Best Knife for Cutting, Chopping, and Prying?
First let me say that everyone is entitled to an opinion, and by no means do I have the market cornered on the "right" one. I don't know everything, never said that I did, and never will. And, what I am about to say is not intended to offend anyone. With that said, I am continually perplexed at the number of times I hear someone ask, "what is the best knife for cutting, chopping, and prying?" With the exception of extreme emergency situations, knives were never meant to be used for chopping and prying. That's why they make hatchets, axes, and pry bars. A pry bar would be really ineffective at cutting, so why would you use a knife blade to pry on things?
Knives (again with the exception of extreme emergencies) were intended for cutting, slashing, and stabbing, not chopping and prying. And for the sake of this discussion, I am not referring to the specialized knives like Gurkha Kukri's or the TOPS Tom Brown Tracker type knives, just knives in general.
I have owned and used many different knives for about forty plus years now, for everything from hunting, fishing, fur trapping, hiking, camping, wilderness backpacking, martial arts, self-defense, and twenty-two years of criminal law enforcement with a background in Spec Ops and SRT, and can't remember the last time I absolutely needed to pry or chop on anything with a knife. I know they are commonly used to build things like small outdoor temporary shelters etc..., but that's why they make specialized knives like the TOPS knife that I mentioned above.
And, now to briefly touch on my personal opinion (again not the only opinion) when it comes to carrying a knife for the purposes of self-defense. Most of my EDC's are Emerson BTS's, a Spyderco Military black combo blade, and as of this week, a new Zero Tolerance 301 w/ tiger stripes. When someone asks to borrow my "pocket knife" (the one's carried for self-defense, not utility) to cut something, the answer is a polite, "no". I do not cut anything with those knives, and "yes", you did hear me correctly, "nothing". They are not used for cutting paper, cardboard, wood, or prying on paint can lids. I want them razor sharp and ready to go, in the event I am absolutely forced to use them in a, "life or death" situation. If your attacker were to be wearing a heavy jacket, and you encounter drag during a slash, there are no "timeouts" while I touch up the sharpness on this blade exemptions.
And, again in closing, let me say these are only my "opinions" for what they are worth, and not the "only opinion."

First let me say that everyone is entitled to an opinion, and by no means do I have the market cornered on the "right" one. I don't know everything, never said that I did, and never will. And, what I am about to say is not intended to offend anyone. With that said, I am continually perplexed at the number of times I hear someone ask, "what is the best knife for cutting, chopping, and prying?" With the exception of extreme emergency situations, knives were never meant to be used for chopping and prying. That's why they make hatchets, axes, and pry bars. A pry bar would be really ineffective at cutting, so why would you use a knife blade to pry on things?
Knives (again with the exception of extreme emergencies) were intended for cutting, slashing, and stabbing, not chopping and prying. And for the sake of this discussion, I am not referring to the specialized knives like Gurkha Kukri's or the TOPS Tom Brown Tracker type knives, just knives in general.
I have owned and used many different knives for about forty plus years now, for everything from hunting, fishing, fur trapping, hiking, camping, wilderness backpacking, martial arts, self-defense, and twenty-two years of criminal law enforcement with a background in Spec Ops and SRT, and can't remember the last time I absolutely needed to pry or chop on anything with a knife. I know they are commonly used to build things like small outdoor temporary shelters etc..., but that's why they make specialized knives like the TOPS knife that I mentioned above.
And, now to briefly touch on my personal opinion (again not the only opinion) when it comes to carrying a knife for the purposes of self-defense. Most of my EDC's are Emerson BTS's, a Spyderco Military black combo blade, and as of this week, a new Zero Tolerance 301 w/ tiger stripes. When someone asks to borrow my "pocket knife" (the one's carried for self-defense, not utility) to cut something, the answer is a polite, "no". I do not cut anything with those knives, and "yes", you did hear me correctly, "nothing". They are not used for cutting paper, cardboard, wood, or prying on paint can lids. I want them razor sharp and ready to go, in the event I am absolutely forced to use them in a, "life or death" situation. If your attacker were to be wearing a heavy jacket, and you encounter drag during a slash, there are no "timeouts" while I touch up the sharpness on this blade exemptions.
And, again in closing, let me say these are only my "opinions" for what they are worth, and not the "only opinion."



