Pocket Brick - Friend or foe?

While I am a fan of large folders aesthetically (i.e. in theory), I find myself gravitating toward the lighter weight (4-5oz) choices more often than not. I have a titanium handled Sakai that is a complete beater and only 3" in length but it weighs next to nothing so it seems to end up in my pocket more often than not . . . kind of disappears in there until I need it. I also regularly edc a BM 42 that is bigger and bulkier but still relatively light weight. Hell, I used to edc a Browning hi-power - talk about a brick! lol Much more conscientious about my edc side-arm weight/size these days for sure. All depends on where I'm going and how I'm dressed with respect to both.
 
Anything smaller than the Cold Steel Rajah 2 , I can carry a pair anytime I got pants on and never notice . I love my BA folders and some weight just comes with that territory . :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup: I often carry a camp axe or heavy machete for miles of trail clearing . How can I bear this terrible burden ? :rolleyes:
 
For me, they're a foe.

After never paying attention to weight for any of my folders for... forever, I bought by happenstance (ie, for other reasons than weight), a folder that was ~2oz. I carried that exclusively for 8 years, then lost it.

I had an older Kershaw that I never used anymore that I have been using as a temporary replacement while I shop around. Its a Kershaw Blackout (3.5 - 3.8oz iirc). It is much more noticeable than my old boker, so much so in fact, that I haven't been using it as a temp anymore. So I inadvertently discovered that I do, in fact, care about weight.

Its not about the weight. As others have said, mathematically and physically, the weight is negligible. I think for me at this time, its because of the types of pants (shorts) I usually wear. In jeans, I don't notice the ~3.5oz Kershaw at all. I don't usually wear jeans, or heavy pants like that though. I wear cargo-ish shorts made out of almost an athletic short fabric, and in those, the extra weight makes them stretch differently.

Also, I tend to like smaller knives anyway (2.75 - 3.25in ish), so that helps lower the weight. Of course, I didn't know those were "small" knives until I started hanging out here. I just thought they were "normal" sized.
 
4", 3 oz.

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What's the point of overbuilt on a frame lock, anyways?
 
I like to carry bigger knives than I used to but generally I draw the line at around 4 oz. I carried a Buck 110 for several years back in the 70's and they are still a great knife for the money, but carrying a 1/2 lb. knife in my pocket just doesn't appeal to me anymore with so many high quality, lightweight options out there.
 
I don't mind the weight, but I do mind the "Bulkyness". I like large flat knives. IE = Recon 1, or a Military. Very slim in the pocket. On the other hand my Adamas is very bulky, and bangs around in my pocket. I wear light weight cargo pants for work, and that thickness just gets to me after a while. I love the Adamas, but it just doesn't get much pocket time.
 
The Spyderco Police I have is all steel and while it does have some weight to it....not sure just how much. It is about the flattest, sleekest profile folding knife for it's size I've ever carried.
 
I'm not concerned with knife weight. I'm 6'8" and 290 lbs (and dropping...slowly) and I don't worry about carrying a 4 oz vs 8 oz knife. I've never said "Gosh, what knife am I carrying today? It feel like a brick."
 
RBid said:
Thanks for the welcome! 4 years late on welcoming me to the board, but better late than never!
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I thought it was funny to welcome you to the forums even though you likely were into knives way before I was. :p

stabman said:
No, not really.

The knife in this thread is a super light 11 ounces, just about. :)

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/screw-yer-warranty.1542631/

I wore it on the treadmill at the gym even.
My back spasms are the limiting factor there, not the negligible weight of even an 11 ounce knife. ;)

The Spyderco Tatanka is about 9 ounces, and I carry it when I feel like it.

14 ounces is a tad much for a folder for me to carry though; 11 ounces is about the limit of what I like to carry.
That leaves me lots of choices of knife to carry though. :thumbsup:
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I also said that not everyone is super picky about knives,I used to carry with me a Gerber Multi-Plier
but that only lasted a day because I didn't like the feeling of it bouncing around in my pocket whenever
I ran.You ran with a knife 3 ounces lighter than a Bk2?! , those encumbering 11 extra ounces
may be the source of your back pain.I guess that is why you wore it at a gym. :D:p
 
b00n said:
Which folder is 9.3 oz?

As for me, I like some weight in the pocket so I don't forget the knife is there. The heaviest knife I own (folder-wise) is the PM2 with Copper Scales, it's like ~7 or 8 oz if I recall correctly, it's definitely a brick, I like it but I don't carry it. I'd say 4-5 oz is my sweet spot.
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Don't know about 9.3 oz folder
This one is 12.6 oz
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For me, the possibility of a serious cool factor with a brick is the only friend. All else is foe.
 
I normally pack a River LC9S Pro with 8 rounds of hollow points in a pocket holster (guessing about 28-30oz total) and a thin profile knife of some variety (2 - 4 oz) so that is kinda li k e a 2 pound brick. Times I don't carry the Ruger I usually end up with 2 regular locking knives, a SAK, a flashlight, and sometimes my CRKT Viva tool. I'm not too sensitive to weight ;)
 
gazz98 said:
I'm not concerned with knife weight. I'm 6'8" and 290 lbs (and dropping...slowly) and I don't worry about carrying a 4 oz vs 8 oz knife. I've never said "Gosh, what knife am I carrying today? It feel like a brick."
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Side bar: Ever tried powerlifting? I bet you could throw some serious numbers up in no time. Plus, you’ll maintain more muscle while losing weight.
 
My ZT 0909 feels way too heavy and large in my pocket, and I actually hated to knife when I bought it. However, I just picked up another one last week because of how much I have grown to like it. Last night I whittled some larger twigs to compare how the PM2 (M4) and ZT 0909 would do in edge retention, but perhaps more useful was the realization of how much easier it was to remove small side branches and whittle away small knots with the ZT. I know a fixed blade is king when it comes to batoning and whacking away at wood, but as far a folders go, sometimes that extra weight comes in handy depending on the task at hand.

Edit: So yes I will carry heavy/large knives sometimes depending on where I'm going, but I usually shy away from them more so because of the space they take up in the pocket rather than the weight.
 
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I know a pocket brick when I put it in my pocket. Really don't have any idea what the weights are of individual knives. If it feels right, I may carry it. If not, it gets sidelined probably until they put me in a grave.

I like some of the large traditionals (like the GEC #42) with two blades. They tend to be a bit heavier than the one blade versions. It however is very hard to displace my regular SAK that I carry.
 
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