What's your favorite mini? (under 3")?

Tough little Scandi ground Enzo Birk, and just under 3".
Gets insanely sharp.
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3 inch blades are about as short as I like to go but, I did do a 30 day challenge with a Swiss Army knife cadet.

What I found out is that I could do about 75 to 80% of my daily knife task with it.

I also found out that it was a pain to carry or keep track of because it was so small.

For an every day carry the cadet it’s my choice for something under 3 inches. A pioneer would be better or even a Spartan but a cadet would work in a pinch.

Nothing fancy or expensive. Just a decent little EDC knife.
 
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I guess all my pocket knives are mini's these days. If won't fit comfortably in the watch pocket of my jeans, it won't go. Knives that I carry everyday in a sort of rotation are, Buck 309 companion, Boker 240 penknife, Victorinox executive, Opinel number 5, and an old Christy knife.Sometimes two at a time.

For me mostly suburban life, they take care of my cutting needs. If I need more blade, theres a small machete in my car trunk.
 
myu said:
That Koenig Mini Goblin is absolutely stunning. Too bad it's 10x my intended budget for this. Maybe later on when I'm much more flush. ;)
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Rest assured that even though I have the option to buy more expensive knives, one of my all time favorites has a G-10 base price of ~$130 new. Going more expensive often doesn't mean getting a better knife.
 
Spyderco Baby Jess Horn.

Benchmade Benchmite.

Right up there are the Delica and the Leek.
 
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Kaizen1 said:
Rest assured that even though I have the option to buy more expensive knives, one of my all time favorites has a G-10 base price of ~$130 new. Going more expensive often doesn't mean getting a better knife.
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I do have another collecting hobby & could liquidate a few items to get a $550 knife, but at this point knife collecting doesn't have that priority weight. Knowing what happened with other collecting areas I've indulged, I imagine I'll be hitting into that zone in about 1~2 years. What is that all-time favorite you're hinting about? :)
 
jackknife said:
... Knives that I carry everyday in a sort of rotation are, Buck 309 companion, Boker 240 penknife, Victorinox executive, Opinel number 5, and an old Christy knife...
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Just how often does the Christy knife get pocket time?

It’s not a knife you see every day.
 
myu said:
I do have another collecting hobby & could liquidate a few items to get a $550 knife, but at this point knife collecting doesn't have that priority weight. Knowing what happened with other collecting areas I've indulged, I imagine I'll be hitting into that zone in about 1~2 years. What is that all-time favorite you're hinting about? :)
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Any of the models in the Millie fam. At this point for me, steel isn't very important. All of the models that Spyderco offers for these models will work just fine. Granted, I don't use my knives to the point where they get worn down to a nub, but I've had the Paramilitary 2 in the pic for ~8 years. These are my primary knives when doing random things around the house - basically anytime I actually have to cut stuff like break down a lot of cardboard.

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Left: New Para 3
Right: 8 years of cutting random things, sharpened a bunch of times
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sabre cat said:
Just how often does the Christy knife get pocket time?

It’s not a knife you see every day.
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Very often. Its a very noice watch pocket knife, and the thin blade is like a razor blade. But a lot of it is sentimental as my dad was a big fan of them. Apparently he bought a lot of them for his people that he handed them out to when he got the corner office upstairs. He passed away before mom, and mom kept the hush pup, but when she had pancreatic cancer and didn't have long, she gave my sister a the stuff from a safety deposit box and filled us in on dad ands job.

It was't really any secret, we kids had figured it out a long time ago, but dad was closed mouth till the very end. Never said a word about his cloak and dagger stuff out of D.C., and he wasn't really a file clerk that took trips over seas to "straiten out some messed up file." After mom passed away, we found the letter from the Christy Company thanking dad for the purchase of 50 of them for his personal.

They are a very neat little knife to tuck in a watch pocket.
 
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jackknife said:
Very often. Its a very noice watch pocket knife, and the thin blade is like a razor blade. But a lot of it is sentimental as my dad was a big fan of them. Apparently he bought a lot of them for his people that he handed them out to when he got the corner office upstairs. He passed away before mom, and mom kept the hush pup, but when she had pancreatic cancer and didn't have long, she gave my sister a the stuff from a safety deposit box and filled us in on dad ands job.

It was't really any secret, we kids had figured it out a long time ago, but dad was closed mouth till the very end. Never said a word about his cloak and dagger stuff out of D.C., and he wasn't really a file clerk that took trips over seas to "straiten out some messed up file." After mom passed away, we found the letter from the Christy Company thanking dad for the purchase of 50 of them for his personal.

They are a very neat little knife to tuck in a watch pocket.
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I remember my dad had a few of those around. I even recall seeing him picking up another one from a display at the check-out line of a Sav-on drug store back in the early ‘70s. I think it was around that time he was stopping carrying the slip-joint pocketknives he’d long been carrying due to his overly-thick fingers developing more difficulty opening those knives.

My favorite single-bladed sub-3” knives are my CRK small Inkosi, Spyderco Delica, Tasman Salt, Salt 2 Wharncliffe, and Para 3.

Jim
 
Legendary_Jarl said:
I found the design of the AK-47 mini really cool. But, when I actually got it the handle felt really uncomfortable. I gave it away!
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Agreed that the handle could be better . Not comfortable to use and somewhat awkward . Way too thin .

Still , it's a lot of cutting power in a small , thin form . Easy to carry and conceal .
 
jackknife said:
Very often. Its a very noice watch pocket knife, and the thin blade is like a razor blade. But a lot of it is sentimental as my dad was a big fan of them. Apparently he bought a lot of them for his people that he handed them out to when he got the corner office upstairs. He passed away before mom, and mom kept the hush pup, but when she had pancreatic cancer and didn't have long, she gave my sister a the stuff from a safety deposit box and filled us in on dad ands job.

It was't really any secret, we kids had figured it out a long time ago, but dad was closed mouth till the very end. Never said a word about his cloak and dagger stuff out of D.C., and he wasn't really a file clerk that took trips over seas to "straiten out some messed up file." After mom passed away, we found the letter from the Christy Company thanking dad for the purchase of 50 of them for his personal.

They are a very neat little knife to tuck in a watch pocket.
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I called the Christy Knife Co. a couple of years ago and was very surprised Mr. Christy himself answered the phone. Very nice gentleman.

I have one of their knives. I bought it off of eBay to be used with my pocket watch. You are correct, they are perfect as a watch knife.

Thank you for sharing the background about yours. I am a firm believer that a knife is always more interesting if there’s a story to go with it.
 
sabre cat said:
I called the Christy Knife Co. a couple of years ago and was very surprised Mr. Christy himself answered the phone. Very nice gentleman.

I have one of their knives. I bought it off of eBay to be used with my pocket watch. You are correct, they are perfect as a watch knife.

Thank you for sharing the background about yours. I am a firm believer that a knife is always more interesting if there’s a story to go with it.
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Since Earl Christy passed away in 2006, its been a one-man operation by Hal Christy, trying to keep his family's business going. Prices have went up, and I think the company's future may be a bit short. I'm tempted to buy a few just to sock away for the grandkids. I hope Hal can keep it going, I understand he sold the old building and now is operating out of his garage shop.

Once you get used to the knife, it becomes even more interesting on how damm handy the little thing is. One hand opening in three different locked positions. And it's a bit of real cutlery history.
 
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