Is a folding knife over 4 inches worth owning?

J

Jay Hiewd

Joined
Jan 15, 2021
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It seems like most areas make the legal limit 3 or 4 inches. Anything larger is usually very heavy to carry. Is there any logical reason to own an Espada XL or large?

I feel as if a fixed blade should be used for hunting/ camping tasks when the knife needs to be larger than 4 inches.

I also find the Cold Steel Kukri to be the ultimate camping/ coyote defense blade that can still be carried. What are your thoughts?
 
Do you consider, "because I want to," a logical reason? Because sometimes I just want a big ass folder on me. Admittedly, I don't carry the HUGE pocket sword, as I find the Espada XL unwieldy for most pocket knife tasks.

I say that with the caveat that the Cold Steel Rajah 2 is honestly a halfway decent folding machete/hatchet for lighter duty use. And unlike an actual machete or hatchet I can fold it and toss it in a pack just in case.
 
Folders, I have one on the way that is 7.5" oal, with a 3.5" blade. On the fence about if it will be too small for a primary carry, and it probably will be. I'll either trade or relegate it to back-up status.

Here in Texas, we only have to follow the weapons laws if it's over 5". Can't carry anyplace that a firearm isn't permitted, church, school or government building basically. Don't have any over 4.25" but that's only because there aren't many out there that check the other boxes.

My fixed blade collection is starting small, with a few sub 3", one 3.5" and a single 5". It's just a matter of time before those all start getting big as well. lol
 
Most states (even CA) allow blades longer than 4“ (some exceptions like schools, gov buildings, etc).

There‘s plenty of cool and useful folders >= 4“, most lighter than the one you mention, e.g., the Spyderco Police.
 
to me yes and not even for self defense thinking type stuff. doing outdoor work and a bigger blade folder in the pocket makes some tasks much faster easier with a simple 1 time clean cut over trying to make a 3" blade work going in a circle or multiple cuts or heading back to the house for a longer fixed blade i didnt have on me...
 
Worth owning but illegal to carry? 🤔

If you're a collector, why not? If you're not a collector & want to carry it: Probably not. 🤷‍♂️

I'm a collector.

I use to own a Spyderco Tatanka (w/a 5" blade) that I sold because I thought it was too big but, given how the prices of this knife has sky rocketed, I should probably have kept it.

However, I still have a K2 and a large # of balis with 4.5" blades in my collection and I also bought a "Gogun" folding "Pocket Chete" with a 9.4" blade; none of which I use or carry & I have no problem with that. :cool:
 
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I think the answer to your question is it depends. Do need a 4” blade knife for employment? How restrictive are the laws where you reside and are you willing to chance carrying a knife that it technically illegal? How bad do you want the knife you are thinking about buying?
 
Jay Hiewd said:
It seems like most areas make the legal limit 3 or 4 inches. Anything larger is usually very heavy to carry. Is there any logical reason to own an Espada XL or large?
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Not really, if you live in those areas, given then (as I understand it) fixed blade length is not restricted.

Jay Hiewd said:
I feel as if a fixed blade should be used for hunting/ camping tasks when the knife needs to be larger than 4 inches.
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Why?? Cardboard processing with a big knife is about the easiest there is.

Jay Hiewd said:
I also find the Cold Steel Kukri to be the ultimate camping/ coyote defense blade that can still be carried. What are your thoughts?
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Why?? If you're referring to the Rajah, it's kinda heavy, and I would much rather have a serrated Vaquero Voyager if I were jumped by a coyote. But I wouldn't. I would have a fixed blade before that.
 
It depends on what you need. I live off grid in the rainforest and use my big Rukus with its 4.25 inch blade a lot.

When I'm hiking or even walking down my mile-long dirt driveway, a big blade is useful for cutting back vegetation -- even up to two-inch thick elder branches that the rain brings down. I can move my hand back on the handle and have incredible chopping power, and I don't have to carry a machete or large fixed blade.

And sometimes a big blade does what a small one can't.

The knife is heavy, but no problem with jeans, and I live in jeans.

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Around 4" blade is about as long as I want to go on a folder. Starts to get unwieldy for me. 3.5"-3.75 is my favorite and plenty long enough for self defense which is definitely a consideration of mine and one of the reasons I stay away from 3" blades.
 
I use to consider defense as an aspect of purchase for a knife, so in regards to using a large knife for that, it won't bode well for you in court--- but I can ultimately only speak for my state. For general utility task, I haven't ran into any task that needed a 4 inch blade. It's gonna be 3 to 3.5 for me.
And I don't consider "because I want to" because I dont😉
 
Twindog said:
It depends on what you need. I live off grid in the rainforest and use my big Rukus with its 4.25 inch blade a lot.

When I'm hiking or even walking down my mile-long dirt driveway, a big blade is useful for cutting back vegetation -- even up to two-inch thick elder branches that the rain brings down. I can move my hand back on the handle and have incredible chopping power, and I don't have to carry a machete or large fixed blade.

And sometimes a big blade does what a small one can't.

The knife is heavy, but no problem with jeans, and I live in jeans.

2v2e1uNUyxAWtWs.jpg
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I had one of those beasts in hand many years ago, fell in love but didn't buy it on the spot and that remains my biggest knife regret. 😭
 
Things like the old school folding Bowies, and xxl Espadas are mainly for fun, but a big folder is awesome for outdoors work, and defense in a pinch. They're a good bridge between a fixed blade and a small folder, and it is pretty easy to do small folder things with a large folder by just choking up.
 
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