Largest "useful" blade length?

For outdoor work around my property... minimum 3.5 and maximum of 5 inches blade length. Ideal size is 4 inches IMO. Anything smaller or larger is not useful in this context. I carry a lot of Demko and Mora fixed blades. Armiger, FreeReign, Robust, Companion and Garberg. All great and affordable outdoor knives.
 
Most of my recent EDC folders have been about 3.4-3.6" and those work for me, if I was carrying a fixed blade for EDC I would pick a similar size. If I was carrying outdoors in a belt sheath I might for closer to 4" or maybe even 5" but I would rarely do this. I have thought about getting something like a BK9 to carry in my Jeep when I'm offroad in case I need to clear out some brush but I've decided instead to just carry a small folding saw.
 
I'm probably not one to ask, as my solely used kitchen knife for years was a Chinese vegetable cleaver. I could do some pretty delicate work on raw foods with the corners of that puppy.

Usually, I carry about a 3.5" folder. Now that my tension (hand) tremors are getting worse, I may have to browse through the Spyderco catalog again...
 
AntDog said:
All of my knives are useful for me. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t carry any. Had this one on me today to slash brambles out of the way.



Wasn’t any drawback to having it on me at all.
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Cant be too much fun if you're wearing crocs and doing that.....😜.......
Mine would be full of chips, leaves and any other random crap that always finds my unlucky butt....🙄
 
6-7” fixed blades are normal for me - very useful and portable. Try to cut a loaf of bread or block of cheese with a 4” blade …. Of course, if someone else cooks for you, it’s easy to forget the two or more 8” blades in your kitchen knife block :)

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I have used a Machete effectively at times. . . .but that is nearly a sword, but most consider it to be a knife.

I have sharpened an entrenching tool and used that to split kindling, that would be called "Batong" today. That is shorter than a machete, but broader. Would that be considered to be a "pole arm" rather than a knife?
 
Crag the Brewer said:
I think every home owner should have a big chopper to deal with large fallen tree branches that need removal....

I personally like bigger blades, and have comfortably carried 7" for EDC...but like most, 4-6" being most common
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I have an 8’ fire pit so no knife needed for chopping up fallen branches, just drag em onto the pile and when it gets large enough, light it ablaze! 😁 🔥

I carry up to a 3.75” folding knife, a traditional slipjoint for food and largest EDC fixed blade would be around 4” blade.

If I’m out in the bush, anywhere from 5”-8” drags my pants down, but gets most jobs done.
 
ferider said:
6-7” fixed blades are normal for me - very useful and portable. Try to cut a loaf of bread or block of cheese with a 4” blade …. Of course, if someone else cooks for you, it’s easy to forget the two or more 8” blades in your kitchen knife block :)

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I think that just most people aren't used to it....
I actually find a larger blade to work safer. I can see it, others can see it.
Maybe the larger size garners more respect?
I agree that carrying a bigger blade isn't hard to do.




*Edited to add current edc.
I feel it's small at a slim 5" blade. 9.5" overall.
HSS, Mid60's HRC hardness. Mesquite wood.
Cuts All day.
 
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It would seem that for fixed blade general purpose knives over the centuries it has settled on a blades of +/- 5" inches. Here are examples I have.

Top to bottom: 19th century Japanese Magir (Fisherman's knife), 7th century Anglo-Saxon Small Seax, and finally a late 19th Becker BK62 Kephart. These fixed bladed belt knives were independently designed over the centuries.
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Crag the Brewer said:
I think every home owner should have a big chopper to deal with large fallen tree branches that need removal....

I personally like bigger blades, and have comfortably carried 7" for EDC...but like most, 4-6" being most common
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agreed ;p mine is the ontario ct5 with a 22" blade, 27".something oal, its great to delimb trees up to 10 feet off the ground
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