I grew up carrying mid to large sized folders. (benchmade mini griptillian, SOG Vulcan). It just seemed natural to have a full sized tool. But I moved to Venezuela 3 years ago, and legal blade size is limited to 5cm / 1.95". *DOH*! Many Europeans are in a similar situation, and further limited legally to only carry folders without locking mechanisms.
So I thought I'd contribute an enthusiastic plug for my current EDC, a Boker Plus Subcom Titan. If you're in any situation where you need a smaller knife due to work/legal/whatever, this is the "small" knife that replaced my big one!
I won't go into detailed reviews, plenty of those to be found. I'll just share what it is to me. It's a sharp blade for the price, short but very tall. The wide, square geometry of the blade and the handle makes it feel very full and VERY secure in the hand. I'd handled full size folders that felt less secure in the hand than this one. The overall knife is not very thick, so it sits flat and unobtrusively in the pocket. The solid, perfectly designed geometry means that I can deploy it one handed very quickly without much thought, and likewise close it one handeded without too much effort. Yeah, not as quick as my Benchmade, but not slow either! This also happens to be one of the few liner/frame lock style knives I like.
Boker makes two versions (and a plethora of sub-variants). A regular plastic handled version, and a titanium handled. I picked up both, because I usually go for functionality over looks. To my surprise, I discovered the plastic thumb stud design was my deciding factor between the two. The plastic version is very popular, with plenty of good reviews... but dang it all, I just couldn’t open and close it comfortably with one hand! I really DISliked the regular subcom, which surprised me.
The Titan seems to come in two variants now. A becoming harder to find $33 version with 440C steel (mine), and a $67 version with VG-10 steel. I'm perfectly happy with the 440C on mine, given the size and pricing. I don't feel any urge to upgrade.
If you're in the market for physically smallest knife possible that still feels like 90% of a full size knife, THIS. IS. THE. ONE.
If you don't care about physical size dimensions, only legality, Boker makes a "Boker Plus Nano" knife now that may be worth checking out. It's much bigger, but the same legal sized sub-2" blade.
IF you're in a country or municipality that does not allow lockback folders, then any folder in the boker line with the "42" designation is what you want. They make them for the Subcom and the Nano. Once again, be warned, if you pick up a boker knife with "42" in the name, IT IS NOT LOCKING. I'm planning on purchasing a Subcom 42 sometime this year for use in future European travel.
Subcom F
Thumb stud doesn’t feel right in the hand, can’t comfortably open one handed.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DONF53W
Subcom Titan (440C)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037F34R6
Subcom Titan (VG-10)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NUIA51S
Subcom Titan 42 (440C)
Appears to be dissapearing fast from markets, not even around on ebay, just the plastic versions.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007QUVWU4
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LTS66U
Nano
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DEUDEDS
Nano 42
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AIP813A