Pocket knife - optimal blade length

O

outdoor_guy08

Joined
Sep 19, 2008
Messages
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I've been spending a lot of time trying to go over what blade length is best for EDC, from a tools use perspective.

I have the BM 710 which is almost 4 inches that I do not EDC, but I do EDC a Gerber EZ-out with a 3.5 inch blade.

I'm getting a BM 556 mini-griptilian with a 2.91 inch blade, which will be a bit smaller than what I'm used to for EDC.

That leads me to wonder what you guys all think about optimal blade length, especially for EDC in a city environment.

I don't think I've scared anyone with the EZ-out's 3.5 inch blade but maybe it's a matter of time. Maybe a 2.91 or even shorter blade length would be better, from a utility perspective and appearance perspective?
 
I prefer the 3" length... give or take up to 1/4". This will depend of why a person needs to carry a knife. Lots of construction type jobs may require a larger and more hefty blade. Office types, not so much. Dress, casual, jeans, etc... a consideration as well.
 
I'm very happy with my Mini Grip, but just so you're prepared, I still have sheeple go "What do you need such a big knife for?" Maybe its the shape of the blade?
 
I am not experienced enough with different blade lengths to best answer your question. I carry a 3.25"-blade knife and it suits me very well. Yes, I have had a couple people remark "why do you need to... blah, blah, blah".

As you have said, purely "from a tools use perspective" and disregarding the critique you might get from others, I would say that about a 3.5" blade is probably MOST useful, IMO of course.
 
I'd say just under 3 inches, to 3.5 inches is good size for an all around pocket knife. It's big enough to be useful but not too big to carry comfortable or stand out as a "huge" knife to the people around you.

but that's just me, other people's situations might be different.
 
Jake Bauer said:
Usually, just under 4in, but I'll carry anything up to 5.5 (legal limit in TEXAS) :)
Click to expand...

Lucky. MI the legal "limit" is 3in, although I do EDC my Spyderco Assist quite often enough. Otherwise it's a CRKT M21 at 2.9 something inches.
 
I sometimes carry a larger knife, either a medium sized fixed blade or a large folder, and another, smaller folder to use if eyebrows might rise.

Usually I want to see the eyebrows rise, though.

Andy
 
as I'm sure MANY women will tell you, it's not the size of the boat - it's the MOTION of the OCEAN.

I think there are many more important factors to a good EDC knife than blade length. In fact, who cares about blade length? If you're going to use that Metric, I think cutting edge length is a lot more important.

But things that factor in heavily for me are weight, strength of lock and lockup, ease of use one-handed, strength of pocket clip, slimness, stiff handle, shape of the blade... etc.

Of course the answer to the question is this:

delica2hl3.jpg


Spyderco Delica 4 FRN ZDP-189. OMG love this knife.
 
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