Combat dagger (custom?) Suggestions?

DocJD said:
Taipan is broad enough to have a great slashing blade as well as penetration for stabbing .

They made them in 3V also - polished now currently , but also older ones in black blade (DLC) .

My favorite dagger . :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
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That is a good looking knife👍 What sort of tang does it have? That's the one thing I'd be concerned about with it.
 
Legendary_Jarl said:
🙄

If you're going to be that way what about a TOPS Ranger's edge? It's high carbon steel.

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I normally shy away from straight carbon steels unless its a dedicated chopper. What's the eye roll for? That was a serious question, I don't want to be in a one in a million situation where I actually have to stab a bad guy and the knife breaks. Or something silly like stepping on it. Blade toughness is a legitimate concern.
 
I want to buy a serious one and done dagger, not something I have to worry about breaking or rusting. If I'm willing to put the money up to pay for it, I should be able to find something like that.
 
On topic: As others have said, you probably wont really get to use it and it might get "tactically aquired", but if you want it go for it. Lots of good suggestions. I have some daggers and really like them for what they are. I can personally recommend, if youre into historical designs, tods workshop over in england has beautiful stuff

Off topic: when i went in i was an 0321 in training and got dropped from class in BRPC and reclassed as a 3521(motor-t mechanic). Your fitness will be the most important. 18 minute runs will be about the middle of the pack in MART, BRPC, and BRC. If you can, get in the pool now and swim 500m fully dressed as much and as often as possible and tread water until your going to black out. Its the pool and the shallow water blackouts that get most people in recon training

PS: i carried a SAK tinker, a small pair of channel locks, and lighter for my whole time served. They were the most useful things i think i couldve had and regularly loaned out
 
Asher Sympson said:
I normally shy away from straight carbon steels unless its a dedicated chopper. What's the eye roll for? That was a serious question, I don't want to be in a one in a million situation where I actually have to stab a bad guy and the knife breaks. Or something silly like stepping on it. Blade toughness is a legitimate concern.
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Because you want to take a $300/$400 fancy Italian dagger into Marine barracks/service when multiple people have mentioned there is a high chance of it being stolen, lost or worse, taken away by the enemy. Just what do you think your future Marine buddies from Barrio Logan are going to do when they see it? Shit they will drop it into concrete tip down out of spite and there goes the dagger. If you are concerned about a knife breaking a dagger is not the best thing to carry and it is certainly not the best thing to carry to the modern battlefield. The toughness of high carbon should make it harder for the dagger to break which is why I recommended the TOPS. But still, I personally would not carry that if I went into the military.

Believe me, I am THE dagger guy of this forum and I wouldn't likely take any of mine to modern combat/military service.

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What would I take? A good folding knife for starters. I like the victorinox one handed trekker for the US army. I saw an American volunteer in Ukraine who mentioned using a Leatherman Surge to take a 50 cal. gun from a tank. As far as fixed blades, if I carried one at all, maybe I'd consider a Glock knife 81. I recently became interested in the Glock knife, they appear to be very sturdy and are very inexpensive, made in Europe and nor that bad looking.


Heck I saw a British volunteer in Ukraine carrying a Mora companion 🤣 .
 
As Jackofall so correctly points out, an enlistment MOS only guarantees you the opportunity to try out for that MOS. You must meet all requirements (hopefully by far exceeding the minimums,) not get in trouble and not get severely injured. Manage all of that and you will earn the job. You have to earn the title first. Whatever you are doing to train, increase it. Find someone that has been there and done that to help prepare you, few people can really push themselves mentally and physically as far as they need to go to truly find and improve their limits without outside influence. Keep your eye on your goal and let no amount of discomfort sway you from doing what it takes to make it. Thrive in the suck.

I love big knives, always have. I carried several on field ops and deployments but when ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain, after you realize how much Govt issued pain you will be carrying, you will look for ways to cut the extra. FMV8 is pretty sweet and if you like it get one (or two) but there are better field knife options. It is a portly ballerina and I would loathe to swim with it strapped to my gear.

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Good luck and stay healthy in Boot Camp!
Congratulations and thanks for starting a life of service!

OK - The reason you shouldn’t get a dagger is… haha jk.

Asher Sympson said:
I have an srk-c or a seal pup for any real hard utility use.
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Nice!

Like others here I actually WAS also going to suggest you consider a non-dagger blade for increased utility, but sounds like you’ve got that covered.

My suggestions:
1) As mentioned above, weight is paramount - get the lightest one you’ll be happy with. FMV8 is a chonker - especially if you plan to carry a secondary fixed blade (which I wholeheartedly support btw, fwiw).
2) Get something with a substantial guard (one that comes to a full perpendicular to the blade, instead of just ramping up towards the blade). In the unlikely circumstance you do have to do any dynamic stabs this will greatly reduce the likelihood of cutting your own fingers.
3) Don’t give up on the idea of a full custom. There are several makers here that could make you something to your specs for less money than that Busse. I can recommend one particular maker who I believe is taking full custom orders: David Mary David Mary . He uses a variety of tough steels and is comparatively affordable, and he did a great job on a regrind and Bolatron sheath for me.

Before and after:
2FFDA217-9AFF-4ACB-B398-06AC196B6B6B.jpegEEC4414C-FABD-427F-B6EF-EB2813F538B4.jpeg

And here’s one of his customs:
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…If it were me - I’d get something like the above, just a bit smaller and with 90deg guards…
 
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I have a few double edged knives I like but are much smaller- a Ironside Edge Works shrike (pikal), a Dynamis Razorback and Koyote Sgian dubh. They can clip in on a chest carrier/behind mag pouches but are also asymmetrical which doesn't sound like your thing and are more get-off-me-type blades. I'm an Army Guard POG and being a knife nut makes decisions hard with all the knives I have! :p

I'm intrigued by the Bastinelli Telum which is also smaller than what you like...Flat Rock Forge makes a 4" MK1 at a nice price and I bet he would do a big brother if you asked. The RMJ raider got mentioned earlier certainly looks well made.
 
scdub said:
Good luck and stay healthy in Boot Camp!
Congratulations and thanks for starting a life of service!

OK - The reason you shouldn’t get a dagger is… haha jk.



Nice!

Like others here I actually WAS also going to suggest you consider a non-dagger blade for increased utility, but sounds like you’ve got that covered.

My suggestions:
1) As mentioned above, weight is paramount - get the lightest one you’ll be happy with. FMV8 is a chonker - especially if you plan to carry a secondary fixed blade (which I wholeheartedly support btw, fwiw).
2) Get something with a substantial guard (one that comes to a full perpendicular to the blade, instead of just ramping up towards the blade). In the unlikely circumstance you do have to do any dynamic stabs this will greatly reduce the likelihood of cutting your own fingers.
3) Don’t give up on the idea of a full custom. There are several makers here that could make you something to your specs for less money than that Busse. I can recommend one particular maker who I believe is taking full custom orders: David Mary David Mary . He uses a variety of tough steels and is comparatively affordable, and he did a great job on a regrind and Bolatron sheath for me.

Before and after:
View attachment 1797980View attachment 1797981

And here’s one of his customs:
View attachment 1797988
…If it were me - I’d get something like the above, just a bit smaller and with 90deg guards…
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Wait. So you are seriously recommending the smatchet?

Nice work.
 
Just go balls to the wall and carry a Khukuri like the Nepalese Soldiers did. That should get someone's attention when you whip that out and start swinging it at them. Just make sure they don't have a gun handy when doing so.
 
At least wait until you have graduated the basic part of MCRD. You will have a different outlook the minute you step off the bus at MCRD. Best of luck.
 
Have a friend that trains swat officers, carries a buck boot ops as a boot carry, not really what you asked for specifically but i think fits your needs. Plus buck warranty is good and i have broken a lot of knives but never one that says buck on it
 
I will specify again, I will NOT be carrying this knife at any point during my training, no. 1 because it isn't even allowed, no. 2 because I wouldn't trust any other boot in the barracks to keep their sticky fingers off of it. If I end up getting a dagger, it will sit in a safe with my family until after I hit the fleet. And believe you me, I'm dead-set on making the cut.
 
Ya
PenguinsRcool2 said:
Have a friend that trains swat officers, carries a buck boot ops as a boot carry, not really what you asked for specifically but i think fits your needs. Plus buck warranty is good and i have broken a lot of knives but never one that says buck on it
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also, for safety issues i do not think you want a dagger, your going to more than likely be cutting some wire, wood, aluminum sheeting, prying with your blade. A lot of things that require push cuts. You dont want to push on the blade… also i would refrain from super steels and just get something you can cleanup and sharpen out gashes quickly.
 
Bill Siegle said:
Congratulations on joining the Marines! I’ll echo what others have said, wait till you get to your duty station before choosing a carry blade. Everyone in your chain of command will have an opinion and you will want to stay on the happy side of their thoughts on knives when it comes to what you carry in the field. Now for mere personal use/collecting I’d recommend you take a look at what Spartan Knives has to offer. They have some of the coolest designs and excellent construction.
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Thank you! I've looked at the Ares as a possible main blade and the v-14 as a dagger, but I'd prefer a wider blade. The v-14 is more of a spike.
 
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