Smaller knives do most of my work

As a big fan of the smaller knives, I've found only two areas that they fail. Food processing and wood processing on campouts. For the kitchen, I keep kitchen knives. For camping, I'll carry a fixed blade or folding saw. For life in modern suburbia, a 2inch blade seems plenty. Looking at how much cutting is done by contractors on construction sites, and remodel jobs with Husky folding box cutters with a single inch of blade, it looks like you really don't need much of a knife in modern life. Unless you're a dedicated knife knut.
 
I can do most of my cutting with a 3.5" blade. The handle is large enough. I like a 2 blade option, one plain edge and the other fully serrated. This will cover most of my knife work even up to skinning and cutting up a whole fryer. DM
 
I'm good with a small blade for almost everything. Something the size of a SOG Flash 1.

The only thing I prefer a larger blade for is dismembering cardboard boxes. That's where it pays to have some handle and some blade. But even then, an alox Cadet pretty much rocks with its super thin slicer profile.

I don't carve tent stakes or field dress wildebeest, so I never really "need" anything bigger than a Cadet. But I am also of the "just in case" mindset, which leads me to carry bigger sometimes. Same reason I carry a pistol, and often carry a medium duty multitool. Its also just plain fun to carry a big blade once in a while, but then common sense kicks in and I'm back to the small stuff.
 
I've always preferred smaller knives. I don't like carrying big clunky knives in my pocket, and for most tasks they work just fine.
I've been carrying and using BM Mini Grips for a long time, and have yet to feel like I needed a bigger knife. I have also carried smaller Traditional style folders since I was a little kid, and they always worked just fine... Even my fixed blade hunting knives would be considered small by many people.

I honestly think some people have themselves convinced that if a knife isn't big, it won't work...
 
powernoodle said:
I'm good with a small blade for almost everything. Something the size of a SOG Flash 1.

The only thing I prefer a larger blade for is dismembering cardboard boxes. That's where it pays to have some handle and some blade. But even then, an alox Cadet pretty much rocks with its super thin slicer profile.

I don't carve tent stakes or field dress wildebeest, so I never really "need" anything bigger than a Cadet. But I am also of the "just in case" mindset, which leads me to carry bigger sometimes. Same reason I carry a pistol, and often carry a medium duty multitool. Its also just plain fun to carry a big blade once in a while, but then common sense kicks in and I'm back to the small stuff.
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Agreed. At this point I would actually gravitate much more towards smaller blades if so much of my cutting wasn't dismembering cardboard.
 
I work in an office in a country which does not allow to carry any kind of knife on you. Period. Law enforcement makes exceptions to this rule if you are going (or comming from) fishing, hunting, climbing, hiking in the mountains or any other situation they consider you could really need a knife for. Otherwise, a fine is in order and knife is gone (untill you pay the fine).

So, this being said, I usually carry a folder of some short on me. People at my office are cool with it, They don't complain. Some other workmates also carry smal folders (say Opinels, small SAKs, etc.). The biggest ones I own are Spyderco Endura and Military... and they are not confortable to carry on me with a three piece suit. I usually carry an Spyderco Centofante, looks good, slices like crazy and is light.

I usually eat with it, cut to pieces some fruit, once in a while slice salami and open some packages... but that's about it. Out in the mountains is a different thing. I usually carry a Rescue or a fixed blade if I am gathering blackberries or mushrooms.
 
Gaston444 said:
If you want a small knife, why not use a boxcutter?

Gaston
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In the same vein if you want a big knife, why not use a sword?

Answer: Neither is practical for everyone. A box cutter is lowsy for cutting a sandwich (a sword may excell at this, I've never tried one). On the other hand, a box cutter is the tool of choice for scoring drywall, for which a sword would be a lousy choice. Neither would be a good choice for cleaning game or fish.
 
afishhunter said:
In the same vein if you want a big knife, why not use a sword?

Answer: Neither is practical for everyone. A box cutter is lowsy for cutting a sandwich (a sword may excell at this, I've never tried one). On the other hand, a box cutter is the tool of choice for scoring drywall, for which a sword would be a lousy choice. Neither would be a good choice for cleaning game or fish.
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I have to thank you for the mental image I just got of Lynn Thompson smashing a greatsword into a PB&J. I'm glad I'm at home by myself and I don't have to explain my random chuckling. :D
 
jackknife said:
as a big fan of the smaller knives, i've found only two areas that they fail. Food processing and wood processing on campouts. For the kitchen, i keep kitchen knives. For camping, i'll carry a fixed blade or folding saw. For life in modern suburbia, a 2inch blade seems plenty. Looking at how much cutting is done by contractors on construction sites, and remodel jobs with husky folding box cutters with a single inch of blade, it looks like you really don't need much of a knife in modern life. Unless you're a dedicated knife knut.
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Guess I'm dedicated. :D

KNIFE KNUTS UKNITE!
 
There is much talk about "need"... In the "need" department, in my daily life, nowadays, I could manage all my cutting needs with a 4" blade, from the small chores to the bigger stuff. Because I prefer to do small work with a bigger blade rather than the opposite (i.e. : I prefer slicing onions with a Bowie rather than butchering a hog with a Peanut...). In the ole days, I did all my cutting with a massive hawkbill (the heavy stuff, like firewood gathering and splitting) and an Opinel #9 (carving, snacking, cutting a string or trimming a broken nail, whatever...). My dedication to knives, however, is a matter of "pleasure" rather than "need". I may have fun preparing a stew with a machete while in the forest and I may have fun preparing food at home with my everyday necker. It's just about what tickles my fantasy, including, and not limited to, just putting a new knife to any work at hand to see how it fares.
 
I don't own very many Knives < 3", especially folders, though there are some...

Less then 3" I find myself wanting far too often; not that I couldn't perform (most) daily tasks with something smaller, but whenever a bit more is desired, required, or simply more convenient, I like to have it and not need it. Then want/need it and not have it. And most every task a 2" blade will accomplish just fine, a 3" blade will accomplish too without issue.
More then 4" seems to become a nuisance in most day-to-day duties, so I tend to shy away from those as well.

My most common daily carry Knives right now almost all seem to fall in the 3.25"-3.5" range... For me that seems to be the magic number for a folder. Be it a Blur, Urban Trapper, or a Boker Magnum ironworker, or many others in between, they almost all seem to be in that range, seems to be what I shop for these days based on preference.

I do then often have a 4-6" fixed blade handy
And also I do almost ALWAYS have a smaller blade handy as well, even if it's just the SAK classic on my key chain.
 
I have large hands, so I generally enjoy larger knives. I carry a SAK (a Recruit, currently), but I wouldn't ever leave the house with it as my only knife.
 
DocT said:
Are most of you served well with a smaller knife?
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Some people seem to get by with fingernails, teeth and car keys.

I have carried knives for almost all of my life. I work in an office, do handyman stuff around my house, and get outdoors when I can. I most definitely am handicapped with a smaller knife. I've settled on blades 3.5" to 4" as working best for me. I have a dragonfly and I sometimes carry it as a second knife. Once I ended up at work without my primary folder, only the Dragonfly in my briefcase, and it was harder to use than a larger folder. I bought a Ladybug one time and decided it was too small for me so it went to my daughter.

For cutting strings or threads, cutting open small packages, maybe a little food cutting, the shorter blade of a Dragonfly can work. But I had trouble even slicing my sandwich with it and slicing an apple the way I like to slice it would be difficult. Even slicing a banana would be difficult while trying to keep stuff out of the pivot.

The other reason I like a larger knife is that it comes with a larger handle. For some cutting tasks like slicing thick boxes I have to put a lot of force into the work and it is hard to safely hold onto a knife with a small handle. With a larger handle I can get a good grip on it.
 
I carry small knives generally. For my work duties large blades are not necessarily a need for me. I rarely have a blade larger than 3 inches with me at work. Now when I'm out and about our hitting trails That's a different story. All in all we have many choices, that's what I love about the knife world.
 
I worry less about need for size and more what the occasion allows. I work in an office so that dictates a small blade. When I get home I feel more free to go bigger. While camping, fixed blades only. I keep either an Esee Izula or Becker Bk14 in my pocket instead of a folder....just because &#128513;
 
I've spent the vast majority of 2015 carrying nothing more than my Victorinox Alox Cadet and for my needs that size knife handles 90% of what I need a knife to do. Recently however I've started carrying a dedicated folder, the main reason being that the Cadet doesn't have a locking blade. I like knowing that if I need to do something more substantial that I have a more capable knife on me. It's also a bit easier having two blades, since I can use the Cadet in public without freaking out most people and then the PM2 comes out when I'm on my own.
 
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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Most of my cutting with a knife (non kitchen use) requires only a smaller knife. But I carry what I are comfortable carrying and using. My target blade length is generally 3"-3.25". Essentially it is the size of a Spyderco Delica. I tried folding knives with longer blades and I found that I was not comfortable using them, especially in front of other people. The Delica is one of my normal day to day carry knife although of late I have been carrying a smaller knife, the Spyderco Kiwi 4 along with my two-layer 111mm SAK. The SAK essentially sets the standard in terms of pocket carry for me. I am very comfortable with the blade length on it and use the knife daily. Could I carry a smaller knife for 95% of my cutting tasks? Probably. But this size fits my hand well which allows me to put a lot of force cutting IF I need to with a good grip on the knife.
 
Mikel_24 said:
I work in an office in a country which does not allow to carry any kind of knife on you. Period. Law enforcement makes exceptions to this rule if you are going (or comming from) fishing, hunting, climbing, hiking in the mountains or any other situation they consider you could really need a knife for. Otherwise, a fine is in order and knife is gone (untill you pay the fine)...
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Very interesting post, Mikel. How much is the fine if you are caught with a knife? Can you also be charged with a criminal offense for carrying a knife without adequate justification or is it just a fine?
 
I notice that a lot of people carry more than one knife. I always do. But the choice is not simply a big knife and a small one, though sometimes it is. Often, the choice is a small knife and a smaller one. For example, I may have a Delica and SAK on my keychain. Or, I may have a larger SAK in one pocket and a smaller one on my keychain. These knives will do all I need doing and not clutter up my pocket nor pull down my pants with their weight. I rarely carry larger knives any longer. If I lived in the wilderness still, like David does, I would carry a larger and smaller knife. If I need defense from a two legged varmint I have pepper spray and a steel ASP.

I am always on the look out for the "perfect" pocket knife. I wonder what that would look like. The Chaparral is really nice. The Buck 501 is nice, too (especially with S30V...I may have to buy one). I have wondered about the Techno, but have never seen a live one.
 
I always carry either a Spyderco Tenacious or Persistence but more and more I'm often carrying either a BK16 or ESSE3.
 
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