A Navy SEAL Briefly Discusses His View on Knives

Squashfan said:
IMO, if anybody is worthy of praise, it is our military (not the Spyderco, the USA military).

Off topic: Hey Bimmer, how do you like Pigeon Forge? I think that part of TN is beautiful.
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I really enjoy living in Pigeon Forge except for the tourist traffic!! I grew up in the hot humid Florida panhandle and spent 36 years of my life there. I still travel 3,400 miles each month traveling from TN to FL to see my children. I've been in TN since 2007 and to me the mountains and the climate are much better than The beaches of FL. But everyone has their own idea of what is ideal. And NO..... I don't hang out much at the Smoky Mt. Knifeworks! Prices are too high and the 9-10% sales tax rate is too much to pay. But....... I do remember them having a super section of SOG Knives. In light of this new wisdom I may have to revisit soon!

As far as insight from reading books by Navy SEALs...... This was the first book on the subject I've ever purchased. I'm not a video gamer at all but I enjoy reading about their physical training and their mental ability to endure some very difficult situations. It's that so-called "mental toughness" that we can all apply to certain aspects of our lives to help us achieve goals and maybe endure difficult circumstances.
 
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tobii3 said:
No, not really. You're just now noticing it.

Desert One spawned several books...Just Cause spawned a few (Larry Vickers ring a bell?)...Desert Shield/Storm saw a few (Andy McNab)...it's actually quite common.
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The SEALs do seem to be in the spotlight much more than they have been in the past. But obviously there have always been tons of military books. A lot of people just werent interested until SEAL team 6 got plastered all over the news. And not all of them are writing books to make money. By nature of who they are and what they do, money isnt exactly a priority to most of these guys
 
I thank him for his service and I am sure he can do more push-ups, run further, swim better and shoot more accurate than most but an expert of knife... I think not.
 
SOG markets heavily to the military. I'm sure they are sold in every PX in the world. Most spec-ops types aren't knife nerds like us. That doesn't mean a 6" dagger made from AUS-8 would kill less easily than some super steel hand-forged wonder blade. Everybody has their own thoughts and ideas and what works for them may not work for you. So what? If I were in a special operations unit and had the very real potential need for a knife to kill or defend as a last resort type thing, SOG would weigh very heavily in my choices as well. I'm happy to hear what he uses/used, how he carried it, etc. I think it's better than if he had said, "I don't like knives and won't talk about them". Don't you agree?
 
tobii3 said:
Two words - Dick Marcinko.

It was over twenty years ago when "Rogue Warrior" was first printed.
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Took the words right out of my mouth. At least his original book had a real purpose, which was paying his lawyers. After that it just snowballed.
 
tobii3 said:
No, not really. You're just now noticing it.

Desert One spawned several books...Just Cause spawned a few (Larry Vickers ring a bell?)...Desert Shield/Storm saw a few (Andy McNab)...it's actually quite common.
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True. I admit to being out of the loop for several years when it comes to military (non)fiction.
Last one I read was about a sniper in Vietnam. That was about 25 years ago.
 
Assuming he actually was a Navy Seal, I thank him for his service. My choice of knife will remain unchanged. I like fixed blades, but a medium sized fixed blade really doesn't fulfill any of my EDC needs.
 
The guy surely was a seal. But to add to the discussion. Ive gotten plenty of good use out of a heavy duty folder in the tactical environment.
Medfords work well at being fixed blade replacements. As do Dalibors and Crusader Forges.
 
9blades said:
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Haha:D
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You might be surprised to learn that the Spanish Special Forces actually uses a knife with exactly the same design as that! No joke!

Here's a collection of broken ones turned in by the soldiers...

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He mentions in the book that their M4's, Sig handgun, a SEAL team of snipers on most missions, grenades, MK 48 belt-fed machine gun, occasional back-up from an F/A-18 Super Hornet, 105mm howitzer rounds fired from a gun ship, etc are their main weapons so it seems they prefer to engage from a distance. This would definitely make their choice of knife a little less significant.
 
He wouldn't feel so sad if he lost his 1/1 uber limited edition whilst hunting for terrorists in the harshest environment.
Some knives are just good enough for them but never good enough for us.
 
SOG markets heavily to the military. I'm sure they are sold in every PX in the world.
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Most BX/PXs I've been in (and I always check) are mostly Gerber, with maybe two or three SOG or CRKT, and then one each of Spyderco and Benchmade (always a Grip). They used to have an occsional Kershaw, but those have disappeared over the past year.
 
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The training Seals endure does not teach them about the finer points of cutlery. They learn to shoot, work as a team, deal with pain, and harden up. A buddy of mine bought a knife after he finished BUDs and was headed to Alaska(?) for cold weather training--it was a $50 bowie from a sporting goods outlet. Point is, the Seals/military elite that DO know the difference between a $600 custom and a $100 benchmade, don't know it because they're badasses; they know it because they're knife guys. Military training teaches service members how to use weapons (and edged weapon training is rare), not how to identify different steels, blade profiles, and grinds. Advertising a knife as something that Navy Seals use is ridiculous IMO. They, like most people, will happily use anything with a point and an edge.
 
Bimmer1 said:
He mentions in the book that their M4's, Sig handgun, a SEAL team of snipers on most missions, grenades, MK 48 belt-fed machine gun, occasional back-up from an F/A-18 Super Hornet, 105mm howitzer rounds fired from a gun ship, etc are their main weapons so it seems they prefer to engage from a distance. This would definitely make their choice of knife a little less significant.
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Well, perhaps that is why he "briefly mentions" his knife?
 
Regardless of what brand he mentions, the point remains, saying that a folder is nothing but a broken knife is an important one. An individual in his line of work will never choose a folder over a fixed blade. That would be like Iron Man opting to walk instead of fly. That's why I always found folding knives labelled as a "tactical" to be pathetic.

Also, if you read upon what he used the knives for, all utilitarian purposes. Knife fanboys can daydream all they want, but the truth is, most soldiers not only have not used their knives on an enemy combatant, but they also only view their knives as tools. That's why the notion that SEALS or other special op soldiers are so heavily immersed in the art of knife fighting is such a joke. Ask any of them. They would view having to resort to their knife in combat as a failure. That's why most of them wouldn't even fathom the idea.
 
I believe cncpro11, SavageSmurf and Radioactive hit the nail on the head. Extensive military experience does not mean one has special knife skills or knowledge. However, I have the privilege of working with a gentleman that is both former special forces and a "knife guy" that loves outdoor activities... and he is awesome to chat with:) BTW: his pick is Turley even though he has a vast collection of others.
 
I always liked the pentagon knife but never got it..

Interesting to hear his perspective. Its interesting to think about when he was in service and what the trends were back then as the knife industry has changed heaps in the last 20 years...

Thanks for posting..
 
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