Best knives for the city?

MSGH045 said:
Hello. I am searching for knives to have in a backpack while out and about the city where I live in case I need one for emergencies.
Not too big but not too small. Suggestions on both folding and fixed blades would be welcomed.
Click to expand...

I live in Houston. Haven't been
Out-And-About" much during the pandemic and following hip surgery BUT:

My in-city EDC has for many years been a Leatherman Wave carried horizontally in a belt sheath. Texas state law allows one to carry about any cutting tool in public, ("dagger', assisted opening etc) but local ordinances can be more restrictive. The greater Houston area has multiple jurisdictions, and I just can't worry too much about keeping it all straight. So the multi-tool is it for me. The horizontal carry is unobtrusive and works well with jeans or a suit. This should also work for a tactical folder if that is what you feel you need.

In the OP you specify in-the-backpack carry, so I assume there is some restriction on open carry where you are.
My tool has a seriated blade and a smooth edge blade too. Bothmay be deployed with one hand given a little practice. Both hasver come in handy for opening up convenience store snack packages. I have used the large screwdriver and pliers to tighten up the outside tables at a Starbucks once.

In my opinion, if you feel the need for a serious tactical knife while out and about, you should seriously reconsider where, when and what you do. . . .but that is just me. By all means, you should be you.
 
When my journey required living out of a backpack for months , these two fulfilled my every need.
40m3E4V.jpg
 
Chronovore said:
Once you've divorced your folding knife from any and all defensive notions, you get a lot more freedom in what you carry. As far as flippers, that's what I usually carry. (See my recent post in the Knives and Guns thread.) Quality manual flippers rarely fail to deploy for me and if they do, it's usually a matter of shaking them one way or the other. Honestly, my fail rate with thumb studs is worse. When I do fail on thumb studs, they usually stop with just a little bit of finger meat near or below the plane of the blade. So I suppose that if I got bumped hard while in the middle of flicking a thumb-stud knife, I could shave off a centimeter or so... :confused:

I got a job offer once that required moving to California. I turned it down. There is a lot of good out there but the laws (and some of the people) are crazy. Moving could work. There are a few Supreme Court cases coming up that could make things better but violating your natural rights is a very high priority for the people in charge there. It's a lot like New York, which is already taking steps to circumvent a possible pro-liberty ruling in one of those cases.

Priorities are what they are. If you have a gym with classes, BJJ, or even a boxing club within driving distance; swapping that in for your current fitness routine wouldn't be a bad idea.
Click to expand...
I'll have divorced folding knives from my defensive notions once I am out of the locale and can carry a gun and fixed-blade along with spray (The Spyderco Ronin exists, same length as Yojumbo but fixed, now they just need a fixed Civilian and I'll be good for "Free state carry"). I would LOVE to simplify with a revolver and a fixed blade. I am telling you, man, I am personally in a truly unique and weird state (not like my state of residence) in terms of being able to buy/own arms in CA specifically.

When I first came here, I loved finding and reading those threads about "I pulled out my SAK and she started screaming 'OHEMGEE WHY DO YOU HAVE A WEAPON', for entertainment, and the funny part was, half of the guys would end the story with "If only she'd seen my G19 heheh", or some other indication they can freely pack. I know that logically, in a place with people who make you put a fin on your rifle and then go "Okay, its safe now", you'd think there would be more pearl-clutching at my knives, but I have just never experienced it. I would imagine this is largely due to my discretion. However, it could happen. In my experience, you can calm down a lot of nutty people with tact, though. I have generally an "80s metalhead" look about me, long hair, that look can be turned up or down, so people generally have a lot more to look at than my waistline, under my shirt, etc.

I think, in this day and age, that look actually helps me. Instead of seeing me as some hesher, stoner, criminal as they might have 35 years ago, they look at me as a pleasant, rock & roll throwback to times past. They look at me and see a musician, or an artist. I value that cover. I also do play music, but that isn't here nor there.

Very premium advice though, a BJJ class is in my future, it makes me feel like prey having minimal physical skills. Then, I am taking my family and moving out of here, and carrying, legally. Maybe Montana. Maybe Colorado.
 
220-9er said:
If you find yourself in any knife fight you've already lost.
The only question is how big.

Don't go anywhere with a knife (or a firearm) you wouldn't go without one.
Click to expand...
I love your second peice of advice. "Hey, I'm going to trade with this random guy online, what gun should I bring" "You scared? Don't go!!" But, this thing of everyone talking about defending yourself with a knife being the same as a KNIFE FIGHT. I don't intend to pull a knife on a pulled knife, just like I wouldn't draw on a gun pointed at me. That's common sense. If that happens, I'm just kind of at the mercy. There are some times when a person asks a master, "What if they have me like this?" and the only answer is, "You're dead".

I have a knife for being robbed by intimidation - the only way I've ever been robbed. He shoved me to the ground and I had no interest in seeing what he or friends may or may not have been packing. A lot of things happen in opportunistic ways though, people trying to snatch a phone, creeps on the street getting too close and asking weird questions (I have always been too nice here, working on it), crazy people... The way I train with a knife is draw, slash a muscle group, run like hell, I don't train with a leather jacket in my other hand, like a Spanish Navaja duel. I won't be takin 12 paces with anyone else also packing a knife that is drawn. I am a short guy. I don't fight. If a drunk guy over 6 feet tries to fight with me and will not relent, he is deadly to me, THAT is what the knife is for. I cannot win. That is why I need to take some kind of physical training, but I digress, until I do, I still want to be safe.
 
Last edited:
Hashishiin said:
I love your second peice of advice. "Hey, I'm going to trade with this random guy online, what gun should I bring" "You scared? Don't go!!" But, this thing of everyone talking about defending yourself with a knife being the same as a KNIFE FIGHT. I don't intend to pull a knife on a pulled knife, just like I wouldn't draw on a gun pointed at me. That's common sense. If that happens, I'm just kind of at the mercy. There are some times when a person asks a master, "What if they have me like this?" and the only answer is, "You're dead".

I have a knife for being robbed by intimidation - the only way I've ever been robbed. He shoved me to the ground and I had no interest in seeing what he or friends may or may not have been packing. A lot of things happen that way, people trying to opportunistically grab a phone, creeps on the street getting too close and asking weird questions (I have always been too nice here, working on it), crazy people... The way I train with a knife is draw, slash a muscle group, run like hell, I don't train with a leather jacket in my other hand, like a Spanish Navaja duel. I won't be takin 12 paces with anyone else also packing a knife that is drawn. I am a short guy. I don't fight. If a drunk guy over 6 feet tries to fight with me and will not relent, he is deadly to me, THAT is what the knife is for. I cannot win. That is why I need to take some kind of physical training, but I digress, until I do, I still want to be safe.
Click to expand...

Yeah definitely. Look I think people get this impression that we are special ops guys going up against ninjas.

Pull the knife out. Wave it a few times and run away is probably going to get you out of trouble most times.
 
Anyway if this is for an emergency bag. You will kind of have to decide if it is for staying at a hotel or walking in to the wilderness. I have both. I never use the wilderness one.

And so the knife is more so I can go to the shops and buy a pre cooked chook and salad and have a couple of cheeky meals on the cheap. Rather than eating out. And I find a spork and a collapsible bowl more useful than a honking great big wilderness knife.

And look if I need to attack someone. I would find a stick or something. It isn't that hard to find some sort of suitable defensive weapon in your average urban setting.

The arguments made for these tools become very dependent on what we are actually trying to do with them.
 
Drop bear said:
Yeah definitely. Look I think people get this impression that we are special ops guys going up against ninjas.

Pull the knife out. Wave it a few times and run away is probably going to get you out of trouble most times.
Click to expand...
Precisely. I do not train for an extended stab fest, I am not practicing sewing-machine stabbing. When I practice, I am aiming to walk normally for a few feet, draw, slice towards a specific muscle group to disable it, and turn to run. The situation that befalls me will call for whether I can get out of the situation by complying - which I will, if I think I can, or by brandishing to scare. But I make sure I do not rely solely on something like brandishing, or the scare factor of waving an Espada XL, and can have something light, maneuverable, and devastating, like the Matriarch 2 ready to deploy and be used in one movement.

I carry knives primarily as cutting tools, but I do not eschew the defense they can provide - I am really loving the Yojumbo because it has extreme utility and SD capability, unlike my Matriarch 2, so I can and will be inclined to have it on me more often.
 
Drop bear said:
Yeah definitely. Look I think people get this impression that we are special ops guys going up against ninjas.

Pull the knife out. Wave it a few times and run away is probably going to get you out of trouble most times.
Click to expand...

Pulling a knife (legally considered a deadly weapon just the same as a gun) against someone that hasn't done it to you first, makes you the initial aggressor if you make it to court. That takes a self-defense claim off the table for you.
At that point, you're better off using a firearm, something that does not need to involve close contact and might actually save you from harm.
 
220-9er said:
Pulling a knife (legally considered a deadly weapon just the same as a gun) against someone that hasn't done it to you first, makes you the initial aggressor if you make it to court. That takes a self-defense claim off the table for you.
At that point, you're better off using a firearm, something that does not need to involve close contact and might actually save you from harm.
Click to expand...
When he says "pull it and wave it around", it can be assumed that the situation has already deteriorated to where you are being physically threatened, touched, harmed, or harm is imminent. They might have a gun, knife, wrench, or just be a huge hulking mofo. Why would anyone "pull it out, wave it around" to someone who is not aggressing towards you?
Pulling a knife or firearm would be equivalent, wouldn't they? If you do it to someone who isn't a threat, it is assault and brandishing, and if you do it to someone who means you harm, it is "alright", right? And also, in the context that these two fellows were replying to me, I am not able to legally walk around with a gun.
 
220-9er said:
Pulling a knife (legally considered a deadly weapon just the same as a gun) against someone that hasn't done it to you first, makes you the initial aggressor if you make it to court. That takes a self-defense claim off the table for you.
At that point, you're better off using a firearm, something that does not need to involve close contact and might actually save you from harm.
Click to expand...

It shouldn't be if you are removing yourself from the situation. Depending on a lot of other factors.

And if the guy needs to put the knife in the backpack. He probably isn't allowed to be carrying a gun.

And waving a knife doesn't involve close contact.

This is the thing. If they have a knife. And you have a knife. There generally has to be a really good reason for either of you to fight. Because engaging in a weapon battle is as intimidating for the other guy as well.

There is a whole trick to presenting a threat that gives either you a chance to escape or them a chance to escape so that nobody gets in the fight.

And that scenario happens a fair bit.
 
Last edited:
VorpelSword said:
I live in Houston. Haven't been
Out-And-About" much during the pandemic and following hip surgery BUT:

My in-city EDC has for many years been a Leatherman Wave carried horizontally in a belt sheath. Texas state law allows one to carry about any cutting tool in public, ("dagger', assisted opening etc) but local ordinances can be more restrictive. The greater Houston area has multiple jurisdictions, and I just can't worry too much about keeping it all straight. So the multi-tool is it for me. The horizontal carry is unobtrusive and works well with jeans or a suit. This should also work for a tactical folder if that is what you feel you need.

In the OP you specify in-the-backpack carry, so I assume there is some restriction on open carry where you are.
My tool has a seriated blade and a smooth edge blade too. Bothmay be deployed with one hand given a little practice. Both hasver come in handy for opening up convenience store snack packages. I have used the large screwdriver and pliers to tighten up the outside tables at a Starbucks once.

In my opinion, if you feel the need for a serious tactical knife while out and about, you should seriously reconsider where, when and what you do. . . .but that is just me. By all means, you should be you.
Click to expand...
To be fair if you deploy the pliers on a Leatherman and rip an attacker's nipple off, this too will take the fight out of most people.
 
Back in 2019 (pre-Pandemic) I was crossing a street in Houston; crossing Chimney Rock at Westheimer, not a "bad" part of town and had a physicals confrontation around mid-day in broad daylight.

I was 69 at the time, walked with a limp and used a blind man's white cane because I needed it. I have had plenty of training and experience, so this was a routine thing excursion for me. As the light changed and I stepped off the curb, some muscular young man grabbed my elbow and shouted something at me. I said things like "let me go: several times, escalating the tone, volume and word selection each time. He wouldn't let go and was sort of jamming my elbow into my ribs and dragging me around. I was, shall we say, concerned for my safety. I thought I was being mugged. Ten or fifteen seconds into this it seemed to be beyond any discussion and my free hand was holding my EDC Leatherman Wave and fumbling the blades open.

Thankfully the combination of a really angry remark and a violent shake got him to let go, which saved him from serious injury or death. He retreated back to the curb, and I hurriedly crossed the street. Looking back, he was leaving in a hurry with his bucket and squeegee. In retrospect, I think he was offering to help me cross the street in a foreign language.

That could have been a really bad dayfor both of us. My only options were to stab his thigh or slash his neck. We were jest a wink away from that when he finally let go. The ramifications of cutting someone that way in front of many witnesses could have been massive for both of us.

And it was all a misunderstanding.
 
My "favorite" tactical knife is a Camillus "Cuda Maxx"; a titanium liner-lock flipper with 5.5-inch D2 stiletto blade.

Bought it in 2001 or so from the Brigade Quartermaster catalog for the first-run introductory price of $125. Now they come up on e-Bay for $500 and more.

Guess its legal to carry in Texas, but again, my EDC is a Leatherman Wave.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top