Largest "useful" blade length?

Shorttime said:
I'm a Town Boy, and I don't do bushie stuff because I like my bed and my coffee maker.

For my uses, a 4" blade is the upper limit of "useful size". If I need more than that, I'm probably doing demolitions, and I brought specialized tools.

I'm curious about what other people have found to be the biggest practical blade? Where does it become more practical to carry a hatchet or machete and leave the knife for finer work?
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In the city, I usually have an ESEE-3 or an Izula, my favorite urban hard use knives. In the field it varies fromm 4.5 to 5 inches on day wanders in the woods and woodland fields when I plan on leaving before dark but want a substantial cutting tool. Usually my favorite a Randall #11 with a five inch blade, or an EMK Rio with a 4.5 inch blade, or an LT Wright GNS with a 4.5 inch blade. For overnight or longer trips in deeper woods, I like having something bigger like a Cold Steel Trail Master but I just bought the shorter CS Recon Scout in 3V with a 7.5 inch blade which will be plenty unless I move back to south Florida where I'll want a longer blade.
 
knarfeng said:
As an urban home owner, a folder with a four-inch blade is pretty much my upper limit for daily carry.
I usually carry something smaller, though it depends on the knife.
Notable exception is that I sometimes carry a Cold Steel Pocket Bushman. It has a 4 1/2" blade.
Though I have several folding knives with larger blades, they are more curiosities than knives which get carried on a daily basis.
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I originally read that as "...sometimes carry a Cold Steel Bushman." Interesting choice, I thought.
 
The OP asked for "useful" lenth. Seemingly quite a few were off topic, so, let me paraphrase and Shorttime Shorttime please correct me if I got it wrong.
Here is my understanding of the OP' question:

"What is the blade length you almost always wished it to be shorter?"
 
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As others have said, it depends. I find 3-4” folders pretty ideal. PM2 and M2 are my favorites. I recently got a Spyderco Dragonfly and am amazed how much knife is in such a tiny package-it gets carried in addition to larger ones.
Fixed blades 3-6” are super useful for many things and I edc one daily in town. 7-9” are my favorite chores knives to carry off road and at my cabin, when I will likely be whacking limbs and brush. I use machetes, axes, and saws a lot as well (varieties in sizes).

I always carry multiples to allow options and just because I like to. I feel that blade shape and handle ergonomics play a bigger factor than simply blade length when thinking of it as becoming cumbersome.
 
vinprom said:
The OP asked for "useful" lenth. Seemingly quite a few were off topic, so, let me paraphrase and Shorttime Shorttime please correct me if I got it wrong.
Here is my understanding of the OP' question:

"What is the blade length you almost always wished it to be shorter?"
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Nothing.....
I've Only needed blades to be Bigger, not shorter.

I know that sounds corney, but I can do more with a big blade.


*if I was stranded on an Island, or a metropolis wasteland....?
Id rather have a machete than a 1.0" Swiss A blade.


-Yes, I prefer the A-Team over MacGyver
 
vinprom said:
The OP asked for "useful" lenth. Seemingly quite a few were off topic, so, let me paraphrase and Shorttime Shorttime please correct me if I got it wrong.
Here is my understanding of the OP' question:

"What is the blade length you almost always wished it to be shorter?"
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I didn't think about it from starting with the activity.

More open-ended, though was what I was thinking. More like "when are the times you've said 'I brought the wrong knife', and what size knife (or what alternative tool) did you decide would work better?"

Vinprom's interpretation made me realize that the word "useful" was not the best choice.

Thankya!

As far as people going off-topic, I did ask for opinions, so the limits of "off-topic" are broad and fuzzy.
 
Honestly i do everything with a 3.5" blade with 3" cutting edge for well honestly the last 10 plus years. I've thought a few times I should buy a police 4 or bigger knife but can't realistically think of why. I cut a queen memory foam mattress into pieces small enough to fit into trash bags the other day with my endela, gutted a deer with it yesterday. Not once In years have i not been able to do something because my 3.5" pocket knife wasn't big enough.

The only thing I can think I'd want a bigger knife for is the kitchen or if I started getting into bushcrafting and batonning firewood. As for the guy carrying 7" knives for walking the dog, I carry a glock and you guessed it, my endela.
 
vinprom said:
The OP asked for "useful" lenth. Seemingly quite a few were off topic, so, let me paraphrase and Shorttime Shorttime please correct me if I got it wrong.
Here is my understanding of the OP' question:

"What is the blade length you almost always wished it to be shorter?"
Click to expand...
Truth is , everybody wants the super compact /lightweight model to lug around .

But when it comes time to actually use it , we all really want the deluxe , big , sturdy , full featured version . :p
 
I get by with the 2 5/8in blade on my SAK for all of my general purpose edc cutting needs. From opening packages to lunch a field, it handles the task just fine. I’ve even gutted fish with it.

For hunting I’ve always used a Buck 110 with a 3 3/4in blade with no problem.

In either case I haven’t wanted or needed anything bigger. I suppose for my fantasy, lengthy period of time out in the bush knife I’d probably like a sturdy fixed blade of medium size.
 
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To quote a Starfleet captain, “Context is for kings.” IMO, the largest most practical blade length for me, in an everyday mundane context, would be around 3.5 to 4 inches. Realistically, 2.5 to 3 inches will more than do the job. Cuts packaging rope and boxes just fine. I carry my Cold Steel Voyager and Spartan for the giggles.

Now in a zombie apocalypse context? Nothing smaller than a khukuri for sure.
 
It is interesting how research for threads like this works. In my research I found the Cartouche knife. This was used by French voyageurs, and forest runners in the 17th and 18th century in the East. The Cartouche knife was widely traded across the Nouvelle France. Accurate recreations are available it is an extremely practical design. It falls into the utility fixed blade belt knife formula full tang 6" blade that is 5/32" thick, with an overall length of 9-1/4". It gets its name from the filigree brass handle.
 
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Crag the Brewer said:
Nothing.....
I've Only needed blades to be Bigger, not shorter.

I know that sounds corney, but I can do more with a big blade.


*if I was stranded on an Island, or a metropolis wasteland....?
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Me too. Although there is a limit, I'd need to be able to hold the blade comfortably on the front, for small cutting tasks. So probably up to 10" or so ?
 
ferider said:
Me too. Although there is a limit, I'd need to be able to hold the blade comfortable on the front, for small cutting tasks. So probably up to 10" or so ?
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I Am known for slightly exaggerating....Yes, I agree with You
 
For folders around 4 inches is my max and for fixed blade it can range quite a bit such as a 12 inch blade froe but for a camp / hunting knife 6 inches is plenty for me. It really depends on what im using it for.
 
In my opinion....

A hatchet or ax is ALWAYS superior fir chopping tasks. I've always felt that WAY too much importance has been placed on the idea if batoning a knife... why not just use twigs, or something smaller you can break with your hands or over your leg?

In the woods a Kukri can be an extremely useful tool because its a fairly decent ax and knife, and with the longer reach theoretically a better defensive item. If you had to carry everything, it's like 1 tool for several jobs.

If I was driving my car to the campsite, then I have a whole car to pack... I can bring a hatchet, a hammer, a knife, and any number of other things.

If I go for a hike I like a 7" blade. Big enough to do most anything, and fine for everything but super delicate work. If I knew I had to live in the woods for a week and carry everything I'd probably bring a kukri. For my everyday go to work, get groceries, open a package life a 3.5 to 4 inch folder is lightweight, easy to carry and usually inoffensive to the general public.
 
What is interesting about this thread it this was all covered more than 120 years ago. With Horace Kephart it was a Moose pattern folding knife, His design for a woodcraft fixed blade belt knife, and a small hand axe. G.W. Sears ( Nessmuk) had the same setup, a folding pocket knife, his design for a fixed blade belt knife, and he designed a small double bladed hand axe which he sharpened each blade for a different job. This is more or less what c.1830's mountain men carried in the Rocky Mountains but in addition they alway had their last ditch fighting knife, a Bowie, Arkansas Toothpick, or a Hudson bay knife. For the most part Mountain men where a literate bunch, they kept journals and later wrote autobiographies. It would seem these fighting knives were more used against charging bears than anything else. With single shot muzzle loading rifles and pistols your large bladed knife was your last chance.
 
Kephart was born 30 years after the first revolver was patented (1836). The Bowie knife was designed in the 1820s. You’re mixing time lines ….

My point is there always was variety, not everybody carried the same stuff / similar kits.
 
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