If you buy a new knife, Would the blade be 3" or 3 1/2"?

Tony8179 said:
I'm a big fan of the 3.5" - 4" range personally. I honestly feel that if you were to make a 3" Acies, it would be a big seller. Whenever you release something with a 3.5" blade there is always going to be a group of folks who want the "mini" version.
Click to expand...

I agree totally, from a marketing standpoint take a great design and scale it down. Personally I prefer 3.5 to 4 in folders but in the land of sheeple I go 3 in or smaller for legalities sake.

PS since you are A.G. I want you to know your sting boot knife by CRKT is awesome. Keep up the good work.:)
 
For most of my day to day uses I find a 3.5" blade is preferred. I find that the blade shape is as much a consideration as blade length. I like the "leaf" shape that Spyderco uses in knives such as the Tenacious, but I more often carry my Emerson CQC 7B, just wish the blade was slightly larger in width and possible .25" longer. My longest blades are my ZT0200 and Spyderco Military, but I am not EDC'ing them as much at the moment. I certainly will when I am wearing jeans in the fall and winter.
 
Three of my favorite knives, the William Henry Quest, the Boye folder, and the Benchmade 943 are in the 3-3.5" range. I would like them even more if they were 1/2" longer (bladewise).
 
TheFlash said:
As was said in a post above, it's more about HANDLE size than blade size.
Some folders have a great blade-to-handle size ratio: Benchmade Mini-Skirmish
Some folders have a very large handle with a smaller blade: most Emerson knives

Personal preference is to have the blade-to-handle ratio be as close to 1:1 as possible.
If the handle length is 3.5"-4.0" and the blade is close to that, then in my opinion, it's darn near perfect...

Thank you AG!

Regards,
Mike
Click to expand...


+1
It's all about the ratio for me.
Skirmish/Mini Skirmish = amazing
Paramilitary = pathetic
(although the dang thing CUTS. amazing blade geometry. just make it big
enough to make it worth packing all that handle around)
 
A. G. Russell said:
I am designing new knives for this year and would like your help.

I have Framelocks, Liner locks, slipjoints, lockbacks already on paper and get the feeling that more of you would be interested if the blades were shorter, rather than longer.

Would you rather have a 3" blade or one longer?

Thanks, A. G.
Click to expand...

Thank you for asking us AG.

I'm a city dweller.
For one-handers for EDC in the city (which is what I usually buy) I usually prefer a 3" blade. If I were buying a knife for camping or hunting use I would prefer the 3 1/2".

Slipjoints tend to be measured by the closed length. My favorite closed length for a traditional is 3 3/4". That usually means a blade that is just a bit shy of 3".

Thanks again,
Frank
 
Last edited:
Thanks for asking, AG.

I have medium hands and, although I have many shorter and longer folders, my sweet spot is a knife with a closed length of about 4.5". This seems to translate into a blade length of about 3.4".
 
The 3.5 inch Trapper with a 3 inch blade sounds interesting. Looking forward to seeing your designs.
 
The most practical for actually carrying is 3" or 2.9" because of weight and local laws. It doesn't matter if I prefer a longer knife because I'm not going to carry it.
 
3.5" is my favorite blade length for all-around usage.

I have no use for a 3" blade, but I do have a use for a 2.9" one, especially if it's in the same length handle as the 3.5" version. That gives you a knife with maximum legality but that still has a good solid gripping surface. I modded a Spyderco Paramilitary to 2.9" for that very reason.
 
I like a 3.5 to 4 inch blade at a minimum but the overall flow of the knife is also important to me.
 
I use skinning deer as my barometer, in truth that is the largeist task most here an elsewhere are going to undertake with a knife, I have cleaned deer and all kinds of game and not much works better than a 3 inch blade, anything bigger is cumbersome. Moreover if your going to do any task that actually requires says a larger blade, well that is why they make fixed blade knives.

What I think would help is that if a "mini version" or 3 inch knife is made, don't downsize any of the other dimensions other than length. Leave the handles and blades the same thickness as the larger model and also leave the blades and handles as wide.
 
I usually carry slipjoints as an elegant, "white collar" edc. The smaller ones (3" OAL) work better with dress pants.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top