Smaller knives do most of my work

D

DocT

Joined
Mar 25, 2012
Messages
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I have found that carrying a large folder is really not necessary. I find I do all of my tasks better and with less hassle with a smaller knife. I often carry a Spyderco Manbug, Dragonfly, or Chaparral, or a Delica on the large side. I also have found the Victorinox Alox Cadet to be a perfect pocket companion. The largest knife I actually have need of (note the need) is a Buck 302 Solitaire, but even that is usually overkill.

Most of my cutting is pen knife stuff (a pen knife was so named because they used to make pens from quills with them). I open mail, packages, break down a box here and there, cut tape or strip a wire. I eat a lot of apples country boy style, slicing off a piece at a time and eating it. Occasionally I will need to cut a thread or something. Most of the cutting needs are light stuff. So, I usually choose a small knife that looks good, to me, and cuts well.

What do you guys think? Are most of you served well with a smaller knife? Nothing against a large knife, as I have a few, but the question is, do you have the same experiences I have when you think of what you really need?
 
DocT said:
I have found that carrying a large folder is really not necessary. I find I do all of my tasks better and with less hassle with a smaller knife. I often carry a Spyderco Manbug, Dragonfly, or Chaparral, or a Delica on the large side. I also have found the Victorinox Alox Cadet to be a perfect pocket companion. The largest knife I actually have need of (note the need) is a Buck 302 Solitaire, but even that is usually overkill.

Most of my cutting is pen knife stuff (a pen knife was so named because they used to make pens from quills with them). I open mail, packages, break down a box here and there, cut tape or strip a wire. I eat a lot of apples country boy style, slicing off a piece at a time and eating it. Occasionally I will need to cut a thread or something. Most of the cutting needs are light stuff. So, I usually choose a small knife that looks good, to me, and cuts well.

What do you guys think? Are most of you served well with a smaller knife? Nothing against a large knife, as I have a few, but the question is, do you have the same experiences I have when you think of what you really need?
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Obviously people who do different things are going to agree/disagree. I personally make fires in my backyard, and to get the fire to light best I have to split some wood. Not enough for an axe, but just enough for a small fixed blade. Other than that I find a 4ish inch fixed blade useful in many situations from yardwork to hiking/camping/self defense.
 
I don't like small knives as I usually end up cutting myself. My 940 and my harpy don't do that.
 
I find uses for different blade lengths, if I carry a small blade, I'll use it. But mostly I carry a 3.5 to 4 inch blade. Sometimes I have to reach in order to cut and a larger knife fits the bill betters he shortest blade I carry is a 3".
 
Small blades are alright, in the summer I carry a dragonfly in Zdp-189. But a 3-4" blade is more practical to me. I tried to cut a 3/4" piece of Manila rope with the Dragonfly (which is crazy sharp), and what I noticed is you don't get the same leverage. As sharp as it was it took twice as long as with my 950 Rift. Both have their place but I think a little larger blade can do things a smaller one can and more,, but a smaller thin blade can't do what a larger could.
Just my 3 beer buzz opinion..
 
The knife I use depends on what I need to cut. That's why I carry a pair of small folders (Buck 484s), a small fixed blade (3.25" BK11) and a pair of medium fixed blades (Kabar 12XXs). I'd rather have the option of choosing which knife to use rather than making do with what I have with me.
 
DocT said:
Most of my cutting is pen knife stuff (a pen knife was so named because they used to make pens from quills with them). I open mail, packages, break down a box here and there, cut tape or strip a wire. I eat a lot of apples country boy style, slicing off a piece at a time and eating it. Occasionally I will need to cut a thread or something. Most of the cutting needs are light stuff. So, I usually choose a small knife that looks good, to me, and cuts well.
Click to expand...

This covers 90% of my needs as well. Now, if I go outside to do a little heavier work, I'll bring one of the heavier blades, but day in, day out, it's wallet, watch, small(ish) knife, and small light, and I'm good to go.
 
I carry both a 2" fixed blade and a 3.5 to 4" folder. The fixed blade performs most of my EDC tasks, as I'm always paranoid about a sheeperson dropping a dime on me because "big scary knifs omg he's gonna STAB someone". Canadian cities...oh how far we've fallen from our heritage.

I still carry the large folder, though. It's just more comfortable (and frankly, more fun) to use. I also prefer the larger blade for cutting larger things, like some food items, for instance.
 
I like big blades but find the smaller ones more useful and more likely to have.
Most of what I do from edc to hiking, camping can be done with 4" or less.
 
Smallest blade I EDC is a Delica. My sweet spot seems to be about 3.5" with a little cushion either way. Usually a knife with the blade length of the Delica wouldn't allow me a four finger grip so it is an exception for me. I've found that 3.5" blades are usually a great fit and 4" just seems like too much.
 
DocT said:
I have found that carrying a large folder is really not necessary. I find I do all of my tasks better and with less hassle with a smaller knife. I often carry a Spyderco Manbug, Dragonfly, or Chaparral, or a Delica on the large side. I also have found the Victorinox Alox Cadet to be a perfect pocket companion. The largest knife I actually have need of (note the need) is a Buck 302 Solitaire, but even that is usually overkill.

Most of my cutting is pen knife stuff (a pen knife was so named because they used to make pens from quills with them). I open mail, packages, break down a box here and there, cut tape or strip a wire. I eat a lot of apples country boy style, slicing off a piece at a time and eating it. Occasionally I will need to cut a thread or something. Most of the cutting needs are light stuff. So, I usually choose a small knife that looks good, to me, and cuts well.

What do you guys think? Are most of you served well with a smaller knife? Nothing against a large knife, as I have a few, but the question is, do you have the same experiences I have when you think of what you really need?
Click to expand...

Totally agree with ya Doc! It seems like for most cutting jobs I run into in urban or suburban surroundings, the 'penknife' size knife is good enough to get the job done, and it leaves more room in the pockets for other stuff. Even a SAK classic can do most of the cutting in an urban setting.

Last summer, we took a family trip to Mammoth Lakes California for some trout fishing up in the mountains. These two did all I needed including cleaning the fish for the oven.
19785783570_36f1029750_c.jpg


I;ve carried the Leatherman Squirt as a sole edc in Washington D.C many times, and I'm still alive.:D
22031153941_bdbd255449_c.jpg


A SAK is about the biggest knife I ever carry anymore. Most of the time it's one of my smaller knives in the pocket.
20901526379_36bcc0d300_c.jpg
 
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I agree with you DocT that I generally don't need a 4" blade for everyday stuff. Thing is, most smaller knives have smaller handles and even though I don't have very large hands I find knives that happen to have a 3-4" blade are easier to use and manipulate.
 
I like small knives for light cutting, but anything that I need to use for an extended time or bear down on to make a difficult cut has to be larger. Not so much for the blade length, but for the larger handle. I carried a Dragonfly 2 for some time, but it made me nervous when cutting anything that gave significant resistance. The handle was so small that I had to squeeze tightly to prevent lateral movement. That steals power from the cut and promotes hand fatigue. For cutting tape, opening mail and similar tasks I carry a smaller slipjoint. For more difficult cutting, like cardboard, I carry a larger folder with a handle that fills my hand.
 
jackknife said:
Totally agree with ya Doc! It seems like for most cutting jobs I run into in urban or suburban surroundings, the 'penknife' size knife is good enough to get the job done, and it leaves more room in the pockets for other stuff. Even a SAK classic can do most of the cutting in an urban setting.

Last summer, we took a family trip to Mammoth Lakes California for some trout fishing up in the mountains. These two did all I needed including cleaning the fish for the oven.
19785783570_36f1029750_c.jpg


I;ve carried the Leatherman Squirt as a sole edc in Washington D.C many times, and I'm still alive.:D
22031153941_bdbd255449_c.jpg


A SAK is about the biggest knife I ever carry anymore. Most of the time it's one of my smaller knives in the pocket.
20901526379_36bcc0d300_c.jpg
Click to expand...

Is that an old Remington UMC I see in the photos? Those were nice little knives back in their day. I wonder how many of them little boys like me lost while playing in the yard or the woods? That one looks pretty nice. I don't remember who made them for Remington.
 
I carry a Vic Cadet or Pioneer every day as well as a 3-3.5" folder when I'm not in the office. I find that the SAK's do just about anything I need and many days I never take the folder out of my pocket. But there are some things even a SAK can't do, so I don't think I'd ever not have a larger knife with me when I can.
 
There's always an optimum blade length for a given task and person.
I find ~3" is the sweet spot for a do-it-all blade.
 
Vic Alox Cadet covers pretty much any actual needs. In fact, I rarely actually need a pocket knife at all. It's just a convenience. I own and carry some other knives, some larger, some smaller, but mainly because I like to, not because I need to.
 
I often carry a large folder and a smaller one for backup...truth is the large one is the backup because the small one does most of the work.
 
I do small knives pretty much all the time now, partly due to weight while walking (every bit of gear adds up) but I don't find I loose much at all. If 90% of your tasks are a certain size, then it makes sense to carry a small knife. Yes there is a comfort factor to others, but I've also found that when you do a big knife task with a small knife, people seem to think more highly of you. It takes thought and finesse, and that looks good. big jobs with big knives don't impress.
 
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