Small pocket knife recommendations?

[maxman]

Good evening everyone,

I'm in the market for a small pocket knife.
The size of a Buck Cadet.

I'm not looking for anything bigger.

So far, I've been looking at:
Buck Cadet
Case small Stockman
Gerber STL (I dunno about this one)

I've read that the Buck and the Case are near identical in quality and not to bother with Case as you'll pay twice as much for nothing.

What do you all think?

 

[camjr]

Case Peanut

 

[Sled Dog]

There are a lot of nice, well made knives out there...I think some of the nicest are made by Great Eastern Cutlery
http://greateasterncutlery.net/blog/

 

[Legion]

My small knife which I carry at work (so it has to be as small and innocuous as possible) is a Case baby butterbean with bonestag scales. I think they are worth the extra.

 

[Deltaboy]

A case Barlow will fit the bill.

 

[noelekal]

Retirement accessories about town. I second the suggestion about the Case Butterbean. It's a very sturdy little knife for its size. The knife doesn't eat pockets with its canoe shape. The stainless steel blades hold an edge quite well and are easy to touch up to shaving sharp on a steel.

 

[Miles]

Here's a Case mini copperhead with wharncliffe main blade. It's a really great small knife that just disappears in the pocket. As for the Case peanut, I find it to be just too small and have too much of a snap for such a tiny knife. As for a comparison between Buck and Case, there have been folks more knowledgeable than I who have bickered over just that question for years, decades or more. As for me, I found the finish on my Buck 307 to be rather rough in comparison to my Case knives, though both work great when used regularly for the tasks they were designed. Fine one that looks and feels right to you, get it and use the hell out of it.

I also recommend a Case sway back jack with CV steel (unless you prefer stainless). Here's a pic that someone else posted of the SBJ:

 

[MrMurphy]

Spyderco Mouse or Copilot.

 

[Mike H]

Lots of great choices. The Case Gents, Swayback, Barlow and Med Stockman are great all around knives.
If your looking for something a bit smaller maybe one of these...


On the left
Small Stockman
Mini Copperhead LE
Mini Copperhead w/ Warncliff blade
Half Whittler

On the right
Butterbean
Jack
Gunstock
Eisenhower

 

[Niles]

I love my Case mini copperheads (I have two of them). I also love the Case small pen knife.

 

[JonJeffman]

I'm not much of a pocket knife guy so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but have you looked at a douk douk knife? I picked one up at Lee Valley and find I'm using it all the time now. Keeps the best edge of any pocket knife I've used, and folds really flat so it's unobtrusive in your pocket.

 

[joshuastar]

i picked up an older 1970's model Buck 305, made in the USA. it's small enough to fit in the 5th pocket of my jeans (you know the really small useless pocket?) without preventing me from getting things in and out of the bigger pocket, but it stays sharp enough to take care of anything I'd use a pocket knife to do.

 

[Bhollo]

I have several pocket knives and keep coming back to my Gerber Mini-Fast Draw (22-41525, I think). It is not much to look at but gets the job done and the size is perfect for me.

 

[kbuzbee]

My absolute favorite small knife these days is a Spyderco Balance carbon fibre. The ergos on such a small knife are not to be believed (and I have big hands) And... It's drop dead gorgeous!

Not my pic:

Cheers,

Ken

 

[djh]

I have a few Case knives in small sizes- Pen, Peanut, Baby Butterbean, Med Stockman and a Mini Copperhead. They are all carried in rotation and all do the simple tasks that I require of them. Good quality knives and you can buy a quite utilitarian model or a somewhat more expensive version depending on your choice of scales.

 

[jj_sharp]

Opinel makes knives in all sizes. I love Case, but I am too cheap. $5 USA slip joints from decades past, I used to find at flea markets.

I loose small knives, thus don't want to pay much for one. I don't usually loose larger pocket knives, just small ones.

 

[Pat Puma]

Spyderco Manbug. 2.5 inches closed with a blade almost 2 inches. Good quality knife.

 

[DesertIguana]

Spyderco gets my vote, they do small to large folders.

I personally like the Rescue Jr, it not super small.

But it not a monster.

 

[Legion]

$20 might be a little limiting. Opinel has been suggested, and they are easily available and within that price. If I was only going to spend a $20 that, or a Victorinox Bantam?

 

[Multum in parvo]

$20 might be a little limiting. Opinel has been suggested, and they are easily available and within that price. If I was only going to spend a $20 that, or a Victorinox Bantam?

+1 on an Alox Bantam or a simple Waiter