And my man draws a line in the sand! I stated elsewhere me likey big knifey, but I tend to reach for my 4hm or Izzy ii. I want a 2.5, because I've seen Shane use his, and I saw what he is talking about at an intro class. All us older devilishly handsome guys remember we started writing with laddie pencils and big chief tablets before we moved to one of those sleek little bic ball points. You know, the ones with the plastic tops that you could pull the ink tube out of and shoot spitballs at little Patti Pigtails? Point is, I don't think you necessarily move to a smaller blade as you become more experienced, so much as you tend to know which blade works best for you, in your situation. @shaneadams90 , does your use of the GB6HM ( to the point of wearing off the finish) mean you are regressing in your skill level?
Things keeping me from buying a cr2.5: 1. My wife 2. My wife steals neat little knives from me. 3. My wife will "borrow it." For a long time.... 4. My wife. She'll tell me I don't need another knife. Just before she steals it from me..... Reading back through this, I've found the common denominator. I don't hide my knives well enough...
Other than cheap ass machetes, I almost never use a large knife any more, almost everything I own has a blade 4” or less. If I need something larger I’ve got my Junglas under the seat of my truck, and an axe close at hand. My Helle Nying is the one small fixed blade I always seem to come back to, it definitely gets used more than any of my other fixed blades (the RC-3 a close second). The blade is a small 2 3/4”, and the triple laminated steel is easy to keep razor sharp, but the best part is the ergonomics of the curly birch handles; it just feel perfect in my hand. The sheath is also a work of art. It only weighs 2.6 oz (4oz with sheath).
Regressing?....that's assuming I had skill to begin with! ....I guess my point in all of this was to make people think a little more, or at least examine the acquisition of skill and less about gear.... Like most, I came to ESEE thru their bigger knives...in my case the Laser Strike...it was my first ESEE. Then a E4, then a class knife E3.....like everyone I LOVED the big blades and still do...It wasn't till I got on the cadre side of things and got to watch class after class and student after student that I made the observations initially stated. Then I decided to challenge myself....I began to strip down some gear, essential gear, to force me outside my comfort (or convience) zone and it was liberating......I had already been thinking about this and almost just Brought an Izula for my field survival class. Deliberately "handicapping" myself forced me to improvise and develop skill and it's been an interesting process for me and honestly has reshaped a lot of my thinking... I just wanted to put something out there that would cause people to think about exactly how many cutting tasks we generally perform and evaluate what those tasks are and see if it changes perception at all..
Awesome blade! Got to mess around with one once, I didn't like the looks of it but in hand I "got it".
@shaneadams90 : Exactly what I meant. I think a lot of us started with bigger knives, learned how to use small ones, then found what we were most comfortable with overall. And that experience allows us to use any knife to it's fullest potential. I'm still fascinated by that danged libertariat. Sometimes I think I'm the only one in the world that doesn't see it as a novelty. As a side note...did you know if you put a reeeeeaaallyy nice edge on a libertariat, it cuts through tomato vines? And buries in the railroad ties of the elevated bed before it hits your leg? And will cut through chicken wire with a single swing? Yep...as the wife confessed to the big nick in the blade...
Another excellent example of moderate blade/full handle is the LT Wright 'Next Gen'. It's a 3" blade but with a handle that allows it to do some serious work.
#1 Reason I carry a CR2.5 is the size. I have had folks go all sheeple on me over even a IZULA BUT they don’t seem to bat a eye at the 2.5. While @Bushman5 makes a good point about the larger sized knives I could NeVER get away with carrying them around. If for no other good or logical reason I always seem to have more fun with the smaller blades.. I have found myself looking for something to do while waiting and pulling at a small knife and grabbing something just to whittle or cut up to kill the time. A additional reason I like to carry small knives is if I choice to let someone borrow a knife. While I would feel comfortable doing quick tasks such as opening mail, removing tags, cutting up boxes, opening packages etc with a larger knife.. I sure as heck would not let someone borrow anything bigger then a Izula yo accomplish those same tasks. I have for a while now not owned a Blade bigger then a ESEE 4. My Kabar might be slightly longer but it is more of a story piece and not used. I also don’t think I’ll buy another knife that is bigger. If anything I might buy a libertariat but nothing in between.
I second this. In the kitchen long and thin rules. Although a 5" is good an 8" is better and a 10" is just about perfect. My cutting board edges go 10"-14" and from 5/32" to 3/32". Man I'm making myself hungry...bring on the meat!!
I've always preferred knives smaller than 3.5" and honeslty regret every dollar I've ever spent on anything larger, with the exception of 12" machetes. I can't think of a single time in my life where I would have been better served with a larger blade. Smaller knives will do anything and everything that I personally need them to and fit into my daily coming and goings without issue. My sweet spot is 2.5 to 3.25. Anything smaller and I generally won't carry it unless legally required restricted to it (schools).
When I first started buying knives, just a few years ago, I wanted the biggest and best I could get. I've owned almost all the esee knives, with the exception of any of the camplore ones, and at first didn't like the esee 3 or the way it looked. After getting one though, it quickly became my favorite knife and the one I've used the most. Someday I'd like to try the jg3 or rb3. I just wish the rb3 had the handle of the jg3.
I have knives of all sizes that I like to play with, but when it's time to get some work done I carry a machete and a folder.
My four small knives that get the most love... Busse Skeleton Key Busse Active Duty Scrapyard 311 Izula2
