What's your use for a Ladybug?

[kennbr34]

I remember buying a ZDP-189 Ladybug to get some experience with the steel, but didn't realize how small the knife was. I was expecting it to be a little more like the Dragonfly. So when I got it I was a bit like, "Well what am I gonna do with this?"

The other day I found a little "Personal Survival Kit" in an Altoids tin that I had put together. There used to be a small knife in it, but I remember giving it away to someone. So I noticed it was the perfect space for the Ladybug! So now it's my PSK knife.

What about all of you?

[skeeg11]

Pretty durn good for field dressing deer.

[Tristan_david2001]

I own a manbug, I have to say I rarely ever carry and use it, i think it’s a very solid design for its size but I just don’t prefer to use knives that small in my edc’s.

[JSumm]

I have gifted a couple of wharncliffe Manbugs to family members who refuse to wear a knife clipped to their pants. Yeah I know. They prefer to toss it in their pockets. Probably used to open packages and cut small things. Since you can barely notice it in the bottom of your pocket, they love it. For that purpose it excels.

[vivi]

gifting to folks with smaller hands

[yablanowitz]

Gathering dust.

[Sharp Guy]

I have a Manbug or Jester on me almost every day. I use the small knife in my pocket more often than I use the bigger one I carry too. My guess is a Manbug/Ladybug/Jester can handle most of tasks that most of us use a pocket knife for. How big of a knife do you need to open a box from Amazon, cut open a letter, or snip a string hanging off you clothes? I even broke down a cardboard box last night using a Manbug Wharncliffe. Not ideal but it did just fine

[vivi]

I have a Manbug or Jester on me almost every day. I use the small knife in my pocket more often than I use the bigger one I carry too. My guess is a Manbug/Ladybug/Jester can handle most of tasks that most of us use a pocket knife for. How big of a knife do you need to open a box from Amazon, cut open a letter, or snip a string hanging off you clothes? I even broke down a cardboard box last night using a Manbug Wharncliffe. Not ideal but it did just fine

the handle holds me back more than the blade length. I even have an easier time using my spin than a ladybug. I can do a lot of my edc tasks with something that size but having a full sized handle makes a huge difference with harder use.

[DSH007]

I normally carry a Jester or Man/Ladybug loose in my left front pocket with my keys. I like having one on me in case I'm around people who may be more knife-adverse than myself, where using a larger knife would raise eyebrows.. no one has ever questioned a tiny little pocket knife though.. I've even had compliments on how "cute" they are hahah. Reality is though, with a little extra care & intention, a cute little Ladybug can do pretty much anything a full-size folding knife can..

[Sharp Guy]

....having a full sized handle makes a huge difference with harder use.

Oh for sure. My point was, that for the basic things most of us use a pocket knife for, the small pocket knives work just fine. I can certainly understand that it may not work so well for someone with hands of a giant. Even with my medium hands I grab something with a much bigger handle if I'm going to be using it for awhile...like cutting up a bunch of boxes of thick material etc.

Years ago I only carried a Gerber LST that wasn't much bigger than a Manbug. I had a couple bigger knives but they were stored in my toolbox in the garage. It was only 8 or 9 years ago that I realized they know had such a thing as pocket clips and I could carry bigger knives with me haha

[yablanowitz]

I figure if I have to use both hands to open it anyway (which I do with a Ladybug or Manbug), I might as well use a stockman that nobody raises an eyebrow over. And which has a much thinner grind and thinner stock so it cuts circles around the Ladybug. Hey, I admit I'm a geezer and carry geezer knives.

[Tristan_david2001]

I have a Manbug or Jester on me almost every day. I use the small knife in my pocket more often than I use the bigger one I carry too. My guess is a Manbug/Ladybug/Jester can handle most of tasks that most of us use a pocket knife for. How big of a knife do you need to open a box from Amazon, cut open a letter, or snip a string hanging off you clothes? I even broke down a cardboard box last night using a Manbug Wharncliffe. Not ideal but it did just fine

the handle holds me back more than the blade length. I even have an easier time using my spin than a ladybug. I can do a lot of my edc tasks with something that size but having a full sized handle makes a huge difference with harder use.

I agree it’s more to do with grip, getting 4 fingers on the handle greatly increases the knifes versatility for me and allows you to still be able to push a smaller blade into some harder jobs. and you can achieve that quite easily with just a slightly longer handle size than the ladybug, spin etc. like the kopa, and dragonfly for example.

[vivi]

yep I have small 2" blade paring knives I like using at work for utility stuff but they have a full handle.

[ladybug93]

my ladyhawk sometimes rides in the "secret" pocket of my tilley into places that don't like freedom. it makes a great little companion for places that are relatively safe from survival scenarios playing out.

[Coastal]

I have 2 Ladybugs, and have never used either. Why 2, then? I bought the 2nd by mistake when I somehow spaced out and thought I was buying a Dragonfly, another knife I later learned I'd never use because the handle is too small.

I get the theoretical appeal of a tiny knife (I even have a Bug), but I much prefer a knife I can get a full or nearly full grip on. The Chaparral is pretty much my lower end. And, like yablanowitz, if I have to open a knife 2-handed I like a traditional folder over a Spydie for the reasons he stated.

[JSumm]

I figure if I have to use both hands to open it anyway (which I do with a Ladybug or Manbug), I might as well use a stockman that nobody raises an eyebrow over. And which has a much thinner grind and thinner stock so it cuts circles around the Ladybug. Hey, I admit I'm a geezer and carry geezer knives.

Listen here you old geezer, I much rather have a larger slip joint and throw in the bottom of my pocket. May be heavier, but I like the full grip (and character) and the better geometry as you stated. Plus, they are making a huge comeback right now, so hold on just a bit and you will be back in fashion with all the young folk.

[kennbr34]

And which has a much thinner grind and thinner stock so it cuts circles around the Ladybug.

What kind of stockman? The Ladybug is already so thin, it's hard to imagine much thinner.

[RustyIron]

My Ladybug comes on EVERY mountain bike ride. I don't ride with pockets full of junk, but the Ladybug is small enough to be virtually unnoticeable. The Ladybug will never be anyone's first choice for anything, but it's better than nothing and it's dependable. It's the perfect "emergency" knife. My Ladybug has cut tacos for sharing, shortened stainless cables, performed minor surgery, and hacked through small branches. I lost my first Ladybug on a ride, and I missed it so much that I replaced it the following week.

[yablanowitz]

And which has a much thinner grind and thinner stock so it cuts circles around the Ladybug.

What kind of stockman? The Ladybug is already so thin, it's hard to imagine much thinner.

It probably is hard to imagine for children of the Tacticool age. I'll dig out a Ladybug and take some pictures with one or two of my traditionals. In the meantime, here's a comparison between the tip of a "it's too thin" Yojimbo2 on the left and my KC Custom jacknife on the right.

[Brock O Lee]

I get the theoretical appeal of a tiny knife (I even have a Bug), but I much prefer a knife I can get a full or nearly full grip on. The Chaparral is pretty much my lower end.

Same here...

I bought a Manbug to try it out. It is so small, I often forget in which pant or shirt pocket I had it last, and then spend way too much time looking for it, only to find it in a work bag, or some permutation of the above. Nice little blade though, but it will probably end up in an emergency kit.