Changing size comfort zone...

[curlyhairedboy]

I like carrying a variety of sizes. Big works best for some tasks, while small is often "enuff"

[Sumdumguy]

Agreed, much to my surprise! It plays to my preference that no matter the blade length, I’d rather have a whole handle. So some of the blade chops make real good sense. 4-finger grips and legal knives; also in the carving world, a short blade for precision and control still needs a full length handle. Millie delivers in spades!

This is a big part of why I've moved away from choils on full size knives. On a design like the Caribbean my grip is close enough to the edge that I don't feel the need to choke up, and it gives me max edge length in the smallest size handle possible. When this topic comes up (debating choils) most people focus on grip options and people say that gaining a half inch of edge isn't a big deal, but for me the bigger picture is a smaller overall package while keeping the same amount of edge as a Military. It's a more efficient design overall.


They have the same amount of edge yet look at the overall size difference. It's Military edge length in a Para 2 sized package.

This^

The Caribbean is a master class of design. It's the Size of a PM2, but competes with the Military in terms of blade specs.

It is an ideal knife, just in design. Then when you add full LC200N construction, it steps up into a playing field that is way above what anything else is playing on.

Perfection >:)

[Sumdumguy]

I like carrying a variety of sizes. Big works best for some tasks, while small is often "Baby Horn"

I couldn't agree more!

[JuPaul]

The absolutely happened to me. Over the years I've had multiple knives that were over 3 inches, but they were mostly combo edge. When I wanted a bigger knife outdoors I carried a fixed blade. My plain edge knives were all typically 3" or under, and when I joined this forum my spydie collection was mostly delicas, dragonflies, para3s, an alcyone, and the like. This was partially due to comfort, and partially due to the silly little pockets on lots of women's pants. Since then I've really moved out of my comfort zone - and I found some better pants. I still carry and enjoy my small/med knives, but I've really come to love carrying and using larger/longer folding knives like the pm2, manix, shaman, etc. 4" still seems too big for me, but that'll probably change, too!

[Doc Dan]

[jdw]

The Military is the ultimate carry for me. It carries slim and is extremely lightweight for the size of knife. I got into 3" and smaller blades for a while but I found myself not really using or carrying them as much as larger folders. I just don't find them as useful, they are still taking up pocket space, and slightly annoying for my own daily carry. My go to knives for a while now have been a Millie or a GB but I have always enjoyed carrying the Manix and I find myself carrying one more and more lately. It's pushing the envelope of being my daily go to knife.

[anycal]

Everytime I think about it, I am still bewildered about all the size options, and the fact that I have the range of knifes I do.

Most of my adult life I had one folder; well, couple of knives of the same size. And initially I acquired some smaller knives, the likes of Native and Delica. But like some of you, the Military really changed the whole folder/EDC knife attitide for me.

Although having the right knife for the job is made easier by having a variety of them, more often than not it is the knife I have on me that gets the job done. Knives in my rotation are there because I like using them. Choils, humps, clips, lock types, materials, and sizes, all of it. If a knife doesn't work for me, it doesn't get used.

Still a PM2 sized knife guy to the bone, I wouldn't want to give up the other options.

[Wartstein]

The Military is the ultimate carry for me. It carries slim and is extremely lightweight for the size of knife. I got into 3" and smaller blades for a while but I found myself not really using or carrying them as much as larger folders. I just don't find them as useful, they are still taking up pocket space, and slightly annoying for my own daily carry. My go to knives for a while now have been a Millie or a GB but I have always enjoyed carrying the Manix and I find myself carrying one more and more lately. It's pushing the envelope of being my daily go to knife.

Manix LW or G10?

[James Y]

At my workplace I carry whichever sized knife I want to. Lately it’s been my G10 Manix 2, which, due to its heft, feels larger than it is. But over the years, I’ve carried everything from my Dragonfly Salt to my Police, Caribbean or Military models. Nobody...not my coworkers nor either of the two bosses...cares about my knives, and they are all aware that I carry knives. I could open my Military in the break room to cut strapping or break down boxes, and nobody bats an eye. The reason is because I never bring out a knife unless I’m using it for some necessary task, and then I close it and put it away, without any fanfare or being obvious about it. I’ve never made a big deal out of it, so neither has anybody else. I’ve worked at the same location for 13 years, so they know I’m neither reckless nor some psycho. I’m currently out of work due to the lockdown, but hopefully the business will recover afterwards.

Big knife or small knife is mostly a perception. For someone who long-term carries only a Ladybug, Dragonfly or a Victorinox Classic, a Delica will feel huge at first. To someone who always carries an XL Voyager, a Military or Police model will feel tiny, and an Endura will feel like a feather. As long as something is within the rules (my workplace has no rules around knives), most of the perception around you and your knives has to do with YOU (not referring to anybody here, but a general ‘you’). If you treat it as normal and no big deal, and only quietly use them and put them away, they won’t treat it as a big deal, either.

Jim

[jdw]

The Military is the ultimate carry for me. It carries slim and is extremely lightweight for the size of knife. I got into 3" and smaller blades for a while but I found myself not really using or carrying them as much as larger folders. I just don't find them as useful, they are still taking up pocket space, and slightly annoying for my own daily carry. My go to knives for a while now have been a Millie or a GB but I have always enjoyed carrying the Manix and I find myself carrying one more and more lately. It's pushing the envelope of being my daily go to knife.

Manix LW or G10?

It's G10 for me. The XHP LW that ladybug93 has is the only Manix LW that I fell in love with and I sadly left it laying beside a trail somewhere. The G10 just feels more solid in my hand. I realize the validity of the arguments for FRCP but it's just not for me.

[ladybug93]

The Military is the ultimate carry for me. It carries slim and is extremely lightweight for the size of knife. I got into 3" and smaller blades for a while but I found myself not really using or carrying them as much as larger folders. I just don't find them as useful, they are still taking up pocket space, and slightly annoying for my own daily carry. My go to knives for a while now have been a Millie or a GB but I have always enjoyed carrying the Manix and I find myself carrying one more and more lately. It's pushing the envelope of being my daily go to knife.

Manix LW or G10?

It's G10 for me. The XHP LW that ladybug93 has is the only Manix LW that I fell in love with and I sadly left it laying beside a trail somewhere. The G10 just feels more solid in my hand. I realize the validity of the arguments for FRCP but it's just not for me.

man, that’s a real bummer. sorry for your loss. it’s a great knife. i fine myself wishing for a g10 dlc models still though.

[ladybug93]

Agreed, much to my surprise! It plays to my preference that no matter the blade length, I’d rather have a whole handle. So some of the blade chops make real good sense. 4-finger grips and legal knives; also in the carving world, a short blade for precision and control still needs a full length handle. Millie delivers in spades!

This is a big part of why I've moved away from choils on full size knives. On a design like the Caribbean my grip is close enough to the edge that I don't feel the need to choke up, and it gives me max edge length in the smallest size handle possible. When this topic comes up (debating choils) most people focus on grip options and people say that gaining a half inch of edge isn't a big deal, but for me the bigger picture is a smaller overall package while keeping the same amount of edge as a Military. It's a more efficient design overall.


They have the same amount of edge yet look at the overall size difference. It's Military edge length in a Para 2 sized package.

i wish we could have something shaped like the front half of the caribbean handle and the back half of the manix handle. my resilience is the closest i’ve seen to this compromise and it’s much nicer in pocket than any knife i have with a pinky hook. i know it probably seems silly, but it’s literally the only thing that’s held me back from a caribbean. otherwise, it should be the perfect knife for me. it’s in my favorite steel with my favorite lock type and blade shape.

[anycal]

i wish we could have something shaped like the front half of the caribbean handle and the back half of the manix handle. my resilience is the closest i’ve seen to this compromise and it’s much nicer in pocket than any knife i have with a pinky hook. i know it probably seems silly, but it’s literally the only thing that’s held me back from a caribbean. otherwise, it should be the perfect knife for me. it’s in my favorite steel with my favorite lock type and blade shape.

You could take it down yourself. The liner is pretty deep in. That is what I plan on doing once I finally decide to get one. The CQI with black screws and hardware is making it more attractive.

Capture from Nick's video,

[ladybug93]

i wish we could have something shaped like the front half of the caribbean handle and the back half of the manix handle. my resilience is the closest i’ve seen to this compromise and it’s much nicer in pocket than any knife i have with a pinky hook. i know it probably seems silly, but it’s literally the only thing that’s held me back from a caribbean. otherwise, it should be the perfect knife for me. it’s in my favorite steel with my favorite lock type and blade shape.

You could take it down yourself. The liner is pretty deep in. That is what I plan on doing once I finally decide to get one. The CQI with black screws and hardware is making it more attractive.

Capture from Nick's video,

yeah. this has been discussed between evild and i in the past. it’s an option, but i’d rather not have to mod it. i also wonder how awkward it might make things with the clip being close to that area.

[lonerider1013]

.. If you treat it as normal and no big deal, and only quietly use them and put them away, they won’t treat it as a big deal, either.

Jim

Thats kind of my approach too which is why it hasn't been a big deal although I no doubt think about it.
It is funny how we all kind of have this tendency to do what is expected, or what we grew up with. Always had smaller knives so it just took a while for the larger ones to grow on me.
I would argue size or more importantly bulk and weight in the pocket is an issue for me tho. Despite using a knife daily it also has to be unobtrusive to carry. Thank gawd for pocket clips because I used to hate knives rattling around in my pockets lol. And, except in winter I normally wear shorts and they are normally not thick material. So bulkier or heavier knives despite their utility seem a nuisance. The para2 or the endura are sort of perfect; the para2 is wider but still light and thin in the pocket and the endura in ffg is like featherweight and slim. (I have a non ffg endura and the spine is THICK) but I don't carry it as much because the ffg cuts so much better).
Now if only they made a s35vn endura...

lonerider

[rabbitanarchy14]

well everyone knows me as a para 3 lover and find the perfect size about 3". but lately i have been carrying my manix and going to buy another pm2 bbs dlc. i do find it strange that i am now going bigger when i am very happy with 3".
my first pm2 i bought, i opened it and was instantly staggared by how huge it looked. but after owning a manix for awhile and falling in love with that. i do have a few mods to do to the manix 2 like skinny scales mod and dejimping in a few places.

[Bloke]

I normally wear shorts and they are normally not thick material.

[zuludelta]

I go back & forth with my knife size preferences. I went through a minimalist phase several years ago when I wanted to find the smallest & lightest knife with which I could still safely do everything I needed in a warehouse work knife—that knife turned out to be the Dragonfly 2, and over the course of a year I used that knife as hard as perhaps anyone in the model's history has ever used one. That experience was actually what started what one could call my fixation with Spyderco knives.

Currently, I think I most frequently carry knives with blades in the 2.75" to 3.75" range. Over the past three months I think my most-carried and used knives have been (in no particular order) the Introvert, Yojimbo 2, Li'l Temperance 3, Para Military 2, Endura 4, Para 3 Lightweight, Native 5 Lightweight, Delica 4, and Manix 2.

Being that I know that I can do all the cutting tasks I need to do at work with a knife as small as the Dragonfly 2, what primarily determines what size knife I carry isn't so much blade length as it is ergonomics, and if I'm being honest, my mood. Sure, the Dragonfly 2 can do everything I need in a work knife, but the small size also means a bit of a trade-off in comfort, grip security, and ease of manipulation in certain tasks (though with the Dragonfly 2 being as well-designed as it is, that trade-off isn't as much as one sees in other knives of a similar size and weight).

[Brock O Lee]

I started with a few 3.5 inch models, moved smaller to 2.5, and then larger to 4. Nowadays I normally EDC upwards of 3, and like the work knives to be larger around 3.5 to 4.

Variety is the spice of life...

[Sumdumguy]

I normally wear shorts and they are normally not thick material.

Dangit Bloke... are we going to have to talk about this again?

Stop taking pictures of me! Idk about Ausiland, but here, there are voyeurism laws.