What IS the Smallest Blade iron ever made?

[justasgood]

I have had Miura BB, Muirifield 20th, Cobra King MB, Hogan Apex PC and many other “Small Blades”.

 

But does anyone know conclusively what the smallest iron head made is?

 

If I remember correctly, the Miura was really close in length size to the 20th but had a taller profile.

 

The Cobra MB’s were slightly larger than the BB and the Hogan PC’s were just a little bigger than the 20th’s.

 

I wish I had a micrometer to measure the heads I have.

 

Anyone know for sure who makes the smallest iron head?

[Fairway14]

70's era Dunlop/Maxfli Australian blades were small heads. So were any of the 60's and 70's era Wilson Staff blades.

For comparison, any of the blades made during the past 20 years, from companies such as Mizuno, have head sizes about 15% to 20% larger than older blade irons.

[FarmerJake]

The Wilson fg59 are the smallest I have ever used. I can’t imagine anything being any smaller than those.

[KRW59]

Not sure how they would compare to some of the others already mentioned......

The Snake Eyes MB-1 forged by Smith and Wesson blades from the mid 1990's looked

small to me.....and I was playing Hogan '88 Redlines at the time.......

[Oett11]

Went digging through the garage found Arnold Palmer 3 iron from the late 70's , smaller than my cobra's.

[NRJyzr]

MacGregor Muirfields are pretty small. Ram TW Custom Grind irons are also rather small, with their square toe grind. The Palmer Standards might merit some attention, but such as I remember, they aren't quite as small as the Muirfields or Rams I mentioned.

 

No experience with the 40s and 50s MacGregors, Wilson Staffs, Spaldings, etc, some of them might be fairly tiny.

[Kingcat990]

Fujimoto makes a small iron that's always sold out.

Miura SB-01's are small as well.

 

I think the Daiwa 281's were really small as well, and boxy

[boggyman]

Wilson Staff FG 17s

[rgk5]

1983 Cleveland 588 blades. Miniscule and the smallest I ever saw and played.

[A.Princey]

Ping Blueprint is smallsy, guy brought a demo head out the other day, to randomly show me, and I immediately looked at it and said, "Way, waaaayyyy too small for my skill level, I'm more of a i500 type."

 

His look at me after this exchange said it all...

[mogc60]

Older you go the smaller they get. A lot of good mentions above, muirfields, rams, Australian blades

The Cleveland 588 was very boxy and small. Palmers were a lower profile blade but overall pretty tiny. Dug like crazy

[golfguycanada]

I have some older Wilson “staff” blades that would look perfectly natural at a table setting for a 5 course dinner. You could literally butter the bread with them.

[justasgood]

Thanks for all the responses. I know what “ seems” small, but more to the point, is there a resource that shows actual head size or face surface measures?

 

I swear my 20th’s next to the BB were smaller but the BB had a taller profile making the 20th’s

Look longer heel to toe.

[Graymulligan]

IF you're looking for some sort of database of older iron head sizes, I don't think you're going to find it. I don't think any manufacturer really advertises/lists dimensions for their clubs, so it would be nigh on impossible to even start to put together such a thing.

[JD3]

Smallest I used were circa 86' Wilson staff fluid feel. Most recent was cobra S3 pro, circa 06'

[Chuck905]

> @"A.Princey" said:

> Ping Blueprint is smallsy, guy brought a demo head out the other day, to randomly show me, and I immediately looked at it and said, "Way, waaaayyyy too small for my skill level, I'm more of a i500 type."

>

> His look at me after this exchange said it all...

 

I agree, the Blueprints are the smallest out of the modern main stream brands, however, they are very forgiving for their small size. You would be surprised.

 

[Fairway14]

> @justasgood said:

> is there a resource that shows actual head size or face surface measures?

>

>

No.

But without a doubt,the older vintage the blade, the smaller the size.

 

[bvmagic]

Maxfli Australian blades were the smallest I've ever seen in person. Make my MP 69s look like shovels.

[JerryPbury]

Cleveland TA1’s. Small but accurate and easy to play. Great balance.

[ptjn1201]

I had a set of Onyx Square Two irons that were miniscule -- blade length was barely bigger than the ball. Couldn't hit them worth a lick.

[craz-e]

Here are a few small blades I have played and owned.

Miura Baby Blade

Wilson Staff FG59

Ping Blueprint (only tested)

 

 

[justasgood]

> @craz-e said:

> Here are a few small blades I have played and owned.

> Miura Baby Blade

> Wilson Staff FG59

> Ping Blueprint (only tested)

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

That’s what I’m talking about. In the top picture, the WS looks 1/2 the size of the BB, looking at the soles, the WS looks much longer.

 

Can you measure the top line on both? Like from the hosel curve to the end of the toe? And measure the face height in the center from sole to top line?

 

 

I’m going to get some calipers to measure the blades I have. Using the 5 iron to measure.

[cz13X4]

Man I miss my fg59. Def one of the smallest

[CROUSE99]

When I first started playing I bought some used Wilson FG17 muscle backs. I never realized how small they were until I looked at some modern Mizuno muscle backs. The Wilsons made the Mizunos look like shovels. Every now and then, I play a round with the FG17s. Makes me appreciate the SGI shovels I currently play.

[searok]

I had an uncle ( great player) who used Browning 440's. They weren't much bigger than the ball.

[tannyhoban]

`60s Haig Ultras were very small

[nolixul]

On the Aussie blades, many of them were actually quite long heel to toe. I'd actually look to other Maxfli offerings such as the Dunlop Maxfli Pro Special as being smaller.

 

The smallest I've seen in person were some one off custom Macs that were definitely smaller than the Muirfields and smaller than BB for sure. There's a small pic [here](https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/comment/3683655#Comment_3683655). If I still have any better pics, I'll post them. The Macs were very compact with a substantial (and straight) muscle. I guess the size of the muscle allowed the really small faces. When I owned them, I also compared them to small Wilsons, Spaldings and other classic irons from the 60s/70s/80s. The Macs were in a league of their own.

[bladehunter]

86-90 titleist bullet back tour models are tiny. Modern versions are the miura BB and the ping blueprint. Both being very much equal in my opinion. With the ping being my personal favorite for feel and sole design. And I’ve played both extensively.

[rufus mangler]

...and the early 80's tour blades. I remember some of the (way) older MacGregors being pretty short too, MT's, etc.

[rufus mangler]

I have some 1980 Wilson Staffs. I'll try to take some pics next to my 745s. Should be interesting, especially in the mid/long irons.