Knives designed for women: Women chime in

[Doc Dan]

On Facebook, a woman brought out a valid point about making knives specifically for women. Never mind some of the things she said, nor some of the ignorant responses she got; she still had a valid point. My wife, for example, loves the Dragonfly more than any other knife I have given her. I have tried to get her to carry something just a bit bigger, but she has trouble opening the larger knives with one hand (except the Endura!!??) or she has trouble with operating the lock. She has very tiny hands. My hands look like they belong to King Kong, well maybe Mighty Joe Young, next to hers.

So that got me to thinking: Ladies, what would you like to see in a knife? How can knives be made better for your needs?

[Liquid Cobra]

I can’t help but wonder if a positron would be a good fit.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

My wife really dug the ergos of the Kiwi 4. She has stopped carrying the purple Delica I gave her as being too large for her to be comfortable with and pretty much only carries a FRN or SS tattoo Dragonfly (when she needs/remembers to carry a knife).

[Larry_Mott]

I will quote myself from Facebook reply:
"IMO all the criteria for "Gentleman's knife" fit "Lady carry" as well. At least in my little bubble :)
The Vrango would suit you i think, easy to open, classy, non offensive looking etc.
Women friends of mine most often pick up the "gent's knives" in my collection as the ones they like the most IE the Kopas, Buck Duke, MCusta, D. Le Maire and Gerber Paul"

EDIT: And most women friends of mine can't stand FRN and FRCP. They say it makes knives look and feel like toys. :D
(Their words, not mine)

[SG89]

after nearly 100 different spydies my current carry is df2. the main problem I run into is most knives cannot comfortably fit into a women's much smaller than men's pants pocket. if a woman wants to edc she will if she doesn't, she wont. it's certainly not for lack of knives available to fit her needs.

[vilePossum]

Spydergirl obviously has a point though.
My wife has a pink Squeak with an extra leather pouch i made her and a victorinox classic... i think i saw one of the in the drawer of her bedstand.

but yes, if you are talking average body shapes and sizes it is only natural that the requirements would differ for a woman...
the question is though, does is Warrant any additions to Basic production knives already in existence?

[xceptnl]

after nearly 100 different spydies my current carry is df2. the main problem I run into is most knives cannot comfortably fit into a women's much smaller than men's pants pocket. if a woman wants to edc she will if she doesn't, she wont. it's certainly not for lack of knives available to fit her needs.

Well there you go, a solid take from a woman's perspective

[bearfacedkiller]

I can only relay what my wife has told me. She likes her pink Native5 but she wishes it was a little smaller. She doesn't really have any other pink stuff but she likes that her knife is pink (as well as frn) because it makes it girly, and probably more importantly, because it makes it very innocuous. I offered to get her a pink Ladybug but she wants a clip because she carries it in her purse clipped to an inside pocket which keeps her from having to fish it out of the bottom. She has expressed an interest in a pink Delica or Dragonfly but they are not easy to come by anymore. I showed her the pink/purple zome Delica and she wasn't into it. She was a little interested in the purple Dragonfly sprint but told me she would stick with the pink Native5.

It is probably worth noting that she is not a knife person. To her it is just a tool. She doesn't want more than one and whenever I offer to get her something she may like better her response is that it works just fine. She isn't on the quest for the perfect folder like the rest of us. Still, I wonder if we might see a pink frn Chaparral? I think she might like that.

[SG89]

I think the Lil natives will be home runs when they are released especially the one with the wire clip

[ChrisinHove]

Wasn’t the Spin marketted this way?

[Ncmiked]

DF2 seems to be the most popular with women I know. I could be wrong but it seems to me that few men carry quality knives if they even edc a knife at all. The number would be even smaller for women who edc.

[Evil D]

First let me just say I am far from a "social justice warrior", but something about this topic just feels sexist and a bit silly to me. I don't mean that towards the OP or anything like that, I just don't understand what makes a knife inherently a women's knife.

Apart from size, which makes sense aside from the fact that I've known some men with very small hands too, is there an obvious color or some other styling that would dictate a woman's knife from a man's? Besides the pink knives, which have more to do with breast cancer awareness than being dedicated to female use, it would seem to me that size and ergonomics are most important, unless someone just wants "pocket jewelry".

The point about small pockets in women's clothing has always baffled me and every girl I've ever dated has complained about it at some point. The most common issue is fitting a smart phone inside a pocket. You'd think clothing manufacturers would see the issue and make a change. My own mother probably would have carried a Military if it fit into her pockets, but then my mother is probably more manly than some dudes I know lol.

[zhyla]

I can see some knives being hard to work if you have long nails. Flippers and liner locks in particular. And sure, if you've got impractically small pockets (or fake pockets!) pocketing a knife can be an issue. Though if you carry a purse you can carry dozens of knives :)

But I have a hard time thinking even a child would have trouble manipulating mid size folders. Let alone the mass of small models Spyderco has made over the years.

[Evil D]

But I have a hard time thinking even a child would have trouble manipulating mid size folders. Let alone the mass of small models Spyderco has made over the years.

My son (back when he was about 10yo) absolutely hated my Paramilitary 1 because he wasn't comfortable with the lock, but he loved my Delica. Seems to me that if a 10yo can operate a knife most small handed people could too.

[abbazaba]

My GF has a lot of knives, and mostly carries the orange DF2 because of her silly girl pockets on most of her clothes that are sometimes only an inch or two deep. She usually has a couple larger knives in her purse... We both apparently carry multiple knives.

[jmh58]

I don't feel this topic is sexist (sorry evild) at all.. Some women tend to gravitate toward smaller things.. Guns, cars, trucks, knives etc.. So this is a good post to throw around some ideas.. Just Sayin.. :D John :)

[xceptnl]

I loaned 4 of my spydies to a "friend" some time ago to see which suited her tastes and comfort level. A kiwi lockback, pingo, dragonfly 1 & ladyhawk. I never received feedback about which she liked best but i suspect it was all 4 because i haven't seen her or the knives since.

[btbyrd]

I'm generally against pointless gendering of products, but there is so much machismo BS in the knife world that putting a purple handle on something or calling it the "Lady_____" isn't the end of the world.

It gets sort of toxic though when the fragile masculinity of Taktikal knife bros creates pressure for a Manbug because they're afraid to carry a Ladybug. They should have called it the "Brobug." But I digress...

In my mind, the category of "knives that women, speaking generally, tend to prefer" and the category of "gentleman's knives" mostly overlap. However, there is a tendency for both of those categories to refer to two different classes of knives. The first class is, by design, a socially acceptable shorter blade that won't draw attention and is made relatively well. They're useful for most household cutting tasks, but are useless in a pissing contests concerning whose blade is bigger. The second class of knives is basically any folding knife with refined lines and high quality build that isn't limited to shorter blades. I'd put the Pattada in that category, for example. In fact, I'm sure there's an army of lovely Sardinian grandmothers who carry their pattatas daily. For both classes of knife, there's a premium placed on materials, workmanship, ease of carry, and aesthetics.

[Evil D]

I don't feel this topic is sexist (sorry evild) at all.. Some women tend to gravitate toward smaller things.. Guns, cars, trucks, knives etc.. So this is a good post to throw around some ideas.. Just Sayin.. :D John :)

What is it that makes them gravitate to small things? Hand size? Or are we looking for "girly knives" with flowers and unicorns on them?


Actually you know what, I bet Spyderco would sell a million knives if they just came on Tiffany blue :D

[btbyrd]

I know a lot of ladies who carry the small Victorinox folder because of the scissors. At our house, we each have Leatherman Style CS that is a fantastic tool in pretty much all situations. My wife loves it. I'd love to see a small but refined Spidey multitool that'd be equally at home in the pocket or purse.