Our ever shrinking hobby?

There's certainly a trend towards smaller knives that's driven by a lot of the popular knife reviewers of YouTube and for a lot of urbanites it's more about keeping everything light and/or legal. It just depends on what I'm doing and what the focus is in the outdoors. When I first transitioned from pack mule to civvie hiker, on multiple day hikes I would normally take just a small folder and a light collapsible saw and/or machete. Now I'm taking a bit more steel with me, but it's still all about purpose. Living on a rural woodlot, my EDC is mostly just around the yard so it's a bigger knife, folder and fixed. If I go into town, I tend to take a smaller knife and a multitool, but it's because I don't generally need anything more and if I do there's always a coping machete and camp axe in the trunk...
 
I have definitely gone smaller over time. At one early point in the hobby, I wanted a looong knife on me at all times, like, XL Voyager minimum. Will still carry large stuff for the heck of it or for purpose, but no longer need that much.

Now, I have remnants of that, as I do prefer to have at the minimum a Buck 110 size folder when I leave the house, usually something between a Native Chief, a Police 4, or a PM2 (along with a SAK, sometimes a second smaller folder like a Chaparral, Kopa, RAT 2, GEC wharnie).

This is influenced by weird work culture, I managed to be using my Native Chief as my main knife in my last job, but that is only because of a new head honcho who did not care about tool use. Before that, the previous guy felt the need to call me in for a talk over a Chaparral.

I enjoy a small knife, but I can always have 4+ inches of blade on me without too much weight or hassle pretty much whenever I want. Not a shorts guy, but could easily stroll with a P4 LW and a Vic Classic.
 
I
Herr geiser said:
Is this actually true?

Who’s grandad carried something like an xm18 or large sebenza everyday like so many do now? Mine was a builder and very handy and I don’t think he even carried a pocket knife… now we have regular folks with soft hands carrying giant ‘tactilcal’ for ‘i might need a knife’ edc

A family friend when i was a kid was a big hunter, go visit his house rifles all over the place, I never once saw a 3/8” thick busse chopper lying around…

I used to live on a really bushy block - I had a couple tops power eagles and a tonne of other choppers, my grandfather would've had one slim cheap machete

Everyone around here always has and still does have an axe in the yard or the car

I hike a lot and i just carry a little winkler sd2 or a small sebenza - but weve recently had an exhibition of photography from when some of the remote trails in areas with nasty weather around here were first cut - and the clothes they were wearing back then damn sure id be carrying an axe if i was wearing that stuff on those mountains! But nowadays if i had to choose between a nice big knife or some sealskinz waterproof gloves and a 3 layer goretex jacket I’m taking the gloves and jacket!

Also
I love winklers, been all I’ve carried for many years
Had a field knife then many belts knives, great, then got a blue ridge hunter, then finally some sd1/2s and you know what, the sd1/2 i think are more comfortable to use, take up way less room in my small backpack (man the belt knife sheath is huge!) and actually does all i need to do more comfortably than the bigger knives!

And i used to get into the idea of a survival knife but heres the thing

I used to live somewhere hot, you can literally pick up sticks from a 3m radius around you and start a fire, which don’t need because you could survive a month there in your underpants as long as you have water - so I carried a knife because i like to but my survival gear was 4l water and snake bandage

Now i live somewhere where the mountains are cold steep and wet - if i get stuck out here it’s 99% gonna be because I’ve slipped on a nasty exposed scree field and broken my leg, and then a knife ain’t gonna help one bit, need clothes…

So i wonder

1. Were people carrying big knives in the woods because that was what was actually best to carry or because that was the fashion at the time? Do you need to cut that tree over the trail or was that just an excuse to use your big knife when you can just climb over it

2. In terms of pocket knives, are people carrying smaller knives? I don’t think so, i think it’s the exact opposite, completely overkill

Anyway
This was a rant!
Click to expand...
I Find large knives rather unwieldy, 3 to 3.5 blade length is ideal
 
If anything, its that there is more variety than before no? What with laws varying greatly between states and the types of job what is acceptable to ''carry'' on site its always better to err on the side of caution, I used to fancy carrying larger fixed blades at the job site but got called out so now its folders and neck sized fixed blades for me.

That and its human nature at this point to want to always shave off weight whenever possible for the perfect balance of performance and ease of use, see sports like tennis, car sports, military hardware and the list goes on...
 
Herzav said:
If anything, its that there is more variety than before no? What with laws varying greatly between states and the types of job what is acceptable to ''carry'' on site its always better to err on the side of caution, I used to fancy carrying larger fixed blades at the job site but got called out so now its folders and neck sized fixed blades for me.

That and its human nature at this point to want to always shave off weight whenever possible for the perfect balance of performance and ease of use, see sports like tennis, car sports, military hardware and the list goes on...
Click to expand...
I asked a cyclist why he road a bike, he said for exercise. Then picked up his bicycle with one finger. I said he’d get a better workout with a heavy bike.
 
Surprisingly, California is a decent state for large knives. Some counties have size restrictions (3”-3.5”) but overall we can carry any size blade. I typically carry a 4” folder and a traditional.
 
Q: What have you experienced in your neck of the woods?

I don't get out as much these days like I used to, but as a result of that, former jobs, and other experience, I learned that I like big knives. I appreciate smaller ones, too, but if they get smaller than a 3-inch blade, I don't use them for much except carrying in a non-permissive work environment, mostly for snipping up bits of my lunch. A 4-inch folder is a pretty comfortable carry size for me. If I want to go light at that size, I might carry the Microtech, or the large Cold Steel Voyager, but more often than not I carry the 4-Max at that size.



And here, below, are the large Voyager I still carry when bike-riding or jogging, with the wee little small one next to it.



If I want to carry something larger, as I very often do (as I am doing today), I like the XL Cold Steels.



Those things said, I have larger blades, still, but using those tends to be based upon purpose, rather than just general totin' about.

For instance, this one was used for many years as my camping, knocking-about-in-the-woods, hunting, and fishing knife.



This one has been my wood-smashing knife for a few years, mostly used for reducing firewood to smaller bits, and for clearing branches and cleaning up storm damage as needed.



I'm quite happy to have and enjoy these, as well as others, and I look forward to trying still more at all kinds of sizes. After all, my interests are partly practical, partly experiential, partly the result of dabbling in knife making, but mostly just for fun.
 
As far as EDC is concerned, a lot of the one hand openers that I now regularly carry are significantly larger than what I used to carry in the 70s (usually a Buck 301 or 501 back then). So, in that respect, my carry knives have gotten larger, not smaller. I still carry a stockman or other traditional slipjoint, too, but the one handers that I carry make the average size larger.

As far as larger tools for wood processing, when we went camping with the family I usually had a hatchet and bow saw, sometimes even a chainsaw. But being in Kommiefornia, more often than not campfires were prohibited, so those tools didn't see much use.

When backpacking I usually don't have fires, and I wouldn't want to lug heavier choppers on the route I take anyway. At most a folding saw.
 
Herr geiser said:
Is this actually true?

Who’s grandad carried something like an xm18 or large sebenza everyday like so many do now? Mine was a builder and very handy and I don’t think he even carried a pocket knife… now we have regular folks with soft hands carrying giant ‘tactilcal’ for ‘i might need a knife’ edc

A family friend when i was a kid was a big hunter, go visit his house rifles all over the place, I never once saw a 3/8” thick busse chopper lying around…

I used to live on a really bushy block - I had a couple tops power eagles and a tonne of other choppers, my grandfather would've had one slim cheap machete

Everyone around here always has and still does have an axe in the yard or the car

I hike a lot and i just carry a little winkler sd2 or a small sebenza - but weve recently had an exhibition of photography from when some of the remote trails in areas with nasty weather around here were first cut - and the clothes they were wearing back then damn sure id be carrying an axe if i was wearing that stuff on those mountains! But nowadays if i had to choose between a nice big knife or some sealskinz waterproof gloves and a 3 layer goretex jacket I’m taking the gloves and jacket!

Also
I love winklers, been all I’ve carried for many years
Had a field knife then many belts knives, great, then got a blue ridge hunter, then finally some sd1/2s and you know what, the sd1/2 i think are more comfortable to use, take up way less room in my small backpack (man the belt knife sheath is huge!) and actually does all i need to do more comfortably than the bigger knives!

And i used to get into the idea of a survival knife but heres the thing

I used to live somewhere hot, you can literally pick up sticks from a 3m radius around you and start a fire, which don’t need because you could survive a month there in your underpants as long as you have water - so I carried a knife because i like to but my survival gear was 4l water and snake bandage

Now i live somewhere where the mountains are cold steep and wet - if i get stuck out here it’s 99% gonna be because I’ve slipped on a nasty exposed scree field and broken my leg, and then a knife ain’t gonna help one bit, need clothes…

So i wonder

1. Were people carrying big knives in the woods because that was what was actually best to carry or because that was the fashion at the time? Do you need to cut that tree over the trail or was that just an excuse to use your big knife when you can just climb over it

2. In terms of pocket knives, are people carrying smaller knives? I don’t think so, i think it’s the exact opposite, completely overkill

Anyway
This was a rant!
Click to expand...

Yeah I have my grandfathers knife. It is this tiny folding stockman thing.
 
Herr geiser said:
… a fire which don’t need because you could survive a month there in your underpants as long as you have water…
Click to expand...
But you have to chop your way to the water with a big ol’ machete…
which you have your underpants sewed special to include a scabbard. After a month of survival, they’re more likely a loincloth.

Parker
 
The hobby is bigger. So is social media which I don’t take part in.
 
Herr geiser said:
Is this actually true?

Who’s grandad carried something like an xm18 or large sebenza everyday like so many do now? Mine was a builder and very handy and I don’t think he even carried a pocket knife… now we have regular folks with soft hands carrying giant ‘tactilcal’ for ‘i might need a knife’ edc

A family friend when i was a kid was a big hunter, go visit his house rifles all over the place, I never once saw a 3/8” thick busse chopper lying around…

I used to live on a really bushy block - I had a couple tops power eagles and a tonne of other choppers, my grandfather would've had one slim cheap machete

Everyone around here always has and still does have an axe in the yard or the car

I hike a lot and i just carry a little winkler sd2 or a small sebenza - but weve recently had an exhibition of photography from when some of the remote trails in areas with nasty weather around here were first cut - and the clothes they were wearing back then damn sure id be carrying an axe if i was wearing that stuff on those mountains! But nowadays if i had to choose between a nice big knife or some sealskinz waterproof gloves and a 3 layer goretex jacket I’m taking the gloves and jacket!

Also
I love winklers, been all I’ve carried for many years
Had a field knife then many belts knives, great, then got a blue ridge hunter, then finally some sd1/2s and you know what, the sd1/2 i think are more comfortable to use, take up way less room in my small backpack (man the belt knife sheath is huge!) and actually does all i need to do more comfortably than the bigger knives!

And i used to get into the idea of a survival knife but heres the thing

I used to live somewhere hot, you can literally pick up sticks from a 3m radius around you and start a fire, which don’t need because you could survive a month there in your underpants as long as you have water - so I carried a knife because i like to but my survival gear was 4l water and snake bandage

Now i live somewhere where the mountains are cold steep and wet - if i get stuck out here it’s 99% gonna be because I’ve slipped on a nasty exposed scree field and broken my leg, and then a knife ain’t gonna help one bit, need clothes…

So i wonder

1. Were people carrying big knives in the woods because that was what was actually best to carry or because that was the fashion at the time? Do you need to cut that tree over the trail or was that just an excuse to use your big knife when you can just climb over it

2. In terms of pocket knives, are people carrying smaller knives? I don’t think so, i think it’s the exact opposite, completely overkill

Anyway
This was a rant!
Click to expand...

My grandfather carried a small Case knife for a long time. I have it and because he did, I know what Case means by “pocket worn”.

He was born before the Great Depression and come of age during it and between world wars. He didn’t know the prosperity that the generations that followed did. Not in his impressionable years anyway. The man used paper grocery bags as luggage when going to visit family in Ohio.

I was born and raised in the time of disposable, $49 VCR’s and “planned obsolescence” . To me, buying a Busse Combat knife or a Toyota Camry or anything else that will outlast a less expensive alternative is just good sense.

Today it’s ‘better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it’ and if you can swing it, you get it.

Back then I feel like it was ‘This is all I got. I have to make it work”.
 
DocJD said:
The physics of the real world doesn't change .

Sometimes big just works , when little don't cut it ! ;)


On the other hand , Chinese War Sword Machete not great for the keychain ! 😏


Click to expand...
That’s a wicked large blade, Doc. Looks like they’re harder to find nowadays.
 
To be honest, I love the choices I can have nowadays, that is a good thing, but I do find myself going to basic, light weight ones like a Opinel # 6 or MAM, sometimes a Mora Eldris, or many years ago I had a pop up trailer and then a small couples camper, all I needed was my Swiss Alox Pioneer. Besides the regular kitchen knives for meal prep.
 
cbach8tw said:
To be honest, I love the choices I can have nowadays, that is a good thing, but I do find myself going to basic, light weight ones like a Opinel # 6 or MAM, sometimes a Mora Eldris, or many years ago I had a pop up trailer and then a small couples camper, all I needed was my Swiss Alox Pioneer. Besides the regular kitchen knives for meal prep.
Click to expand...
Opinel no 6 is a nice one
 
NapalmCheese said:
Admittedly, times are definitely changing.

I'm old enough to remember things like how to start a fire when camping/backpacking; but young enough that "leave no trace" was ingrained at a pretty early stage for me while in the boy scouts. I'm also old enough to hang out and hunt/fish/camp with some older folks that all worked in and/or have degrees in forestry.

Doing outdoorsy things with them is a real treat as I get to feel like a real woodsman again for the most part.

Aw shucks, this campsite is perfect except that 2 inch sapling growing right in the middle of camp. - Cut it down.

Oh crickey, we're running out of firewood - That dead standing tree over there isn't going to burn itself!

It's pretty refreshing to see the difference in attitude from foresters to ultra-light, leave no trace, through hikers. I would never suggest that everyone who goes to the woods should chop down whatever they want and all make browse beds, but every once in a while it's nice to remember what being out in the woods used to be like.
Click to expand...
I think it also has to do how we were raised and how to respect the outdoors, not only for nature but for others who want to enjoy it. I get so discouraged when I see trash lying around the camp site. As I have gotten older, I don’t take my trailer out now, but we use the cabins now or villas……yes, villas at the beach so we are more glamping now. Short weekend trips. I don’t need to chop wood, we have some gathered wood and we used pine cones a lot as a starter for a fire. I remember how useful my Swiss Army Alox Pioneer was last time I went camping, used the awl to open a knot, the caplifter/screwdriver to tighten screws on a bike, and the blade to open the plastic wrapped steaks. 😁 Like I said, glamping.
 
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