Has a new trend for EDC'ing smaller knives set in?

[spydutch]

Greetings you all :)

While reading the latest EDC thread I noticed that the majority chooses to EDC medium to small.

A few years back it was mostly Military, Chinook, Endura ect, as of now it's mostly Delica sized knives or smaller.

Me myself gets very well by with my SS Cricket/SE. Still carry a bigger knife as well but hardly use it.

I find that I get all the control and cutting power I need with that little serrated parrot beak.

Still love my Millies but for EDC I tend to use smaller.

So is it just the concern about laws and NKP or something else. :confused:

I must admit I carry small because of the NKP factor as well :o

How about the rest of you?

Just curious :)

[CombatGrappler]

My work knife is a PE Paramilitary. Used to be a SE Delica that I snagged from a guy at work for 10 bucks. For most of the things I do, anything bigger is just too much knife.

I carried my D2 Military one night, and it was horribly suited to the things I was doing. Bad choice on my part. I have smaller Spydies like the Walker lightweight, Jester, Mini, Jr., and Micro Dyads, but I don't usually carry them. Around a 3" blade works best for me.

In short, for me it is all about my needs and what I need to accomplish. I don't give a squat about the NKP.

[Gibsoniam]

i never have carried anything larger than a delica. primarily because my use is almost entirely light duty.

also, i prefer the feel and handling of smaller knives.

my first spydie was a dragonfly, my second was a caly jr. former was a tad small, latter was big enough it raised eyebrows. always wanted a mid sized leaf blade spydie. now, ten years later, the urban is here.

nkp is also a factor for me. that the urban is a slipjoint has zero bearing for me. until that first dragonfly, i only had owned victorinox.

the cricket has been my primary edc for most of the decade. never ever let me down. imo, it is the most versatile spydie.

[vampyrewolf]

I pretty much rotate what I'm carrying based on the work I'll be doing. I carry everything from the Spin up to my CKE beast, but usually find a 3-4" blade does 90% of my daily tasks.
NKP's don't really factor into my carry, I just carry whatever is legal (aka just about everything :p ), but I use a knife appropriate for the task at hand. I'm not opening an envelope with a 5"+ if I have a 2" on me, but I'm not going to be cutting a cable with that 2" either.

Like I said in the EDC thread... endura and dragonfly... Toss in a quality multitool and I've got 95% of my tasks covered (serrated blade and scissors on the multi)

[Tom v S]

Smaller? Nope, not for me. Chinook, Military, Police SE, I always carry at least one big knife. Have you ever tried to cut up an apple with a cricket? Or make some shavings for a fire? That's were the bigguns come in :D

[spydercofanatic]

Smaller? Nope, not for me. Chinook, Military, Police SE, I always carry at least one big knife. Have you ever tried to cut up an apple with a cricket? Or make some shavings for a fire? That's were the bigguns come in :D

I second that vote. I keep my Military in my RF pocket for BIG jobs and a Lava in my LR pocket for smaller jobs

[ChapmanPreferred]

RF Pocket - PE S90V Military, Spin on my keys hanging them from the top of my pocket.
LF Pocket - Rotation (Stretch 2, Worker (right hand model), Provenator SS, CF SE Cricket, Waved models set up for left hand pikal draw (endura SE or Adventura), anything else that peaks my interest that day.
RB Pocket - CE Spyderench
LB Pocket - SE Pacific Salt

[The Deacon]

Before I found Spyderco, I carried a 3" Buck folder for close to twenty years. Prior to that, it was a Case Whaler of roughly the same size for roughly the same length of time. First Spydercos I carried were also around 3", the Native and then the Calypso Jr. But, since they came out, I've mostly carried either a Stretch or a C83 Persian, both about 3.5". So, if anything, I'm carrying bigger than ever, not smaller.

[kbuzbee]

I vary by mood more than trend. I RARELY need anything more than a Caly III but Milies are such great knives I can't leave them sitting. :D

More and more I find my decision is a med sized knife with a ball lock of some sort. To me, it's the easiest to close one handed (I always seem to need to close one handed!) so 90% carry is either Dodo or Phoenix. Both are great knives and do anything I need a knife for.

So I guess I DO usually carry a bit smaller but when the Milie calls, she must be obeyed :D !!!

Ken

[Marion David Poff]

I think that NKPs and Laws certainly have an effect, I would say, the largest effect.

I live in a place where there is no restriction on knives, other than they not be concealed. Open carry is OK, big folders are OK. But yet, very few carry big knives, and the single biggest reason seems to be what other people think, knife prejudice and fear.

But, another factor, which cannot be ignored, is how many really great small knives Spyderco is offering.....

And from that pool, you select us knuts and afis who really love a well made knife, and things are trending smaller.

I just hope that the bias of the cities and the knife-haters doesn't come to rule the market.

Because I am one guy who LOVES big knives.....

I EDC three knives that are considered mega-folders.....

And a T-Mag, just to keep the NKP from getting too scared.

Strangely enough, I have a good friend, who routinely tells me that I carry too many knives, and he carries a gun, or two.... And a 12 bore in his trunk. :eek:

[The Deacon]

But yet, very few carry big knives, and the single biggest reason seems to be what other people think, knife prejudice and fear.

I tend to think lack of need for larger blades also may be a common reason. I know that it is mine. I carry a 3.5" blade and cannot think of the last time I wished I had something larger. Yes, there's a logical limit to that type of reasoning, a point at which there are sufficient occasions where one does regret not having something larger in their pocket. The "golden number", the smallest blade that will shine at 99% of all the tasks one throws at it, and at least muddle through the other 1% may be different for each of us, but I suggest that, for most of us, it will be somewhere under 4".

[drf]

I rarely carry a knife with a blade over 3". A Caly 3 is usually my edc. Occasionally I will carry my stretch 2, big persian, or big Caly, but that is rare. For me personally, I just prefer the control a 3" blade offers. That said a big persian, big caly, and stretch 2 do find there way into my pocket from time to time.

[gordonk]

You make an excellent point on that one knife that fits the majority of tasks. I generally find that for my usual things, a 3 inch blade is more than adequate. Generally it's my G-10 Delica and UKPK that see the most use. That being said, a larger blade like an E4, Police 3 is generally in my daypack "just in case" :) Weekends, depending on what I'm doing, a larger blade in SE is usually in my back pocket.

[fredswartz]

At one time when my work required me to be in semi-wilderness situations I was carrying Benchmade 710's. That was before I discovered the Military, the Wegner etc.

Things have calmed down for me since then and a 3 inch blade seems to do the job. I am turning in early tonight as my brother and I are going deer hunting tomorrow morning. I will carry a Salt 1 sharpened with Spyderco stones.

For me a 3 inch blade is ideal at this point in my 68 year old life.

On another facet, I have been carrying a knife since I was eight years old and can't imagine being without one. Kim and I went to Ireland last year and I managed to smuggle in a small Swiss Army knife just to have a blade.

[Slatts]

In my hometown, there is a city ordinance on lockbacks to no longer than 3". The law is not enforced however for the good guys. It was put in place as a reason to pick up the gangbangers if a reason was needed by the boys in blue.

So, for me the UKPK or T-Mag would be the ideal and legal folder. However, I'd much rather carry a Sage, Sebenze or some other LOCKING 3 inchish blade and that's what I do.

To me, 3-inch blade length is the demarcation point between the small and large folders. The Endura, Military and Police are over that and the Delica, Sage, and Dragonfly are under for me.

[urbnspyd]

Day to day living in a large city, strict laws and NKP are a concern for me. So Dragonfly or Byrd Robin size is as large as I like to EDC.

[Water Bug]

Not sure if it's a trend per say. I'd prefer to think it has something to do with need of a certain blade length with some PC and legal issues taken into consideration.

When possible, I try to carry a good variety of knives from large blades (such as the Military, Manix, Para-Military, or Chinook 3) to mid-level blades (such as the Delica 4 or Caly3) to smaller blades (such as the Imperial Boy Scout or Boker Stockman pocket knives). That way I have a blade length for just about any task, although the Imperial pocket knife typically gets pulled first.

In certain situations, such as when I'm in a "municipal" environment or if I know the laws are strict, I'll opt to carry "small" in the way of a Delica 4, or, more ideally, the Caly3 or UK Penknife, with pocket knives in tow.

When at home or on the road, the big blades definitely get carried, especially a Buck 110 Folding Hunter sheathed to the belt. I will say that no matter what the task, whether it be cutting up boxes or trimming off a loose thread, there is such a feel of satisfaction to deploy that big Buck and hear it "CLICK!" into action. :)

[carrot]

Never been terribly concerned with PC and my location allows for carry of under 4" folding or fixed. I love my Military and Manix and Endura and other large knives but really when it comes down to it I am much happier with a smaller knife like the Delica or Caly3 or UKPK or T-Mag just because it is smaller in my pockets.

It's not often that I need a larger blade although it's always appreciated... in fact, I'm sure I could be quite happy carrying only a Spin or Dragonfly, although I consider carrying a blade under 2" to be outside my "comfort zone" -- I worry that I might not be able to tackle a job efficiently with a smaller blade if it is my only one. So for me, about 3" is a real sweet spot, and since Spyderco makes so many great ~3-inchers I never feel terribly constrained with my favorite blade length.

[Bluntrauma]

I never thought about it but upon reflection most of the EDC rotation is around 3 inches. I rotate between a meadowlark, D4 and a Caly 3. I just snagged my first Endura a few weeks ago and I felt like I was trying to handle a 2x4 for the first few days. Now it's very comfortable and I find myself carrying it every day.

Texas has pretty liberal knife laws. I think you can carry up to 5 inch blade. For me weight can help determine the small/big feel of a knife. I had grabbed a para used from a guy a month or so back. It turned out to now be centered and I had to return it, but, I digress. Anyway, the knife was so light that it felt like a small knife to me.

I didn't even notice it in my pocket sometimes, which kind of worried me. Since then I really miss that knife. Hopefully I can grab a good deal on one. I could see it getting a lot of pocket time. What a great knife!