Here is a design for a very tiny fixed blade intended for box opening, with an idea for a magnetic sheath to hold it secure.
The basic design is similar to a small Cold Steel bird/trout knife:
http://www.coldsteel.com/20btj.html
Now imagine the same form-factor zoomed down for a micro EDC:
I made this out of a bit of paper, but it shows the basic idea quite nicely.
Then, to round out the concept, the sheath. Because the idea is for a knive you can draw, use and replace in one motion for, say, opening a parcel I'm envisaging a different kind of sheath.
Rather than the usual friction-fit or plastic clip, put a couple of rare earth magnets in the base of the sheath. They're extremely strong, fairly cheap, permanent, and will hold the blade in place completely solidly without getting in the way of a smooth, fluid draw. And they'll snap it home again after use. Put a belt clip on the sheath, so that it carries inline with the belt, or (if it's small enough) behind the belt, between the belt and the pants.
For example, this magnet costs $0.20, is a 16th of an inch thick, and will hold four pounds of steel. http://www.wondermagnets.com/cgi-bin/edatcat/WMSstore.pl?user_action=detail&catalogno=0010
How does that sound? Very tiny, easy to carry, new sheath concept, good ergonomics. There are probably a couple of different approaches to manufacture - one would be to cut the entire knife from stock. The other would be to actually have the "tang" of the blade be straight in the initial manufacture, and then twist-and-turn it into the finger ring. That approach means that the end-user could adjust the ring size (with some force) for a better personal fit.
Here's the original post with some context, and links to a lot of other great small knives.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2522361&postcount=21
The basic design is similar to a small Cold Steel bird/trout knife:
http://www.coldsteel.com/20btj.html
Now imagine the same form-factor zoomed down for a micro EDC:
I made this out of a bit of paper, but it shows the basic idea quite nicely.
Then, to round out the concept, the sheath. Because the idea is for a knive you can draw, use and replace in one motion for, say, opening a parcel I'm envisaging a different kind of sheath.
Rather than the usual friction-fit or plastic clip, put a couple of rare earth magnets in the base of the sheath. They're extremely strong, fairly cheap, permanent, and will hold the blade in place completely solidly without getting in the way of a smooth, fluid draw. And they'll snap it home again after use. Put a belt clip on the sheath, so that it carries inline with the belt, or (if it's small enough) behind the belt, between the belt and the pants.
For example, this magnet costs $0.20, is a 16th of an inch thick, and will hold four pounds of steel. http://www.wondermagnets.com/cgi-bin/edatcat/WMSstore.pl?user_action=detail&catalogno=0010
How does that sound? Very tiny, easy to carry, new sheath concept, good ergonomics. There are probably a couple of different approaches to manufacture - one would be to cut the entire knife from stock. The other would be to actually have the "tang" of the blade be straight in the initial manufacture, and then twist-and-turn it into the finger ring. That approach means that the end-user could adjust the ring size (with some force) for a better personal fit.
Here's the original post with some context, and links to a lot of other great small knives.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2522361&postcount=21
