Define the different size categories FOR YOU

[Wartstein]

.

[kobold]

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

This only applies to folding pocket knives.

+1

[kobold]

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?

Is there a reason you don't have the 3.5" size in your stack, when it's one of the most common sizes?

[ChrisinHove]

What I’m supposed to think …
0-2” Normal
2-3” Large
3+” Dangerously large and illegal to carry without lawful reason blah-blah-blah…

What I do think…
Manbug, McBee - Micro
Dragonfly / Urban / Squeak - Small
Delica, Watu, Stretch, UKPK, PITS - Medium
Endura, Goddard, Starmate - Large
Police - Extra large

[kennbr34]

I'm kind of surprised that I have only seen one person mention legalities so far. Here in my home state of WA, I have been advised by police that you basically don't want to carry a knife whose blade is longer than an officer's palm is wide. In many municipalities like Seattle, that's codified to 3.5". However, in most other parts of the state, there's no actual code and so they use that rather inconsistent measure. The funny thing is since many cops tend to be bigger guys, you actually have a better chance of not running afoul of that rule of thumb.

Anyway, because of that I guess I tend to consider things as follows...

1-2" = Micro
2-3" = Small
3-4" = Normal
4" and above = Large

Yet it becomes interesting too if you think about blades with choils. Usually people don't include that into the length, but with that "palm sized" metric, it's basically to see how much penetration a knife can achieve, so you better bet on them putting the hilt of the handle right up against their palm, regardless of choils, ricassos, etc. If it can slide into a person, it gets counted.

I would say my hands are pretty average at just a hair under 4" across, so it makes it an easy guideline for me to follow. If a knife ends up being a little longer than that, I won't carry it unless I have good reason to do so. For example, I might feel brave enough to carry my ESEE-3 because it's just barely pushing the limits, but I won't carry a Buck 119 unless I am heading out to go camp or hike or something. My current EDC, a Manix 2 is just perfect blade length to be under the palm width guideline, and a folder is always better looking than a fixed blade. However, sometimes I will also EDC an Izula too, since I know the small blade length will make it seem less intimidating. Then there's also cleaver style blades which kind of negate the whole "penetrative" capacity thing all together.

When it comes to handle length, however, I like a handle that I feel like kind of butts up against my pinky and palm when I hold it in a hammer grip. I don't really like for the handle to be hanging out beyond my grip unless there's a guard. Having the pommel slip up against the meat of the pinky or palm gives me a bit of protection against my hand slipping forward on the handle and on to the blade, even if there's not a guard present.

And then there's always various in-betweens. I have a few slip joints and lock backs that kind of push the limits on the length, but I don't really worry about since I feel like they're a "traditional enough" pattern that doesn't really get looked at much. I don't just consider these in terms of not wanting to draw the attention of law enforcement, but also just people in general. It's funny how you could take out a lock-back that's as actually longer than an Izula, but have it be less intimidating. So... As so many of my girlfriends have said, size isn't everything

Otherwise, I kind of let what handle length I prefer be determined by what task I am going to be doing. For example, the Buck 119 fits my hand like a glove. It has a guard, and a pommel that locks in. So I elect to use that for really hard use tasks. I don't have a Ka-Bar for comparison, but I do have an RH Pal 36 that similarly leaves a little too much length on the handle for me. I guess those general issue knives were really trying to be one-size-fits-all, but I don't personally like that much space to slide around on.

[Roefisher]

Funny, but I have bought my Spyderco knives (especially recently) on the fact that I'd balance them out from small to large and no repeats so I'd have the best possible variety in models and sizes. I know some I've mentioned in the same group aren't the exact same size but they're all similar enough to be grouped together.

For me,

SMALL: Dragonfly, WolfSpyder, Lil' Native.
MEDIUM: Para 3, Lil' Temperance, UKPK.
LARGE: Manix, PM2.
X LARGE: Stretch XL, Chinook, Military.

Mark

[DavidNM]

Let’s see:
Less than 2”- small
2.25”- pretty good size
2.5”- that is pretty much perfect
2.75”- a little larger than perfect but pretty nice
3.0”- just too large
Anything over 3”- “Is that a knife in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

[James Y]

For me (as they correspond to Spyderco folders):

Mini-sized: Up to 2" (Ladybug).

Small: Up to 2.5" (Dragonfly).

Medium: 3" to 3.5" (Delica, Native 5, UKPK Salt, Manix 2, PM2, etc.).

Large: 4 - 4.5" (Military, Native Chief, Police, Police 4 LWT).

XL: The only folders I own in this category are an older, Japan-made Cold Steel XL Voyager (6") and an old SOG Pentagon Elite II (5"). IMO, at those sizes, it becomes awkward, and I'd prefer a fixed blade.

I'm completely comfortable in-hand with knives from Delica-sized (except for possibly the Native 5, which feels blocky to me), up to the Endura, Military, Native Chief, and Police 4 LWT-sized. They all fit my medium-sized hand like a glove.

I would like to note that I grew up carrying so-called "traditional" pocketknives, like stockman, etc., where on medium-sized models, the longest blade was about 2.5", and on a large model, the longest blade was 2.78". A "large" stockman had a master clip point blade of a similar length to a Delica, Native 5, UKPK Salt, Salt 1/2, etc. And a large stockman felt heavy down in the pocket. A Buck 110 was considered a large knife; heavy, with a 3.75" blade. Back then, many men only carried small, 2-blade penknives, the longer blade being only about 2.25" in length. It's a different perspective, depending on the types of knives you came up using. Back then, most "pocket knives" were considered small knives to be carried down in the pocket. A Military would have been considered gigantic for a pocket knife. With the advent of pocket-clipped knives, the definition of small, medium, large, and XL has shifted.

Jim

[kennethsime]

I'm kind of surprised that I have only seen one person mention legalities so far. Here in my home state of WA, I have been advised by police that you basically don't want to carry a knife whose blade is longer than an officer's palm is wide. In many municipalities like Seattle, that's codified to 3.5". However, in most other parts of the state, there's no actual code and so they use that rather inconsistent measure. The funny thing is since many cops tend to be bigger guys, you actually have a better chance of not running afoul of that rule of thumb.

When I sold knives in college folks would come in with this misconception all the time, both regular folks and police officers. I’d correct both, politely, and offer up our current city, county, and state ordinances, none of which mentioned blade length in relation to pocket knives.

I remember one kid in particular who came in asking about the Cold Steel Ti-Lite. An officer had confiscated it, and told him it was a switchblade, which was illegal. Of course, though it looks like a classic Italian stiletto, it was neither a switchblade nor a dagger, and was, legally, fine.

If I learned anything from those experiences, it was that you really don’t want to be debating the legalities of your knives, or anything else really, with a peace officer.

[anycal]

I see there is that 1/2 inch gap in between sizes for some here.

I categorize by small, medium, and large. Just to have some reference. But there are modes which could be either-or. GB2 is, in a way, medium and large for me. Mantra is small that could be medium.

While back, I lined up all my knives for a picture, smallest to largest. It is a gradual size progression from one side of the spectrum to the other. No big jumps from one knife to the next, no hard line between sizes.

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Pretty much relevant to one’s opinion/hand-size…
Micro-LB/MB
Small-Dfly/Lil Native
Smedium-Delica/Native (tough to categorize)
Med-Manix/Endela
Lg-Siren/Stretch xl/Pacific
XL-Police/Chief/Manix xl

[RustyIron]

How do you define the different sizes for yourself?

A "normal" sized knife is going to be in the range of the Manix 2/Endura/Stretch 2 XL. There's a little variation in there to match whatever mood I'm in, but any of those are going to hit the sweet spot.

A "large" knife is the Police 4. Bigger is better, so the P4 is almost always an appropriate choice.

A "small" knife to me is the Delica. I've been carrying a serrated one just to see how I like it. It's fine, but bigger is better. Small knives are ok for featherweights and those guys on the cover of GQ who wear suits two sizes too small. That's not how I roll.

A "micro" knife is the Ladybug. When I ride, I don't like things in my pockets, and the Ladybug is next to nothing. Despite its ludicrously small size, the Ladybug can be pushed into service when there's nothing else available.

[RustyIron]

I have been advised by police that you basically don't want to carry a knife whose blade is longer than an officer's palm is wide... there's no actual code and so they use that rather inconsistent measure.

I can see the discussion going thus:
"Ok Barney Fife. Is your body cam on and recording?"
"Good. Can you please tell me again how I'm in violation of the law because my knife is bigger than your hand?"
"So there is no actual law prohibiting the carry of my knife?"
"Excellent. Since I've done nothing wrong and am not under arrest, I'll be leaving now. Happy New Year."

The police are not allowed to make things up. They have to abide by the rule of law just like everyone else. If an officer starts going rogue, maybe he needs to go in to have a discussion with his commander.

[bearfacedkiller]

The old palm length blade myth just won’t die. I hear that from non knife people all the time.

[Naperville]

What are you folks doing with your knives? I do not eat dinner with my knife, I do not offer to open boxes with it, and I do not draw the knife for anything less than saving my life in a self defense situation.

I'm just outside of Chicago, in Illinois, and I carry a Spyderco Native Chief year round, nobody asks me anything. Nobody even notices it.

When deep Winter hits here in Jan/Feb, under my Winter coat, sometimes I throw on my shoulder harness and carry a 5 inch RMJ raider Dagger fixed blade to pierce all of the Winter clothing. Our dogs have since died, so there isn't much of that going on anymore, but the heck if I am going to be out walking a dog in the dead of Winter and not have a useful tool to defend myself with.

Is it legal?

Well, if you do anything illegal it is illegal but otherwise, NO. And as far as legal/illegal goes, when charged with a crime instead of starting out with a misdemeanor you start out with a felony rap. Does defending your life from bad guyz mean you get a felony? I hope not.

[toomanyquestions]

Too Small - noticeably smaller than the Delica, probably smaller than the Chap (which I haven't handled)
Small - Delica
Small EDC - Para 3 / Sage 5
Medium-Large - Endura
Large - everything larger than the Endura

[kennbr34]

If I learned anything from those experiences, it was that you really don’t want to be debating the legalities of your knives, or anything else really, with a peace officer.

Reminds me of when a cop told me my neck knife was a concealed weapon, and I argued the law with him. He basically said he would arrest me on the spot, and I could argue the law with the judge.

The police are not allowed to make things up. They have to abide by the rule of law just like everyone else.

Lol if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

[kriezek]

For those in the US, AKTI is a great resource for better understanding your state laws. As a citizen of Texas, I can freely carry an Autonomy 2 or Millie if I so desire with no issues whatsoever.

https://www.akti.org/state-knife-laws/

[Wartstein]

The old palm length blade myth just won’t die. I hear that from non knife people all the time.

Believe it or not:

Same here in Austria / Europe!

And we don´t even HAVE any blade length or general restrictions at all...

[kriezek]

When purchasing, I base my sizing upon both blade length as well as handle length. Everyone is different, but this works for me. But simplicity sake, I usually look at things about like this:

Xtra Small - Less than 2.5" (Lil Native, Lady Bug, Cricket, Manbug, etc.) - good for car console

Small - 2.5" - 3.0" (Native 5, Delica, Para 3, Sage 5, etc.) - good for LW shorts, backup EDC knife, or house carry knife

Medium - 3.01" - 3.5 (PM2, Stretch, Manix 2, Centofante 3, etc.) - good for EDC knife

Large - 3.51" - 3.99" (Amalgam, Stretch 2 XL, Manix 2 XL, Endura 4, etc.) - sometimes good for EDC knife (may be too big)

XL - 4.0" - 4.5" (Police 4, Native Chief, Military 2, Resilience, etc.) - good for outdoors

XXL - Greater than 4.5" (Nothing regularly available from Spyderco)