• The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
    Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
    Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.

  • Today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11. I pray that this nation does not forget the loss of lives from this horrible event. Yesterday conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was murdered, and I worry about what is to come. Please love one another and your family in these trying times - Spark

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

For that price, I think the 707-1201 is about a sexy as it gets.

M390, aluminum handle with carbon fiber inserts!

(neuro's picture)

P1080309-2_zps27740a49.jpg
 
Almost too many choices here! Thank you guys.

I did notice that some folks suggested knives based on the cutting edge length. I should note that I am on a military base and the regulations state that the blade must be 3" or under, so I'm not interested in taking any chances (granted, the likelihood of someone giving me a hard time is very slim).

After some thought, I've realized I should have never sold my S110V Ti Fluted Native 5. That thing would have been perfect. I may settle for a standard Native 5, or possibly a Techno (which I already own). But I'm itching to get a new knife.

I like the look of that Mini LPC, but technically the blade is longer than 3". I'd also really like to a get another Curtiss (I have a 4" F3 back home), but I'm not interested in dropping $650 at the moment. A sub 3" Brian Tighe would be nice if I could find one.

Well, I'll mull it over some more. Thanks for the input so far!
 
I'm pretty much limited to 3" and under owing to the urban nature of my surroundings, and right now these are the three that get the most use:

The CRK small Sebenza:

(Strong, light, slim...)

The Spyderco Techno:

(Small, yet ridiculously overbuilt -- this one you can abuse.)

The Strider PT-CC:

(Nice and compact with great ergos -- at least IMO -- and slightly more aggressive mien than the small Sebenza; love the choil.)

Honestly, my favorite 3" knife is the TSF Beast, but it's more of a weekend knife for me owing to it's larger size relative the one's mentioned above:


My Mnandi (Honduran Rosewood, in this instance) also gets an Honorable Mention, but it's more of a "dress" knife for me, even though I know that it's perfectly capable of punching above its weight:


Regards,
Adam

PS - FWIW, I'm also quite fond of the Native 5.
 
craniotes said:
Yup, it's from Cuscadi. I have a green one, too:


The blue backspacer is cooler-looking, IMO, but the green one is brighter.

Regards,
Adam
Click to expand...

The blue does look cooler and softer. There is such a thing as being too bright like new tritium sights on pistols.

Do you charge the Cuscadi ones with a flashlight like the ones that come with HK pistols?
 
Mini presidio 525.

Benchmade has stopped making them.

Hard to find. except the exchange maybe.

Wow, found on Blade HQ; but the price has gone up.
 
My favorite? Small "plain Jane" Sebenza 21. If you're active duty, consider ordering a 3" XM-18 from Hinderer the next time they do a 3" run. It's a great knife for the money, if you can pay the Hinderer-direct price.
 
I sometimes have a similar situation as the OP. Where I live, length of a folder is not a problem, but it sure is in the nearest "big city". I have further complications, though... many times when work takes me downtown it's to government buildings, and that means carrying NOTHING. PERIOD. Not just into the building, but to and from (subway, usually), whatever else I need to do on the trip, I can't carry anything that won't go through the metal detectors and x-ray machines. Not only for visiting government offices, but for some large food courts in government buildings, and the government-run museums, same thing. They're in the process of "exporting" a culture of enforced helplessness out to the population in general, step-by-step.

To make matters worse, the laws are murky (as they are in many places) and while one most often hears that there's a 3" limit, sometimes they cite laws that mention 2.5".

So, if I'm going downtown and I'm definitely NOT going into any government buildings, I generally carry a sub-3" folder, but it really can't be an expensive one, because some official or other (there are like 30+ different police groups, not counting innumerable private guard companies) might take exception to it. The chances of getting arrested for carrying a sub-3" folder are extremely slim, probably vanishingly slim unless there are other charges, but the chances of confiscation are significantly higher.

In the past my go-to sub-3" has been a Doug Ritter mini-Griptilian, or sometimes my Fallkniven U2. Each of those has problems, though. The mini-Grips have blades that measure, the way the cops measure them, just about EXACTLY 3".. if they happen to be in a mood, I think it's going into the confiscation bin. If they're in a really bad mood you could end up being charged.

The U2 is just a little too nice, and it's not a fast-opener, or even a one-hand opener.

These days, I take either a "stripped" Cold Steel mini-AK-47 or a Kershaw Cryo. The mini-AK is the only knife I've ever bought with the intention of taking the blade coating off- it comes off easily and there's a surprisingly nice stone-washed finish underneath. It's also one of the VERY few that doesn't assume that a folding knife with a shorter blade HAS TO have a shorter handle as well, I don't know why that is.

However, the Cryo is assisted-opening, Hinderer-designed, and all-steel, it just feels bombproof. First choice, more often than not.

Good luck in the search. We REALLY need to fight for saner laws.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top