Large knife or small knife

[santaman2000]

I know the subject has been done to death but I'm not going to ask which you prefer. I have a different question to ask about the subject. What do you consider to be a small knife? At what size does it become a medium (average) knife? At what size does it become a large knife? So there you have it; 3 sizes, small medium and large. What are your definitions for the distinction?

 

[Puddock]

Small knife = 3" or less
Medium knife = 3" to 6"
Large knife = 6" or more

 

[ex-member Raikey]

yep,,,,pretty much that ,...

 

[Xunil]

Interesting question as long as folks don't jump all over it unnecessarily.

Since "small" will include anything below that like, for example, very small, smallish, tiny, twee, while "large" will, well, you get the idea...

Small: sub 5"

Med: 5 - 10"

Large: above 10"

Rationale: when talking Bowies and Kukris, (ignoring Machetes for this discussion) and a whole lot of variations of chefs knives and so on, anything under 10 inches is not considered large by any standard.

Medium working knives have included all kinds of patterns from leather-stacked or Rosewood scales Sheffield Bowies (remember those ? ) to Green River knives which tended to sport a blade of at least 5 1/2" to 6" and I also include Leuku knives and most current and recent history military issue knives in the medium bracket.

Smaller knives can be tiny right through the spectrum of Loveless 4" drop point hunters to a Puma Skinner, at just under 5", and which still manages to be slim and very, very workable.

I think most folks will answer this with their Mora/Woodlore/Woodlore clone/Scandi bushcraft hat on and not take working knives in general into account which cover a very wide range of applications in a great many formats and designs.

And since I mentioned Green River knives, anyone who hasn't tried one ought to do themselves the favour, especially if you process a lot of beasts (deer culler for example) - it would probably revolutionise your entire thought process on what makes a working knife a working knife.

 

[santaman2000]

Generally I meant excluding special purpose knives (such as chefs' knives, fish filleting knives, etc.) and was only asking about general purpose/working knives so you're on track with that assumption. I was hoping to include bushcraft, hunting and general working knives (I think bowies or some variation fits into this category although it does not define the category) I am hoping for input from bushcrafters obviously since this is a bushcraft forum but an also hoping for input from those with peripheral interests such as you mentioned.

BTW I have never tried a Green River as such but it looks much like a butchers' knife and I definitely like those.

 

[Xunil]

I was seriously lucky as a kid when my late father brought a Puma White Hunter back home for me, much to my mother's chagrin - she later threw it out to try and curb my interest in all things sharp

OK, I was 8 when I was first given it, but that was still very obviously flawed logic...



A lot of people think the Puma White Hunter is a big knife. On paper (or on a web page) it looks like it is, and it certainly packs a punch.

To me though, it more or less epitomises a medium outdoors knife at 6" blade length. It can out-punch a lot of small hatchets easily and can certainly do a lot of stuff that a hatchet could only dream of.

I used to use smaller knives with a finer point for carving and anything particularly tricky but for close on 8 years the Puma White Hunter was my mainstay for all hunting, fishing, trapping and generally-getting-up-to-no-good in the great outdoors.

Social acceptability forms as much a part of perception and argument on this issue which is a relatively modern slant and has little to do with how a knife actually works in the field.

Ironic that when my dad was in the scouts part of his basic kit list included a knife and a staff - how we've 'progressed'...

 

[HillBill]

 

[santaman2000]

I was seriously lucky as a kid when my late father brought a Puma White Hunter back home for me, much to my mother's chagrin - she later threw it out to try and curb my interest in all things sharp

OK, I was 8 when I was first given it, but that was still very obviously flawed logic...



A lot of people think the Puma White Hunter is a big knife. On paper (or on a web page) it looks like it is, and it certainly packs a punch.

To me though, it more or less epitomises a medium outdoors knife at 6" blade length. It can out-punch a lot of small hatchets easily and can certainly do a lot of stuff that a hatchet could only dream of.

I used to use smaller knives with a finer point for carving and anything particularly tricky but for close on 8 years the Puma White Hunter was my mainstay for all hunting, fishing, trapping and generally-getting-up-to-no-good in the great outdoors.

Social acceptability forms as much a part of perception and argument on this issue which is a relatively modern slant and has little to do with how a knife actually works in the field.

Ironic that when my dad was in the scouts part of his basic kit list included a knife and a staff - how we've 'progressed'...

Don't want to change the thread but when you say "staff" are you refering to a hiking staff? Those are coming back into popularity over here, albeit they are commercial aluminum staffs resembling ski poles.

 

[Xunil]

Sort of. These were stout wooden poles where 2 could be employed as a stretcher, so I guess they would have been about 5 feet long or so.

 

[santaman2000]

I was seriously lucky as a kid when my late father brought a Puma White Hunter back home for me, much to my mother's chagrin - she later threw it out to try and curb my interest in all things sharp ...

Did she actually throw it out or give/sell it to someone? Those knives list for over $200 now. I know they would have been cheaper then but I'm sure it would have still been proportional to the income of the day.

 

[santaman2000]

A lot of people think the Puma White Hunter is a big knife. On paper (or on a web page) it looks like it is, and it certainly packs a punch.

To me though, it more or less epitomises a medium outdoors knife at 6" blade length. It can out-punch a lot of small hatchets easily and can certainly do a lot of stuff that a hatchet could only dream of.

I used to use smaller knives with a finer point for carving and anything particularly tricky but for close on 8 years the Puma White Hunter was my mainstay for all hunting, fishing, trapping and generally-getting-up-to-no-good in the great outdoors. ...

The White Hunter was certainly a very well thought out design. It's a lot of knife; not quite, but almost as much knife as a Khukuri in a more compact package.

 

[British Red]

If it only didn't have that silly serrated bit just where you want it least........

 

[John Fenna]

If it only didn't have that silly serrated bit just where you want it least........

That polishes out easily - not like the huge serrations on some knives...

 

[John Fenna]

Small knife = 3" or less
Medium knife = 3" to 6"
Large knife = 6" or more

That gets my vote!

 

[santaman2000]

If it only didn't have that silly serrated bit just where you want it least........

If only they weren't so expensive.

 

[Xunil]

If only my blimmin mother hadn't thrown mine out..

This is where I really wish eBay still allowed we Brits to bid on and buy knives.

Vintage Puma White Hunters are offered regularly and I can't get my hands on them

 

[santaman2000]

If only my blimmin mother hadn't thrown mine out..

This is where I really wish eBay still allowed we Brits to bid on and buy knives.

Vintage Puma White Hunters are offered regularly and I can't get my hands on them

I checked ebay here today. They're going for more than I thought. The lowest bid I saw was $185 for one in terrible shape. Up to over $300 at the other end.

 

[Xunil]

The asking price is academic to me since we in the UK aren't allowed to bid on and buy knives through eBay

 

[Greg]

I suppose there is the question of how big one's hands are aswell, In a small hand a leuku or similar would be a large knife but in say Ogri's or Sapper's hands it would probably be a medium.
But not to get too pedantic about it, I would go with the Xunil's point of view!

 

[Mistwalker]

Small knife = 4" or less
Medium knife = 4" to 7"
Large knife = 7" or more