Is three inches enough?

NJBillK said:
With This many people preferring this size blade/handle combo, why is the DPx Heat as uncommon as it seems to be?
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Maybe it's the owner of the company. ;)

I'm just fine with 2.5-3.5 inches. 4 inches on an edc is a bit much because I do a lot of tip work and I feel like I lose where the point is on a long knife. Blade shape has an important part to play here too IME. A belly like on the izula makes the knife seem small whereas the same length of edge on a delica or even a sak seems plentiful. When I go small I lean heavily toward semi-wharncliffe/sheepsfoot blade profiles.
 
EChoil said:
That's 33% more blade:

Slicing cleanly through a 3.5" Apple. And much better for a melon or attempting a watermelon.

Slicing longer feathers on a longer stick.

Slicing something tough with that extra inch--radiator hose, etc.

Last of the mayonnaise.

.....Makes things just a little easier sometimes.
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This is an honest question here.

When I featherstick, I don't move the blade (its a push cut, not a slice). Is slicing for feathersticks common? Or am I the weird one here?
 
biggest issue with small knives neck knives etc is not the blade its the handle
You nailed it - just as important no matter what the blade length - but it does seem to me, with shorter blades, the handle shape & length is very critical.
The Bushbaby knives Sonnydaze posted seem to have come up with a very good design. (Although I have never fondled one)
 
ocnLogan said:
This is an honest question here.

When I featherstick, I don't move the blade (its a push cut, not a slice). Is slicing for feathersticks common? Or am I the weird one here?
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I have done both. I find that it depends on the condition of the edge primarily.
As the knife dulls, it often requires requires the slicing to impart a wedge effect and comparatively lower friction since the blade isn't being pushed straight through the medium, but essentially going through it diagonally.
This also allows the dulled edge to rip at the medium versus trying to get a blunted edge to bite and push cleanly through a (usually) dry wooden object.
 
A 3" blade will do the vast majority of tasks required by the average person.

The only real issue is the handle size relative to the blade length. (Obviously more of an issue with folders.)
 
Is three inches enough?

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4"blade and 9" overall work just fine for me in most every case.
 
A 2.75" cutting edge (on a 3" blade) will handle most of the cutting tasks upon which a folder will be called to perform. There really isn't much a longer blade can do without becoming cumbersome to carry.

Captain O
 
3" is almost always plenty for day to day needs. I prefer 3.25," but there really isn't a particular reason for it :)
 
ocnLogan said:
This is an honest question here.

When I featherstick, I don't move the blade (its a push cut, not a slice). Is slicing for feathersticks common? Or am I the weird one here?
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I've seen people do both. IMO, slicing is more efficient but push cutting gives you better control.
 
johnnytoxin said:
I have a question regarding folding knives that I can't seem to find a good answer for: What tasks can a 4" blade perform that a 3" can't? Anyone care to comment?
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I'd rather haul out my 4" Benchmade model 710...than my 3" Sage2...at the lunch table when I want to cut up my apple and sandwich.
Other than that? 4" goes deeper into Zombies?

...and STABMAN? Hey, man, I just love my TUFF also. Good show, friend. We need our ice cream cake!
 
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Whatever sells better is better.
On another hand if you make it for yourself you just can not go wrong doing whatever you like!
As for my own personal preferences for folders and fixed blades they were moving with time and in the opposite direction: to smaller blades for folders and to bigger knives for fixed.
 
I have no problems with 3" blades, what I've found though that keeps me going more toward 3.5" blades in folding knives is that many knives with 3" blades also have short handles which I find in many cases uncomfortable. So I have no problem with a 3" blade but I want a 4.25"-4.5" handle length to go with it. That's not that popular simply because it increases the size/weight of the knife and if you have that much handle you might as well have more blade too.
 
3 inches is plenty for routine EDC tasks. If you're out in the woods living off the land and building shelters and such, yeah, carry a bigger fixed blade. If you're planning on getting into a knife fight with Jean Claude Van Damme, you should...reconsider your plans, really, but if you insist, then yeah, carry a bigger knife. But for normal day to day tasks, a 3 inch folder is plenty.
 
I like blades of 3" and up for many EDC tasks, but I could get by with under-3". In decades past, most large stockman pocketknives that many hard-working men used every day had a sub-3" main blade.

Jim
 
Sonnydaze said:
I'd rather haul out my 4" Benchmade model 710...than my 3" Sage2...at the lunch table when I want to cut up my apple and sandwich.
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I don't get the apple thing. I prefer to quarter my apples so I just slide the knife halfway through and cut. Give the apple a quarter turn and repeat. Doing it this way gives me the quarters I want and I don't have to worry about my fingers on the other side of the apple. Also, if you do one slice at a time, the apple wont brown on you. You could also just eat the apple whole. Sandwich too. ;)
 
The only thing negative about shorter blades is with continued use they dull quicker. With less edge to work with you use more of it. For shorter blades get a better edge retaining steel and be prepared to sharpen more. For a pocket knife 3" is fine fixed or folder. In any steel it's quick to sharpen because there is less to sharpen. If you do demanding work avoid the chippy steels like S30V and use a good working steel like the 8cr13mov class of steels or AUS8 that hold great edges and are easy to sharpen.

In a fixed heavy working blade I prefer around 4". The extra length will give that small edge in edge life. Just my preference developed over the years.
 
Shotgun said:
I don't get the apple thing. I prefer to quarter my apples so I just slide the knife halfway through and cut. Give the apple a quarter turn and repeat. Doing it this way gives me the quarters I want and I don't have to worry about my fingers on the other side of the apple. Also, if you do one slice at a time, the apple wont brown on you. You could also just eat the apple whole. Sandwich too. ;)
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I agree with this. I've even cut up large apples with the main blade on my little Victorinox Executive...I think it's only a hair over 2" long. Not necessarily my first choice for that task, but easy enough if you turn the apple as you're cutting. And the blade didn't get messy, either. A 3" blade is even easier if you use the same technique.

Jim
 
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