59 and have never needed a tactical

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I work on the S.E. side of OKC, The worst crime riddled area in the Metroplex and surrounding area. That said instead of a tactical type knife which I do have a few I still have my old Case Hawkbill in my pocket. I do have my Glock #21 at my side as well though.
 
scrteened porch said:
I remember that from "All Quiet on the Western Front".
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As a kid I always carried a 3 blade folder, some Schrade "Old Timer" or "Uncle Henry". I've only ever thought of a knife as a tool. Around age 18 I had a shell jam in an old Sears "Ted Williams" semi-auto shotgun while in the dove field. I was using a folder to try and push the shell back into the magazine (the only "tool" I had) when the blade folded under considerable pressure, across my index finger cutting me to the bone. Yes, I realize it was my own fault using the wrong "tool" for the job.
However, that's when I started carrying lock blades. I still have some traditional folders, nothing of value, but prefer carrying something that locks and I don't have a need for multiple blades in a knife. With time, I've come to appreciate one handed opening as well as a pocket clip. Tactical? I'm not sure the true meaning of the word but I do know whatever its original definition it has become a term for marketing and grossly overused.
I recently saw a "tactical" camp stool advertised. Yes, really!
 
No matter what you use for defense if you are not prepared to do what is necessary you can get into trouble fast. Hesitation has cost a lot of folks their life. So many people because they are wielding a big knife, club, gun, whatever feel empowered and have no idea what they are doing. All of these can be taken and used against you while in close proximity to the opponent. Strike fast, strike first with enough force to stop the threat do not hesitate. If you have no self defense training whether military or some type of civilian get some because IMO it is the only chance you have to effectively be prepared to do what ever is necessary.
 
One thing I have never understood is how a Texas toothpick was used as the self defense knife, at least in the South? Some of the ones I've seen were long, when that closes up on you, your not just going to lose 1 finger, but all of them.
 
I'm a member of a generation that has seen the change in knives from traditional to "tactical". I grew up carrying Case & Old-Timers as a kid, lusted after Buck 110s as a teen, then moved on to carry modern 1-handed opening overbuilt folders.

I've worked as an EMT carrying a serrated edge Spyderco Delica. It was the right tool for the job at hand. When I joined the Army as a Medic in the Infantry, that same Delica came along. I later gave it to a kid in my squad who needed a good knife. I then replaced it with a Benchmade/Emerson CQC-7 - your atypical "Tactical Knife". Again worked well for the job at hand, BUT I rediscovered Swiss Army Knives. While at the PX I noticed a Victorinox Huntsman with Black handle scales. Up till then I'd only seen Red so I bought it on a whim. Next field exercise it came along and it was so blasted useful. The scissors worked better at cutting medical tape than the heavy duty shears. The tweezers worked better at removing splinters than what I was issued in my aid bag. The saw came in handy in setting up my hooch to sleep under. Lastly the can opener/screwdriver/toothpick all saw use in weapons maintenance. My "Tactical" knives were there for when I needed a knife quickly, My SAK was there for most other things. My unit was an Air Assault unit and when a sling load/fast rope/rappel goes bad you need a cutting tool fast, not the best time to be trying to open a slipjoint.

I'm now just a crusty old disabled vet that works at a hospital. Most days at work I have a modern one-handed opening folder of some sort on me. Since I can only use my right arm, they are more convenient for me to open. Most of the ones I carry wouldn't be classified as tacticals by the current group of knife nuts - My plain edge, flat grind Spyderco Delica probably wouldn't do well batoning a log or prying stuff open. Quite a few of the newer overbuilt one-handed folders appear ridiculous to me. Blade thickness on par with fixed blades with edge geometry favoring chopping over cutting. A knife's #1 job to me has always been to cut. Again, right tool for the right job.

Now from all of the above it sounds like Im a bigger fan of the "Tactical Knife". Well yea I do like some of them. But when I pick up one of my Case/GEC/CSC/Old-Timer slipjoints they just put a smile on my face. They just have more character to them than my more modern one-hand openers - a soul so to speak. They invoke fond memories from my younger days. They also work pretty darn well for most of my day to day cutting needs. I'm also a big proponent on a lot of the old traditional style fixed blades for use in the woods. I've found I can accomplish quite a lot around a campsite with an old puukko compared to some sharpened prybar built for strength.

In closing: Hi, I'm Halfneck and I like knives:D
 
JHG57 said:
I have all kind's of knives, tactical, slip joint, fixed blade but 90% of the time I carry an electricians knife.
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Good man. At this very moment I have a TL-29 with SD blade extended standing in my pen cup on my desk, another one in my bag, a third in the car, and probably 20-25 more (mostly Camillus, some Schrade, one Case and a few other brands) from the 1940s through the mid 2000s sitting at home waiting for their turns.



Now that's tactical. :D
 
I decided to start carrying a cap-and-ball pistol instead of a semiautomatic. $%#& kids and their magazines. :D

Actually, I have both "tactical" knives and traditional folders (although I don't like coated blades or serrations or anything that I arbitrarily decide looks too "tactical"). I carry a SAK about as much as a ZT. Doesn't bother me either way.
 
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People giving up the smart phones and going to a flip phone seems to be a growing trend.

So do those lucky enough to have a CCW, going back to revolvers.

Maybe we'll see a resurgence of the slipjoints.

A friend of mine at work, that goes to Blade every year, said that custom fixed blades did not sell well down there, from makers/dealers etc. I'm only passing along the information, but he said that the custom tacticals, his words, sold like hotcakes. He said there were lotteries and lines etc, you couldn't even get to the makers table. I saw the pics on FB, the lotteries etc. I will be the one putting my name in the hat for a custom slipjoint.

Makers that started out with slipjoints moved on to modern knives. Have you seen the Enrique Pena LC frame lock? Or his titanium version of the LC? Or his other frame lock flippers? Thankfully he's staying with slipjoints. I'm acting like I can afford one of his knives. One day.
 
jec88 said:
One thing I have never understood is how a Texas toothpick was used as the self defense knife, at least in the South? Some of the ones I've seen were long, when that closes up on you, your not just going to lose 1 finger, but all of them.
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I know that in the past, into the 1950s at least, it was not at all uncommon for non-locking pocketknives to be used for 'knife fights' (mostly involving cutting as opposed to stabbing each other) and such in rougher areas. Besides the Texas Toothpick, the Barlow was also commonly used as a weapon, as well as stockmans, etc. I've even seen old hospital photos from the '40s or '50s showing what looked like a medium stockman with the clip point blade driven halfway into a man's skull. We have to remember that prior to the 1960s, folders with locking blades were not that common. Sure, there were the cheapy switchblades, but mostly those were looked down upon. Plus, those switchblades had little to no utility value. Folding straight razors were also very commonly used as weapons.

Unfortunately, in the '90s, I saw film footage of an approximately 16 year-old boy who had been killed by his drunken father. The weapon? A standard-sized, red-handled, non-locking Victorinox SAK. I consider SAKs to be traditional knives.

I personally carry my knives, whether traditional or modern, as tools. My EDC sometimes varies depending on what I think I might require for that day, but usually remains fairly consistent.

*removed non-knife content.

Jim
 
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This thread is drifting all over the place. Not good.

Please remember:
1) BF is a KNIFE forum. And posts need to be about KNIVES.
2) This is the Traditional Forum, and posts need to be about Traditional knives.
 
May as well close it now, Frank, because by my reading every single post save one (or two, depending on your perspective) on this most recent page has made reference to slipjoints or other traditionals (just not exclusively, which was a known quantity in this thread from day one as you surmised).

And now, for my related contribution, two of the Allies' most traditional and tactical issues during the War to End All Wars, Part Deux:



Tradition meets tactics and saves the free world. Can't get any better than that.
 
Mentioning <> subject of post.
 
knarfeng said:
Mentioning <> subject of post.
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Okay. So, just for compliance's sake, how much non-knife-related verbiage is allowed before it becomes the primary subject? I and others in this thread have tried to intersperse topical responses with knife content and draw the two subjects together, which seems to be the intention of the thread and the OP. Pointing out specific issues with execution might be appreciated by people who are just trying to enjoy the conversation?
 
What an interesting and informative thread! Thanks, guys (and maybe gals)!

For my two cents: I like knives with modern features as well as traditional knives, but tend to favor the traditional ones. (I'm 55 years old.)

I've never been in a knife fight, thank God, and have no use for combat or "tactical" knives.

-Jeff
 
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James Y said:
I know that in the past, into the 1950s at least, it was not at all uncommon for non-locking pocketknives to be used for 'knife fights' (mostly involving cutting as opposed to stabbing each other) and such in rougher areas. Besides the Texas Toothpick, the Barlow was also commonly used as a weapon, as well as stockmans, etc. I've even seen old hospital photos from the '40s or '50s showing what looked like a medium stockman with the clip point blade driven halfway into a man's skull. We have to remember that prior to the 1960s, folders with locking blades were not that common. Sure, there were the cheapy switchblades, but mostly those were looked down upon. Plus, those switchblades had little to no utility value. Folding straight razors were also very commonly used as weapons.

Unfortunately, in the '90s, I saw film footage of an approximately 16 year-old boy who had been killed by his drunken father. The weapon? A standard-sized, red-handled, non-locking Victorinox SAK.

I personally carry my knives, whether traditional or modern, as tools. My EDC sometimes varies depending on what I think I might require for that day, but usually remains fairly consistent.

Edit to add:
I've never owned a smartphone. I'm still on my second cell phone, a flip-phone I bought "new" in 2006. I have no idea how to even operate a smartphone/iphone or whatever. Also never taken a 'selfie' with a phone (mine doesn't have a camera). I guess I'll see how long it or its battery keeps working before I finally have to replace it/upgrade.

Jim
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Okay, Being an old codger from that era, I'll try to explain it. People back then did not have the money the people now seem to have. Especially young guys, who did not have nearly a fraction of the disposable income they have now. People now are like spoiled rich kids with lots of toys. Back then, if you wanted to go deer hunting, rabbit hunting, squirrel hunting, or duck hunting, you used the same gun. You had a shotgun. You didn't have a rack of enough firearms to equip a Marine rifle squad. For small game you used bird shot in appropriate sizes, and for big game you used buckshot or slugs.

Same with knives. People didn't collect knives then like now. The local hardware store had a display of Case, or Schrade, or maybe even Camillus, and that was that. People had a knife. That's "A" knife, singular. If something happened to that knife, or it finally was worn down to a skinny steel toothpick, they tossed it in the tool box and bought another one just like it. When I was kid, I got to spend summers down on my grand folks place on the bay. These were working watermen who made a living, just. Crabs in summer and oysters in winter. They used that one pocket knife for any cutting job that came up. Out on the boat, they had a tin bucket with some old butcher knives they used for bait. These were old knives from the kitchen that had seen their day, and were condemned to rust away in a bait bucket.

When a rough old cob of a waterman or farmer went to the water hole for a drink or four, his everyday pocket knife was with him. After enough booze that he was drunk, and had a serious disagreement with another drunk old cob, and fists were not enough to settle it, whatever pocket knife was on him was drafted into service. Toothpicks and Barlows were used a lot, because that's what people in that neck of the woods were carrying in their day to day life. That they didn't have locks on them was no matter. These rough old cobs used a knife everyday, and knew how to use them. They lived and died long before there ever was a tactical knife craze, and didn't care. They knew that with a knife, you cut to the hard, and thrust to the soft. They hadn't watched senseless youtube videos or Hollywood movies with scripts written by idiots who had never seen real violence.

With a pointy blade like a toothpick, stabbing a soft target, like a stomach, is like sticking a screw driver into a bowl of spaghetti. The toughest thing is, going through whatever shirt/jacket the guy has on. The knife is not going to magically fold over and cut your fingers off. Rib cage, maybe, sternum yes. Belly, no.

There was this place down by granddads place outside Cambridge Maryland, called Tinkers. Tinkers was a low down dive, with peeling plywood construction, and the scum of the earth hung out there. People that weren't allowed in any other bar in the are. They kept Tinker's open because it kept the bad apples in one place and it they killed each other, no big deal. It was common place to see the Sheriffs cars with the gum ball light on top rushing down there, followed by an ambulance. People got knifed there very often, and 9 times out of 10 it was a toothpick. The poor man's fighting 'fishknfe'. They were cheap, and easy to find at most places that sold fishing gear in those days. It had a nice long blade with a fine point. If it was a barlow, it was probably bought at the local hardware store and was the guys everyday pocket knife. If you were just defending yourself from another drunk with a knife, again, you don't need a lock. With sweeping slash movements against an incoming arm/hand holding a knife, the forces are going against the cutting edge and not the spine. I know, heresy to the tactical crowd that spine whack's to test lock strength. Plenty of those drunks fighting at Tinkers got cut good by knives that the prac/tac crowd would scorn. A few even got killed. It's a shame those old watermen didn't realize they were using the wrong kind of knife to slice and dice each other. They just had a pocket knife they used everyday, and knew it's limitations and how to use it effectively.

Just like that old shotgun that fed them everything from roast venison to a duck dinner. Just changed the loads. They knew how to use what they had. Knife magazines had not come out yet, and they never knew how under equipped they were.
 
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Soo... tactical = intended for use in combat = used by members of an Army?

Sweet, I have been carrying tactical knives for quite a while. Here's one of my Army knives that got re-deployed (my wife took this one and it has become hers):


Not to worry, though, I have backups. The middle one in this pic is in tactical black, for my stealth ops. The one in front is in a nice forest green color, for woodland operations where I have to blend into the foliage. The big silver one in back is for full on frontal assaults, when I don't mind if they see me coming or not. Plus it has a saw.



Swiss Army is an army, right?
 
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