All About Pocket Knives

Gentlemen...

Maybe not the most important question to appear on this forum, but one that a friend and I were recently discussing. I was sure someone here would know the answer.

It seems that (in general) certain knife models conform, more or less, to a certain size..i.e....most medium stockmen measure 3 5/8" closed. Most trappers measure @ 4 1/8" closed. Peanuts...@ 2 7/8" closed. Does anyone know where or why these sizes became a "sort of standard"? I know this is not the most interesting question posed here, but I'm curious nonetheless. Thanks for any input.

cj

jabber, I think most answers to this will be opinion instead of hard fact, but I think sizing knives represents sound business/marketing decisions!
It's all about consumer expectations, and comfort with a product. If a user wanted a cattle knife, they would expect it to be about 3 1/2 to 3 3/4" long. A "junior" cattle knife would be 3-3 3/8" long and so forth. If you confuse people too much, they walk away.
If your local coffee shop changed the flavor and size of their regular "joe" at random, you wouldn't know what to expect, and probably end up going elsewhere.
My two cents worth of blah blah!