What is your ideal blade length?

CoolBreeze135

CoolBreeze135

Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
376
Hey folks!
I've been testing out several different sizes of knives recently, in an attempt to find my ideal belt knife for the woods. Previously, I was a fan of 4'' blades. Now that I have a little more experience with larger blades, I would probably prefer a 5''-6'' blade if I was only going to have one with me. If I could take 2, it would be a 3.5-4'' blade and a 9-10'' blade. I still really like the feel of that 4'' size though.

What are your opinions on the matter?
 
3" for my edc folder, and about 4" usually for my on the hip fixed blade when camping. Larger things of course, are always readily at hand D
 
4 inches for the woods. I usually also carry a folding saw and hatchet. But I could do just about anything with a full tang 4inch knife.
 
Bigger ones are nice to have to fill in for other tools, but for carrying all day, and performing actual knife tasks in the woods, 4" is just about perfect.
 
For carrying in the woods, just hiking/scounting, I like a 6" blade. For exploring a certain area and won't be going a great distance then I like the BK9/BK24 combo.
 
10.5" blade for a chopping bowie, inside the waistband carry with 20' of rope/thermal blanket wrapping, the whole thing inside two socks.

7.5-8.5" blade/8-9 ounces for a dagger, a ratio achieved with a synthetic handle on a stick tang for shoulder harness carry.

4.5-5" blade for a folder seems good.

Gaston
 
Last edited:
Currently....5.25 for edc, 5.25 for hiking, 9 3/8 for scaring off people I don't like. Literally bk2 all day, almost everyday though for most circumstances


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
That is not such an easy question to answer.

A "woods knife" means so many different things to such a vast variety of woods folk.

Are we talking about a half mile leisurely stroll to stretch ones legs and maybe smoke a cigar? A three day trek? Survival situation? Hunting? Camping? Wood prep? Food Prep?

Maybe the complication of this proposition lies in all that the woods have to offer and the various ways we all get afield.

Putting aside all of the foregoing, as if that were so easily done, we then get to whether or not we are talking about only having one knife, only one fixed blade or what other implements are at our disposal?

All of that said, I really prefer a blade of about 6 to 7 inches - though I rarely carry such a knife and the BK7, wonderfully versatile and functional blade that it is, is one of my least carried. If I were limited to one knife, the BK2, 7 or 10 would be top choices, but I would typically have with me afield a multi-tool, a SAK and, at the very least, a stout folder such as a Sebenza 25 or a BM Adamas.

On to fixed blades, a Mora (I like the Companion HD in carbon steel) is light weight and darned near a must have in the woods; therefore, it almost doesn't even count - you just should have one with you. I am a fan of having on my belt a Tweener (BK15, 16 or 17) AND a larger fixed blade such as a BK4, 5 or 9. For wood processing and heavier work, the BK 4 and 9 are legendary performers but when it comes to the slicing and dicing of camp food prep, my beloved BK5 is best - oh, and it lops and does other wood prep better than it's slicing ability would have you believe. Oh, forgot to mention that a BK11, 14 or 24 should be on your neck - just because.

Notice that in none of this is a BK2, 7 or 10 - versatile and useful though they may be. In fact, a 6 or 7 inch "woods knife' is dandy for many outings with the BK2, 7 or 10 being among my very top choices in that regard.

Did this large circle that I drug any hapless reader on make any sense given that we wound up not too far from where we didn't start?:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
I'm with Salty. There's no easy answer. I read the question as 'which knife would basically perform ALL outdoors, camping and survival chores'. To me the simple answer is there isn't one. However, in my opinion, the blade length that would encompass the most ability to score well at a large and varying degree of tasks would be around 6-6.5in. The blade that comes to mind for me is the BK12. The term 'jack of all trades, master of none' seems like a back-handed compliment but I believe this is the sort of knife that would be a great singular woods knife.

The BK7 is most often touted as the jack of all trades, master of none but as much as I love it I think the slightly shorter BK12 would outshine it in almost all instances. A bigger blade doesn't necessarily mean better when all-purpose is required. Yes, BK9 will chop the living $#!+ out of things brilliantly but will it do fine, small tasks? Yes, but not really well. Will the BK11/14/24 perform fine tasks? Absotively. But it canna chop. The tweeners are much better all-rounders but when you go up in scale just a little more you're vastly covering more bases with a higher degree of efficiency and finesse whilst minimizing the unmanageable. To be honest, when I started looking at knives a few years ago I really was only looking for one knife that would do all that I have mentioned. IF I had have come across the BK12 back then I probably would've ceased to search any further. Thankfully I didn't find it first, and I emphasize thankfully. But I digress. The jack of all trades, master of none size is my ideal size of knife that I would have if I could only have one..

20160524_201848_zpscmxeotvk.jpg
 
I generally EDC a 4" blade in town and 5.5" in the woods.

CoolBreeze135 said:
If I could take 2, it would be a 3.5-4'' blade and a 9-10'' blade.
Click to expand...
That's a pair that beats a full house :thumbup:

I really don't care for 7" blades. Awkward for fine work and not enough reach speed or leverage for heavier chores.
 
3" folder
3" necker
4" belt knife (all arounder)
9-11" chopper
Med-Large hatchet

3-4" blades are what I carry most.
4" being my favorite size in a fixed blade.
 
Whatever the law currently lets me carry is what I carry, unless I'm hanging out in an unregulated area (like the woods) then a 9-12" blade and a 4-5" blade.
 
Like Nikki, I carry a folding saw and a hand axe when out in the woods. So most of the time its the BK16 (love this knife)
If I am just going with a knife, it is the BK7/BK13 combo. But I rarely use that setup any more. I seem to always have my pack.
 
5" long, 3/16" thick.

I've found that combination to tackle just about any issue I've encountered.

Moose
 
all around I like length of the BK2, the thickness is too much for me but the length is about perfect.
 
My preference is a 3"-4" B&T paired with a 5" general utility knife and an 8" to 9" chopper, along with a saw.

In a post-Becker world, my choice would be a BK11 for my small knife, one of the 'tweeners along with the BK9 and my folding saw.

Prior to finding Beckers, I typical carry consisted a Kabar 1232, Western L48A or L48B for my B&T, a Kabar 3/4 or Western L46-5 for my mid-sized blade and either a Western W49 Bowie or a Western L46-8 for the big blade, a hatchet and a small bow saw. There was a reason my pack usually hit 70+ pounds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top