When and why would you need a folder bigger than a Rat-2 ?

[Pilsner]

The question has already been answered.
But I will confirm...

A longer blade does have some advantages when it comes to cutting some things...

Bagels
Grapefruit
Oranges
Apples
Melons
Bread
Etc..

And if it should come to self defense...
Yeah, a longer blade is usually better for reaching those vital organs to quickly end a hostile encounter.

Yes. Although to anyone trained in anatomy, genuinely not via some bogus training system, a 2” knife can inflict lethal cuts in several places, disabling cuts in multiple places. This is why I personally could never reasonably use a legal folder to defend myself. At university (college) I scored 98% in anatomy. Basically, I could cause death with a sewing needle every time, but in reality my opponent would have to hold still! Ha! Not gonna happen.

But with a bladed tool? Forget about it. That would be me banged up, it would be mitigating circumstances and the hope from an understanding judge.

“British boys fight with their fists.” Too much blood otherwise, and I wish our youth could relearn that wisdom. I was brought up in a different age. Knives were pulled out in aggression by cowards. They still are.

 

[Randanator]

Knives bigger than a RAT-2 just fit my hand better. I prefer stuff like my RAT 1, Endura, Buck 110, etc. I'm not a compact guy, my knives shouldn't be either. I do have smaller knives though, just not for daily use. I keep them around because I like them

 

[Dean51]

I carry two knives one will be 3.5” to 3.75 closed and the other will be 3.8 to 4.25 closed. That gives me blade lengths from 2.6” to 3 1/4”, usually the smaller is a clip and the other is a drop point. That combination serves me very well.
A comfortable handle, good cutting geometry and good steel, those's are my requirements.
That's just me and my use, needs or desires, not someones else's use, needs or desire.

If someone wants to go minimalist that's fine, just don't try and convince me that's all I need in my corner of rural suburbia. Because you don't know diddle about my uses.
There is no way I want to cut double wall cardboard or reinforced hose with a peanut or a pen knife. I'm sure as hey, not going fishing or hunting with a peanut.
I quess I could but why?

By that same reasoning, I have no day to day use for a 5” folder. I have one but I'm not going to lug it around as an EDC.
Carry what you want and enjoy the hobby.

It's the old Ford, Chevy, Dodge debate and we all know who wins that one.

 

[Boxer .45]

The fact is, this is just another Ford vs Chevy argument by a bunch of knife nuts/fan boys/object cult worship people. Is there a reason for anything that is mostly personal preference?

Think about this; all you knife nuts on this forum are less than 1% of the population. We're the freaks that non knife people think are nuts. Heck, most people in modern suburban America and most other developed placed don't even carry a knife at all. Yet the sidewalks are not littered with the bodies of those that perished for want of a knife.

Any little bit of sharp steel/bronze/flint will get the job done with a little bit of thought. And the worlds most popular selling knife by both production numbers and international sales is the little Victoriox Classic. Look at most construction sites and the most popular knife you will see is some variant of the old Stanley 99 utility knife with all of a one inch blade. When our water heater took a crap, the plumber unboxed a brand new one from it's double wall cardboard container with a little folding Husky brand utility knife.

Knives are just like cars; people use what gives them pleasure. Most of the world commutes to work in Honda Civics, Toyota Corolla's, and Hyundai Eleantras. They get there with a decent amount of comfort and reliability. But the car nut has to have his Porsche or 'vette, or a Dodge Hemi charger. It makes him happy.

For many years I carried a little Case peanut as my sole pocketknife. No, that's not true, I had a Victorinox classic on my keyring. Somehow I did my job as a machinist, retired and spent a lot more time fishing, camping, and woods walking with my better half of over 40 years. Somehow, we survived. I even managed to cut Karens sandwich inhalf with a knife that wasn't more than half the length of her sandwich's thickness. I just had her turn it over, and I cut through the half from the bottom, then flipped it right side up and slice along the same line from the top. Result was a very large burger sliced neatly in half for her convenience.

I once watched a friend and co-worker field dress a very nice opening day buck with his well worn Buck 303 cadet. He did just fine, as he knew what he was dong.

Carry what you like, and don't try to makeup excuses why you carry it. Going about the normal business of life I don't think many are encountering hostile water melons or cantaloupes or hostile Apaches. A two inch blade is fine for most things you will have to deal with in an urban/suburban environment, and if you are a rancher or farmer then carry what you need for your job. Or carry what you personally like. I personally like to save pocket space so I carry a small pocket knife in the coin pocket of my jeans. A Buck cadet, Victorinox executive, Boker 240 pean knife, Buck 309 companion. With wallet, cell phone, keys, Fenix flashlight, and small handgun, my pockets are getting a bit loaded, so saving a bit of space is a good thing for me. I find in my life as a retired gentleman of leisure that does a lot of fishing, a small pocket knife gets me by.

I think for me the big turning point was at Mesa Verde National Park in 1997. A park ranger was giving a lecture and demonstration in primitive technologies, and he had a rear haunch of a road killed deer. He had a large flint chunk and he used a stick to strike a flat of it off. It was a slender finger length flake of flint. He then proceeded to skin the haunch of deer or antelope whatever it was, and the hide just peeled back. Then he sliced the meat into thin slices for drying. He used that flint flake in an over lapping feathery stroking and it made fast work of that raw meat like a very sharp knife would do. That little finger size flint did the job of a regular hunting knife.

It's all needs vs wants. Knife nuts, car nuts, gun nuts, all get more than they need because they want it. That's okay, just don't confuse the two.

Thats a matter of opinion. You aren't a 'knife or gun nut' just because you have a practical reason to carry or want to carry more for 'what if'.
You can argue that you were able to "get by" with a smaller knife but that doesn't mean a larger knife wouldn't have been handier in any of the situations you suggested. Doesn't mean you had to carry a larger one though. It also doesn't validate your opinion that people are just "making up reasons to justify carrying a larger knife" either.
Like I said earlier, carry what you want, I don't care, but don't suggest that I'm carrying more than I need.


And... there are hostile Apaches EVERYWHERE!

 

[Insipid Moniker]

Yes. Although to anyone trained in anatomy, genuinely not via some bogus training system, a 2” knife can inflict lethal cuts in several places, disabling cuts in multiple places. This is why I personally could never reasonably use a legal folder to defend myself. At university (college) I scored 98% in anatomy. Basically, I could cause death with a sewing needle every time, but in reality my opponent would have to hold still! Ha! Not gonna happen.

But with a bladed tool? Forget about it. That would be me banged up, it would be mitigating circumstances and the hope from an understanding judge.

“British boys fight with their fists.” Too much blood otherwise, and I wish our youth could relearn that wisdom. I was brought up in a different age. Knives were pulled out in aggression by cowards. They still are.

I think you overestimate the influence of anatomy classes during a fight. I'm pretty good at anatomy, but I've also done a fair amount of boxing, stick and knife training and such like and I don't think the anatomy lessons gave me any particular advantage.

 

[Pilsner]

I think you overestimate the influence of anatomy classes during a fight. I'm pretty good at anatomy, but I've also done a fair amount of boxing, stick and knife training and such like and I don't think the anatomy lessons gave me any particular advantage.

As I said, they would have to hold still.

But, no. I’ve dug around in cadavers, inserted needles between the eyeball and socket, resuscitated people, been puked on, assaulted, covered in gore and all the rest. None of that was much fun. Mostly. My point was that in a court of law, if I stuck a knife in somebody and it hit anywhere major, it would be game over for me in court regardless of if I had been blindly flailing about in a panic. Any competent prosecuting lawyer would dig up my academic and professional record and go to town. If you’ve patched stab victims up and got them to surgery a few times, or sometimes not, then it is assumed that you know the mortal danger of sticking a knife into another human.

The torso is just crammed with vital organs, all jammed up in there like there’s three too many of them. It would be a big ask to not inflict a life threatening wound with a relatively small sharp object, not necessarily a knife. Stuff gets talked about on here all the time about using knives for fighting. My view is that it is plain foolish. It is not an uninformed view.

 

[Stang Bladeworks]

In my opinion a big knife is just as much about having a big handle as it is a big blade. Sometimes i like to have a handle with a little room. Certain tasks are just less pleasant with a 3 finger grip or a tight 4 finger grip. Even something as pedestrian as opening clam shell packages I find easier and safer with a larger handled knife. Just my opinion.

 

[Night Rider]

^^^ File that under labor saving devices.

Many wrote about handle size for extended periods of work. That is legit.

It's why I make a distinction between urban and rural or occupational EDC. Walking around the city I'm unlikely to need a big folder. At work I would. And I'd rather have a large folder in my pocket walking our property. All while wearing my Filson Double Tins, Le Chameau wellies and ... all the other gear that makes my life more comfortable, not intentionally challenging.

ahhh What? ( Walking around the city I'm unlikely to need a big folder). What city do you walk around Bro? Smallville? God forbid IF I ever have to use one for self preservation I want to puncture lungs or major organs, Not piss the perp off with a little flesh wound.

 

[Smaug]

• Food prep
• Fighting

That's about all I can think of, legitimately.

 

[whp]

Yes, there are definitely over the top folders and they are great fun in their own right. I’d argue that a 3-3.5” folder doesn’t automatically fit in that category, though. When I was growing up folders were invariably small and the handles were correspondingly irritating at times. Less so the actual blade length. Give me a comfortable handle every time, why make my own life sub-optimal? For what? Because of some tired notion of Freudian compensation? Sure, gralloch a deer with a bit of flint or a Case Peanut. Why not? But I’d argue that the smaller is better approach is just as questionable psychologically as the opposite. Just use the most sensible tool, or the one you like, and stop fussing about it.

“Gralloch”. Wow. I m not a hunter, but it s not too often I come across a word I ve never heard of.
Very nicely put!

 

[Night Rider]

“Gralloch”. Wow. I m not a hunter, but it s not too often I come across a word I ve never heard of.
Very nicely put!

We both lurnt a new word 2day. Now I have to use it 3 times in daily conversation to own it. That could be awkward though.

 

[Billy The Blade]

...Weren't there an army of
Grallochs' in one of The Lord of the Rings movies, Lol

 

[22-rimfire]

Thats a matter of opinion. You aren't a 'knife or gun nut' just because you have a practical reason to carry or want to carry more for 'what if'.
You can argue that you were able to "get by" with a smaller knife but that doesn't mean a larger knife wouldn't have been handier in any of the situations you suggested. Doesn't mean you had to carry a larger one though. It also doesn't validate your opinion that people are just "making up reasons to justify carrying a larger knife" either.
Like I said earlier, carry what you want, I don't care, but don't suggest that I'm carrying more than I need.

Interesting post as it sums up the big vs small attitude fairly well. I doubt anyone here needs to be validated in this thread as to their preferences in the knife size department. I generally agree with jackknife on the big vs small debate, but he likes the Vic Classic and I just would have a hard time feeling comfortable with it being my primary knife. Peanuts also are a preference and I in fact have been trying to carry one of those of late to get a feel for the little traditional and my needs. I don't even want one (Classic) on a keychain. Leatherman Ps4 on the old keychain for me, several different key chains actually. It does have a small blade, but I don't think I would consider using it unless that is all I have.

I said early in the thread that I could easily get by with a medium size Vic SAK such as a Tinker and I think I could function okay with just a peanut in my pocket. But, I prefer larger as I find the larger blades handier to use overall. But I don't much care for pocket swords and anything over about 3.5" of blade in a folder often feels like a pocket sword to me. But they sure make cutting a sandwich a lot easier than using a peanut or even a Tinker. If my hands were huge, I feel sure I would lean toward a larger handled knife for day to day carry regardless of the regular usage. Just so you know, I carry medium sized folders which includes a 111mm two layer Vic SAK and usually something else that's about "delica sized" as I refer to it.

Yes, Smaug, food prep and self defense would be my dominant reasons to carry a larger folder. Hand size comes into play. Preferences dominant my reasons regardless of use. So I agree with you.... EXCEPT when you toss in the word "legitimately" which makes me want to automatically disagree with you. That is a prejudiced induced word choice.

 

[allenC]

“British boys fight with their fists.” Too much blood otherwise, and I wish our youth could relearn that wisdom. I was brought up in a different age. Knives were pulled out in aggression by cowards. They still are.

I disagree.
I learned plenty having served six years in the U.S. Army.
And here's what I was taught about hand-to-hand combat:
Don't do hand-to-hand combat!
You use a weapon whenever possible...be it a rifle, a pistol, a blade, a stick, a rock...whatever you have available.
The last thing you want is a "fair fight".
Busting knuckles with some attacker on the street is stupid and dangerous.
There's nothing cowardly about using a knife for self defense.
It's not a boxing match or a game, it's literally a life or death situation.

 

[22-rimfire]

I guess carrying a handgun for self defense would be VERY cowardly.

 

[craytab]

Let's get this back on track. I prefer a larger blade. I've been in situations where a large burrito, sandwich, or burger needed to be cut. A 4" knife works much better. Fixed blade tops that even. If you've never been in a situation where you needed to cut a large delicious food item in half, I'd suggest you are eating the wrong food.

 

[22-rimfire]

Let's get this back on track. I prefer a larger blade. I've been in situations where a large burrito, sandwich, or burger needed to be cut. A 4" knife works much better. Fixed blade tops that even. If you've never been in a situation where you needed to cut a large delicious food item in half, I'd suggest you are eating the wrong food.

I almost never cut a sandwich in half or whatever. If I order a 12" sub such as from Subway, I ask them to cut it in thirds rather than in half. But if I did routinely cut sandwiches in half, I would likely carry a larger folding knife.

 

[marchone]

ahhh What? ( Walking around the city I'm unlikely to need a big folder). What city do you walk around Bro? Smallville? God forbid IF I ever have to use one for self preservation I want to puncture lungs or major organs, Not piss the perp off with a little flesh wound.

I’m in NYC. I once took a handgun skills training course from Massad Ayoob. LFI-1. The very first thing I was taught is you never want to shoot someone. Ever. It will bankrupt you and ruin your life forever. If you survive.

You can be Rambo. I’m not. Walk away, run away, is always your first choice if possible.

 

[22-rimfire]

Knife fight.... a story.... there was a local radio celebrity who had a road rage incident. My guess is he was probably at fault, but the case was eventually dropped in court. In a nut shell, the incident happend and he stopped and grabbed a tomahawk and walked up to the other car. The other person viewed him as the aggressor and wounded him with a handgun. The celebrity spent time in jail. Lost his job. Obviously spent a bunch of money in attorney fees, etc. It was certainly not worth it no matter how much of a Rambo you think you are. Walk, run, avoid the whole deal if possible.... always, even if you have to swallow your pride.

 

[Night Rider]

I’m in NYC. I once took a handgun skills training course from Massad Ayoob. LFI-1. The very first thing I was taught is you never want to shoot someone. Ever. It will bankrupt you and ruin your life forever. If you survive.

You can be Rambo. I’m not. Walk away, run away, is always your first choice if possible.

I agree 100% marchone and i'm definitely no Rambo. I have walked away from situations in the past as I will in the future But sometimes doesn't go as planned, Like Mike Tyson said, (Everyone has a Plan till you punched in the mouth) I for one will be ready to defend myself to the Best of my ability If I feel that my life or my family's lives are at stake Then I will let a Jury of MY peers decide my fate. I am a level headed guy and I have shown tremendous amounts of restraint the past as I PLAN to in future so I will continue to carry a Hog sticker for personal protection and my lambs foot traditional in my front pocket everything else. No hard feelings and I'm not trying to promote any form of vigilantism but people have the constitutional right defend themselves and I would rather be broke than dead. Disclaimer: These are My views and do not reflect the views of the OP or the BF. Have a safe day