Without Josh of REK, most daggers are nowhere near sharp enough to realize their true potential (as defined by Fairbairn, who knew a thing or two about their use). They would have to be zero-edged, or near zero-edged for that, like the older Gerber Guardian IIs and Mark IIs were. (Occasionally at the cost of too fragile a point in the Mark II's case)
The best fighting dagger design ever imho was the Al Mar Shadow IV, 7.6" blade, in part because it combines the essential feature of a stick tang with a full, guard inclusive, synthetic moulded handle. That handle is, in addition, amazingly well designed and durable, so much so that you have to experience it first hand to truly appreciate its brilliance.
Being not zero edged, the Seki made blade was of course dull as a butter knife as delivered, and the Aus-6 steel means the sharpening is best left to a professional: Doing it by hand will simply ruin it, no matter how good you, or your guided sharpener, think you are, even if you ignore the immense difficulty of keeping all 4 bevels symmetrical... Take my advice on this and send it to REK.
It is too bad the Shadow IV was not zero ground at the factory (like all Seki made daggers are not either, including the above mentioned SOG Desert Dagger), as it would then really be the ultimate dagger. My Gerber Guardian II is even narrower bladed, and yet because of its near-zero edge, it is still sharper in angle, from the box, than the 17 dps REK masterpiece Josh did on my Shadow IV... The Gerber, even after some use, is still sharper, and easier to sharpen. I guess REK could also "zero" a Seki made dagger, but be warned this is essentially full-on knife making, you will lose all the logos, and the bill will be in consequence...
A modern fighting dagger needs to be sharp, as it is supposed to cut outward after tip insertion. This is where most of them fall flat.
Another modern fad (besides thick or non-zero edges) is the inclusion of full profile tangs and/or heavy handle or pommel materials: Disastrous for any kind of harness inverted carry, where the allowance for long length is there, but not for high weight... The Al Mar Shadow IV is
less than an ounce per linear inch of blade, yet the long handle is so light
it is still blade heavy: An absolutely unmatched combination anywhere, especially not from customs, because it is only possible from the combination of stick tang design and full moulded-on lightweight synthetic handle materials (hence most custom makers are of no help here). The long discontinued Shadow IVs now rarely go for less than $900 US on Ebay. They started out as low-end sub $200 models in the Al Mar range...
Gaston
