Huge?

[curlyhairedboy]

The chief did feel a bit too big to carry around others.

I think it has less to do with length by itself and more to do with the blade length to blade height ratio. Blades with a shorter height can look a lot more menacing.

[James Y]

As far as public perceptions go, I've carried the Chief / Police / Millie / Manix XL / C95 to work just about every shift since around 2007.

Never has been an issue.

Office setting, slicing apples at lunch with a Police? No problem.

Pulled over for speeding a decade ago, Military RFP and Spyderhawk IWB, cop merely wondered why I carried two knives but made no comment on their size.

Pulled over a year ago driving home from a 3rd shift through a bad area because they were looking for someone in a similar vehicle. Asked me if I had anything dangerous on me. Told them I had a big pocket knife RFP (Manix XL) and a multitool in my cargo pocket. They held on to them while they questioned me, then handed it back without any questions about the knives. In a city with a 2.5" law I think.

C95 to slice open some toy packaging at a playground - no one batted an eye.

Military in my pocket every day when I used to work at Hungry Howies ages ago? Management never asked about it.

Manix XL when I was going to school for firefighting? Me and a classmate compared EDC's in the class room once, it got compliments.

Police 3 at my old ATM repair job where I'd use it for misc tasks? Never had anyone even notice it.

Manix XL while working at a photography studio? No one cared.

Military while being an on the road PC / printer repairman? It opened all my packages and customers were more concerned with whether I could fix their issue than what's in my pocket.

Szabo Folder while working as a pizza chef? Annoyed the dishwasher that had specifically bought a knife bigger than the Para 2 I EDC'd at the time - he thought he had one upped me :D

Heck, for years I considered my Police 3 my dress up knife, not that I dress up often. But I'd pocket it anytime I wore slacks.

Maybe it all comes down to where I've lived, I don't know. I've carried knives this size everywhere from wilderness, to rural towns with populations under 1,000 to major cities like Atlanta, Cleveland, Washington DC, Charleston and Salt Lake City without a problem.

My experiences have been similar. Although if I use a knife in public, I normally use a smaller (3” or so) blade.

But in my job, I used to use knives of different sizes. From Dragonfly or Delica size all the way up to P4 LWT and Military size, and nobody cared. They were used to it, because they had been subtly accustomed to seeing me using my knives to cut strapping, open boxes, etc. No one made a big deal out of it, because I didn’t make a big deal of it. I didn’t flick my knives open with a flourish to get attention. I never acted sneaky or paranoid about using them. I didn’t talk about them, unless asked, which was rare. The two bosses didn’t mind, either. I just treated them like the tools they are.

And guess what? My workplace was not some macho environment. If “most” people who frequent knife forums saw the inside of my former workplace, they would probably ASSUME that my coworkers were so-called “sheeple” types. They were not knife people, but they weren’t afraid of me or my knives either, because of how I behaved around them. Hence why I dislike labeling with the word sheeple.

I once saw a homeless guy digging for cans in a sidewalk waste basket, and he started vigorously flicking a black tanto-bladed liner lock folder repeatedly, then started grunting and stabbing it into a palm tree over and over, trying to get it to stick. He had a frustrated look on his face. Guess what? Instead of continuing along the sidewalk straight towards him, I gave him a wide berth going around him. So did one other guy coming the opposite way. Groups of people sitting in an outside area of a bar/restaurant mere feet away from him remained oblivious the entire time.

If someone acts weird with a knife, or starts flicking and waving it around like he wants attention, or acts sneaky with it, I’d be wary, too.

Jim

[Naperville]

@Sal, you are not likely to have a run of 5" bladed Native Chiefs, but if you ever do, count me in for two at least!

Excellent blade profile!!!

[RustyIron]

All this talk of bigger knives is giving me a hankerin' for an Endura K390 SE.

[JakeXman]

All this talk of bigger knives is giving me a hankerin' for an Endura K390 SE.

I feel the same way. I’ve been itching for a Police LW in K390, but it’s beyond the legal limit where I’m going to school for the next few years :mad:

[Wartstein]

i think vivi makes a good point about the size of knives... i've frequently seen him mention that you can't even cut an apple in half with various knives. that seems like a very sensible measure and is probably a good argument for people that think a knife is too big. i think people see a knife and they see how far it would go into their body instead of how little use it might be in a completely benign situation.

this thread is making me look hard at the espada xl again. i've always wanted one just because it exists. it's so stupid big that it's hilarious. i need it.

+ 1.

For me a universal EDC folder just has to be somwhat capable also of tasks like food prep.

Sure one can say: "For food prep and similar tasks I always have a dedicated knife around anyway" or " I can still do tasks like food prep with a small folder".
But that is somehow making the idea of a perfect EDC knife obsolet.
- WHY even carry one if one knows anyway that a more specialized tool will be around anyway all time (which it will NOT all the time in truth...)
- And WHY even look for perfect ergos, well performing blade and so on if one says "I can work around shortcomings of my EDC knife anyway" ?

In my experience and use the saying that "a large knife can do anything a small knife can, but not vice versa" is true (for me)

[yablanowitz]

i think vivi makes a good point about the size of knives... i've frequently seen him mention that you can't even cut an apple in half with various knives. that seems like a very sensible measure and is probably a good argument for people that think a knife is too big. i think people see a knife and they see how far it would go into their body instead of how little use it might be in a completely benign situation.

this thread is making me look hard at the espada xl again. i've always wanted one just because it exists. it's so stupid big that it's hilarious. i need it.

Even the Espada XL plays second fiddle when the Opinel #13 is around.

[Woodpuppy]

Millie is a nice size pocket knife. I like the Ladybug too. Different tool for different purposes.

[TomAiello]

I had never seen the #13 before. I totally need one of those. :)

[The Meat man]

I had never seen the #13 before. I totally need one of those. :)

It's a folding machete! :D

[James Y]

Nancy Grace once referred to the Spyderco Military (which she had seen in a photo) as “not a knife, but a machete.”

:rolleyes:

Jim

[yablanowitz]

The #13 is pretty much the epitome of "comically oversized".

[SpyderGrill]

I really like this knife

[ladybug93]

Millie is a nice size pocket knife. I like the Ladybug too. Different tool for different purposes.

well, shucks... i like you too.

The #13 is pretty much the epitome of "comically oversized".

i never thought someone would out-cold steel cold steel.

[yablanowitz]

The funny thing is, the Opinel #13 was available before Cold Steel was founded.

[Enactive]

The funny thing is, the Opinel #13 was available before Cold Steel was founded.

Excellent point.