Does a 3 finger knife have a place in your life?

lieferung

lieferung

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May 24, 2016
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I have a few smaller blades that you could really only get about 3 fingers around, I never used them for much more than opening packages at the time I first got them. Nowadays I work with my hands so I my K390 PM2 is mostly by my side. I still wish I had a reason to use the small guys, but it feels awkward doing any cutting with them.

Anyways who uses their small knives a lot, and for what takss?
 
Have a Fallkniven WM1 as a necker. It works great as a little field dressing knife for deer or what have you. It's very light and with a new orange kydex neck sheath it's a nice setup with a break away gizmo just incase it gets caught on something. They do have a place in the knife world imo.
 
Short answer - no. I don't like subcompact pistol grips either. My little finger is just along for the ride and feels strange.

A lot of times I will grip the tail end of a knife handle with only my little finger and ring finger, leaving the middle, index finger and thumb to work on something, knife still in hand.

With a 3 finger handle I found I was always working out a better grip and never finding a good one. Lot of fuss for want of another half inch of handle.
 
Nope. I'm not a fan of the 3 finger knife. If I'm going to use a knife, even for a second, I want it to lock (yep, not a traditional guy) and be comfortable in the hand.

I tried putting lanyards/fobs on smaller knives to extend the grip, I didn't like it.
 
Not really, I have a Case Peanut, a Buck Lancer and a baby saddle horn but more as a novelty. Maybe my grandkids can use them. I thought maybe they would be handy but I just can’t get a good hold on them, only two fingers is about all that I can get traction with. The smallest knife I can use well is the 3.25 size handle like the Buck 303 cadet or an old timer 34.
 
I agree that small knives are more of a novelty. I find there are exceptions in rare cases when small size is more important than utility, but you still need a blade of some kind.
 
I have XL hands, but I've done a fair amount of damage to them, ring and pinky haven't worked in years. So a 2 finger grip for me. I carried a CRKT K.I.S.S. for 16 years till it disappeared out of a hotel room. Lived in Hawaii with it for 6 years. It was always on my waist, minus the week it spent on the bottom of the ocean. I cut everything with it. Including 3.5 tons of drift net we removed from Goat Island 30' under water. I tried to push it out with other knives to no avail. It wasn't till it disappeared that I bought a new one and instantly hated it. Wasn't the same knife, not the same steel, not the same finish, not even the same river! I ended up going with a Benchmade 904 which I carried for 8? years minus sending it back to Benchmade twice in the first month, because omega springs... Gave that one to my GF a few weeks ago, it fits in her girl pockets, her 940 doesn't. Currently I EDC an ESEE Candiru with some fat scales. Today, I've got a 3" blade with a 4" handle coming in. Having leverage is nice, a keen edge is more important IMHO.
 
lieferung said:
I have a few smaller blades that you could really only get about 3 fingers around, I never used them for much more than opening packages at the time I first got them. Nowadays I work with my hands so I my K390 PM2 is mostly by my side. I still wish I had a reason to use the small guys, but it feels awkward doing any cutting with them.

Anyways who uses their small knives a lot, and for what takss?
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The small three finger knives get used a lot by me. I seldom really do anything particularly strenuous in terms of routine cutting and small knives work perfectly well for everyday use. Of course I have bigger ones up to two hand machetes, but they get used far less that the small knives. The only place I now prefer a 4 finger fixed blade or folder is in the woods and that's because there is a higher probability of cutting larger material that may require more force. How often is that? ...probably once a week.

My edc folder is a Vic Small Tinker and it does almost everything I need in terms of cutting. I used to carry a larger folder everyday, but I have changed as I just don't see the need to fill my pockets up with un-needed stuff.
 
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I think knife users should consider what they actually use a knife for day to day and not some historical size or want that you gravitated to a long time ago. @jackknife did a Peanut thread a couple years ago.... I was very stubborn about even considering such a small knife. I tried just for kicks and discovered that something below 3.5" closed works very well for me day to day. I could easily carry a peanut sized knife and be comfortable with it day to day. I carry a Vic Small Tinker which is just a tad larger. If I need something larger to cut with, there are plenty of those in my accumulation to satisfy that temporary need.

Is this change age related or accepting reality? Or both?

Initially I carried a larger knife and a small one (folders). I discovered that if the small knife (SAK) was handy, it got all the use. Handy is the key. So, gradually I shifted and seldom even carry a larger knife any more whether it be a fixed blade or folder.
 
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I didn't think there was a three finger grip knife I'd use until I got a Half Track.
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Short answer : Yes ! This is one of my most used knives. 3 finger grip, 2.75" blade. I carry it everyday and it does ALL the small tasks. Guess what ? Nowadays, I have mainly small knife tasks to perform....
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To be honest, I also carry a 4" blade in pants pocket, just in case. So, there's that. And a 3" bladed folder for, well, fun.
 
It depends on how thick/tall the handle is.

For example, even though I have four fingers on it, my hand absolutely swallows my Kershaw Launch 8, BT Twist Tighe OTF, and the new Civivi McKenna. But a knife like a pm3, not so much. The McKenna and Tighe are the smallest modern knives I own, I don't think I could go smaller.
 
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