A Navy SEAL Briefly Discusses His View on Knives

tobii3 said:
Wow. No effort to actually click on the links and read them?

I would suggest you go and read the list of movies that Humphries has worked on.

Then at least make an effort to research Chuck Pfarrer.



Simply noticing the author of "Warrior Soul, The Memoir of a Navy SEAL", published in 2004, might point out the obvious...or, more recently, the author of "SEAL Target Geronimo, The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden", published in 2011, might help as well. Could it possibly be the same guy that wrote "Navy SEALs", the movie you dismiss as comedy? Shocking!

Considering HOW MUCH just those two individuals have contributed in the past 20+ years to Hollywood, one would be inclined to realize that the movies and the books have been going on for decades, now, haven't they?

The next time you are looking at the books in the "Military" section, you might notice the names Dennis Chalker and Richard Marcinko, both of whom served with Harry Humphries. Small world, isn't it?
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You're so damn combative. First, I am fairly certain goodeyesniper was joking about the stealth kill crap. Second, half, if not more, of those movies you put in bold have nothing to do with the Navy SEALs or any other spec ops group: unless you would have me believe Seth Rogan played an ex SEAL in The Green Hornet. Just because an ex operator works on a film as a consultant, doesn't imply that movie has anything to do with the military.
 
Radioactive said:
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.
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Well, I have seen at least two Navy Seals on a national TV program advocate a Cold Steel Recon 1 tanto over a fixed blade................. Of course that was on deadliest warrior, so take it with a grain of salt. I did not actually look their credentials up, but I am assuming when they went on national TV and claimed to be retired Seals, there would have been a quick backlash if they were not.



I would pick a fixed blade over a folder in a "combat" situation for all the same reasons as every one else. Stronger, and faster to deploy, etc.


Most in the military, any branch, are simply not "knife" people. I did work with a Special Forces guy (if I remember correctly, Navy Seal) who had gone reserve? He missed out on the first Desert Storm, and had always regretted it. His wife passed away right before it happened, and he had two small children at home. He carried a Benchmade auto at work. He was still reserve or something, because he would go and train others part of the year. He was the exception, I am sure, because he was a fan of custom knives too.


I agree that most of our ideas about the knife wielding warrior is based on Movies and not on reality.


I have seen quite a few custom knives and axes that were supposed to be made for Navy Seals, so some of them, at least, have more knowledge on knives than other.
 
Fixed vs. folder is always a interesting discussion. The SEALs have had their choice over the years, which would serve better on a mission: Buckmaster, Dark Ops Raven, Extrema Ratio Ontos?

The reality is most of those are sold to civilians. As are the complementary folders, whatever those might be. SEALs use a suppressed HK or M4A1 - for more standoff and superior hit ratio. At knife fighting range, Osama wasn't. He was shot.

The emphasis on knives in combat largely comes from those with no experience or training. They take a personal interest out of context and look for any tidbit of information to amplify it. If edged weapons were effective, we wouldn't be trying to pass a ban on AR15's, and there wouldn't be Three Gun - it would be Three Blade.

Tout fixed or folder, either is quickly outclassed by an 18" gladius, and the gladius in turn would be overmatched by a .22 pistol. Let's keep the knife in perspective for what it is - a tool, one of many, and about last in effective lethality on the modern battlefield. That change occurred centuries ago, despite each new generation's romantic notions.
 
tirod3 said:
The emphasis on knives in combat largely comes from those with no experience or training. They take a personal interest out of context and look for any tidbit of information to amplify it.
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There's a deployment "Murphy's Law" on knives - the bigger the knife, the further from danger. From my first deployment in 1990 to my last in 2012, that "Law" was 100% accurate.
 
I don't even see what the big deal is... some SEAL says he likes to use a SOG Desert Dagger, so what? I don't see people laughing about the guys who picked up Gerber Mk IIs in Vietnam.

I could understand the reactions if this guy was pushing Dark Ops or the J. Lightning Razr, but I don't see anything too abnormal about his choice of knife. Obviously it's not the best utility knife, but jeez...

:confused:
 
tueller said:
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.
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He doesn't claim to be...he's only offering what worked for him.
 
I love a thread that mentions the great J. Lighting. LOL
Goosey said:
I don't even see what the big deal is... some SEAL says he likes to use a SOG Desert Dagger, so what? I don't see people laughing about the guys who picked up Gerber Mk IIs in Vietnam.

I could understand the reactions if this guy was pushing Dark Ops or the J. Lightning Razr, but I don't see anything too abnormal about his choice of knife. Obviously it's not the best utility knife, but jeez...

:confused:
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ok not knife related, but related to this thread, apologies if this is hijacking, not my intention,
so hopefully this will lighten things up a little :-)
my 16 yr old son in March of this year at Rorke's Oceanside book signing.
The wife drove 3 hours round trip to make this happen for him.

rorke1_zps184b7fba.jpg
 
I came to this thread looking for a good discussion, and was promptly disappointed that the thread seems to have become W&C without actually having been moved there.
 
I have a couple of very close friends who are retired seals and still do "work" overseas. I freedive and spearfish with them and they aren't knife guys like I am. I am constantly trying to tell them about the new spyderco salt or some fancy dive knife and I'm always amazed that they aren't that interested. Then they swim up beside me from a 100 foot dive with a 60 pound snapper with a spear in its gills and a $15 Chinese dive knife sticking out of its head. Hmm...kind of makes me feel like a kook when I start trying to "educate" them about their knives. It's the carpenter not the tool. Always has been, always will be.

Kind of makes me roll my eyes when I hear a few mall ninjas calling out a trained assassin on the internet because he doesn't use the right kind of knife...hehehe...take it easy there killer! Do you have any clue how ridiculous you sound? I'm not calling any names, but if you think I'm talking to you then I probably am. ;-).
 
Surfingringo said:
I have a couple of very close friends who are retired seals and still do "work" overseas. I freedive and spearfish with them and they aren't knife guys like I am. I am constantly trying to tell them about the new spyderco salt or some fancy dive knife and I'm always amazed that they aren't that interested. Then they swim up beside me from a 100 foot dive with a 60 pound snapper with a spear in its gills and a $15 Chinese dive knife sticking out of its head. Hmm...kind of makes me feel like a kook when I start trying to "educate" them about their knives. It's the carpenter not the tool. Always has been, always will be.

Kind of makes me roll my eyes when I hear a few mall ninjas calling out a trained assassin on the internet because he doesn't use the right kind of knife...hehehe...take it easy there killer! Do you have any clue how ridiculous you sound? I'm not calling any names, but if you think I'm talking to you then I probably am. ;-).
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I kind of don't think that is the point dude. I think that the point some guys are making is precisely just because a trained assasin is not a knife guy, then a knife that is good enough for him might not be a great knife when examined from knife nut standards. Doesn't mean that the credentials of the SEAL is questioned. Some guys just don't think much of his opinion on what a good knife is. Could be that the knife is good enough for covert deanimations and opening MRE's, but isn't worth a dang for bushcrafty or outdoorsy or cardboard breaking down work.
 
Maybe "best" was a bit excessive. It worked for him though, right? It cut what needed to be cut. Split, sliced, pried, divided, and all that noise. Give the guy a break. Saying it was the "best" is probably a lot easier than saying "it was the best knife I was able to get my hands on and didnt let me down." These books have editors as well. Who's to say that one of them didnt edit what he said about the blade? I thank him for his service. Merica.
 
There may be another way to look at this...he may not use a SOG DD at all. A master never requires the best equipment. In fact, if it is known that an expert requires or uses high-end equipment it may decrease their reputation. A true computer hacker just requires a copy of Windows 92 and Notepad, a bushcraft master the lowly Mora, an undercover DEA agent just whatever is at hand be it a CD case or bottle opener, a world-famous singer a Shure SM57... This SEAL may actually use a high-end knife but it would cast him in a poor light if he mentioned it.

The SOG Desert Dagger was famously used in Kill Bill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPfjd2bayVs
 
singularity35 said:
I kind of don't think that is the point dude. I think that the point some guys are making is precisely just because a trained assasin is not a knife guy, then a knife that is good enough for him might not be a great knife when examined from knife nut standards. Doesn't mean that the credentials of the SEAL is questioned. Some guys just don't think much of his opinion on what a good knife is. Could be that the knife is good enough for covert deanimations and opening MRE's, but isn't worth a dang for bushcrafty or outdoorsy or cardboard breaking down work.
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Ok, maybe you are right. And yes, that's kind of what I got from most of the posts and I agree. I think I actually kind of alluded to that same point in MY post. I just thought I read a couple of posts that did indeed sound like they were questioning the guys credentials because of his choice of knives. Kind of like a bunch of guys in New York City who like dressing up in cowboy hats and boots and going line dancing on Saturday night making fun of some Texas ranch hand's dirty cowboy hat...chuckling derisively and discussing how he's obviously not a real cowboy because he doesn't have the right kind of hat. ;-). And THAT, to me, was bordering on ridiculous.

I dunno, i thought i heard just a bit of that in a couple of posts. Maybe I'm wrong though.

As far as what the "point" is, there's 120 posts on this thread, so there's a LOT of points. ;-) I only took exception to a couple of them.
 
I thought Chris Kyle handled his book pretty well; told the story and didn't seem to me that he was pushing his company too much. He briefly talked bout his tact knife approach -- worth reading.

Guess it doesnt matter anyways now that he is gone. Anybody see how Jessie Ventura is still suing his?wife (Can't wait until this gets flagged as off topic, ha!)
 
Surfingringo said:
Ok, maybe you are right. And yes, that's kind of what I got from most of the posts and I agree. I think I actually kind of alluded to that same point in MY post. I just thought I read a couple of posts that did indeed sound like they were questioning the guys credentials because of his choice of knives. Kind of like a bunch of guys in New York City who like dressing up in cowboy hats and boots and going line dancing on Saturday night making fun of some Texas ranch hand's dirty cowboy hat...chuckling derisively and discussing how he's obviously not a real cowboy because he doesn't have the right kind of hat. ;-). And THAT, to me, was bordering on ridiculous.

I dunno, i thought i heard just a bit of that in a couple of posts. Maybe I'm wrong though.

As far as what the "point" is, there's 120 posts on this thread, so there's a LOT of points. ;-) I only took exception to a couple of them.
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Haha gotcha. :D
 
RESOLVED: front-line combat personnel are not fully qualified to talk about knives since most of their opinions are from a "blind" user standpoint.
 
If I ever need a knife for cutting up old mattresses, I know what to choose.

and yeah, of course fixed blades are the only choice when reliability is important.
By the way, I love when people think a knife like the Emerson Rhino is anything but a fantasy knife.
Ya know what is really black-ops awesome, the noise of a linerlock engaging in the dead of night. Good job ninja assassin. ;)
 
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