Daggers... are they good for anything except fighting?

killgar said:
The usefulness of a dagger isn't determined by how many edges it has, but rather, by the edge geometry, the level of sharpness, the design of it's handle, and it's edge-holding capability. Basically all the things that define the usefulness of ANY knife.

All knives have their limitations. No one knife is the perfect choice for every knife task. Daggers are no different- they're not perfect for every task, but they are perfectly capable of performing many tasks just as effectively as any other knife with the same edge geometry, level of sharpness, etc.

Below is a pic of one of my more "practical" daggers. I call it practical because I can use it for general cutting tasks if I want. After a thread awhile back where people said that daggers are no good for cutting stuff I decided to test this knife by cutting up a bunch of 550 paracord. The knife sliced right through it without effort, just as easily as any of my single-edged fixed-blades. It also works great for opening packages.

Would I choose it for skinning a deer, or whitling, no. But I also have single-edged knives that are not suitable for such tasks.

I think it sucks that you live in a country that limits your choice of knives.

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What is this one? Kinda reminds me of the SOG Desert Dagger.

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sailfish said:
What is this one? Kinda reminds me of the SOG Desert Dagger.

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Good eye Sailfish.

I "assembled" the knife using the blade from an older model United boot knife (UC26), and the handle from a SOG Desert Dagger. I made the hilt like Legendary_Jarl said.

Here's a pic of my knife next to an original condition newer model United UC26. I wanted a larger handle that better filled my hand. A friend broke his Desert Dagger and I bought the broken knife from him to get the handle. The handle turned out to be a good, tight fit on the United blade.

The original United in the pic is even sharper than my "hybrid" version. My hybrid was an older model, and back then the grinds were flat, whereas in the later/newer versions the grinds are a little hollow. So when I sharpened the newer one it produced much finer, sharper edges. I'm sure I could easily slice tomatoes with it.

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I agree that useful functionality depends entirely on the design, and that some daggers actually cut better than others. I also agree that the best part of a dagger is two knives in one. I like asymmetrical daggers, one full edge, one partial, preferably about 2/3, with a piece of actual spine for the thumb to bear down, without requiring stitches.

I'm of the opinion that, with some obvious exceptions, many daggers can be quite useful utility knives, you just have to deal with all the laws against doing so. But you might as well use them for something. VERY few will ever have the opportunity to use one for its intended purpose, and only a tiny percentage of those will use the dagger correctly.

I only have two. I only need two. One, asymmetrical, for utility. The other, a leaf shaped symmetrical blade, is only sharpened 2/3 of the way to the hilt on both sides. This one is for special occasions. Retroactively aborting pre-zombies, and stuff....
So far, I've avoided situations where it might be properly applied. With luck, it'll never happen. But I knew the maker. I know why it's made the way it's made. THAT'S a discussion for another time, tho, some folks are squeamish. Simply put, woe be unto the pre-zombie that invades my domicile, should I grab that one for back-up to the 12ga, the .45 Commander, and/or the tomahawk!
 
This thread triggered a kind of dagger lust. So... I just changed my usual necker for this :
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If we're talking utility, a dagger is the best necker ever. Don't worry about where the edge is. Just draw, cut and put it back in the sheath. An excellent EDC this one !
 
do not now own any daggers.

However, I have made the choice before and have a preference.
In the early 2k years, our son was a Marine about to deploy to Iraq. Now thats a foreign country!

I bought and gave him several knives. The criteria I used in selecting what to get for him was not based on cost or look. One knife was a Cheris Reeve Green Beret, and another was a Randall #16 Special Fighter.

Among a few other knives I gave him were two daggers. One was an Ek dagger; 6 1/2 inch double edge, Chrome/vanadium etc.
The other one was a Camillus Cuda Maxx, a licensed derivative of the Darrel Ralph Madd Maxx; a 5 1/2 inch D2folding stiletto with a titanium frame lock handle.

I was looking for serious EDC tools for a warfighter about to go in harm's way, not wall hangers.

He chose not to bring either of the daggers. Instead, he packed both the Reeve and Randall knives and a CRKT M-21 for his pocket. He wore one or another of these knives on a drop-leg rig or on his body armor every day for extended periods outside the wire in harsh conditions and in action.

Ironically, today all four of these knives are displayed in a shadow box on the wall of his study.
 
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