What's up with "Mini" knives?

Klesk

Klesk

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Jan 5, 2003
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Okay, I will probably get flamed for this, but it's a topic that has bugged me for quite a while, I gotta get it out of my system: besides legal reasons, why are so many people obsessed with "mini" knives, like the BM 635 and Spyderco Paramilitary?

I can understand carrying a small knife when blade length is dictated by law, but for what other reason would someone lust after a little dinky knife? I am slightly below average in height and weight, and the smallest knife I EDC is a Spyderco Military so I don't carry big because I am a big guy. Anything smaller feels oddly small and not very useful. The numbers speak for themselves: a Paramilitary is 4.75 inches closed and 7.875 inches open. A Military on the other hand, is 5.5 inches closed and 9.5 inches open. So, for a mere 0.75 inches in handle length, over 1.5 inches in overall length is gained. More importantly, the Military is a more useful size at 9.5", closer to what one would carry if carrying a fixed blade instead of a folder.

Though I've been thinking of this for a while, a couple of recent incidents have prompted me to finally lay out my thoughts. For one, a co-worker who is 5'11" and 250 lbs. refuses to carry anything bigger than a BM 635. I've been trying to ease him into a bigger folder, but he doesn't like anything larger and can't explain to me why. Another was a thread (can't remember on which forum, might be this one) in which someone said that they didn't understand why the BM 635 was called "mini", he or she felt that the 635 is closer to a full-size folder. Hello?!? Even the full size BM Skirmish can be considered a small folder; the custom Skirmish on which it is based is 11.5" long.

Then there were all those people calling for a smaller knife when the BM 630 was unveiled (to be fair, many of those cited legal reasons for their interest), and those rushing out to buy Paramilitaries and any other knife with "Mini" in the name.

I just don't get it. I don't carry big knives to make up for shortcomings elsewhere :D , I just feel that carrying the biggest knife that I can, legally and comfortably, makes the most sense.
 
I'm not really sure why? The mini-Skirmish blade is almost 3.5", Personally that's about the biggest I would go for an EDC folder. Any longer and it feels unwieldly for utilitarian applications. If I started hiking a lot, maybe I'd look into a bigger fixed blade or something....

Where do you work? My father is the head civil engineer for Wilson Okamoto Corporation.

BTW, I just noticed that thread you made about the D.C. trip. I can lend you my Dodo if you're intersted, or you can try out my 705. I'll be needing that one. Martha (Young Guns) said they never had any in stock a few weeks ago.
 
Depends on what you carry it for. All my EDC's have 3+/-0.25" blades simply because I find them to be most useful (up to 4" are legal carry here). For a whole lot of tasks a smaller blade offers more control, lighter weight, and a less obtrusive shape. SD? I'll take pepper spray in combination with either an ASP baton or a pistol (at home, a Mossberg).
 
I guess it just depends on what you use it for.
And I'd have a hard time calling the Para a "mini" knife - just not quite as big. I like it for the compression lock and haven't found that I need a larger blade, for daily use. I put my Mili away when I got the Para. Don't get me wrong - I still like the Mili and cary it, occasionally, but don't feel difficient when carrying the Para.
 
underaged! said:
I'm not really sure why? The mini-Skirmish blade is almost 3.5", Personally that's about the biggest I would go for an EDC folder. Any longer and it feels unwieldly for utilitarian applications. If I started hiking a lot, maybe I'd look into a bigger fixed blade or something....

Where do you work? My father is the head civil engineer for Wilson Okamoto Corporation.

BTW, I just noticed that thread you made about the D.C. trip. I can lend you my Dodo if you're intersted, or you can try out my 705. I'll be needing that one. Martha (Young Guns) said they never had any in stock a few weeks ago.
Click to expand...

I work at the State Department of Transportation, I am a Project Manager there. Basically, I supervise the work of other engineers in their design of highway projects. We don't do too much work with Wilson, but I'll keep him in mind if I have any jobs with them. Thanks for the offer of knives, but I just ordered a Spyderco Yojimbo on Ebay. I know that knife goes against what I said above, but I needed a small knife for legal reasons, and the Yojimbo is interesting enough that I might just keep it when I return from D.C. I mentioned to my wife that her Mini Grip is legal in D.C., and that it would be perfect for me to carry when I'm there, she just said "that's MY knife". End of discussion :D
 
I am short and prefer a large knife as well. It seems to fit the hand better and be more useful.

For once, Ross you are correct!:thumbup:
 
Customer demand.

The Paramilitary exists because lots of people like the Military, but it's too big. Same with the Manix and 80mm Manix.

The 635 exists because people wanted a Ti framelock Benchmade, but not as big as the 630.

Mostly, it's people who like the features of a particular knife, but for some reason or another (grip size, legal limits, etc), they'd prefer a smaller version.

Then there's people like me who want them bigger (Rukus!)
 
I swear, just the other day I almost posted the exact opposite question? "Why do people carry big knives?" For a very long time, my edc was a benchmade 940, a smallish knife with a 3.5" blade. I also had the black coating. The knife has been well used, and the coating shows it. The thing is, the coating is only worn on about 1.5" of the blade length. I'll use the tip of the knife occasionallly, but for most of the push cutting I'm likely to do, I really only use a portion of the blade. Admittedly, I like knives with blades longer than 3", but I don't really have a good reason for it. Even for a woods knife, I can't justify much over three inches. I've taken to carrying a Victorinox One Hand Trekker as an edc (along with a small pocket fixed blade.) The OHT has a 3.5 inch blade and is plenty long enough for anything I might need a knife to do. It also has an efficient saw if I needed to build an emergency shelter or fire. I just don't see the need for anything bigger. I DO recognize the need for hand filling comfortable handles in a work knife. But for most edc uses, anything over a 3.5 blade gets in the way for me.
 
I've always carried a sub 3" blade and and have never had a problem.I work as firefighter and have used my knife for emergency and firefighting applications on a few occasions and it served fine.Would a longer blade have been better?Maybe?Probably? I don't know.I also feel it has a lot to do with the handle and how it feels in your hand.I don't want a knife weighing down my pants and I do find there is less control with a bigger blade. I'm actually looking for the smallest knife to do the jobs I expect of it, not the biggest just because I can legally carry it. What exactly do you need a larger knife for day to day anyways? I mean are there certain applications for the need or is it just preferred? Either or is fine, but just like you don't get it while others would want something smaller, there are those of us who don't see the day in , day out need to be carrying something this side of a bowie, either. And as far as saying a smaller knife is puny , I'll put my "little" knife and my day to day uses up against yours anytime.Something doesn't have to better or worse, just better or worse for your needs or wants.That's the great thing about the variety of knives out there today.
 
Years ago on my ship we had a "female" Bosun's mate assigned TAD for a few weeks and she was the most ultra-masculine butch woman you ever saw. She carried on her hip the BIGGEST 110 clone you have ever seen. Probably of Pakistani origin, this knife was probably 9 or 10" closed, and when it was open it was so large that it seemed to be a parody of a knife. It was so huge that its usefullness was limited. I think we can all make our guesses as to why she chose to carry such a beast.

Anyway, I found it so amusing that anybody would carry something like that when they weren't working out in a field cutting down sugar cane that I decided right then and there that I would never carry a knife that would make people wonder what the hell was wrong with me. Years later I read a post by Bob Dozier on his forum explaining that he's a small knife guy and I realized that I was in good company.

Well, I still think I'll end up getting a huge Bowie one day, but not for EDC.
 
I like to carry large knives too. I EDC a Manix at present - not huge, but pretty big and burly.

Still, it is a bit much for some tasks. For instance at a family gathering I needed to open a smallish package for my father...It required a blade length of about i/2 inch total (less because I just needed the point). Out came my Manix (all I had). I was a laughable amount of overkill for the task and quite honestly, it was a poor choice because there was so much blade that one little slip could have damaged the product. Smaller would have been better there.

Still it worked. There is no doubt in my mind that I like the larger blades, but I can also recognize that sometimes the small blades are favorable for a given task.
 
I am another that likes to carry the big knives. For about a year i was carrying my El vaquero but recently i've switched over to the cold steel scimitar. I carry that with a buck 110 and i'm set.
 
I'm one for small knives; fixed blades and folders.

I, rarely, need a knife for heavy cutting chores (opening boxes, mail, bags, trimming strings, cutting an apple, etc), so I have no need for a blade that is over 3". I'm not a small guy, (I'm not a giant either :)), but I don't like carrying around excess weight. If I can get away with a 2 7/8" TNT or small Sebenza, that's what I am going to carry.

I carried a few Microtechs for a while but found the extra size and weight to be cumbersome. After lugging around heavy knives I went with the Sebenza and from there to an even lighter TNT.

Lately I've just been carrying a small Douk Douk or an old Shrade Old Timer. When I'm hacking around in the woods I carry a Gransfors Mini and usually a fixed blade camp knife made by some local knucklehead :). But when I'm out and about doing my "normal" business the small, light, easy to carry knife gets the nod.

I admit that in the winter with a heavy coat and lots of pockets I would be inclined to carry a little additional weight, not that I would need a larger knife.

Matt
 
My day-to-day knife is an Al Mar SLB 1.75 inch blade,true that I carry a bigger knife when I'm outside working,but in all reality one can get by with a two inch or sub two inch blade for edc...you just don't need more.
 
Nice thread. I know I've tried alot of folders over the years, attempting to find one that was comfortable to carry everyday.

In general I limit the closed length of the knife in my pocket to 3.5" and a single blade. This size knife handles the tasks I'm likely to encounter during the average workday. My work doesn't lend itself to carrying a larger folder or fixed blade, in a belt pouch or sheath. I wish it did because I'd EDC a fixed blade too.

The knife in my pocket is always 3.5" or smaller. On the weekends, when on the stream or in the field, I'll carry a 8" to 9" fixed blade suited for the task at hand.

Gary
 
i was carrying my caly ZDP but just bought a mini skirmish...i like the mini alot but the caly is more comfortable and the blad is more the right size...i think a 3.5 blade is plenty long enough
 
Klesk said:
why are so many people obsessed with "mini" knives, like the BM 635 and Spyderco Paramilitary?

I can understand carrying a small knife when blade length is dictated by law, but for what other reason would someone lust after a little dinky knife?
Click to expand...

The Para is a little dinky knife?

Anyway, to answer your question, the legal blade length in SpyderCountry is 3.5" (go figure). And being a generally law-abiding person, I usually leave my 710 and 'Nook at home. I don't really want to lose my CCW or turn a routine speeding ticket into a strip search because an eager cop took out the measuring tape.
 
I carry that which works the best for me. A full size Trapper does the job better at 4 1/8" than at 3 1/2", and much better than that freak of a Case knife at 2 7/8". Stockmen are the same- 4 or better.
 
I feel the para is a superior knife to the military, actually (not just in size)...

Joe Average doesn't need a 4+ inch blade, but sometimes he likes the designs of knives that have them.

It's that simple.
 
Would you carry a knife that was 9'' closed? Nah, it would be too cumbersome.

Now, a knife that is 4'' closed may not be as cumbersome, but where do you draw the line?

Everyone draws it in a difference place, and it even depends on their mood, what pants they are going to wear that day, and what they are going to do.

To you, a Military is not too big. But just as a 7'' CUDA MAXX might be too big for you, a Military might be too big for the next person. At least on certain days. Why do you carry a tiny Military when you could carry a huge bowie?

Some days I am in the mood to carry a larger knife. Sometimes I am not. Sometimes I carry a large fixed blade on my belt. Sometimes I want a svelt Kershaw Leek on me instead. Some of my pants have more pocket space. One pair of shorts I have does not have belt loops and fits loose on me, so I do not want a lot of weight dragging them down.

Size does matter, and it matters in terms of performance as well as practicality. A smaller knife is lighter and easier to carry without noticing. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but it is. That is why you don't carry one of the many folders that is much larger than the Military.

The real question is "how much knife do you need"?

Even very tiny knives can get the job done every day as EDC knives. They are not good knives for camping, but being small and light and big enough to do what you need is what EDC is all about.

A goal for many people is to carry as much blade as they need, and no more. Anymore than that is excessive and wasted.

Only a nut would carry 15 different knives on his belt just to go to the mall. He would be vastly overknifed. Most sane people try to find some sort of moderation. Since we are all different (from the type of pants we wear, how tight they fit, what we need a knife for on a daily basis etc...) what we find to be the "right amount of knife" is going to be different. It might be a 2'' folder, it might be a 5'' folder. There is nothing "correct" about any one point on the "how much knife is on you?" scale.

Keep in mind that the *VAST* majority of people do not carry knives AT ALL! And you know what? They do just fine.
 
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