The Sweet Spot!

OH, good idea for a thread and great photos to kick it off.:thumbup::thumbup:

3 1/2" is my sweet spot.
I found a 3 1/4" to 3 7/8" pocket knife is best suited for my everyday tasks and a comfortable size to carry. I'm currently giving this GEC 77 (3 11/16") the opportunity to become one of my regular users.


(sellers photo)
 
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Work week - light, thin, socially acceptable. 83mm Alox-handled SAK, either the 2-layer Cadet or single-layer Bantam.

Weekends - much wider range of options, though in general something in the 3 5/8" to 4 1/4" range. Any of several Case stockman patterns - '032, '18, '47, '75, or the Case Trapper, GEC Powderhorn Jack, maybe the Vic Alox Farmer or Alox Electrician. Maybe toss a Peanut in a pocket too.
 
556hunter said:
As far as size goes, I definitely prefer 3.75"-4.25" knives.i can go a little bigger than that, and a little smaller than that. I just depends on where I'm going and what I'm doing. My favorite pattern is a scout knife:) it's closely followed by two blade jacks and stockmans:):)

Here's some of my favorites:D...

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Did everyone just miss out on your appearance of this great decapitated snake head?

3' 3/4 is my sweet spot. A GEC viper and a 'support knife' alongside the little fixed blade either in pocket or neck carry.
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Great knives and great perspectives gentlemen - any wonder there are so many knife patterns offered? Thanks for your posts and pictures. Brett, very good to see you around and posting again! OH

Ps Maybe our buddy 556hunter was making some snake-head stew, or did that snake get a little too close - pocketknife range is mighty close!
 
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I prefer a closed length of about 3 1/2", a single blade for me. I've carried larger and smaller but migrate back to to 3 1/2" eventually. My Ken Erickson 3 1/2" EDC is as close to a perfect carry (for me) as I've owned.

 
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Photographic evidence proves that my sweet spot is very definitely between 3 5/8" and 3 3/4". The Seahorse is a tad longer, but that's just because it's kind of lanky.

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Really absorbing thread:thumbup:

I'm unfaithful, I have many sweet spots and they change a bit. But generally I dislike fat heavy knives, they may look OK and show great skill in construction but I aint want no boulder weighing down my pocket, just unpleasant hauling that around. :grumpy:

On the whole, 3-3.75" ( 7.6-9.5cm) is the right stuff, generally single-blade or single-spring 2 blade is what I like, a nice decent Barehead knife like a GEC73 plus a Sleeveboard type pen-knife suits me. I do like 3 blades particularly Whittlers over Stockman. The Stockman is a pattern I admire, have a few, like fiddling about with them but I don't often carry one. I have a Northfield Dixie which I carry when going out on a walk if I'm in a good mood, my swagger knife if you like! The Whittler I carry more, better in hand feel for me. Queen Cutlery's No.48 is a particularly nice example and I'm VERY enthusiastic about the GEC Tidioute 38 I got recently, a bigger knife than I usually carry but it's svelte and sleek and a brilliant design. I'm impatiently awaiting my Orchard Gem that Charlie showed earlier which is a variant of the 38.

Bottom line: no obese knives please, they weigh me down. Oh, and no bails either! Irrational dislike of them, well no it's quite rational actually: they look an eyesore, scratch up the bolsters horribly and can't be trusted:D:D

Thanks for your time, Will
 
Hi guys

Interesting subject choice for a thread, definitely not something I've seen discussed by itself that much on the forum.

Personally, my sweet-spot depends on what I'm doing. If I'm at home or around town I've found something around 2 3/4" to be about right, current preference is a rough rider 5 blade peanut although I do make use of a Victorinox pocket pal or executive if I'm in a suit or dress trousers.

I know some people might think it odd to to have a short but thick knife like the 5 blade peanut, but I found that small knives generally either dig in or twist around in my hand when I use it for semi serious cutting jobs like breaking up boxes, the rough rider peanut however is wide enough not to dig in.

If I'm doing anything outdoors I prefer a larger knife about 3 1/2" to 4", I'm currently using a Vic farmer and a rough rider canoe.
 
A lot of very fine knives here but to me the Sears Sta-Sharp Junior Stock knife shown by thawk is The Finest. Camillus at their very best, and superb condition for a 75-80 year old knife.
kj
 
Single or two blade 3 1/2" is what I prefer. I do stray from that a lot. I don't like thick, heavy knives. Too much like a potatoe in my pocket (I think Tony Bose might have used that phrase).
 
knarfeng said:
Like others, my sweet spot has drifted back and forth over the years.

My current sweet spot is 3 5/8". But I will carry anything from a peanut up to a 4" stockman.
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Frank beat me to my sweet spot! :) I currently claim my sweet spot is 3 5/8" ± 1/4". My deviations from this range are more likely to be on the lower end, rather than the higher end. I don't mind using short knives, but I'd prefer to have a little more handle (I'm 5' 10", but can palm a basketball, so my hands are relatively long, but kind of skinny). I actually use secondary blades more frequently than main blades; guess I like short blades and longer handles. But not TOO long; 4" seems too long for me to carry comfortably, generally speaking. I tried carrying a 4 1/8" trapper for a while, but found it cumbersome (and I wasn't a fan of 2 long blades).

Here are some knives right at 3 5/8", I think: Vic Pioneer and Electrician and Rough Rider Canoe.
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True confessions, or there's an exception to every rule: I've been carrying an old 4 1/8" Imperial 2-blade toothpick almost daily for the past couple of months, at least (along with knives in my sweet spot). :eek::( All I can say is it's slender and curved and reminds me of a knife one of my grandpas used to carry. :o
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- GT
 
Nice knives on this thread. Thank you!

I don't have a fixed idea or a final sweet spot about THE BEST POCKET KNIFE for all people but I have preferences for myself.

I like a single blade pocket knife. I do not want a bail or a clip end on it. Some modern knives have clip ends on them. I do not care for that and come to find out my husband does not like them either. (He took one off of one knife that I know of in the past too.) My late husband did not like clip ends on his old pocket knives either.

I want the blade length to be legit 'law wise' so I do not have to worry about CCW laws in most states. Four or LESS inches. Yes, I know that state laws differ all over the place including city laws too.

I want to open the POCKET knife using both hands.

I do not want to get a knife that is too hard for me to open either.

I am leaning more and more towards FIXED blade knives too. I still love my folding Buck 110 and Buck 55 too. I love what I have been using so that has not changed.

I did find out that one of the pretty pocket knifes (Another brand.) that I was thinking about getting feels much different and SMALLER in my hands too. It is not that easy to open too. So that pretty knife is OFF of my list now since I want to be able to open a knife EASILY.

Old age is not for sissies. Ha!
I woke up with bad hands two days ago. My old accident side was a royal pain and I threw out my back with my spring cleaning on Sunday too! Maybe I should have been looking at knives instead of cleaning my house!

Cate
 
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Gevonovich said:
Bless you, Cate! Great post and my wish is for your hands and back to heal!!!
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Thanks! I have to get better so I can hike, swim and maybe fish when I camp with my husband soon! Plus I will be looking at some real estate too. We may stay at a motel for one or two nights even though we will camp more. NO tent sleeping in grizzly bear country for me.

To keep this KNIFE RELATED... I will have my Buck fixed blade knife-Ranger Skinner, one other FB knife (? I am still undecided about which one.) and an Estwing camp axe with me in the van. A Made in CT, Marlin 336C 30-30 rifle will go too.

ADDED more: The FB knife will be ON my body in my fanny pack not just LEFT in the van.

We made up the good firm mattress in the back of the GMC van even if we are not leaving this week. Everything is freshly washed and dried!

I am making up the nest. I call it Cate's Cabin. Grin.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/kootenai/

Take care!

Cate
 
Sounds like a lot of fun Cate - and carrying a Buck fixed blade always earns style points as well as offering the owner access to a first class knife! OH

I'm carrying this Schrade 897UH "Uncle Henry" this week - at 3-9/16" it is dead on the center line of my EDC sweet spot. OH

Ps Hope you Ladies and Gents aren't out of ideas and pictures yet!

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Old Hunter said:
Sounds like a lot of fun Cate - and carrying a Buck fixed blade always earns style points as well as offering the owner access to a first class knife! OH

I'm carrying this Schrade 897UH "Uncle Henry" this week - at 3-9/16" it is dead on the center line of my EDC sweet spot. OH

Ps Hope you Ladies and Gents aren't out of ideas and pictures yet!

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Sweet knife!

Cate
 
Right there with most of you fellas. I have experimented with all sizes of knives from my shoebox collection and it seems I have settled on the Case 22087 in Black Delrin/Stainless. At 3 3/8" inches it rides perfectly in my watch pocket and seems to get all the greenhouse and warehouse/office chores done with no trouble. I picked it up about 3 months ago and I don't believe I have left it behind for another choice since. Could this be the *ONE* I have been searching for all this time? I wish case would do this pattern in CV and Bone and I might declare the search over. I may carry something else, but that black handled Case see's the most work.

http://s46.photobucket.com/user/JVBuck/media/IMG_0748_zpsq69lnexd.jpg.html?o=0
 
When I first started out acquiring good knives, I would go for the big honkers. Big fixed blades, big framelocks, big lockbacks. Bigger the better. Sharpened prybars.

Over the years, I've come to appreciate well made choppers, and big folders, but for actual using knives, I just go for smaller fixed blades and slipjoints. For some of you, a slipjoint with a 3" blade may be big as all outdoors. Well, that's the sweet spot for me.

But it must be paired with a peanut!
 
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