Spyderco Forums

I find that most of my days require nothing greater than 3". In fact, many days favor or even require smaller knives. I've actually been carrying my Military (Cruwear, of course) for the past couple weeks, and so far I haven't needed the extra length. That all being said, it's still more comforting to carry a larger knife. If it's not too cumbersome, the extra length makes me feel more prepared for what I may need to do. Apples can get pretty big!

I have an Endura for a variety of reasons. There aren't many jobs that thing won't handle. But I can't carry that knife due to local laws. However, I think my Sage 2 is a nice fill-in as my EDC. The Sage's handle is big enough for me to comfortably wrap my hand around the knife in a variety of grips. Because of this, the Sage feels "bigger" than it is; I'm not afraid to take on more demanding tasks. On the other hand, I have another SF-legal knife, but I can only get three fingers on the handle. To me, it feels more like a glorified package opener. If you're like me and can't carry knives over 3", get one with a large, comfortable handle. The knife will feel bigger/more capable.

So basically, with any of these hypotheticals, the answer is always yes. Or in this case no.

Does it matter?

xceptnl wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 08, 2018 5:36 pm

Do I NEED to whip out my orange SE Spyderhawk in a flash to cut a piece of thread? No, but I want to make sure the thread knows I mean business.

:D That’s great!

I both need and want larger knives. As the saying goes, "more than enough is only marginally sufficient".

Seriously though, the word "need" disturbs me somehow. I sense big brother creeping up saying, "do you need that big knife". And then a bit later, "do you need that little knife". Then finally, "You don't need any of those knives".

The studies are in... knife buying has been trending sub 3.2 for awhile.
Sure there are some who actually need a larger knife for their purposes,
and those who just enjoy having a larger knife.
But knife makers know whats up...
and we should continue to see a plethora of smaller knives being produced.

Just because I can get by with less, doesn't make it the best choice in every scenario.

I went for a hike today and used my Police 4 to trim back some briars on an old trail, build a fire and slice some sausages for lunch.

I could have done all of that with a Spin or Ladybug...but it would have taken longer, and been much more uncomfortable for my hands.

Larger blades are more efficient for a lot of things. My mentality isn't to carry the smallest blade I can get by with. It's to carry the largest one I can comfortably carry.

Larger blades can slice multiple layers of cardboard stacked together. Makes it quicker to break down big boxes than cutting them one layer at a time. They cut apples and onions in half in one cut. They're a **** of a lot better for light trail maintenance.

My Police 4 never feels like a burden because of its size. It feels like a pocket knife designed for me and my hand size.

.....which is something people sometimes don't take into consideration in this context.

Sure, a Delica is plenty enough blade to quarter and peel and apple. But the handle doesn't feel good to me.

A lot of my EDC fixed blades are 2-3" blades and I love them. But they have handles that give me a full four finger grip without a choil.

All that being said I have no idea why someone would even suggest another person carry a different size pocket knife than the one that suits them best.

3" seems too small when I'm in the woods, too hard to comfortably do what I need. So yes, most people should own some bigger knives.

A squarehead does most of what I need during an average day at the office, at home, and for all the kid stuff package opening. Outside and whatnot I like bigger. But one of my biggest gripes for years has been 3-finger handles with 3” + blades. Give me a hand filling grip, the blade can be 2.5-4” for all I care. For me that means Para 3. Delica is pretty close. I have a little Dozier that gives me a 4-finger grip with a 2.5” D2 blade. It’s really stellar. Fantastic camp steak knife :D

I find that about 3.5" of blade works the best for me. I don't usually need a long blade for what I cut except when I'm slicing an apple or pear. Also the longer blade sometimes helps with reach so I don't have to put my hand all the way against what I'm cutting, such as if I was using a box cutter.

BUT I've also found that the handle size is important. I've carried knives of 3" or shorter and I realized that the handles are too short for me to get a good grip on. If I had to have a knife with 3" blade I could live with it better if it had a handle long enough for me to hold. Unfortunately knives like that look really odd.

I prefer larger knives. Larger handles are more comfortable in my XL hands, and I find larger blades to be more versatile. I typically won't carry a knife with a cutting edge that is less than 3" unless I need to do so for PC or legal reasons. Ideally, I prefer the cutting edge to be closer to 4".

Do I need a larger knife? No. But then again, I really don't need a knife at all. I carry knives for the convenience that they afford me...and I feel that larger knives offer more convenience.

Not that I eat steak all that much these days, but have you ever tried cutting up a steak with a little knife? I mean, you can certainly do it, but it seems cramped and awkward. But no, I don't need a knife. I can eat steak with just my teeth. Heck, I can fight bears with just my teeth. That is pretty much the norm around these parts.

sal wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 08, 2018 3:22 pm

I Want to carry as large of a knife as I can legally and sometimes I will carry a larger knife.

You rebel. :D

I mean, would you look at John Rambo if he was carrying a Delica

I carried a Schrade 3OT for years and used it to cut wire, wood, plastic, carpet and occasionally chamfered metal parts and cut the dreaded plastic pallet strapping with it. IIRC the blade is under 2", and Schrade+ stainless is rumored to be plain old 440A, add to that the thin blade stock and high hollow grind and you get a knife most here would consider too low tech and too small for most cutting tasks... My "big" hiking/camping knife was an Opinel No.8...

I still own that 3OT and the blade isn't "tired" (despite frequent touch ups), the steel never chipped and the lockup and blade play are still very acceptable, though not perfect.

I definitely don't *need* more knife than that for my current EDC at work! I do however prefer 3” blades these days and 3.5" or larger for yard work.

I was just posing with my wife the other day after a hectic day of battle.




I need a knife the right size for the job at hand. I might need to kill a couple of Frost Giants.

https://youtu.be/XLZAupaUwyc

MichaelScott wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 08, 2018 2:17 pm

...speaking of those who carry a knife in order to cut the occasional thing during the day (not kitchen duties), how many of us really need a “larger” knife, anything over 3”? I am also excepting those whose job requires frequent cutting of heavier or tougher materials. I’m focused on most of us who don’t spend considerable time in the woods or on a fishing boat but in the office, at home, etc...

Honestly the majority of stuff I do with my EDC knife these days is kitchen stuff. Slicing tomatoes into wedges to eat, cutting sandwiches in half, spreading butter on bread, that sort of thing. And a longer knife is very useful in those cases. As far as the other common tasks I use my knife for: my job doesn't require lots of cutting of heavy materials and I spend most of my free time sitting at my computer, but long knives are great for letter opening, cardboard slicing, package opening, etc. Technically, I don't need a long knife -- I could, theoretically, get something irritatingly small like a Dragonfly and use it for everything. Technically I could also skip the knife entirely, eat my tomatoes and sandwiches whole, spread butter with my fingers, and rip through packages with my teeth. Do I want to? No.

The Meat man wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 08, 2018 3:10 pm

I don't know...to be honest, I probably don't need a knife with a blade over 3" but since when was this knife hobby about needs? :p

I prefer a blade to be 3.5 to 4" long. I find a longer blade to be more versatile and useful for a wider range of tasks. As David said, better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Agreed with this exactly, with the caveat that I prefer knives slightly longer, like about 4 to 4.5". My EDC (the ATS-55 version of the Rescue) has an edge length of 3.25" and an overall blade length of about 3.75", and I've often wished it was maybe 0.5" longer (although I do enjoy it immensely in its current configuration :D :spyder:)

sal wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 08, 2018 3:22 pm

Need is not an effective word. Do you "need" a house, car, food, etc. Do you "need" a computer, TV, etc. ? Do you need steak or even meat?

I Want to carry as large of a knife as I can legally and sometimes I will carry a larger knife. I can just do more with a larger knife. I will sometimes carry a smaller knife (Manbug) but almost always too accompany a larger blade.

xceptnl wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 08, 2018 5:36 pm

I don't find that I NEED larger knives everytime I cut something. I do however almost always WANT to use the biggest knife I have on my person for any given task.

Do I NEED to whip out my orange SE Spyderhawk in a flash to cut a piece of thread? No, but I want to make sure the thread knows I mean business.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 08, 2018 6:29 pm

Just because I can get by with less, doesn't make it the best choice in every scenario.

Larger blades are more efficient for a lot of things. My mentality isn't to carry the smallest blade I can get by with. It's to carry the largest one I can comfortably carry.

Also agree with Sal, xceptnl, and and Vivi here.

shunsui wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 08, 2018 3:17 pm

Well, not everyone's a midget. People with larger hands like a comfortable knife.

A Delica has zero ergonomics for me.

I'd like to add that even people with smaller hands can often prefer large knives, because long knives are awesome :D I am 5'2" and kinda scrawny, with hands sized to match the rest of me, and can wear children's glove sizes. I still like longer knives.

Knife size for me is entirely task dependent. I
Have been carrying my 204p military daily for a few weeks now and for some things it does seem like a bit much,opening mail for example. When I skin or cape deer i like smaller blades for dexterity and what i feel is less margin of error. When I do food prep or carve a spear for the improtu marshmallow campfire snackrifice a large blade is fine.

Agree re task dependant

Skinning, I like a larger blade, 6 inch skinner, 5 inch at a minimum.

Caping, I can understand your use of a smaller blade, I'm not good enough to cape but everyone I know who does it uses a small blade.