Lot of you are really missing the point of this video. There's no reason to produce and market a knife that is .1" over the legal limit of some areas (of which, there are more than just a few). Just make it 3". Or, go wild and make it 3.5 or 4. But don't make it 3.1'' or 3.6" because you're intentionally excluding markets that you could sell more knives to for a measly .1'' longer blade. This isn't rocket science. For instance, I live in a major metropolitan area. The particular part that I live in has a 4'' legal limit. But less than 10mi from my house, where still MILLIONS of people live, the limit is 3". And it's pretty often that I find myself having to go to that area, so there's ZERO reason for me to carry a 3.1" blade, no matter how high quality or cheap or innovative it is. If a cop decides he wants to be a piece of shit that day, I'm in trouble with a 3.1'' blade.
@edstringer1138 And that is absolutely your prerogative. But, if I meet the wrong police officer, on the wrong day, and get charged with a weapon related crime (as would be the case with having a knife with too long a blade length), I could permanently lose my right to own much less carry a firearm. One of the joys of living in IL. Are the chances of that happening extremely small? Absolutely. But I'm not going to chance my right to bear arms over it.
My humble opinion on this is that it’s a matter of overthinking. By which I mean specifically, while I don’t advocate breaking the law, I wouldn’t go around living in constant fear that my knife is fractions of an inch too long. Just don’t get caught up with police who have a reason to measure your knife, and you’re good to go.
This is an issue I am oddly passionate about. I have a 3" blade limit law, and they measure from tip to handle, so a sharpening choil would even be included where I am. It can be difficult to discern how to even comply at that point.
I'm really happy to see this video. As a guy who is new to hobby knives, and who doesn't have a lot to spend on hobby knives, it's always so disappointing when I see something that looks really cool, gets great reviews, I think ,alright, this month I'm going to look at my budget and add a knife to my collection, but then all of the sudden I realize--- nope, won't be able to use it or carry it anywhere, because it's 3.01" instead of 3. I never understand it.
have you seen John gadgets video on victorinox? it partly addressed the issue of blade laws hurting victorinoxs buisness and what they're doing about it. it sounds very intriguing.
I was not even aware that some states have blade length restrictions. Some countries seem to apply knife laws very arbitrarily. Had my medium frame swiss army (non locking) “held” while people inside the mall were eating using six inch steak knives- not wimpy ones either. Other places in the same country allowed the sak in no problem. One thing is for sure- people with nefarious intent don’t care one whit about blade length laws.
It's just like firearms laws here in the US. They only affect law abiding, legal owners. Criminals don't give half a f about any laws- that's sort of why they are criminals.
Thanks for the video. I think most of time it is a imperial vs metric system plus a margin of error. 8cm is 3.15". 3.17" seems to be 8cm plus a margin of error of 0.5mm and 3.11" is 7.9cm to be sure to be under 8cm. The 3" mark is not really intuitive for us, metric users, as it is 7,62cm. So I think that what happened too with CRKT, they wanted to optimize the 3" blade but they forgot about the margin of error. 3" => 7.62cm => 7.6cm±0.5mm => 7.65cm max => 3.01"
most of the folding knives sold in the world are in America...you make and design for the market you want to sell it. Its not a complicated concept, just good business.
@@maxlvledcmost of America doesn't care about blade length. Literally. You can have any blade length shipped to a state with length laws. No one cares.
"Blade to handle ratio" is a fictional metric that is holding back manufacturers from making short bladed knives with longer handles. Many reviewers simply couldn't handle that and too many companies pander to reviewers too much. There, I said it.
Then it doesn't explain the love of the PARA3...is got a huge handle compared to its blade. Clearly it can be done, we just need to ask for it as consumers I think.
Agreed. It's one of the reasons I love Spyderco. They don't skimp on grip real estate with small blades. I usually can't carry over 3", but my ideal blade is between 2.75 and 3.25" and I don't want a handle under 4" lol
I agree with everything you said, but to play devils advocate, I doubt most consumers who buy these knives don't care about blade length laws. I carry multiple knives daily, and love buying new ones purely for enjoyment. I really don't care if I'm in an area that says my blade can't exceed 3" and I have a knife at 3.1". I'm not a scofflaw, I just don't worry about it.
I don't think you can blame the companies for making knifes that are perfectly legal in some places and illegal in others. You might as well tell glock to stop making standard mags just because california has a 10 rd limit. Luckily, I live in a state with no dumb regulations. I couldn't imagine not being able to get a knife because it's .01" too long💀 You can reach out to state and federal agencies if you disagree with the current policy.
Come to Ohio. We can carry almost anything: switchblades, otfs, gravity knives, daggers, any blade length, brass knuckles. I don't think we are allowed to carry blackjacks or saps, but other than that it's all good in the hood.
I think there are a ton of knives in 2.99” blade length but what I found is a lot of them don’t feel comfortable for me. I am not a fan of 3.5” blades. I was so happy that knives are in this dead zone as you say. However I will say, I like the handle length of 3+ blades I could care less about the actual blade length.
Good to see you raising this issue. It isn't a problem where I live, but the knife market is slowing down. And with that, knife makers need to avoid any self sabotage, and make knives that can be used in more markets. Personally, I look for handle length before blade length. I want a 4.25 inch to 4.5 inch handle, which usually means a 3.25 inch blade. I'm just as happy if the blade drops to 2.9 or 3 inches, though. Like the Para 3. I wish Spyderco would modernize their Byrd line. It had tons of smaller knives that somehow still fit my hands. In particular the Meadowlark 2 is more comfortable than the Delica 4 for me. But it's stuck with 8Cr13MoV, which is a shame. Even the darn Ganzo clone of it is 440C.
I don't do it very often, but I felt like too few are calling them on these things. At this point most knife companies deliver on quality knives..so its the little details that sway people.
I honestly just take the risk and carry what I want. As long as it's not a sword or something wild from Cold Steel. Then I'm usually good. No butterfly knives either. I'm glad knife companies do what they want! It makes things a lot more fun. It's also shows that they shouldn't bend over for all of the government or state laws
I completely agree with this and as someone who lives in a sub-3" restricted state, I normally filter out websites by 2-3" blade length anyway. So if a designer makes an amazing knife but at 3.1", I automatically won't even know or care about it since it's outside of my filter.
I don't really cut cardboard or open packages I use it to open plastic seals/pallet wrap and I pulled my 3.2inch knife and I though damn! this thing is huge and I noticed I made others around me uncomfortable so I stopped using my knife I barely carry anymore
I don’t think manufacturers care about the 3” thing. It’s not a very common law in the U.S. Only a few states and a few cities have such laws, and who knows how strictly they are enforced. It’s not a tangible thing, but personally, a 3” and a 3.25” blade makes a huge difference.
Also, it's wild seeing the number of comments here like "this doesn't affect me, so how can it be a big deal?" imagine for the moment the possibility that significant portions of the market do not live in your county, guys.
Great video Dom and and excellent point! I see the use case for a longer blade in many instances, and I have some that fit these criteria, but 90% of my use of a pocket knife (Your Milage May Vary; I'm a suburban Amazon box warrior) is more than covered by a 2-2.99'' blade. For me, it's 3.25''+ for a heavier user knife or 2.99'' and below for a daily carry knife, and anything in that zone between isn't really all that appealing. I sold off a full-size Bugout and picked up a Mini Bugout because I was never going to use a Bugout for anything that required the extra length. If I need to do that type of work, I pick up a Griptillian. Benchmade examples but also works for most other major manufacturers in my collection. I drove a half-ton pick-up for years, and when I needed to get something new, I looked at my use cases; while I needed a pick-up bed, I definitely didn't need a full-size truck, and over 10 years later, I've rarely done anything that my Honda Ridgeline wouldn't handle.
Hi, at the end I think it's up to the police officer discretion and situation to decide. I don't know if you handled Lansky World Legal, in theory it's legal anywhere. But it looks so threatening, check it out if you haven't. I've had one, gave it to friend who travels a lot. Yeah it will be more beneficial for the knifemajers to be within a blade size for legal purposes. Cheers 👍
There are millions of knive users wich are restricted in in a metric system what means they have restrictions measured in centimeter. And 8cm are 3.14 ich .... as one example.
Couldn’t care less about length for that reason because all blade is forbidden where I live. So I carry whateverI want since the law doesn’t make a difference and are unreasonable.
It finally happened to me; RU-vid deleted my comment… I’ll just remake it. The problem isn’t with manufactures, it is with these asinine laws. I can think of one scenario where a 3.01” knife would be a selling point. Name it the “Will Not Comply” and market it as an “freedom knife” and they’ll sell millions. Also, speaking as a cop, the vast majority of law enforcement does not care about these draconian laws unless the knife is used in an actual crime. Any cop who gives a citizen a hard time for owning or carrying a 3.01” knife is a disgrace to the profession.
These companies release shit tons of models. They don't all have to fit your particular tastes/local laws. Also, not everyone cares about maxing out their legal limit. I can carry anything in my collection in my state. That doesn't mean I'm trotting out the biggest and baddest every day.
@Circa1664 I don't think he's saying they need to cater to it. Moreso that if you're going to have a knife that has a blade of 3.01", 3.05", etc., it would make more sense to bring it down to 3.0" or 2.99" because it would massively open up the available client base.
This is not a very local problem, cities and counties and other legally defined regions can all have different knife laws. It's not even restricted to blade length. It sounds like you're probably ignorant of such laws (as many are) and have concluded that your ignorance must mean it isn't an issue.
I got my ccw in 2018 and have never thought about weapon carry laws ever since then, and that's one of the best decisions I've ever made. My state now has constitutional carry, but my permit allows me to carry literally anything i want other than a machine gun.
man, most of the countries I've thought about travelling to absolutely have knife blade length restrictions. Maybe you're correct, maybe you can figure out by population or landmass a division that would have most of the world not caring, but on an english language youtube channel, talking about companies primarily selling to an american audience (since UK restrictions are so much more severe), this is a problem that is going to affect a great number of viewers and a great portion of the buying audience.
“Just live somewhere else” “I can carry whatever I want” “This particular problem doesn’t affect me in anyway so nobody in the world should care” People need to open their minds beyond their own post code/zip code/300sqft that they inhabit.
ah, but many GOV facilities and business have different rules. (which they are allowed to make). I run into that issue often here. Everywhere its legal but when I go into DC its different and when I go into Gym and Gov facilities its different.
That length doesn’t even matter anymore because of the locking action you have. NYC calls button locks and Axis locks gravity knives so they’ve deemed them illegal.
Moral of the story: move to a place where the authorities don't care that you're carrying a pocket knife, much less that it's a hair longer than some dumb law specifies. Ok, mostly kidding and just marveling at the reality of cops measuring a blade when there are real issues in the city. If I was to design a knife for a big company, I'd make it fit my hand just so, and the blade length would follow because I wouldn't tweak the design just to accommodate arbitrary restrictions. Sure, it would frustrate a portion of consumers, but they have a pretty big pool of knives to choose from. The 'I have to have the latest cool-looking knife' mentality is silly.
Non issue, find another knife. Unless you just have to have every new knife being made this is a weird thing to complain about. There’s so many good under 3” knives already. Be mad at ridiculous laws not the knife companies.
You have perfectly made my point. If your finding another knife rather than buying it, it would have been better for them to have a more profitable blade length.
@@maxlvledc Ya, I'd say a high percentage probably don't know their state's laws and definitely don't know some states they are travelling to or through with their knife. Perhaps that's why the knife companies aren't too concerned. Not that they shouldn't be. And, it's still good for you to point out the problem.
Maybe people should be more careful who they vote for. If they worried so much about particular lengths and actions, it lets a few dumb states dictate what the rest of us can have just because the company chases a dollar
I don't think every knife blade does. But, as a designer, if your blade is 3.01 or 3.02, you would massively expand your consumer base by changing the blade length by an imperceptible amount.
@@edwardfletcher7790 I know many in the "EDC community" carry what they like regardless of laws. Not a luxury everyone has, but framing every blade length as "legal" per whatever threshold is a bit redundant as laws are different everywhere.
Well I am glad, that I read you post in the comments. I was initially infuriated thinking you were saying there is no reason for a blade longer than 2.99". Which of course is absurd. Not everyone lives in a communist country like California. So why cater to communist absurd knife laws in blue states? If you can prove by real numbers that the majority of knife market is under the absurd knife laws then I will listen, you can count places like the UK completely out as their laws are mostly NO KNIVES. Now that I understand your point, I agree and have wondered the same thing, why make a blade .1" over 3". Personally I "generally" like a knife with at least 3.5" blade.