Australian army has a new knife.

[Deino]

Just my personal point of view.

Despite having the same overall length to the AUG commando, the SIG has collapsible stock as it uses AR18 system rather than AR15, which doesn't have a back buffer. Therefore, it is shorter when folded and you have an adjustable stock for comfort, which is a short coming of the AUG. Also, adjustable stock to compensate for the gear thickness is a real thing, especially with magnificated sight or scope.

At least you guys are getting more toys. Canadian Army is still playing with full size AR15 and WW2 era handgun, which even the stubborn USMC has dropped.

 

[slyraven]

Looks like they bought em at the mall

I can see their use in thinking they'll stab enemies..bit no other really. Kinda like me when I bought the cold steel ti-lite. As if I'd ever actually gouge some foe.

But..it is pretty cool regardless, I sound just think a multiuser would be better and that handle looks uncomfortable for any other use than combat

 

[NG VI]

I think many forget that the raison d'etre of 'the infantry' is 'to close with, and kill the enemy'.
For far too long the infantry, in general, has been restricted by political will to being held in FOBs and not being allowed to dominate the ground (granted it's in a very civilian contested environment) due to a lack of stomach for casualties.
Infantry should be expected to engage in hand to hand combat, and should also be suitably equipped.
The dumbing down of infantry training is concerning. Very little training in using non-issue weapons, lack of hand to hand combat, lack of bayonet and knife training - partly because of the reluctance to have some 'deadly and aggressive' soldiers during peacetime.
If you leave it till a time of war when 90% of your force doesn't have the training or the skills, it's too late.

It's quite illegal to make a habit of using non-issue weapons at the individual soldier's discretion in a formal war, though

 

[NG VI]

Looks like they bought em at the mall

I can see their use in thinking they'll stab enemies..bit no other really. Kinda like me when I bought the cold steel ti-lite. As if I'd ever actually gouge some foe.

But..it is pretty cool regardless, I sound just think a multiuser would be better and that handle looks uncomfortable for any other use than combat

the tanto version looks a lot more useful, though the handle design still makes it a bit 'unusable' to me in terms of ergos. Skinny grip with a quite round/square profile, it looks like a fancy shank and probably feels terrible to do anything other than 1-2 stabs with. I do like the compound grind, but I believe it's a confused element to have on this particular shiv. They have a good-looking cutting edge on what is meant to be a sharp spike, it just seems like a commitment to mediocrity. A handle that would be awful to cut with and a design intended for stabbing but a blade with a lot of concessions to actual use as a knife, which obviously reduces its reliability as a dagger by a bit.

 

[Danke42]

I wouldn't want to get arrested by the War Police for having a Benchmade instead of a SAK.

 

[scdub]

But basically a little double edged dagger.

Sorry that can’t be right. According to experts there’s no need for a combat knife in the military. Probably just an Australian April Fools joke - don’t believe it

 

[DocJD]

Secret training video :

 

[mickb]

.

On the knife...... meh. Lots will be left in trunks, lots sold and a few carried. Arguable more Diggers will get cut by them than "the enemy" however I am all for shiny stuff being available !!!

Then let them buy this shiny stuff themselves. Dont charge taxpayers for something as you say which may barely get used and makes retired generals and prime vendors rich.

There are a long list of requirements for a new piece of kit to get across the line and its not just tactical usefulness, weight, durability, sovereign capability( aka can we make it ourselves if shipping is cut off off) etc . One of the big ones is also cost/benefit analysis, does the army really need it enough to belabour tax payers with it period.

Good heavens, the super inflation going on post-covid and people want to give even more money away.

 

[The Grendels]

The C7 (CAF M16) bayonet was great for probing ground for mines or if you were on a wire party, where you didn't want to destroy your own knife. The Aussie issue knife looks like it would be great for throwing at trees and buidings, when you're killing time as a weapon sentry.

 

[Drop bear]

Obviously it should have been a smatchet.

 

[Ourorboros]

Yeah. But on the other side. Cool knife for soldiers is pretty cool. Whether they need them or not

If it's not used, it's extra weight - weight that has to be carried around. For hundreds of years it's been said that a soldier can only be expected to haul around 75 pounds, day to day. If you add weight, you have to take out weight.
You don't just carry around cool stuff when you are covering terrain or quickly trying to get to cover.

 

[helobite]

Hand to hand fighting is a bit of the past for major armed forces. The weaponry we use today are way too lethal, long range explosive, high accuracy, grenade to clear trenches, etc. If the enemy is under 300m from you, you are already dead. The heavy gear, ammunition and plates really show you down and not great for hand to hand situation. Even regular trained soldiers are expensive, you don't want them to get to melee range.

Knives and bayonet in the military are now more of utility tool than a weapon.

The only experience of combat ninety nine percent of your readers have, is from video games and Marvel Comic movies. In the Marvel world, Colonel Kickass and General Housekeeping go mano e mano with toothy monsters and wierdly costumed evil doers. Notice that the hero's always manage to lose their shirts so the viewer can see their six pack abdominals.

A Vietnam bud of mine said his most useful combat knife was a Swiss Army knife, like this:

Given the advancements in technology, this might be the new favorite: a multi tool

A Green Beret bud of mine carried this in Vietnam because it would silice the bread inside a K ration can

Bud was given this by the Army, and the the first one he had, the tip broke cutting saw grass

The one pictured is the second on he acquired. He sent it home because it was neat, but useless in the field. Did not cut K ration bread worth a hoot.

I would hate to have to approach someone with a fully automatic AK47 and my only weapon being the knife in my hand. In a situation like that, the prudent thing to do is run away as fast as you can, in the hope of getting away!

 

[abcdef]

Mobile Infantry in Starship Troopers used these. Inexpensive, probably 420, throw, stab, open mre's.

 

[Deino]

The C7 (CAF M16) bayonet was great for probing ground for mines or if you were on a wire party, where you didn't want to destroy your own knife. The Aussie issue knife looks like it would be great for throwing at trees and buidings, when you're killing time as a weapon sentry.

The Canadian B2005 bayonet is made of 55Si7 (0.6% carbon, kind of 5160) at 52 HRC, very low V grind, so what the hell is edge retention? Its size and toughness, it is made for utility first and foremost. In the gear list they give me, each soldier is expected to bring their own multi tools and folding knife.

The only experience of combat ninety nine percent of your readers have, is from video games and Marvel Comic movies. In the Marvel world, Colonel Kickass and General Housekeeping go mano e mano with toothy monsters and wierdly costumed evil doers. Notice that the hero's always manage to lose their shirts so the viewer can see their six pack abdominals.

A Vietnam bud of mine said his most useful combat knife was a Swiss Army knife, like this:

Given the advancements in technology, this might be the new favorite: a multi tool

A Green Beret bud of mine carried this in Vietnam because it would silice the bread inside a K ration can

Bud was given this by the Army, and the the first one he had, the tip broke cutting saw grass

The one pictured is the second on he acquired. He sent it home because it was neat, but useless in the field. Did not cut K ration bread worth a hoot.

I would hate to have to approach someone with a fully automatic AK47 and my only weapon being the knife in my hand. In a situation like that, the prudent thing to do is run away as fast as you can, in the hope of getting away!

I was born in Vietnam and grew up over there, from Hanoi nonetheless. I was from the "other side", my relatives are veterans from the Vietnam war fought against America (the war has long ended and things are different nowadays). My father was a soldier after ward, during the war against China 1979. Despite the portrait of Vietnamese soldiers rushing up position, none of them talked about charging into melee range, not even the tunnels people, they found no reason to not expend all of the ammunition first. Kamikaze with grenade to take down the opposition was considered a better last ditch than melee.

So yeah, even back then neither side wants to get to use knife or bayonet to fight.

 

[helobite]

So yeah, even back then neither side wants to get to use knife or bayonet to fight.

But it makes a better movie to have the hero's using katana's, spears, bows and arrows. Here (at 1 minute) Catniss shoots down, not one, but two jets, with a bow and arrow!

People believe this stuff because they have never been bounced by a fighter jet. A friend of mine was working in the desert from a trailer near an USAF airforce base. For whatever reason these jets used the trailer as some sort of a landmark and would frequently pass over. Bud had an excellent view to the horizon and claimed those jets were going like "bats out of hell". He would pick them up just as they crested the horizon (about three miles away) and he made a game to see how far he could run, before the jets passed over. I think he said his furthest distance was either 10 to 20 feet. Somewhere in that range. Another Bud was marching in his unit, during a wargame, just as dawn was breaking. Suddenly a Warthog zoomed over and everyone in the unit had their kill lights go off. No one had time to even turn to step off the road, it was that quick. According to the game rules, everyone in the unit was dead.

In real life, Catniss's mouth would be wide open and gaping just before aerial 20mm shells fragmented her body.

 

[Gideons]

The C7 (CAF M16) bayonet was great for probing ground for mines or if you were on a wire party, where you didn't want to destroy your own knife. The Aussie issue knife looks like it would be great for throwing at trees and buidings, when you're killing time as a weapon sentry.

Not really sure the CAF Bayonet is "great" at probing, especially when compared to the actual probing tool issued to the CAF Combat Engineers...

The Canadian B2005 bayonet is made of 55Si7 (0.6% carbon, kind of 5160) at 52 HRC, very low V grind, so what the hell is edge retention? Its size and toughness, it is made for utility first and foremost. In the gear list they give me, each soldier is expected to bring their own multi tools and folding knife.


I was born in Vietnam and grew up over there, from Hanoi nonetheless. I was from the "other side", my relatives are veterans from the Vietnam war fought against America (the war has long ended and things are different nowadays). My father was a soldier after ward, during the war against China 1979. Despite the portrait of Vietnamese soldiers rushing up position, none of them talked about charging into melee range, not even the tunnels people, they found no reason to not expend all of the ammunition first. Kamikaze with grenade to take down the opposition was considered a better last ditch than melee.

So yeah, even back then neither side wants to get to use knife or bayonet to fight.

Yeah, the CAF Bayonet has poor edge retention, not great cutting geometry and too bulky/heavy to justify carrying imho. Also, when you say "in the gear list they give me" is "they" suppose to be the CAF? As the CAF has a standard issued Gerber or SOG multi-tool...

Just my personal point of view.

Despite having the same overall length to the AUG commando, the SIG has collapsible stock as it uses AR18 system rather than AR15, which doesn't have a back buffer. Therefore, it is shorter when folded and you have an adjustable stock for comfort, which is a short coming of the AUG. Also, adjustable stock to compensate for the gear thickness is a real thing, especially with magnificated sight or scope.

At least you guys are getting more toys. Canadian Army is still playing with full size AR15 and WW2 era handgun, which even the stubborn USMC has dropped.

Slightly off topic, but technically... on friday the CAF announced they selected as the Sig Sauer P320 designated the C22 to finally replace the browning hi-power and they're looking to replace the c7a2 with the c8a4 (currently just a prototype).

 

[The Grendels]

Not really sure the CAF Bayonet is "great" at probing, especially when compared to the actual probing tool issued to the CAF Combat Engineers...

Yeah, the CAF Bayonet has poor edge retention, not great cutting geometry and too bulky/heavy to justify carrying imho. Also, when you say "in the gear list they give me" is "they" suppose to be the CAF? As the CAF has a standard issued Gerber or SOG multi-tool...


Slightly off topic, but technically... on friday the CAF announced they selected as the Sig Sauer P320 designated the C22 to finally replace the browning hi-power and they're looking to replace the c7a2 with the c8a4 (currently just a prototype).

Other than mine awareness training in the field or if you were on a pioneer course, we didn't see a lot of probes, and sometimes during mine training you just used your bayonets. I did terrible things to a couple of the bayonets using them to twist-tighten barbed wire when there wasn't anything else handy. I do remember it feeling kind of brittle when I did that. The old chrome bayonet for the FN C1-A1 was probably a better bayonet.

In the early/mid-90s we traded in our Camillas folders for Leatherman multi-tools. I'm almost certain they weren't Gerbers. My girlfriend got me a Leatherman to replace the one I had to hand in with my kit.

I heard about the new handgun and it's about time. I don't even know if the worn barrels on those Brownings ever got changed after WWII, but the main people I saw stuck carrying them were the guys carrying GPMGs. There were always a bunch of odd handguns kicking around the weapons lockup that got broken out for very rare shoots, but I seem to remember there were more foreign weapon shoots than handgun shoots and those were rare too.

 

[Drop bear]

Mobile Infantry in Starship Troopers used these. Inexpensive, probably 420, throw, stab, open mre's.

Yeah. But why bother with a knife when you can just nuke them?

 

[Drop bear]

Just my personal point of view.

Despite having the same overall length to the AUG commando, the SIG has collapsible stock as it uses AR18 system rather than AR15, which doesn't have a back buffer. Therefore, it is shorter when folded and you have an adjustable stock for comfort, which is a short coming of the AUG. Also, adjustable stock to compensate for the gear thickness is a real thing, especially with magnificated sight or scope.

At least you guys are getting more toys. Canadian Army is still playing with full size AR15 and WW2 era handgun, which even the stubborn USMC has dropped.

One of the things mentioned as to why the .300 blackout is preferable to an AK. that is kind of supposed to do the same thing.

Is everyone has bits for an M4.

Which would also have to apply to the steyer. And that would have to be a handy thing for a soldier's weapon.

 

[Gideons]

Other than mine awareness training in the field or if you were on a pioneer course, we didn't see a lot of probes, and sometimes during mine training you just used your bayonets. I did terrible things to a couple of the bayonets using them to twist-tighten barbed wire when there wasn't anything else handy. I do remember it feeling kind of brittle when I did that. The old chrome bayonet for the FN C1-A1 was probably a better bayonet.

In the early/mid-90s we traded in our Camillas folders for Leatherman multi-tools. I'm almost certain they weren't Gerbers. My girlfriend got me a Leatherman to replace the one I had to hand in with my kit.

I heard about the new handgun and it's about time. I don't even know if the worn barrels on those Brownings ever got changed after WWII, but the main people I saw stuck carrying them were the guys carrying GPMGs. There were always a bunch of odd handguns kicking around the weapons lockup that got broken out for very rare shoots, but I seem to remember there were more foreign weapon shoots than handgun shoots and those were rare too.

This is the Gerber currently issued to light infantry, I know (some) combat engineers get issued SOG multi-tools. I don't know about every MOS or branch, some could be issued a leatherman - but afaik the Gerber is standard/most issued multi-tool in the CAF.