love the refinements and innovations that are happening in the smaller knives due to the 'bushcraft' movement, absolutely love it. In fact, the narrow tipped 4 inch knife has reached it's highest form in some of the American style buschcraft knives, simply stunning.
But, big v small is really so much about what works for you. And I think practically, the only way a person will know for certain, is watching and learning how someone else uses their knife, and then trying it.
Length is good for batonning.
Length is also important for chopping: increases chopping speed
Axe is the optimized chopper: most weight centered in the head and long handle for speed.
Now if you look at any bowie knife, weight is evenly distributed along the blade. From my experience, hitting near the tip of the blade is counter-productive: you get a lot of vibration and it doesn't work that well, you have to chop with about the middle of the blade, near balance center. That means to get a certain "lever arm" you need twice the length in blade, which leads to long choppers.
This is a good point, leverage. And that is why I like parangs, parangs, and khukuris that have their mass distributed more towards the tip.
I also think that one knife carry by design is... well, silly, to be blunt. Define your need for a large chopper, axe, saw and include as you see fit, but a mid range knife with a convex edge- a broad bladed 6 incher- and a small scandi grind in the 2.5 to 3.75 inch range are a really ideal pairing.
Well said.
Just a note to the OP, I read Bill Bagwell's Bowies, Big Knives and the Best of Battle Blades boo. His stance is that 9" is the magical length where leverage becomes a major factor in blades, thus increasing the chopping ability...
A good observation.
Bill Siegle Cutlass and Fire Building in the Winter....
Bill Siegle Cutlass, Ontarion RTAK II, and Martindale Golock
Ontarion RTAK II, Browning Crowell Barker Competition Knife, and Bill Siegle Cutlass w/o handle scales
Marion
Just a matter of perspective. I grew up using fodder knives/machetes all the time on the farm and have come to appreciate what can be done with a longer blade. I don't go on miles long ultra light hikes, so think nothing of toting an 18" blade.
