Is a folding knife over 4 inches worth owning?

Carry, sure that's a consideration.
Tackle boxes, lunch kits, bbq toolboxes... not carry. So yeah, someone shows up with a watermelon and all you have is a leatherman, yes, you can portion it out, but also, sometimes a folder is a good formfactor for a larger blade in places that need a larger blade, but you have limited packing space. I don't pocket carry most of my cooking knives, but I have a portable kitchen with me most days of the week.
 
knarfeng said:
Quiet said it in fewer words.
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Just a quick offtopic post, you live in SD? I knew I didn't like you, because obscene jealousy gets the best of us all, I suppose.

Frank, next time you drink an amazing can-only-be-had-at-the-brewery Alesmith Speedway Stout variant, think of me. 🤬🤬🤬

Seriously, folks, if you're a beer guy and haven't visited San Diego, you are capital M, capital O Missing Out. Food scene is outta sight as well.

Ok, back to knives.
 
bikerector said:
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Of the ones over 4", the rajah and counter XL get the most use. The rajah sees a fair amount of small chopping work, like trimming up pruned tree limbs for easy transport or to make it into fire wood, and clearing sapplings and other such things. I've used it to dig out the end of a drainage pipe a few times as well as I needed to cut up a lot of roots that got in. Now, I use the CS shovel which is a better tool for the task, but the rajah did really well too, just dulled right away, as sand and mud tends to do to an edge.

The counter point has started quite a few fires as it has a sharp spot on the spine for ferro rods and the length makes it easy to turn sticks into kindling just by pushing on the spine and handle, but it's batoned some things too. Getting those pencil sized sticks is easy and the weight is quite reasonable for the size of the tool, IMO. Like the rajah, it needed the plastics smoothed on the inside from the factory to make more comfortable for rougher uses.
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Embarrassingly, I'd forgotten all about the Counterpoints. Once my Steel Fund replenishes post BLADE, I need to go track down one or two of those. Even the smaller ones are excellent knives. That XL though, is a beautiful blade.
 
Quiet said:
Just a quick offtopic post, you live in SD? I knew I didn't like you, because obscene jealousy gets the best of us all, I suppose.

Frank, next time you drink an amazing can-only-be-had-at-the-brewery Alesmith Speedway Stout variant, think of me. 🤬🤬🤬

Seriously, folks, if you're a beer guy and haven't visited San Diego, you are capital M, capital O Missing Out. Food scene is outta sight as well.

Ok, back to knives.
Click to expand...
San Diego? Damn you need to get to the capital N capital O, New Orleans!
 
Quiet said:
Embarrassingly, I'd forgotten all about the Counterpoints. Once my Steel Fund replenishes post BLADE, I need to go track down one or two of those. Even the smaller ones are excellent knives. That XL though, is a beautiful blade.
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I have the about 4" version that my wife bought me for father's day several years ago, and it really is more handy than I thought it would be. It's one of those knives I keep around the office to just press into whatever I need to do, and it does it so well that I often forget about taking it home. It's banging around here under the work counter somewhere. Just a really nice blend of weight and blade shape paired with that ridiculously good Triad lock.

The 6" has been on my radar for awhile. I almost think I would get it in the serrated version just because I know I would never use it for a practical knife. I have a Marauder (another father's day gift, oddly enough) that is fully serrated, and it just makes sense on a knife like that for what i would expect it to do:P
 
I tend to stick to 4 to 5oz knife in the 4" length. I find that I like a paring knife size for day to day tasks. I also tend to find larger knifes more comfortable to use and open.

I struggle with a 3" and under knife hot spotting due to my trigger finger issues.

Just bought a Kizer Begleiter XL to try, been mostly carrying my crkt redemption and Spyder serrated police 4 last few months. Plenty of good options in the 4" flavor that aren't beasts. My lionsteel 4" titanium Sr1 on the other hand is just a novelty in my collection.
 
bikerector said:
view


Of the ones over 4", the rajah and counter XL get the most use. The rajah sees a fair amount of small chopping work, like trimming up pruned tree limbs for easy transport or to make it into fire wood, and clearing sapplings and other such things. I've used it to dig out the end of a drainage pipe a few times as well as I needed to cut up a lot of roots that got in. Now, I use the CS shovel which is a better tool for the task, but the rajah did really well too, just dulled right away, as sand and mud tends to do to an edge.

The counter point has started quite a few fires as it has a sharp spot on the spine for ferro rods and the length makes it easy to turn sticks into kindling just by pushing on the spine and handle, but it's batoned some things too. Getting those pencil sized sticks is easy and the weight is quite reasonable for the size of the tool, IMO. Like the rajah, it needed the plastics smoothed on the inside from the factory to make more comfortable for rougher uses.
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The grind on the Rajah looks lovely. I’m guessing it slices like a dream with the right edge, yeah?
 
mitchnola said:
I just don’t see why blade length would determine that anything should be a fixed blade. I would think use would be the reason for whether or not a fixed blade is needed.

Perfect is example is the 9” opinel watermelon blade. Great cause it’s big enough but is only 10” closed compared to having to bring a 14-15” fixed blade.

Just my opinion though.
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I concur.

I have found I prefer knives (folders) with 3.5" long blades or longer. I'm a big guy with fairly large hands. However, I don't like heavy knives, which creates a bit of a paradox. My most carried knives are under 5oz, most well under.

I'm planning to move to Colorado in the next 6 months, and they have a 3.5" blade limit which is vexing. However, I tend to avoid trouble so I don't think anyone will notice.
 
Quiet said:
Just a quick offtopic post, you live in SD? I knew I didn't like you, because obscene jealousy gets the best of us all, I suppose.

Frank, next time you drink an amazing can-only-be-had-at-the-brewery Alesmith Speedway Stout variant, think of me. 🤬🤬🤬

Seriously, folks, if you're a beer guy and haven't visited San Diego, you are capital M, capital O Missing Out. Food scene is outta sight as well.

Ok, back to knives.
Click to expand...
I was just in SD county yesterday. Soooo many beer and food places. I ate at a spot called Copper Kings burgers. Some crazy good smash burgers and beer choices.

As for the OPs question…Yes. IMG_8433.jpeg
 
DangerZone98 said:
The grind on the Rajah looks lovely. I’m guessing it slices like a dream with the right edge, yeah?
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Like a dream? No, I wouldn't compare it to something thinner and designed to slice, like a hollow ground hunting knife or spyderco's thin FFG. It's slices acceptably for a hard use folder, so thicker than a slicer knife but much thinner than a pure chopper.

It's FFG, but it gets decently thick fast enough thay I don't worry about breakage. Probably pretty close to my RTAK II and similar knives.

I do keep the edge thinner near the handle since it won't see chopping, but it does get side loading from pushing wood for carving and fire prep so too thin isn't ideal. The handle is well designed for a rearward chopping hold and choking up for finer work. I think it was pretty well thought out.
 
Love the Native Chief, Police 4, Yojumbo, CS folders... It's a good size, absolutely. Heavily EDCed an XHP Native Chief.
 
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