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What's your favorite knife with a blade 3" or less?

MaxFactor

MaxFactor

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2012
Messages
1,388
Howdy BladeForums,

This'll be my first post after a few months of not logging on. At any rate, just looking for suggestions for a new folder with a blade 3" or under.

I've looking at the Brous Silent Soldier Framelock or maybe a CRK Mnandi, and a few others. I know those are two very different knives but I simply don't know what's out there since I'm usually into 3.5"+ folders (unfortunately I can't carry a knife that size at my new command). I'd really like to get a Les George ESV but the few I've seen for sale seem to be priced a bit higher ($650+) than I'd like to go ($400 is my limit). I'd like a Ti frame lock and I'm a big fan of CTS-XHP but I'm also not feeling super picky.
 
You can't go wrong with a small Sebenza. The Spyderco Sage II is great and can be picked up anywhere. Curtiss F3 Compact. Bradley Alias II. LionSteel SR2.
Any one of those are amazing titanium framelocks and should all be within your price range of $400.
 
Small Micarta 21 Sebenza. I have a ESV and I prefer the small seb. The ESV is too thick and bulky for a knife that size IMO.
 
Let's see. I like my Mnandi, true, but it's got the mamoth ivory scales and the Devin Thomas raindrop damascus blade, so not really an EDC blade. Hmm.

There's a plethora of Spyderco offerings that are 3" and under. I seem to own most of them. Ladybug, Dragonfly, Centofante Memory, Delica (my girlfriend gets most of those). There are plenty of others.

Benchmade Mini Grip. Mine is in M4, YMMV.

CRKT Ripple 2. Mine's in bronze. Oh, lord! Pretty, pretty knife!

CRKT Cryo. Sweet little Hinderer design. Meh steel.

Kershaw Leek. I have a composite blade, which is sweet, and a Damascus, which I feel is a little dressier.

Everything else is a bit longer, I think. Of course, the moment I hit "Post" I'll remember another one.

I don't have a Strider PT (yet), but that one's under 3" of blade. It's also a bit pricey and sometimes hard to find.
 
The Spyderco Sage series is good. The Delica is also good. I have a feeling, though, that when I get it that my favorite sub 3" blade will be the Spyderco Domino. Nothing to not like, good blade steel, frame lock, flipper, bearings... It sounds like a Sage 1.5 (Sage 2 lock, sage 1 scale and liner) on steroids.
 
My favorite sub 3" knife is the Svord Mini Peasant. Does everything a knife should do. Probably not what you're looking for, though.

y3hi.jpg
 
Blade lengths of about 2.3"-3.1" and titanium frame locks:

  • Hinderer XM-18 3" (S35VN)
  • Curtiss F3 Compact (N690)
  • Benchmade 755 MPR (M390)
  • DPx HEAT/F (Sleipner)
  • DPx HEST/F Milspec (Sleipner)
  • LionSteel SR-2 Ti (Sleipner)
  • TSF BEAST (M390)
  • CRK Sebenza 21 Small (S35VN)
  • MicroTech Mini Matrix (ATS-34)
  • Spyderco Techno (CTS-XHP)
  • Spyderco Sage 2 (S30V)
  • Bradley Alias 2 (S30V)
  • Boker Pipsqueak (S35VN)
  • Boker Minos (N690)
  • Kizer 3404A3 (S35VN)
 
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