Off Topic How much should a belt knife weigh?

How much should a belt knife weigh?

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knifejunkie1928

knifejunkie1928

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Feb 15, 2015
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I know this is a very very loaded question, but I’m interested in knowing how much people think a belt knife should weigh? How much is too much? When I say belt knife I think blade 4-6inches used for general camping, woodscraft, game processing. Not an EDC. Not talking about any specific make or model.

The poll is set up to be able to vote as much as you want so vote a range of any and all acceptable weight to you.

For me I would say anything between 6 and 9oz is ok, anything above and I don’t want to carry it on my belt.

I know this is largely dependent on the thickness of the blade you carry. For me the thickest I generally go is 5/32”.

Would love to here others thoughts on this.
 
Oh boy. This question is going to have all kinds of answers. I'd go with the military & hikers. These two groups rely heavily on light weight, due to the distances needed to travel & the energy involved carrying weight. Wonder why the perfect assault rifle should weigh close to nothing? 0 lbs. 0 oz. is the target weight. Get close to this & you have a winner.

To answer the question: the knife should weigh very close to nothing.
 
I guess weight is the last thing I think about when buying or choosing which knife to carry ...

and the size and weight would vary greatly from what purpose I was carrying a belt knife for ...

so as long as it doesn't pull my britches down weight has no factor in my carry plans.
 
As light as possible, given whatever your preference is. I'd say 6-8 ounces including the sheath. Confession: I rarely belt carry, particularly when carrying a pack/daypack. Just gets in the way of the waist/hip belt, and unless I'm going into combat :D I don't need it on the shoulder strap.
 
Since I am usually not on some long distance hike, weight on a belt knife is not the most important characteristic. If it were, I guess I would always have a Mora on my belt.
 
doesnt matter to me on weight within a handful of ounces. I'm in flat lands and swamps so weight isnt such a big deal. it's the belt that matters and if it can support the weight properly. I wear a gun belt to carry a full size pistol when I go onto property I own and swamps etc. so adding a belt knife isnt gonna matter much no matter what I'm doing or how far I'm going. I realize others have different opinions and do different things and live in different terrain, etc. where weight is crucial and that's okay.
 
It all depends on what you want to be able to do with the knife besides just carry it .

For a knife that will be carried a lot but used little and for light duty , a light weight knife is best .

If you need to do very much chopping up firewood or clearing small trees etc with your knife , you will appreciate some extra weight and blade length .

The Cold Steel Trail Master has a 9.5" blade and is ~18 oz . Just as an example .
 
It all depends on intended use. Use the lightest knife that will do the job, just don't go too light such that the knife cannot do whatever needs to be done.
 
I've currently got about 70 fixed blades in my collection. Except for some filet knives, none of them is longer than 9" OAL so 5" blade is about my max size. The vast majority, being hunting knives are 4" or less so that may not fit your criteria.. The heaviest is 7.4 oz. lightest is 0.5 oz. The 7.4 is way too heavy and I don't consider all that useful. Ditto with the lightest. 3-4 oz. is the relative sweetspot. While the lighter the better, generally some durability suffers. Too heavy and I'm carrying too much knife without any appreciable increase in performance. My personal view and interpretation of the physics, is that for a given edge geometry say 40 deg. total, the heavier the knife the more weight on that edge and the faster is wears down or dulls. So I do not view a thick blade stock as beneficial. But then I don't baton anything. lol Conversely, too thin, less resilient to tough use.

Like so many things, it is a balancing act.

Ditto for the blade length. Long knife IMO gets in the way more. Sitting down, moving around, easier to get hung up in the brush...
I want it small enough and light enough to not even know it is there until I need it, and when I do, have a a blade capable of doing the job. For me that job is game cleaning, food & fire prep, possible survival use, general camp tasks etc.
 
Off hand, I'd say a belt knife should weigh less than you do.
Otherwise your belt and/or suspenders would have difficulty holding your pants above your ankles.

Personally, I never noticed the 342 keys*, Colt 1911A1 with three spare loaded magazines, and Schrade 7OT/Buck 110 on my belt.

*I managed two convenience stores, a liquor store, and three night clubs, a vacation property in the Florida Keys, and a TV Station in Idaho.
I had a key to everything the company had a lock on, plus all company vehicles, not to mention keys for my vehicle and bicycles.
My key ring weighed six pounds.
 
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