# Sub 3" folded options?



## Surnia (Jun 30, 2010)

Just started looking into knives after picking up a small 2.875" (folded) Black ceramic folder from a guy named Phil Cressman, and I'm finding I have a higher preference to straighter blades. 

What do you guys think of the CRKT H.U.G. II? I know the steel's not that great (420J2), but I have to insist on a knife that's smaller than 3" folded, with a Wharncliffe/leaf blade. The H.U.G. II so far has been the only one that fits the two parameters.

Thanks for your help!

*edit*
title was edited to reflect other options...
Current list is:

AG Russell 3.0 Titanium lockback
Boker Wharcom
Spyderco Spin


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## carrot (Jul 1, 2010)

*Re: CRKT H.U.G. II Opinions?*

I am not a fan of single-sided knives like this one. I find them weak and not trustworthy (eg: easy to fold up on you accidentally).

I would recommend you consider the Boker Wharcom instead, which is a very well-received small folder.


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## wquiles (Jul 1, 2010)

*Re: CRKT H.U.G. II Opinions?*



Surnia said:


> Just started looking into knives after picking up a small 2.875" (folded) Black ceramic folder from a guy named Phil Cressman, and I'm finding I have a higher preference to straighter blades.
> 
> What do you guys think of the CRKT H.U.G. II? I know the steel's not that great (420J2), but I have to insist on a knife that's smaller than 3" folded, with a Wharncliffe/leaf blade. The H.U.G. II so far has been the only one that fits the two parameters.
> 
> Thanks for your help!



I have several of the small electrician/utility (E.O.D) white ceramic knives from Phil and they are AWESOME. He is also very good to work with and easy to communicate with


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## Surnia (Jul 1, 2010)

*Re: CRKT H.U.G. II Opinions?*

I had not noticed the Boker Wharcom, thanks carrot! Any opinions on the AG Russell titanium lockbacks as well? bit more belly, but looks pretty good as well. VG-10 blade too, vs the Wharcom's 440C. 




wquiles said:


> I have several of the small electrician/utility (E.O.D) white ceramic knives from Phil and they are AWESOME. He is also very good to work with and easy to communicate with


I agree, very easy to communicate with! I was debating over the EOD and the GP-1 for the kitchen, and we settled for the GP-1. Excellent for its size, although the GP-1 is rounded up front a bit.


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## wquiles (Jul 1, 2010)

*Re: CRKT H.U.G. II Opinions?*



Surnia said:


> I had not noticed the Boker Wharcom, thanks carrot! Any opinions on the AG Russell titanium lockbacks as well? bit more belly, but looks pretty good as well. VG-10 blade too, vs the Wharcom's 440C.
> 
> 
> 
> I agree, very easy to communicate with! I was debating over the EOD and the GP-1 for the kitchen, and we settled for the GP-1. Excellent for its size, although the GP-1 is rounded up front a bit.



Actually, due to a small mixup in my initial order, I end up with both the EOD and the GP-1 (I bought like 4-5 of them). I like them both for different reasons - just purely subjective, depending on what I am doing.

Will


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## carrot (Jul 1, 2010)

*Re: CRKT H.U.G. II Opinions?*

If you are referring to the A.G. 2.5" titanium lockback I'd say pass. They are nicely made and have excellent steel but are so small I'd use it as a keychain knife only. I would keep it to open packages on my keys and definitely not loose in my pocket. 

Come to think of it you may also like the Spyderco Kiwi, but I don't remember if the new stainless handled one came out yet.


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## Surnia (Jul 1, 2010)

*Re: CRKT H.U.G. II Opinions?*

Actually I was more referring to the 3.0", they seem to have some defect ones that are selling at $26 right now. 

Kiwi looked great, but its a little high on the price point..

*edit*
finding a lot of wharncliffes, but the good steels all are discontinued.... Spyderco Spin looks good, wonder if I can find one...

*second edit* I found a Spyderco Spin for $40 CDN, I'm very tempted to grab that.


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## PCC (Jul 1, 2010)

Have you seen the Kershaw Onion/Centofante (model 1610)? It's discontinued but they're still out there. It's a little bit bigger than your requirements at 3.125" folded but it's a great little linerlock. I bought mine cheap, though I could not find a black one so I ended up with a dark red one.


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## ASheep (Jul 1, 2010)

The Spyderco Kiwi is absolutely superb. Sure it's a little pricey, but it's a nice small VG-10 Wharncliffe blade, with bone scales on a stainless body. Very classy, and hella sharp 
The spin looks nice, but not owning one, I can't really comment.


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## carrot (Jul 1, 2010)

I like the Spin but I found it a bit on the small side for my tastes. Despite the small size it is very easy to handle and easy to control, so it is still one of my favorite small blades. Unfortunately I seem to have misplaced it lately, and I miss it. I like the Cricket a good deal more thanks to its slightly larger size and wicked reverse-S blade, making it an excellent all-around knife for many tasks except food prep.


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## Surnia (Jul 2, 2010)

PCC said:


> Have you seen the Kershaw Onion/Centofante (model 1610)? It's discontinued but they're still out there. It's a little bit bigger than your requirements at 3.125" folded but it's a great little linerlock. I bought mine cheap, though I could not find a black one so I ended up with a dark red one.


Interesting blade, fits a lot of my needs, thanks! I'll keep it in mind.



ASheep said:


> The Spyderco Kiwi is absolutely superb. Sure it's a little pricey, but it's a nice small VG-10 Wharncliffe blade, with bone scales on a stainless body. Very classy, and hella sharp


I agree it look great and does pretty much all I'd want a blade to, but its been discontinued and its hard to find one now (let alone the price >.<)



carrot said:


> I like the Spin but I found it a bit on the small side for my tastes. Despite the small size it is very easy to handle and easy to control, so it is still one of my favorite small blades. Unfortunately I seem to have misplaced it lately, and I miss it. I like the Cricket a good deal more thanks to its slightly larger size and wicked reverse-S blade, making it an excellent all-around knife for many tasks except food prep.


The reverse S is quite interesting and I've been eying the cricket as well... My question is, how do you sharpen that thing? edge maintenance is my only worry with that kind of shape...

I really don't think the size will be an issue, considering my current knife is this:





and I mainly use it like this:


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## yowzer (Jul 2, 2010)

If you can live with being just a tad over 3 inches closed, the Case swayback jack (or gent) is a great little wharncliffe, but 3 it's 1/5 closed. They also make a 2 3/8 inch Tiny Trapper with a wharnie and a clip blade.


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## DonShock (Jul 2, 2010)

It's an oldy but a goody.......

I carry an 80's vintage Cold Steel ClipMate (second from left) on my keychain. It'll tke some serious abuse. The Shinobu (far left) has better steel (San Mai III) but I got a deal on the ClipMate so it's the extra one I have to add to the keychain. The small sizes of these blades are around 1-1/2", but IIRC the medium size blade is only 2-5/8" so that would still be in the under 3" category. And the medium size uses the SM3 steel in both blade styles.


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## carrot (Jul 2, 2010)

The Cricket can be sharpened with Spyderco's Sharpmaker or freehand with a diamond or ceramic rod. You cannot use a regular flat stone, but a small triangular rod like Lansky sells will work just fine.

As for the Kiwi, it looks like New Graham Knives has 22 different variations in stock at the moment. Spyderco makes only one batch of each variation so when a particular version is out of stock, it's gone forever.


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## kaichu dento (Jul 2, 2010)

My favorite sub 3" knife is my Benchmade 705, which is not made anymore, but can be found if searched for. 

A variation of the 705 that I have bought a couple of is the Sequel 707 which has a slightly slimmer aluminum grip in place of the thicker G10 grip on the 705, and the 707 also has a slightly wider blade as well.


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## Surnia (Jul 2, 2010)

yowzer said:


> If you can live with being just a tad over 3 inches closed, the Case swayback jack (or gent) is a great little wharncliffe, but 3 it's 1/5 closed. They also make a 2 3/8 inch Tiny Trapper with a wharnie and a clip blade.


I saw a couple of the case ones, they do look quite nice. any idea on blade materials for them? I can't seem to find any details.



DonShock said:


> It's an oldy but a goody.......
> 
> I carry an 80's vintage Cold Steel ClipMate (second from left) on my keychain. It'll tke some serious abuse. The Shinobu (far left) has better steel (San Mai III) but I got a deal on the ClipMate so it's the extra one I have to add to the keychain. The small sizes of these blades are around 1-1/2", but IIRC the medium size blade is only 2-5/8" so that would still be in the under 3" category. And the medium size uses the SM3 steel in both blade styles.
> *snip*


I do like the sounds of a durable blade, but the belly is a little too much for my preferences. Shinobu looks decent, I'm still split on the tanto blades though... too bad CS doesn't make the smaller ones anymore. Thanks though!



carrot said:


> The Cricket can be sharpened with Spyderco's Sharpmaker or freehand with a diamond or ceramic rod. You cannot use a regular flat stone, but a small triangular rod like Lansky sells will work just fine.
> 
> As for the Kiwi, it looks like New Graham Knives has 22 different variations in stock at the moment. Spyderco makes only one batch of each variation so when a particular version is out of stock, it's gone forever.


I'll have to consider the cricket later then, I'm expanding on flat stones to maintain both the small ceramic knife, as well as the kitchen knives.

Kiwi...... so tempting, but I'll pass until a later date. After tax returns next year maybe? Hope there's another run of them by then. Looks great for general carry, but the blade looks a little too delicate for what I might put it through, and its a little long folded.



kaichu dento said:


> My favorite sub 3" knife is my Benchmade 705, which is not made anymore, but can be found if searched for.
> 
> A variation of the 705 that I have bought a couple of is the Sequel 707 which has a slightly slimmer aluminum grip in place of the thicker G10 grip on the 705, and the 707 also has a slightly wider blade as well.


Thicker is tempting, but the folded length is a little long for my liking. The reason why I want it under 3" is because I plan on actually using that small watch/change pocket on my pants for the knife.


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## kaichu dento (Jul 2, 2010)

Surnia said:


> Thicker is tempting, but the folded length is a little long for my liking. The reason why I want it under 3" is because I plan on actually using that small watch/change pocket on my pants for the knife.


Ooops! I didn't catch the part about total length and was only thinking about blade length!


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## guyg (Jul 2, 2010)

with practice u can use a small blade like the A G 2.5 titanium for alot more than u think. I carried a Buck 425 and except for large stuff did fine.


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## yowzer (Jul 2, 2010)

Surnia said:


> I saw a couple of the case ones, they do look quite nice. any idea on blade materials for them? I can't seem to find any details.



Case doesn't use super steels. Their stainless is similar to Victorinox's in behavior: Sharpens easily to a great edge, but doesn't hold it long. CV is a carbon steel that also takes a great edge and has better edge holding. I have knives using both and they're both more than good enough for my needs.


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## wquiles (Jul 2, 2010)

yowzer said:


> Sharpens easily to a great edge, but doesn't hold it long



That is one of the great things for us as consumers - we have a choice in terms of steel. I for one now days only use the "super" steels - since I own a diamond sharpener, putting an edge on the super steels is not a lot of work, but the best thing (again, for me) is that the edge simply lasts a LONG time. I have knives out of ATS-34, 440C, S30V, BG-42, and now Stainless Damascus, and so far the best one is my older Small Sebenza with BG-42. It is like the Energizer Bunny - it keeps going, and going, and going ... 

Again, it is good to have the choice


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## KC2IXE (Jul 2, 2010)

You didn't mention your price range, but how about something from William Henry Knifes? Say a Kestrel or a Pikatti


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## Surnia (Jul 2, 2010)

kaichu dento said:


> Ooops! I didn't catch the part about total length and was only thinking about blade length!


Hehe no worries, if that pocket could handle a 3" blade I would have picked up a Kershaw Leek as soon as I could.



yowzer said:


> Case doesn't use super steels. Their stainless is similar to Victorinox's in behavior: Sharpens easily to a great edge, but doesn't hold it long. CV is a carbon steel that also takes a great edge and has better edge holding. I have knives using both and they're both more than good enough for my needs.



I work at a Costco during the summer and as much as a great edge makes for easy work, I do need blade durability to handle the packaging and the occasional cardboard box. VG-10 on the Spin tempts me quite a bit, but the Boker design seems a little more durable... although it does use a lower grade steel. Thanks again though! With time I might just pick up both >_> 

*edit* I might just pick up both, Spin for $40 and the Wharcom's $26...



wquiles said:


> That is one of the great things for us as consumers - we have a choice in terms of steel. I for one now days only use the "super" steels - since I own a diamond sharpener, putting an edge on the super steels is not a lot of work, but the best thing (again, for me) is that the edge simply lasts a LONG time. I have knives out of ATS-34, 440C, S30V, BG-42, and now Stainless Damascus, and so far the best one is my older Small Sebenza with BG-42. It is like the Energizer Bunny - it keeps going, and going, and going ...
> 
> Again, it is good to have the choice


I agree, I'm picking up diamond sharpeners to maintain my ceramic blade as well, so the harder steels aren't much of a concern for me!



KC2IXE said:


> You didn't mention your price range, but how about something from William Henry Knifes? Say a Kestrel or a Pikatti


...They look amazing, but I fear looking at their price tags. Also seems excessive for Costco packaging!


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## KC2IXE (Jul 3, 2010)

Ah, let's put it this way, NOT inexpensive - they start at $500 for the plain models, and go UP, fast - plenty there with $1000 to $1200 price tag

I DID say you didn't mention a budget...


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## gpjoe (Jul 3, 2010)

My current favorite small knife is the Spyderco Ladybug.

It meets all of your requirements size-wise, comes in both FRN and stainless steel handles, and it's also reasonably priced. I'm not an expert on steel but the Ladybug is VG10, which I understand is supposed to be decent.

I tied a short piece of paracord with a lanyard knot to mine and it gives me a little more purchase when deploying the blade.

Really a nice, sharp little knife at a great price, and for me it's 'work friendly'.


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## carrot (Jul 3, 2010)

By the way, as far as I'm aware the Kiwi is *done*, and the last model to be made is one in stainless, but that one will not be a limited edition.


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## Surnia (Jul 4, 2010)

KC2IXE said:


> Ah, let's put it this way, NOT inexpensive - they start at $500 for the plain models, and go UP, fast - plenty there with $1000 to $1200 price tag
> 
> I DID say you didn't mention a budget...


just a little out of my range. Just a little.... >_>



carrot said:


> By the way, as far as I'm aware the Kiwi is *done*, and the last model to be made is one in stainless, but that one will not be a limited edition.


I will have to skip out then, far too high of an expense that I can't justify. Thanks again for all your help carrot!



gpjoe said:


> My current favorite small knife is the Spyderco Ladybug.
> 
> It meets all of your requirements size-wise, comes in both FRN and stainless steel handles, and it's also reasonably priced. I'm not an expert on steel but the Ladybug is VG10, which I understand is supposed to be decent.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the suggestion, although I do think there's a bit too much belly on the ladybug. I like the idea of the paracord though, and your post led me to googling the ladybug and spydercollector's idea of attaching a classic SD victorinox as an extension/extra toolset. At the moment I believe I will take this route! thanks!

With that, my hunt (for now.... The wharcom still sits on the horizon) ends with a Spyderco Spin + Classic SD victorinox attached. Should solve the issue of it being too small to handle with, while also adding some multi-tool functionality.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions and help!


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## hatman (Jul 13, 2010)

Check out the Spyderco Dragonfly.

Just about 3" closed. Light weight. VG10 steel (that's good!).

There are several versions. The FRN model is the cheapest and lightest. There's also a more expensive model with G10 handles that I seriously covet.......

A super little big knife.


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## Incidentalist (Jul 15, 2010)

Although you have said no, I cannot recommend enough the Spyderco Kiwi. I generally edc two knives. One is a small Sebenza as my 'larger' knife and then I carry a smaller knife in my other pocket (with my light ). My two favorite smaller knives to carry are the Kiwi or an Benchmade Auto Benchmite. The Kiwi just fits the hand so well and the wharncliffe blade is perfect for opening up packages. If the last version is going to be a SS run, I'd expect the price to be under $100 and at that price it is well worth it. Then again, Spyderco makes some of the best production knives available and you're not really going to go wrong with any of them especially where quality is concerned. 

Another option is the HD 13300 that Benchmade makes for Harley Davidson. I'm a huge fan of the Benchmite series and these are the latest variation of that line. They are larger than the regular (discontinued) Benchmite/BenchmiteII, but they still fit your requirements. They offer two versions and the one I mentioned above is a modified wharncliffe/tanto blade. I think if would fill your needs. :thumbsup:

http://www.benchmade.com/products/13300


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