Huge?

[skeeg11]

In light of That Native Chief is....Huge thread, Why is a folder with a cutting edge larger than a paring knife considered Huge or a tactical weapon? Many if not most paring knives are around 3.25" My most carried EDC is a Mantra 2 with a cutting edge of 3.22". I kind of consider it a compact but sturdy small pocket paring knife.

Is it sheeple public opinion, a legal distinction or what? If I carried a Z-Cut in a kydex sheath would I be construed as an armed and dangerous person? What are your thoughts?

[James Y]

In the past, when many (most?) men and boys (and many women) carried pocketknives as tools on a daily basis, a 4” bladed folder was considered very large. The Buck 110 was a large folder, with a 3.75” blade. Even a 3” bladed pocketknife was considered large. This is in the context of a folding pocketknife. Most people carried pocketknives/pen knives with the longest blades being about 2.5” long or shorter. They would have considered 4” long (again, for a pocketknife).

Not to mention that a 4” bladed folder must have a longer, thicker and heavier handle than a 4” bladed paring knife.

It could also be an opinion of non-knife people. Personally, I don’t like the term “sheeple.” I certainly don’t think a 4” folder is too big or huge, but people aren’t all the same. Also, in some jurisdictions, a 4” blade is over the legal carry limit.

Jim

[VooDooChild]

Part of the thing with folders is the handle has to accommodate the blade. So even if 4 inches of blade length doesnt seem big, you now have at least an 8 inch knife.

[TheGiant80]

I am 7ft1 tall. I have larger than XXL hands. I owned a REX45 Native Chief for one day and I sold it because it felt too large for me. I am not a “sheeple”, and there are no blade size restrictions where I live.

It’s all relative.

[Abyss_Fish]

Functionally, It all depends how the edge is packaged and how skilled you are with it. Due to the impeccable handle design of the Waterway it makes all ~4.4” of the blade absolutely and completely controllable. The same goes for the 8-ish inch chef knife I use at work, it’s quite thin and on any other knife that length would be unwieldy, but since I’m so comfortable using it I could carve a face into a tomato at arms length. It’s all down to the user, even though I’m madly in love with the waterway it definitely won’t fit everyone’s hand. And even though I find knives like the police slightly awkward to hold and unwieldy, I haven’t used longer pocket knives much at all, so I’m not a great judge of them.

And as far as the intimidation factor, I’d say generally larger knives freak people out more. It’s likely the main reason there are the occasional length restriction across the states, legislators going “ooh big knoife bad”. But again it’s always person to person and situation to situation. Calmly pulling out a 6 inch bowie knife out of your pants to trim the leaves off some carrots in the supermarket is probably not such a hot idea, but shifting your stance and flicking out your birchwood chaparral to violently hack off the same leaves would be met with the same apprehension from those around you. So in the end being cognizant of those around you is one of the most important parts of life. If you use your tools as tools and are sure enough of yourself to believe that, others will recognize it.

Soooo, the knives themselves are up to personal preference. And people will see what they want to, but if you act within reason and keep an eye on your surroundings they’ll be more understanding.

[Abyss_Fish]

It’s all relative.

That’s exactly it.

[kobold]

I use swisscards and ramblers a little bit less often than goloks and parangs. I use my three to four inch folders the most though.
But I differentiate between EDC and Work EDC. My EDC is what I have on me when I am in public space and I mostly have Natives and Chaparrals.
My Work EDC can be anything and any size that day, but I don't work in public space, so no problem.

[vivi]

Ya'll are crazy.



The Chief is barely big enough to cut an apple in half with one cut.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a request for a mini Chief. That already exists. It's the Native. Its the design the Chief is based on. There already is a mini version :rolleyes:

There's even a mini mini version, like people here want to see with the Manix line

I want to live in the timeline where every pocket knife gets an XL version instead of a mini :D

[Wartstein]

I am 7ft1 tall. I have larger than XXL hands. I owned a REX45 Native Chief for one day and I sold it because it felt too large for me. I am not a “sheeple”, and there are no blade size restrictions where I live.

It’s all relative.

See here:viewtopic.php?f=2&t=89281&p=1510434#p1510434

[ZrowsN1s]

Im ready for the return of the Tatanka in K390 and for a Manix XL Sprint.

[Naperville]

I'll keep holding out hope that one day I will relocate out of Illinois to a state with no carry restrictions for edged tools and firearms. When the time comes, I'll gladly move. I read prepper/survivalist/martial arts forums and sites all day, and I take copious notes on what I have to do to succeed in my new location.

I'm not big on firearms, but I'd like to be able to carry a 4" to 6" knife on me without committing a crime. I'd like to live in a state where self defense is not a crime. And, I plan to move somewhere where there is NO CRIME.

[Evil D]

Interesting question. I actually come from a background of strongly preferring ~3 inch blades, so there was a transition for me at some point and something that always stuck out in my mind was how a typical 3 inch folder felt in use compared to your average 10 inch chef's knife. I've been using the same chef's knife my whole life (literally, long story), and when doing food prep I never feel like that blade is huge or unwieldy or awkward to use, so why would a Military feel that way?

The only times I ever feel that way now is when I need to do some kind of very fine detailed cutting with the very tip of the blade, and in most cases it's easy enough to hold the knife in such a way that I can get good control of the tip, even if it means holding the knife in a pinch grip by the blade itself.

It was the Military that changed my preferences to larger knives. I used to trash talk the Military for being too big and having an unnecessarily big handle, but all that changed when I started using the knife and especially using it with heavy gloves on. I think a BIG (pun intended) part of all this is how you use your knives. If you have a very urban need for knives and you're not really ham-fisting your knife doing hard cuts and really going for it I think smaller knives may be more comfortable and nimble to use. It's when you have big hands and you find yourself doing work that probably would be better suited for a fixed blade or even an altogether different tool that you find the benefits of larger roomy handles.

I've also found that with serrations, the more the better. I really want a SE Resilience because of it's 4.25 inch blade/edge. It'll pack so many serrations into the smallest handle size possible (which is plenty big for large hands and gloves).

[Matus]

I am 7ft1 tall. I have larger than XXL hands. I owned a REX45 Native Chief for one day and I sold it because it felt too large for me. I am not a “sheeple”, and there are no blade size restrictions where I live.

It’s all relative.

It is similar for me. I got the Chief to serve for tougher tasks around the house and in my workshop. Should the ‘huge’ feel remain I may sell or customized it.

Here it is next to the other knives I happen to posses at the moment (GB1 is planned to move on):

Now to get to the ‘relative’ poit - here is the Chief next to our smallest kitchen knife (Ryusen Blasen 110 paring knife with a custom handle) that I use only for specific tasks:

And since I am the cook of the house, here is the litte Chief next to my 3 most used kitchen knives:

So yes, it is all relative

[skeeg11]

I've also found that with serrations, the more the better. I really want a SE Resilience because of it's 4.25 inch blade/edge. It'll pack so many serrations into the smallest handle size possible (which is plenty big for large hands and gloves).

I, too have often wondered about the popularity or lack thereof compared to its little brother the Tenacious as evidenced by its experimental offering in S35VN in the lightweight model. I don't own a Resilience, but it's size and configuration would lend itself to being a good outdoor camping or picnic food prep knife IMHO. If it were given the lightweight and S35VN treatment I would seriously consider it. The liner lock is not a favorite of mine because I've seen too many flimsy untrustworthy ones, but I would get over that knowing the liner lock is made to Spyderco standards.

I have small knives aplenty for fine or detail work. Perhaps my preference for large knives stems from a life long passion for my American Heritage of hunting and fishing. Hacking away at a hunk of flesh with a small blade is not very efficient. It's probably pretty safe to say that small to medium locking folders with humps and holes are pretty much where Spyderco's bread and butter lies which is all well and good. I just wish that every once in a while, Spyderco would come out with a few nice larger knives with a cutting edge all the way to the handle with a simple neutral handle and no 50/50 choil and hump. It's probably easier to achieve the edge to the handle with liner, compression and frame locks, but the handle forward for the lock back is a step in the right direction for my tastes.

I know that Sal gets bombarded with all kinds of requests and I swear he must have the patience of Job, but those are my general preferences in a nutshell.

I have often wondered why they make chef's knives of 8 inches or even smaller. :confused: :)

[TkoK83Spy]

Part of the thing with folders is the handle has to accommodate the blade. So even if 4 inches of blade length doesnt seem big, you now have at least an 8 inch knife.

I agree with this. I've been carrying my small fixed blade quite a bit recently since getting it a couple weeks ago. A few of the guys at work have checked it out and think it's a "cool little knife" When I carry the Manix, or say a PM2...some of these same guys consider it a "big knife"

In this comparison photo, you'll see the Bradford actually has a longer cutting edge than the Manix, though in a much smaller overall package.

Like Voodoo, I think a lot of it has to do with the overall length of the knife, though the laws do get hung up on blade length/cutting edge.

[VashHash]

Ya'll are crazy.



I want to live in the timeline where every pocket knife gets an XL version instead of a mini :D

This is what we need. Still waiting for that XL Persian they talked about years ago. The original is very pretty and the red g10 sprint was nice but my fingers just didn't fit in the handle.

[archangel]

Big, or small... why not carry one of each? Problem - solved! :)

[skeeg11]

Who carries just one knife? :eek:

[yablanowitz]

I'll keep holding out hope that one day I will relocate out of Illinois to a state with no carry restrictions for edged tools and firearms. When the time comes, I'll gladly move. I read prepper/survivalist/martial arts forums and sites all day, and I take copious notes on what I have to do to succeed in my new location.

I'm not big on firearms, but I'd like to be able to carry a 4" to 6" knife on me without committing a crime. I'd like to live in a state where self defense is not a crime. And, I plan to move somewhere where there is NO CRIME.

So, are you planning to move to Mars, or just the Moon?

And Vivi, that's what I love about Cold Steel. Their XL versions. I never carry them, but I love them.

[ladybug93]

And Vivi, that's what I love about Cold Steel. Their XL versions. I never carry them, but I love them.

i have a couple of these too and they border on being unsafe to use because they are so big and the spring slams them shut like a guillotine. they are ridiculous. i still want the espada xl though. why would anyone not want a 7.5" folding knife?!