Why a smaller blade?

[turbov21]

Please excuse me, but I'm full metaphysical knife questions today. Heh.

What's the smaller blade on knives like the Super Tinker, Tinker, Mechanic, Viking, etc. for?  Are there specific jobs where a smaller blade is more handy?  (I've always felt it might be sharper for some reason.)  Is it there because a shorter blade gives the knife an extra blade but doesn't use as much metal and is thus cheaper?  Having two blades is nice, there have been times where I thought the short one might be the better choice for a job, but I've always wondered if there was a specific, less anecdotal reason for it being there.

(And if it's been asked before, then I apologize for not digging deeper through the forum.)

Thanks.

[Gadget Guy]

Carving/Whittling. 

[turbov21]

THANK YOU!!!

That makes perfect sense.  Thank you.

[Gadget Guy]

THANK YOU!!!

That makes perfect sense.  Thank you.

You're very welcome!     There is a guy who wrote a book on whittling and he only uses the small blade on his SAK's to do all of the work. I'll see if I can find a link to the book. 

[Gadget Guy]

Here it is:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=whittling+book&cid=1895646226557416807&ei=KjMdTM_NBISwiATZhq2sBQ&sa=title&ved=0CAcQ8wIwADgA#p

[turbov21]

I'm totally adding that to my Amazon wishlist.  Thank you.

[Gadget Guy]

I'm totally adding that to my Amazon wishlist.  Thank you.

No problem...   

[stressmaster5000]

When you need to do some fine cutting and hold the knife in one hand(so your other hand can hold whatever it is) and cut or scribe with it. Imagine holding it like a pencil and trying to cut with it. It is easier with the small blade and safer at that.

Well, that's my 2 cents worth anyway.

[Gareth]

Here it is:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=whittling+book&cid=1895646226557416807&ei=KjMdTM_NBISwiATZhq2sBQ&sa=title&ved=0CAcQ8wIwADgA#p

Good book that, well worth getting.

When you need to do some fine cutting and hold the knife in one hand(so your other hand can hold whatever it is) and cut or scribe with it. Imagine holding it like a pencil and trying to cut with it. It is easier with the small blade and safer at that.

Well, that's my 2 cents worth anyway.

I agree with this, it's all about the finer control IMO.

[Millhouse]

Some folk like to reserve the small blade for emergencies and keep it very sharp and unused. That way, if the main blade has dulled with use, if the situation requires it, a sharp blade is available.

[Viper]

Some folk like to reserve the small blade for emergencies and keep it very sharp and unused. That way, if the main blade has dulled with use, if the situation requires it, a sharp blade is available.

And if memory serves, at least one guy on here does the opposite. He only ever uses the small blade, that way the main blade is there in case of emergency.

[ducktapehero]

That might be me. When I'm carrying a two bladed SAK I use the little blade for everything and only use the big one when I need it. That way, if I'm in a stressful situation, it'd be a lot easier for me to grab the designated big blade than it might be the little blade because of the whole "gross motor skills" thing . Especially if your hands are wet. For instance you're trying to cut a bleeding person out of a car because there's a fire. And it being big and razor sharp would possibly be greatly appreciated.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I find the small blade puts a more manageable hole in my hand when I slip cutting something silly for the wife.  The holes left in my flesh from the large blade during operations like trying to get every last bit of hand cream out of the jug I find are simply too inconvenient.

Def

[Gareth]

 

[Black Rose]

When you need to do some fine cutting and hold the knife in one hand(so your other hand can hold whatever it is) and cut or scribe with it.

Exactly.

I use the small blade on my Driver/Recruit to cut out the foil on the Tassimo T-Disc cups, so that the used coffee grinds can go in the green bin (compost) and the plastic cup can go in the plastics recycling.

The larger blade does not work as well for this job.

[Ben X]

Some folk like to reserve the small blade for emergencies and keep it very sharp and unused. That way, if the main blade has dulled with use, if the situation requires it, a sharp blade is available.

+1 That is EXACTLY what I do