When is a small knife, too small?

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Out of what knives I've experienced, my Kershaw Scallion is about as small as I feel good actually carrying unless I'm just using something as a kind of desk top knife for at home. One thing I've realized is a knife handle can become a lot longer feeling than it's actual length if it is curved and contoured in the right way actually adding extra real estate to it. Another thing I wish more companies would do is having a small blade on a full size handle for those situations that you need a smaller blade for whatever reason, yet want to be able to handle it like a larger knife and be able to put good torque on it. Protech and Emerson, I believe, used to have a model like that that I always wanted to get but never did.
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Slice O Life said:
Is it when you have a pinky hanging off? Is it when you have a hard time opening? Where do you draw the line in a small knife being... "too small"?
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IMO, the answer is relative. If you feel like there’s not enough handle to control the blade safely and predictably, it’s too small for you. For me personally, the Mora Eldris is about the smallest knife I can use comfortably. Love that knife.
 
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DangerZone98 said:
IMO, the answer is relative. If you feel like there’s not enough handle to control the blade safely and predictably, it’s too small for you. For me personally, the Mora Eldris is about the smallest knife I can use comfortably. Love that knife.
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This is true, some can handle and enjoy knives that only get a two finger grip. I guess it all depends on what you need to do, and what you like
 
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For most mundane tasks, even the small blade on the GEC pocket carver is sufficient. As my general rule of thumb if I’m only carrying one knife? I prefer the blade to cut halfway through an apple.
 
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I've used the tiny SAK (forgot its name) and for small tasks it's fine. My partner has a little Opinel No2 on her keys and loves it so I guess it's what you are using it for and personal preference.
 
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I carry "small" knives all the time but then again, I only do "knife things" with them. I always have access to tools or carry tools for the occasion. I keep a little throw away knife with me almost all the time when I need to do sketchy things or to loan. In this case it's a Gerber Mini Paraframe.
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knarfeng said:
When it's too small to do what I need it to do.
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That's what I was gonna say. I typically have a "supplemental" small knife, usually a Spyderco Ladybug or an AGR 3" lockback/G.Sakai Preppy for when I want a very thin blade and/or simply don't want or need to whip out my "big" knife (which usually isn't very big either). The AGR/G.Sakai is a 3 finger knife, while the Ladybug is a 2½ finger. Since the majority of stuff I need to use a knife for only requires a small blade, these actually tend to be the knives I actually use the most.
 
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I need to be able to open/close it easily, and do the task at hand.
the first part doesn't change to much.
the second part will depend on the task.

I carry a Kizer Mini Begleiter pretty much daily and it covers most tasks without being too small - not sure anything smaller would be very useful
 
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> Is it when you have a pinky hanging off?

Yes. Usable knifes start with a Cadet, a Chaparral and a Dragonfly for me. Anything smaller goes on my keychain.
 
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I often pair a large and small knife, and always keep a SAK on me, the small blade being the first resort. Some of my preferred smaller carries, are the Cricket, the Dodo in M4, the K390 Wharnie Dragonfly... to me the Para 3, Sage 5, and Native 5, all LW and tool steel, and my Cruwear Yojumbo are all considered "small", and are some of my favored knives.

But what is small? I can get 4 fingers on my Dragonfly without issue, without even using the steel part of the choil. The Dodo has only a slightly longer and beefier blade than the Cricket, but the handle of the Dodo is full and large. I do prefer a filling and comfortable handle, but sometimes this must be sacrificed for features like size/weight, but honestly I am not a person who counts ounces.

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The Ladybug. THAT is the new small I am gonna try - found some in HAP40 randomly in the middle of nowhere, and while SUPER small, it is a sharp knife, and if the small blade on a SAK is good to me, I shall try this out. Weightless + awesome tool steel.
 
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