What’s your favorite large folder with 4 inch or greater blade?

C

ChrisO

Joined
Feb 25, 2020
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Hi, I’ve been on a quest for the perfect large folding knife for Alaskan hunting and general outdoors use for a few years now, ever since reading about a hunter who sliced his leg badly with his belt carried fixed blade when his wheeler got away from him. For my use, and what I’ve found so far, a 4” blade is pretty much the minimum that works for me. I’m wondering which knives I may have missed in my search so far. If your willing to share your opinions, experiences with me I’d sure appreciate it.
 
For me a 4 inch blade is the longest folder I'd carry and don't have many over 3.5"
After 4" a fixed blade seems like the thing to carry especially if you're way out in the bush. Fixed wont break as easily in most cases.

My favorite large folders I'd consider for that kind of use would
CRK Umnumzaan, Inkosi, or Sebenza
Microtech Socom Elite
Spyderco Endura

Only the microtech has a 4 " blade the others are a little over 3.5"

Seems like the thing to do would be to find a more durable and secure sheath for a fixed blade like tight fitting kydex with additional straps.
 
Microtech socom elite, real steel megalodon, spyderco native chief, spyderco military, spyderco police, spyderco endura, zt 0452, bestech swordfish, cold steel recon 1, all favorites of mine. Im sure im forgetting some other good ones. All 4"+ except the endura.

I would recommend the endura, police, native chief, or military if you want to go with a folder. All on washers, all relatively lightweight for their size, and 3 are lockbacks. millie can be had in liner lock or framelocks.
 
Edgeoflife said:
Microtech socom elite, real steel megalodon, spyderco native chief, spyderco military, spyderco police, spyderco endura, zt 0452, bestech swordfish, cold steel recon 1, all favorites of mine. Im sure im forgetting some other good ones. All 4"+ except the endura.
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Yeah come to think of it Spyderco makes quite a few 4" folders that work and feel more like a folder. So often longer blades are also ground from thicker stock or at least have thicker geometry which IMO hinders cutting performance and adds weight unnecessarily.
 
Korean Hog said:
For me a 4 inch blade is the longest folder I'd carry and don't have many over 3.5"
After 4" a fixed blade seems like the thing to carry especially if you're way out in the bush. Fixed wont break as easily in most cases.

My favorite large folders I'd consider for that kind of use would
CRK Umnumzaan, Inkosi, or Sebenza
Microtech Socom Elite
Spyderco Endura

Only the microtech has a 4 " blade the others are a little over 3.5"

Seems like the thing to do would be to find a more durable and secure sheath for a fixed blade like tight fitting kydex with additional straps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I’ve been studying on the CRK ones, I wish I could find one somewhere here in Alaska to actually get my hands on before spending a lot to find I don’t like it. I’ve been eyeing that endura too;) one of the best I’ve found so far is the Spyderco 4” Military, and I’ve even been able to find a couple in orange, which seems to help me keep track of them a bit better in the bush;) I haven’t checked out the Socom Elite yet, so especially thanks for that tip. And also, thanks for the kydex comment, sometimes I can’t see the forest for the trees... you seen right through it, the fellow I mentioned had a leather sheath... still, a folder is a pretty handy option, and the well made 4” or longer ones don’t lack much compared to the traditional hunting knives I grew up carrying, in fact they may surpass the traditional hunters in some aspects! Thanks again for the info, gotta go look at some Socom Elites and Kydex sheaths now!
 
Grandpa Peter's and Grandma Betty's said:
Have you seen the 4" ~ 4 Max by Cold Steel ~ it's a Strong & Stout Folder that would have no problems for what you are wanting to use it as ~ " Skinning & Such " it's pretty expensive though ~ $500 - $600

You can get the Scout 4 Max "Scout" for a lot cheaper without not much compromise ~ $129.00
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Thanks for the advice! I actually do have a couple of the 4 Max (I’m the gear buyer for myself, my son and son in law, brother and brother in law, dad and father in law too boot!). But it kind of lost out due to its weight compared to say the Spyderco Military. I’ve been looking at the “scout” though, cause I think it’s a tad lighter weight than the 4max... I’ll look a bit more closely at it now that you’ve brought it back to my attention. Thanks again!
 
ChrisO said:
Thanks for the info, I’ve been studying on the CRK ones, I wish I could find one somewhere here in Alaska to actually get my hands on before spending a lot to find I don’t like it. I’ve been eyeing that endura too;) one of the best I’ve found so far is the Spyderco 4” Military, and I’ve even been able to find a couple in orange, which seems to help me keep track of them a bit better in the bush;) I haven’t checked out the Socom Elite yet, so especially thanks for that tip. And also, thanks for the kydex comment, sometimes I can’t see the forest for the trees... you seen right through it, the fellow I mentioned had a leather sheath... still, a folder is a pretty handy option, and the well made 4” or longer ones don’t lack much compared to the traditional hunting knives I grew up carrying, in fact they may surpass the traditional hunters in some aspects! Thanks again for the info, gotta go look at some Socom Elites and Kydex sheaths now!
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If you get a SOCOM Elite I'd get the manual.
I have an auto and it's awesome and fun and all but opening and closing a hard firing auto all day for work gets old.
While I'll crawl around attics, roofs, and whatever else with it in my pocket spine against a seam always, I wouldn't personally carry an auto/ otf opening knife for atv or motorcycle riding.
For stuff like that I'd rather keep a fixed blade sheathed up tight and in a pack and keep like a little Spyderco Dragonfly or even ladybug in the pocket.
 
Grandpa Peter's and Grandma Betty's said:
The Opinel Roll Lock ~ Made in France is a Great Knife ~ and for the same price you could purchases roughly 55 or more....there around $9.00 ~ ;) these Opinel knives have Razor Sharp Blades made of Carbon Steel ~View attachment 1293564
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Is that roll lock pretty solid? The one thing I don’t like about those Spyderco Military ones is that liner lock... it just looks too similar to that lock that was on my old schrade that I mentioned, the one that folded up on my fingers and cut the heck out of me. The same goes for those Lone Wolf Harsey Tactical folders I bought, in fact, I’ve even had them fold back on me a couple times just playing with them. I actually have a hard time trusting the true frame locks in that respect too, although I can sure see that they are much stouter, and engage more fully on the Spartans and Hinderers we have been trying. I guess that’s one other advantage of the Cold Steels you mentioned earlier, that lockback system they use seems like maybe the most solid I’ve seen. Thanks again! (Again!)
 
The Scout is actually listed heavier than the 4-max by an ounce, 10.2 vs. 9.2. Either one is more than double a Military, but it’s worth the extra weight IMO. Still too much for you, then the CS Recon 1 is a 4”, dependable knife only about an ounce more than the Mille. Starting to split hairs much beyond that.
 
Edgeoflife said:
Microtech socom elite, real steel megalodon, spyderco native chief, spyderco military, spyderco police, spyderco endura, zt 0452, bestech swordfish, cold steel recon 1, all favorites of mine. Im sure im forgetting some other good ones. All 4"+ except the endura.

I would recommend the endura, police, native chief, or military if you want to go with a folder. All on washers, all relatively lightweight for their size, and 3 are lockbacks. millie can be had in liner lock or framelocks.
Click to expand...

Awesome! I can tell I gotta check out that Microtech socom elite for sure! I have yet to get a chance to look at it, that bestie has swordfish, or the real steel megalodon. My son and i actually used some spyderco military and a zt 0452 on a caribou hunt a couple months ago. The Spyderco wound up getting carried more commonly, the ZT left in the pack until we wound up butchering, when it came out it got used a lot, and both it and the Spyderco’s performed admirably! Thanks for the info!
 
Korean Hog said:
Yeah come to think of it Spyderco makes quite a few 4" folders that work and feel more like a folder. So often longer blades are also ground from thicker stock or at least have thicker geometry which IMO hinders cutting performance and adds weight unnecessarily.
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I agree there for sure, seems like the thickness on those Military’s is plenty thick for my purposes.
 
Korean Hog said:
If you get a SOCOM Elite I'd get the manual.
I have an auto and it's awesome and fun and all but opening and closing a hard firing auto all day for work gets old.
While I'll crawl around attics, roofs, and whatever else with it in my pocket spine against a seam always, I wouldn't personally carry an auto/ otf opening knife for atv or motorcycle riding.
For stuff like that I'd rather keep a fixed blade sheathed up tight and in a pack and keep like a little Spyderco Dragonfly or even ladybug in the pocket.
Click to expand...

Holy smokes YES! Thanks for reminding me of that “auto” trait! I’ve put them Lone Wolf Harseys in the drawer after having them open up too many times in my pocket;(
 
Blue Sky said:
The Scout is actually listed heavier than the 4-max by an ounce, 10.2 vs. 9.2. Either one is more than double a Military, but it’s worth the extra weight IMO. Still too much for you, then the CS Recon 1 is a 4”, dependable knife only about an ounce more than the Mille. Starting to split hairs much beyond that.
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I guess my memory failed me on the weight of the scout there! I think I got it confused with the Recon maybe;(. And yes, even at the high end of the weight spectrum, comparing to the traditional knives I grew up with (and some of which still remain in my butchering kit to this day!) it’s splitting hairs!

Reminds me of when my airplane mechanics told me I could get a lightweight starter installed for a thousand bucks and lighten up the plane by 10 pounds, his helper stepped back, looked over my dapper outline, and assuaged that he might know of other, less expensive ways to lighten up that plane by 10 pounds;). I gotta admit, in my case a few ounces saved on a knife is about like trying to save the titanic from sinking by throwing a deck chair over the side;)
 
ChrisO said:
Awesome! I can tell I gotta check out that Microtech socom elite for sure! I have yet to get a chance to look at it, that bestie has swordfish, or the real steel megalodon. My son and i actually used some spyderco military and a zt 0452 on a caribou hunt a couple months ago. The Spyderco wound up getting carried more commonly, the ZT left in the pack until we wound up butchering, when it came out it got used a lot, and both it and the Spyderco’s performed admirably! Thanks for the info!
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Yw. The socom elite is an amazing tank of a knife designed for hard use but ground reasonably thin at the edge then thickens towards the tip. 4" of premium super steel and a rock solid lockup. Carries well for its size and is very well made in the USA. Love mine and Worth every penny.

I threw the Bestech swordfish in there as a good budget option. Offers a lot for the money but wont break the bank if lost and comes in several colors of g10 including orange with 4" of D2 and carries well for its size. I own a few of them and love it for what it is.
 
Grandpa Peter's and Grandma Betty's said:
As far as the Opinel's they are great knives although they weren't made for heavy duty utility - the locking system is sturdy but being made of wood it is still breakable...….now some knives are being manufactured to be as good as mini pry-bars so their out there - another knife to consider is the time tested and true Buck 110 it is a sturdy lockblade and has a blade that measures 3" 3/4 and these knives are guaranteed for life " meaning anything ever happens to them (even if the user misused and abused it and it was their own fault) the factory will replace it for free "no questions asked" ~ I'm not going to pretend to know much about all them other knives because I do not know much about the tactical folding knife world - I have caught wind of Cold Steel knives and their reputation though and they supposedly make really strong knives - I would carry a Buck myself ~ But I am old Fashioned ~ I really like the Opinel's too ~
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I had forgotten about that buck warranty! We do have several of the 110’s, but with modern hunting gear the old fashioned leather belt seems to have largely disappeared (I still am old fashioned enough to wear one with my woolies in the wintertime though!) the new knives with the pocket clips win out almost every time when it comes to EDC in the woods, at least with what I’ve seen from our family members anyway) I doubt those 110’s will ever get completely removed from the butchering kit!
 
jfk1110 said:
Love.my Emerson super cqc 8!!View attachment 1293572
Most of the super models are 4+ inches. this is 4.25" !!!
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I honestly didn’t know they made a 4” knife! I’ll have to do some better searching!

Also, your photo does call to mind that longer blade length isn’t the “only” useful trait in a hunting / butchering knife! Thanks!
 
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