My thoughts on pocketknife vs folder

You consider that barlow a pocket brick at (guessing) about 3.5" closed length? I think of it as pretty normal sized. The Case version was the very first good knife I ever owned as a kid.
 
Any knife that you put in your pocket is a pocket knife. Pockets were invented to hold things and I'd put good money down that one of the first things ever to be dropped into a pocket was a knife. Pocket folder, pocket fixed blade- like the USPS "if it fits, it ships." Traditional v modern? Traditional is hard to describe, but I know it when I see it.

Examples of folding knives have been found dating back to Roman times and before. The folding pocket knife is hardly a new concept, and neither is a pocket fixed blade.
 
22-rimfire said:
You consider that barlow a pocket brick at (guessing) about 3.5" closed length? I think of it as pretty normal sized. The Case version was the very first good knife I ever owned as a kid.
Click to expand...

No it's not a pocket brick, 3.5" is the perfect size ( but I do have it in a pocket sheath to keep it vertical ) I was saying tbat it fits the catagory of folding paring knives.
 
Any small knife that you use on fruits and vegetables is technically a paring knife much in the same way that any knife you put into your pocket is a pocket knife.

It strikes me that if terms like this are so conditional, they border on useless if the intention is to be able to identify and describe a knife. A knife becomes a kitchen knife in the kitchen, becomes a paring knife when used on vegetables and fruit, becomes a pocket knife when put into a pocket sheath, becomes a belt knife on a belt sheath... Hardly terms that identify the knife, but rather the function it serves to the individual.

So, again, it seems these things can be overthought, and applying parameters to these terms in an effort to make them more useful actually ends up being an exercise in futility given the broad spectrum of items that can have the same descriptive terms accurately applied.
 
I have a Buck 110. It is a folding, locking knife. It is considered to be a "traditional" knife based on the definitions used in one of the subforums here. At over 7 oz, it is heavy. If I carry it, it will be in the sheath that came with it, on my belt. I don't consider it a pocket knife because it is not in my pocket. I haven't felt the need to categorize it. It is what it is.

I have a Zero Tolerance 0566. It is a folding, locking knife. It is not considered to be traditional, and may even be considered to be "tactical" by some. It is lighter, about 5.4 oz. It has a clip, flipper, and thumb stud. I carry it clipped to a pocket. So I consider it a pocket knife. If it did not have the pocket clip, I would probably prefer to carry it in a belt sheath rather than loose in a pocket.

I have a Benchmade Mini Griptilian. It is a folding, locking knife. It has a thumb hole and a clip. I have not removed the clip, but I usually carry it unclipped in my pocket. Also not considered traditional, but it is a folding knife that I carry in a pocket. Therefore, a pocket knife.

I have a Case Peanut. I would never carry it in any manner other than loose in a pocket. It is considered traditional for purposes of the forums here, and I consider it a pocket knife.

So for me: Knife that I carry in a pocket (whether loose in the pocket, in a sheath or pouch in a pocket, or clipped to a pocket) = a pocket knife. Knife that I don't carry in a pocket = something else, whether or not it folds.
 
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