A Coworker ask me to make a knife for his Nephew who is in the sandbox somewhere

Bama

Bama

Joined
May 1, 2009
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450
He is in the Army infantry. What size knife do these guy's like I don't want it to be too big or small I have some ideas of design. And what type of sheath is best leather or kydex? Thanks for your input
Anthony
 
I have a friend who has made several knives of this type and has different models, from neck knives to larger carry blades. He's former military and made them for those guys. He ended up pretty well doing kydex fairly exclusively for the sheaths and that helped allow for varying carry options, which I think is important for those guys. If you can allow a system that makes it easy for the soldier to mount it where it's most comfortable and easy to carry, he's that much more likely to carry and use it.

As for size and shape, etc-everyone's got an opinion. Personally, I'd go five or six inches for the blade. Just big enough to tackle some different jobs without being so big as to get in the way. Those guys in the Box have SO much gear they have to carry and are weighed down by a ton of stuff. To me, I don't want to add a big Bowie sized knife to that to get hung up on stuff. Something easier to carry that can easily be accessed makes sense to me. But again, that's just my opinion and not worth a whole lot ;). Good luck and good on you for supporting a guy in harm's way with a tool he can count on.

Jeremy
 
Kydex is the way to go for sheath material. It's easier to work with, and gives end users much better options for mounting using systems like tek-loks. Size is a lot harder of a question, and depends largely on what the knife is going to be used for, but as stated above something between 5 and 6 or so inches is a pretty safe bet
 
I agree, 5" blade is in the right range. Handle should be shaped to be able to work well in a gloved hand and indexable in the dark. I like Stacy's idea of the canvas covered kydex. It will reduce noise/clanking. The sheath should have good versatility in mounting options. The knife needs to have a strong tip as it will get used for prying things like ammo crates open. It will be used as a tool, not as a weapon. A lanyard hole is a must! Weight is a big consideration; don't make a giant knife from 1/4" steel.

Bob
 
The good tactical sheaths available are MOLLE gear friendly. They can carry in any position and multiple places on the body or gear. The "Combat Master" sheaths are really good. They come in sizes for 5-6" and 6-8" blades. Add a small DMT stone to keep the blade sharp. They come in sand, camo, and black.
This is the size I use:
http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/product_info.php?cPath=962_1015&products_id=3256
 
Last edited:
RangerBobTX said:
I agree, 5" blade is in the right range. Handle should be shaped to be able to work well in a gloved hand and indexable in the dark. I like Stacy's idea of the canvas covered kydex. It will reduce noise/clanking. The sheath should have good versatility in mounting options. The knife needs to have a strong tip as it will get used for prying things like ammo crates open. It will be used as a tool, not as a weapon. A lanyard hole is a must! Weight is a big consideration; don't make a giant knife from 1/4" steel.

Bob
Click to expand...

+1 for everything just stated. too big and heavy and it usually gets left behind but it has to be a good utility blade first and foremost.
 
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