Favorite Nephew going to Iraq

D

dondford

Joined
Nov 7, 2006
Messages
171
My nephew is in the Marine Reserves and is close to being sent to Iraq for his second tour. I would like to have a custom/semi custom knife built for him but I have some questions.

Can he carry a non-issue knife or must he only carry standard issue (I'm thinking of a fixed blade instead of the issue Ka-Bar)

If so, what would you guys recommend. I noticed that Bob Dozier offers several models of tactical knives at reasonable prices.

Any help would be appreciated.

Don
 
Don-

We have alot of military personnel that buy our knives prior to deployment. Feel free to call me at the Dozier shop if you would like to discuss this further.

Alicia
888-823-0023
 
Don,

I am giving my brother a Dozier Knife of some type. Alicia is checking on a Model 6 for me. I have a Freedom Fighter and I can tell you this,Doziers are a serious knife. Do him amd yourself a favor with a Dozier.

MPE
 
From another thread asking basically the same question............
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=441445

Fieldtestornothing said:
I served three tours, one in Afghanistan, and two in Iraq. My opinion is that you should stray away from large knives of any type. Officers hate them. A multi-tool, is most important, then I carried a folder. Any good quality one should surfice. In addition I carried a small fixed blade on my gear. Sometimes a push dagger, sometimes a Busse, depending on how far I was planning on walking that day and what my mission was. I was with the 2/325 82nd Airborne during my last tour, and they were seriously starting to look down on unorthodox edged tools like tomohawk's and large fixed blades. I have two older brothers who are Marines, and they carry K-Bars religiously so it may be different in different units or branches. He should check with his chain of command to see what is authorized.

It depends on course on what he does in the military. Will he have to carry them, or will he be vehicle mounted? My biggest concern was weight. I was a designated breach man on my first tour and did it on my second two for the hell of it. (I just liked to carry a shotgun and M-4) So humping all that stuff got brutal. Also I never saw any advantage to serrated blades, but some swear by them. Just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Berdar said:
I'll stand by the above statement.

Depending on your buddies MOS (military job), he most likely will have little use for anything other than a good multi tool or midsized folder.

Drawing the attention of a sheeple type Commander, 1SG or CSM is never a good idea. I'd make certain that he checks with his chain of command. Having a nice blade confiscated is never a good thing.

Berdar
Click to expand...
 
I'm thinking of a fixed blade instead of the issue Ka-Bar
Click to expand...
I assume you mean a USMC Marine Combat (Mark II) NSN: 1095-00-392-4102.
That is a fixed blade.
 
I have a CRKT Large Kasper folder that I would gladly give you to pass to your nephew. It's partial serrated and very lightly used. I'm thinning out my collection and would like to give it to someone that could benefit from it.

It is nothing fancy but should it get lost, taken or misplaced, it would not be a big misfortune.

PM me if interested.

hatchet-
 
HJ
I attempted to PM you but for some reason it wouldn't allow me to.
That is a very kind offer and I appreciate it. I gave him a similar folder (a little smaller) for his first tour; he carried it every day and plans to take it back. Maybe someone else with a loved one heading over will take advantage of your kind offer.
What I have in mind is a fixed blade to carry instead of his issue knife.

Thanks again,
Don
 
It is my impression in talking with my son and his wife who were stationed in beautiful Baghdad with the 1st Armoured Division that what you can carry around depends on what you do. My son is a Captain who was in charge of a recon platoon in Sadr City. All his men standardized on their gear as much as possible so everyone was very familiar with everything. For fixed blades they used the M-9 knife/bayo. He said if it were a choice between carrying ammo and knives they'd take the ammo.

I sent each a Microtech MSE-SC auto folder which they used during the 18 months they were there. It only weighs a couple ounces and can be easily opened by either hand. They had no issues with it in spite of some horrific conditions.

http://www.1sks.com/store/microtech-mini-socom-elite-automatic-seatbelt-cutter.html

Best of luck to your nephew. Two tours is two to many, IMHO.
 
I recently aquired this blade made by Justin Gingrich of Ranger Knives. It is a bring back from a soldier who was deployed in Afghanistan.

Looks like it held up with no issues and handles very well. Blade length is 5.5" OAL about 10". Thickness is 1/4. My guess is that it is Ranger's typical 5160 steel.

The turn around times on Ranger's can be fairly quick and you can customize them with Justin very easily.

The finish looks like a little "in country" camo job as it is not a typical finish you see on Rangers. Usually it is a black crinkle coat and grey micarta.

BTW, your very welcome. My offer still stands should you or someone you know be interested in the CRKT that is about to be deployed.

hatchet-

5.jpg
 
" Do him amd yourself a favor with a Dozier."


Could not agree more. I carry a Dozier as my main hunting knife and couldn't be more pleased. IMHO the Dozier is one of the best buys out there for working
knives.
The No. 6 looks about right for I had in mind.
I was planning on this being a surprise, but another poster made a good point about checking with his chain of command. I would hate for some "go by the book" officer to take the knife away from him.

Don
 
adeboer said:
Don-

We have alot of military personnel that buy our knives prior to deployment. Feel free to call me at the Dozier shop if you would like to discuss this further.

Alicia
888-823-0023
Click to expand...

Thanks for your post. I am very familiar with your knives; I purchased a hunter from y'all a couple of years ago and love it. I think I will check with him and confirm he can carry a non-issue fixed blade; if so I'm thinking of a No. 6. What is current lead time on this knife?

Don
 
I bought one of the model 6s today, there are only two left. Grab one up.

MPE
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top