Urban Knives

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BIGCITY-1

Life In The Big City.

The city has been described as mankind’s greatest invention. Indeed, it’s the rise of urban life that made any activities other than hunting and gathering possible, which therefore accounts for all of the progress we’ve made as a species. And after all, who doesn’t like some of the amenities of the city? Of course you can also make the argument that in modern times — the 20th and 21st centuries — much of what’s destructive of civilization is coming out of the cities, and I wouldn’t dispute that proposition either. Nonetheless, I still like metropolitan areas and have to visit them occasionally.

One of the destructive things that’s taken hold in some cities is the disarmament of the population, to include ridiculous ordinances limiting the kinds of knives you can possess. Chicago has a 2″ limit on blade length, Boston a 2.5″ limit and there are other similar local city ordinances throughout the US. And while much of this silliness comes in the form of local (city) ordinance — not state or federal law, usually punishable by only a fine — we have to balance the serious hassle and inconvenience caused by running afoul of them against the advantages of carrying knives exceeding these stupid limits.

To be honest, we seldom need a knife (especially in an urban setting) longer than 2″ for utility chores. It’s having one for self-defense that’s impacted. If I had to defend myself with a knife, I’d prefer the biggest fixed-blade knife I could find over the 3.5″ to 4″ folder I usually carry, and in turn I’d prefer that to a 2″ folder. But, like the old saying goes, “The more you know, the less you need.” A 2″ blade can be very effective if the lawful need arises. You just have to target your cuts with more precision and greater technique — involving a little more empty-hands skill, which you should have anyway. A few of the major manufacturers make knives applicable to the purpose.

CRKT’s Pazoda 2 and Cold Steel’s Micro Recon 1 are small knives that can
be extremely useful in bad situations.

Two Inches

The aptly named Spyderco Chicago sports a 2″ leaf-shaped blade contained in a 3.125″ handle. The blade is 440C steel with a liner lock, and the blade is flat ground. A flat grind means the blade has one continuous linear grind from the edge to the spine. Over the years I’ve found a flat grind generally produces very effective cutting results. While smaller folders will always be harder to open 1-handed than larger ones, the textured G-10 scales and large opening hole help make the Chicago reasonably easy to open. Once open, the handle is large enough to be quite functional in the hand.

The Cold Steel Micro Recon 1 has a 2″ spear-point blade of AUS 8A encased in 2.375″ G-10 laminate scales. This lockback, stud-opening knife feels extremely good in the hand despite its small size. It opens with one hand, albeit taking a little more time than a full-size folder.

CRKT offers the Pazoda 2 folder, with a 2.125″ spear-point blade in a 3″ stainless, frame-locking handle. It’s more easily opened with two hands and once in position can do the job well.

The Spyderco Cat in my hand — an average size
man’s hand according to the Army. Note the handle
traversing my palm, making for a secure working grip.

Left to right: The Spyderco Chicago, Pingo, Cat and Ambitious. All are
sub-2.5″ knives that can be quite effective in knowledge-able hands.

A Little Bigger

Spyderco makes several models in this space. The Ambitious and the Cat both have leaf-shaped blades (2.25″ and 2.438″) in 8Cr13MoV and 440C, respectively. Both have G-10 scales and liner locks. The large opening holes in them make opening them from their 3.5″ handles pretty easy, with the slight edge going to the Cat for my hands. With their handles approaching “full-size,” these knives will feel much like the knife you’re probably used to carrying.

The Spyderco Pingo — with its upswept, sheepsfoot 2.35″ blade in N690Co — is made for locales where 1-hand opening and locking knives are forbidden. Nonetheless, the slip-lock on the Pingo is quite stout and offers considerable security during energetic movements.

As with guns, good advice for carrying knives is to have one with you and it should be the largest one you can have. When the effete, dangerous, arrogant, totalitarian fools in some city hall constrain your choice, you still have some pretty good options left.
By Ralph Mroz