How small can you go ? ( a fun experiment)

TheChunk91 said:
The way I see it with a stockman or cattle knife is there’s no extra bulk to have a 3rd blade but many payoffs.

It can be used as a beater to preserve the other blades or saved as an always razor sharp backup blade. You could also just use any one of the three blades for the task they best fit. It’s so versatile.
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I understand the benefits, the need just doesn't present itself often enough.
Generally the only thing I need a secondary blade to be is sharp and smaller than the main, beyond that it doesn't end up mattering what shape it is.
That's just how my knife needs go, but I will often find extra use for a sheeps foot when I've got it and pens or speys won't see any use.
 
Since my recent operations I'm torn about what to carry. I can't do anything outside. Couldn't even lift a 24-bottle case of water the other day - the wife had to carry it in the house. Anyway, I used to carry at lest one large knife and another smaller knife. Today, I slicked up a Stockman Sowbelly and plan to carry that daily. It's 3 7/8" long, has rounded bolsters, with a nice curved frame and, for all practical purposes, completely sunken joints. Of course I'll be carrying a second knife along with it and based on my current abilities I could probably do with a Peanut or similar sized knife - maybe a small Lambfoot. Anyway, here's the Sowbelly I'll be carrying.

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and here's a Peanut I have that I could carry along too
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I received this 34OT, small but very useable in fact.
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Smaller is the Winchester Half Congress. The wharncliff does wonders.
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To be true, this one never leaves my purse. A show-stealer at the restaurant!
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There are smaller but their use is limited.
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Might try it, small knives are a challenge: are they tenable or too toy-like? Much depends on your dexterity of grip, possibly hand size. Certainly a 3 3/8 is fine for me depending on pattern, CASE Penknife, Swayback Gent or Queen No.26 Stockman. GEC smalls are less satisfying, the 14 and 18 are very good looking but they've got the toy like aspect. Currently waiting for an unusual sized Laguiole, 8cm from G.David, let's see if that works;):D
 
Thank you Hickory, for the small knife challenge. The little ones have been near to my heart for a very ling time, and it's all I carry nowadays. Up until my dad passed away, my usual pocket knife size was a Buck 301 stockman/Wenger SI/Opinel number 8. All that changed once I got used to carrying dad's old peanut. Then my wife Karen influenced my to do a SAK classic challenge. A classic is as small as you can go in a pocket knife, but my wife really surprised me with what the did with one. It made short work of all plastic packaging, twine, box opening screw driving, in addition to the odd jobs the few tools were capable of doing.

Good luck to all who give the little cutters a try. I think most of you will be very pleasantly surprised at how well a 2 inch blade will do in everyday carry. For most of modern suburban life, not much knife is really needed. Besides, one of the big advantages of a little knife is, being so small and light, you can carry more of them for the daily variety. A couple different knives in one pocket won't weigh down the pants like the bigger ones. :D
 
I was gifted a yeller cv peanut here on the porch several years ago and it has proven itself to be a very dependable pocket knife that puts an end to cardboard as well as a razor knife. The ONLY reason it doesn’t live in my pocket is that for over 45 years I’ve carried a Med stockman and just don’t feel right without one. But honestly I look forward to the day that little peanut becomes enough.
 
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Interesting thread. I'm not going to take the challenge, though, for the simple fact that all I carried for decades (except when camping or hunting) were small knives, like these:
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I carried the stockman for years. I never really had a rotation--I just carried one knife for years, then another one for years. The Case lockback pictured is a replacement for an almost identical Gerber I lost. Probably the one I carried the most was the Victorinox Classic. The blade is tiny, but sharp, and I like the steel. I liked the convenience of having scissors, tweezers, and a toothpick, but I NEVER used the file/screwdriver. (I don't file my nails, and I always have plenty of screwdrivers around.) But I eventually got tired of the tiny blades, and now carry a 12cm (4.72 in.) Laguiole, a No. 8 Opinel, or a Case trapper most of the time. A few months ago I carried a peanut for a week, and defintely felt "underknifed." I still like the small knives, but they will be carried usually in addition to something larger.
 
Modoc ED said:
Since my recent operations I'm torn about what to carry. I can't do anything outside. Couldn't even lift a 24-bottle case of water the other day - the wife had to carry it in the house. Anyway, I used to carry at lest one large knife and another smaller knife. Today, I slicked up a Stockman Sowbelly and plan to carry that daily. It's 3 7/8" long, has rounded bolsters, with a nice curved frame and, for all practical purposes, completely sunken joints. Of course I'll be carrying a second knife along with it and based on my current abilities I could probably do with a Peanut or similar sized knife - maybe a small Lambfoot. Anyway, here's the Sowbelly I'll be carrying.

vn9c1Q5.jpg


and here's a Peanut I have that I could carry along too
.
06iyQvN.jpg
Click to expand...
The Yellowbelly is one of my favorite carrys. You get nice heavy duty blades in a medium package. Tony Bose did a heck of a job designing those. Gotta love some yeller Delrin!
 
CHNeal said:
I was gift a yeller cv peanut here on the porch several years ago and it has proven itself to be a very dependable pocket knife that puts an end to cardboard as well as a razor knife. The ONLY reason it doesn’t live in my pocket is that for over 45 years I’ve carried a Med stockman and just don’t feel right without one. But honestly I look forward to the day that little peanut becomes enough.
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It all really comes down to what you're used to. Personal perception is a powerful thing.

For 25 years before I became a knife nut, my EDC knife as a Buck 301 stockman. At 3 7/8th inch size and three blades, it was a decent size knife. My other knife was my Wenger SI, the Wenger equivalent of a pioneer. At 3 1/2 inches and a Boy Scout layout, it also was a decent size knife. These were my go-to pocket knives for a few decades.

It wasn't until after dad passed away and I was getting ready to go to work, for some reason my eyes lingered on his old very worn Peanut that was in the tray on top of my dresser. I felt an urge to drop it in my pocket for the day. It was in my coin pocket as I left the house.

In the course of the day, I had to open some boxes of parts to be modified on the mill, and I took out the peanut and it sliced soooo well through the taped up cardboard. I was a little amazed at how clean it cut. Had always felt a bit of disdain for th tiny thing, but actually using it was a little eye opening. After a bit of carrying dad's little knife I went out and got a peanut of my own. It was the start of my downsizing. An enlightenment.

At first the little 'nut was teamed up with my Buck 301 for backup for the stuff that I was sure the little knife wouldn't handle. But...that scenario didn't appear hardly at all. Rope, cardboard, packages, fishing line, small branches for hot dog sticks and whittling, all got cut with no problem. The only thing I found the little pocket knife not quite up to was food items like a loaf of bread on a camping trip, thick sandwiches to be cut in half, and the like. But in the kitchen I have kitchen knives and on campouts and woods I have a Buck Sheath knife on my hip. So, no problemo.

Little by little, the peanut gained my trust, and one day, after some trepidation and deep thoughts, I deliberately left my trusty old Buck stockman home and walked out the door with just my yella 'nut. Life went on, the sun still set in the west that night, and I learned what my dad knew all the time.

I don't remember how long I did the "experiment" with the peanut, but one day I dropped the old Buck 301 back in my pocket and was amazed at how it felt like a brick in my pocket and ungainly in my hand. I had adapted. Had go used to the little legume. Like getting used to a scalpel and then went back to a meat cleaver. I realized that my "big" knife days were over. I remember thinking "Okay dad, you win."

Now I'm used to small precise cutters and like the thin little blades that glide through stuff. So beware you guys, once you go small and get used to it, you never go back.
 
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I guess I took the plunge close to a month ago. Been carrying this Executive (aka Chuck Yeager Sierra Knife) for close to a month...Ive lost track. Ive paired it with a SAK Floral or Electrician a couple times on the weekend, but didn’t need to. It’s handled everything without fail. In a pinch, I could handle all duties except cutting a sandwich with a Classic, but I prefer the extra handle length and bit bigger blade that the Executive offers. I should say that I only had a Classic while in Germany and it handled cutting bread, cheese, and sausage just fine.

I’ve grown to prefer a pocket knife that is not noticed until needed.
 
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