Recommendation? Which 2.5” Folder?

Thinking my next purchase should be a nice little 2.5” blade for places like Boston where they get a bit grumpy about knives that actually resemble knives. Going in snd out of some cities, it’s just nice not to have to think about it.

And it rationalizes another knife purchase.

Very light duty knife. Packages, letters, maybe cutting twine (or fishing line) snack foods, etc.

The Dragonfly is the obvious choice, but it is just too small for my hands. I know, I have two of them. I’d also like something a little “nicer.”

I’m having trouble choosing between the following:

Fox Baby Core (liner lock carbon fiber)
Kizer Yorkie (liner lock carbon fiber)
Kizer Yorkie (frame lock blue Ti)
Spyderco Lil Native (compression lock G10)
Quiet Carry Eddy (liner lock G10)

I don’t have a Fox and like CF so the Baby Core would be nice. I like Laconico designs and both the Yorkies are compelling. The compression lock is great and the Lil Native should be just slightly bigger in hand than the Dragonfly. But the Eddy is available in LC200n so could do double duty as a fishing knife (and to me is cooler than my Spydie Salts.)

The Lil Native and the Eddy aren’t as “dressy” as the others but both are way ahead of the Dragonfly in terms of aesthetics, IMO, with the Eddy edging out the Lil Native. The Fox & Kizers are more “business casual” to me; the Spydie and QC more jeans knives.

Not picky about the steels, but the Eddy could do beach duty. I don’t think I’d do that with the others.

Thoughts? Anyone have experience with any of these?

I like the knives on your list, and even have a few of them. However you mentioned that it is going to be a light duty knife, so why not get something that is better at actually cutting (the Quiet Carry may fit that bill, but I don't have any experience with it). Most of the knives on your list have blade stock that is .12" or thicker. That's just way too thick for a light duty knife in my opinion.

Why not something like the Spyderco Chaparral with .08" stock. FRN if you want a beater... Bird's Eye Maple, Carbon Fiber, Raffir Noble, Sun and Moon, or milled titanium (if you can find one) if you want something more dressy/flashy. Or maybe a Mini Bugout with .09" blade stock?

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My experiences with Kizer have been very good. I'm actually carrying another of their Laconico knives as I type this: the Micarta Gemini. The blade is very nice. The action is fantastic. Fit and finish overall are pretty good but I did touch up the Micarta a little bit. As with a lot of knives with nested liners, the inner scale edges were a little rough. (The Micarta scales on my TRM Atom came the same way at more than twice the price.) Fixing that was as easy as fifteen minutes, a little painter's tape, and a nail file.

I emailed Kizer's customer service once when I needed a new washer for my Mini Domin. They responded within a day or two. They told me they would send a replacement and preemptively apologized for the shipping time from China. It did take a few weeks but they also sent me extras so that was nice.

I had a Quiet Carry Waypoint and I was not impressed. There were rough spots on the scales. The fit and finish was on par with a lot of knives in the $50 range. Sure, the blade was Vanax and they used much nicer washers. However, the overall assembly wasn't better than my Kizers in N690. Rustproof Vanax aside, it didn't really provide an upgrade in overall performance versus my N690 Kizer's either. In fact, the action was actually less good than my thumb stud knives from Kizer. Overall, the big differences were that it cost four times as much and disappointed me that much more.
 
On that little Buck, looks to me that they just wanted to match the lines of the blade spine & grind. I think it works, aesthetically.
 
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I like the knives on your list, and even have a few of them. However you mentioned that it is going to be a light duty knife, so why not get something that is better at actually cutting (the Quiet Carry may fit that bill, but I don't have any experience with it). Most of the knives on your list have blade stock that is .12" or thicker. That's just way too thick for a light duty knife in my opinion.

Why not something like the Spyderco Chaparral with .08" stock. FRN if you want a beater... Bird's Eye Maple, Carbon Fiber, Raffir Noble, Sun and Moon, or milled titanium (if you can find one) if you want something more dressy/flashy. Or maybe a Mini Bugout with .09" blade stock?

CD5q9Zk.jpg

kTPGawM.jpg

325UQ5h.jpg

gCbtjwR.jpg

MLhxJvN.jpg

I like the Chaparral and the Mini Bugout, but both are over 2.5”‘ of blade.
 
The Spyderco Rhino is terribly under rated. I love mine. Blade length is <2.5” but the upswept tip makes it cut like a larger knife. XHP is one of my most favorite steels too.

Here it is with some other Spydies for size comparison.

 
Interesting. I was not aware the Rhino even existed. I have one of the older Schempp Persians, so I might like this one. Thanks.

EDIT: WT...?!? was Spyderco thinking putting THAT clip on this knife? Otherwise, yeah, I like the Rhino. Fortunately for me, if it is going in my fifth pocket, the clip will come off, anyway.
 
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Spyderco does a good job on the little big knives. The lil native in SE can handle some hard work and has a nice section of plain edge near the tip. Comp lock, back lock, SE or plain edge. It’s a great little tool.
 
Lil Native is nice, and you can always throw some aftermarket scales on it if you want something dressier than G10 (I've got Flytanium titanium scales on mine).
My favorite small knife is probably the ProTech Sprint; it's a snappy little guy with a very sharp S35VN blade.
 
DeGustibus Non Est Diputandum, (“taste is not debatable”) and opinions vary. I see the Dragonfly as a small work of modern industrial art. Inoffensive in appearance , even in a business suit environment. Great general use knife, good seatbelt , clothes snagging , line cutter, in an emergency. I have several and have given them as graduation presents to several young professionals. My all time favorite is my customized Dragonfly Salt with a curved serrated blade, black Rit dyed handle and black wire pocket clip.

My other favorite is now, unfortunately, out of production. It is the A. G. Russell Small One Handed Knfe , without scales. Mine and the one I gave my son, to mark an important life passage event, is engraved with two words taken from Deuteronomy and Moses’ last speech to the people , just before his death and their entry into the Promised Land, “ I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now ’ choose life’.....”
 
I lived in the Boston area until I was 25 years old without issue of carrying a folding knife of my choice. But if you need a reason to buy something new then Benchmade has a few decent under 3" The Mini Bugout for one would be a good choice. Hogue also has a Microflip around 2.5" I personally like the ZT 0235 and ZT 0022.

In the end whenever I have questions about legality or not I always fall back to an SAK. Carried a Hunstman through Germany and Paris without problems. Opened many bottles of wine without flinching.
 
Interesting. I was not aware the Rhino even existed. I have one of the older Schempp Persians, so I might like this one. Thanks.

EDIT: WT...?!? was Spyderco thinking putting THAT clip on this knife? Otherwise, yeah, I like the Rhino. Fortunately for me, if it is going in my fifth pocket, the clip will come off, anyway.

LOL!, yeah, I think that about many clips on Spyderco pieces. But I think the Rhino would be great with no clip.
 
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