Spyderco Forums

There's been a lot of talk in different threads about this lately, so why not put the discussion in a dedicated thread?

Personally, I like how Cold Steel sizes their recon series

The Recon 1 Series is available with 2, 3, 4, and 5 ½ inch blades

Micro is 2" blade. It's tiny knife for me.

Mini is 3" blade. It's a small knife for me.

Regular is 4" blade. It's a regular sized knife for me.

XL is 5.5". Unlike the Manix XL, it feels extra large, not regular sized.


How do you define the different sizes for yourself?

Im pretty close to yours vivi just different wording. Found it easiest to just define everyrhing around the seki models

Little : everything blade size from the bug stuff to dragonfly

Small: everything around the delica size (3"ish)

Standard : everything around an endela (3.5"ish)

Large : everything around endura (3.75ish)

Big: stretch2xl and up (4+")

Small: Under 2.5”
Medium: 2.5”-3.5”
Large: Over 3.5”

I am sure I could break it down more but this is pretty simple way I look at sizing. I am sure I could add a XS and XL category too.

Tiny: 2.5” and under
Small: 3”
Regular: 3.5”
Large: 4”
XL: 4.5” and up

This only applies to folding pocket knives.

Nice thread!

Tiny: Ladybug/Manbug/Dragonfly. Can't open 1-handed even with hole or thumbstud, and I haven't found a single use for them.
Small: Delica/Salt, Chaparral. Big enough for many tasks, but I'm just used to larger knives. Gent's folder sized.
Normal or Medium: Endura/Pacific, PM2, Manix 2, Stretch 1 and 2, lots of knives honestly. Similar to what I've used since I was a kid.
Large: Millie, Police, Manix 2 XL. My favorite size even they don't carry as well as the above and even though my hands aren't especially large.
Extra-Large: Tatanka, K-2. I haven't owned a folder this large.

The Stretch 2 XL is an anomaly. It's a normal-sized folder with the blade of a large one (by my definition, at least).

This thread makes me laugh!

Does it make sense that it is slightly different to me depending on whether it is a fixed or folder? Handle size also kinda plays into my impressions of size.

Folder:

Handle under 4 inches, blade under 3 inches is small.
Handle 4-5 inches, blade 3-4 inches is medium.
Handles over 5, and blades over 4 is large and pretty much too big.

Fixed blades are pretty much the same, except a medium knife can have up to 5 inches of blade as long as the handle isn't over 5. And things with 8 inch blades aren't too large any more.

bearfacedkiller wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 30, 2023 6:41 pm

Tiny: 2.5” and under
Small: 3”
Regular: 3.5”
Large: 4”
XL: 4.5” and up

i don't really draw hard lines, but this seems to fit for me too.

bearfacedkiller wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 30, 2023 6:41 pm

This only applies to folding pocket knives.

i'm not sure if this line was meant to be funny, but i thought it was hilarious.

For me the Endura / Pac Salt are "regular" size pocket knives, the Military toes just over that line into Larger. I know "XL" is part of the name on the Stretch 2 XL LW, but to, or for, me it's a "regular" size knife. It and the Pac Salt & Endura are essentially the same size, and I am a fan of them for sure.

The Police (and the Military just a little bit) cross the line into the "a little bigger than regular size, but make perfect sense when you're using them.

Delica on down are small knives, eg: ≤ 3" blades. That said, man I can do a whole lot with the "small" Delica/Salt/...

The Endela is what it's name is: right in between regular and small, or in between Delica & Endura. The Stretch 1 falls in the same "in between" small and regular size, for me.

There's some neat Spydies out there for sure. Like the Tenacious, which has the handle size (roughly) of a "small" knife: Delica/Salt, and the edge length (roughly) of a "regular" knife: the Endura/Pac Salt. So a small knife, with a regular size edge. Pretty cool!
Or the Resilience that has the handle size (roughly) of a "regular" size knife: the Endura, but an edge length more than the Police. Very cool! So while I don't call the Resilience a "large" knife, it does have the blade of a larger knife.

And for clarification, when I say "roughly" the same size handle(s), I am referring to the bottom part, or the part that your fingers wrap around. Tenacious/Delica/Salt, across the bottom of the handle - basically the same. Resilience/Endura/Pac Salt, across the bottom of the handle - basically the same.
Both have far more edge length than their comparable handle size models though. Pretty darn neat!
Thank you Sal & Spyderco!

u.w.

vivi wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 30, 2023 5:42 pm

There's been a lot of talk in different threads about this lately, so why not put the discussion in a dedicated thread?

Personally, I like how Cold Steel sizes their recon series

The Recon 1 Series is available with 2, 3, 4, and 5 ½ inch blades

Micro is 2" blade. It's tiny knife for me.

Mini is 3" blade. It's a small knife for me.

Regular is 4" blade. It's a regular sized knife for me.

XL is 5.5". Unlike the Manix XL, it feels extra large, not regular sized.


How do you define the different sizes for yourself?

I like ur style

A "regular" sized pocket knife for me is 3-3.5 inches in blade length.

vivi wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 30, 2023 5:42 pm

There's been a lot of talk in different threads about this lately, so why not put the discussion in a dedicated thread?

Personally, I like how Cold Steel sizes their recon series

The Recon 1 Series is available with 2, 3, 4, and 5 ½ inch blades

Micro is 2" blade. It's tiny knife for me.

Mini is 3" blade. It's a small knife for me.

Regular is 4" blade. It's a regular sized knife for me.

XL is 5.5". Unlike the Manix XL, it feels extra large, not regular sized.


How do you define the different sizes for yourself?

I agree with everything you've said, but XL for me could be a 4.75 inch blade and up.

If Spyderco make a Big Chief (Native Chief XL) I hope they shoot for 4.75. 4.75 with that blade profile would be awesome.

Windward wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 30, 2023 5:58 pm

Im pretty close to yours vivi just different wording. Found it easiest to just define everyrhing around the seki models

Little : everything blade size from the bug stuff to dragonfly

Small: everything around the delica size (3"ish)

Standard : everything around an endela (3.5"ish)

Large : everything around endura (3.75ish)

Big: stretch2xl and up (4+")

What Windward said.

For me I'd say....

Micro - 2" ish (Manbug, Ladybug, Jester, etc)
Small - 2.5" ish (Dragonfly, Urban, etc)
Medium (Regular) - 3" (this size is right in my wheelhouse for EDC)
Large - 3.5" (I really like this size too)
X-Large - 4" (I have knives this size but rarely carry them)
Crazy HUGE - 4.5"+ (not for me thanks)

XS:Under 3”
S: 3”
M: 3.5”
L: 4”
XL: over 4”

Funny, I started practically the same thread back in 2019 :

viewtopic.php?t=82963#p1306881

Maybe interesting for some to compare if their personal categorization has changed since back then (yours, Vivi, has not, mine just a bit )

In 2022 I sold $8,000+ in knives. I sold everything under a 3.75 inch blade except for a few I knew that I could not get rid of even though they were brand new and had only been open or closed a few times. Nowhere to really get rid of a sub 3.75 knife. You have to pay for shipping, packing, box...it's a total loss.

So far by tendency (not for everyone!) results are like I would have expected:

"Regular / medium" seems to be what also in a "full" Spyderco family lineup is right in the middle,so Endela, PM2, Manix...
(by "full" lineup where the usual gaps are filled I mean for example DFlfy, Delica, Endela, Endura, Police)

for some (like also me) "regular" is bigger, for some smaller

WilliamMunny wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 30, 2023 6:11 pm

Small: Under 2.5”
Medium: 2.5”-3.5”
Large: Over 3.5”

I am sure I could break it down more but this is pretty simple way I look at sizing. I am sure I could add a XS and XL category too.

I would agree with this.

For me personally:

As long as it is a full sized handle for me, which means that I can get a full, comfortable four finger grip on the actual handle (!) (so BEHIND a choil, ricasso if a knife has such) "size" is a lot defined by cutting edge length.

- Endura / Stretch XL / Chief.. :"Regular": Normal size for a do it all EDC, not too short in cutting edge,but not too long in carry (Millie is starting to get too long here)
And yes, the Tenacious also is "regular" for me, while let´s say a Manix is small: Tenacious just so so still gives me a four finger grip, and has almost an Endura cutting edge. Manix 2 though a much shorter edge.

- Endela / Manix / PM2 / Stretch: Small for a do it all EDC, but still just that (a "small" universal, do it all folder)

- Delica / Native 5 / Para 3 / Chaparral: X-small, not do it all EDC folders for me anymore, but rather niche knives.
Here I do NOT necessarily expect a full four finger grip behind the choil / ricasso anymore (and so the Chap, almost the same cutting edge length as a Native 5, still can fall into that category

- DFly, Lil Native: XXS, actually TOO small for me.
The size of a Chap never, ever bothers me in carry, so why go even shorter in cutting edge?

- XL: Police, perhaps also Millie: Just too long and a bit inconvenient in carry