Fighting Knife

My personal favorite has always been the old Gerber mk2's the originals were very well made and designed.

knifect1.jpg


Not my pic or knife. I had one very much like it 30 years ago or so.
 
In absolute terms I don't think there is a "best" fighting knife, for the simple reason that most people don't fight with them. Normal brawls are settled with fists, the military settle matters with firearms (mainly artillery).

If I had to pick a knife to take to a fight (and running away wasn't an option) then I'd probably go for Cold Steel's Chaos trench knife. I might be inclined to go with the tanto edge rather than the double edge though. A dull back side gives the option of deflecting another blade with less risk of the edges binding. The knuckle guard gives hand protection and the option of punching.
 
In a nutshell:

Primary requirements:

- Piercing ability > Slashing ability
- reach is king
- grip is king

Secondary requirements

- medium HRC, preferably around the 57-58 mark, you're looking for tough steel more than hardness, long term edge holding is irrelevant in a seconds long fight for your life.
- fully serrated edge (you can't hide from a serrated edge)

Practical (folding) examples are:

Cold Steel Talwar XL
CS21TTXLS.jpg


Spyderco Police 3
07gs3.jpg


Either one of these should serve you well

Edit: as a fixed blade fighting option the Hisshou would be extremely hard, if not impossible, to beat:

CRKT-HISSHOU.jpg
 
As said above, there has been no change in combat blades because blades are at best a last resort option. My choice of a combat knife is a bowie, 10-12" blade, sharpened concave clip point, and a double guard. Good steel, with a differential heat treat. If you want some interesting reading on the subject pick up Bill Bagwell's book "Bowies, Big Knives, and the best of battle blades". He outlines the short comings and pros of a lot of knives. I'll warn you now, his idea of the perfect combat knife is a bowie, and he gives a very good description why. He makes some of the best combat bowies Ive ever had the pleasure of handling.
 
cards94 said:
Mora.
Click to expand...

You can stab a dude with that just as easily as you can with some black coated thing with skulls stencilled on it and decorative pointy bits sticking out of it. Good choice.

One could also argue for the Sharpfinger. Very popular among certain motorcyling aficionados. Used very effectively quite often.

I'd even go a step further and put in my 2 cents for a very popular choice, the grocery store steak knife. Highly effective and inexpensive enough to where if it happens to fall into a sewer or river, it's not a big loss. Historically popular for many reasons.
 
I believe the $1.35 grocery store box cutter with the disposable single edge razor blade. Very affodable. Easily concealed in a shoe or carry on travel bag. And no single knife in history can even come close to its body count. If I'm not mistaken four airplanes were comandeered, all on board murdered, and thousands more people were slain with one.
 
It also brings up another question. Are you talking old school blade on blade fights? In effect dueling? If so, this has been relegated to the studying of various arts with blades made specifically for that purpose. Take the Crossada. If I wanted a dueling knife or a knife to fight an equally armed opponent, thats it. Its heavy, got lots of reach, has a sharpened back edge, and the screw in side quillons mean four sided hand protection and the ability to trap and remove an opponents blade. A bowie like the Hells Belle excells at this also. For the chance encounter on the street? Very few people want fo fight an equally armed opponent, even hardened criminals rarely want a fight. For this, violence of action and agressiveness will mean more than what blade your holding. A box cutter, steak knife, or other cheap throw away would be my choice here. Sharp and pointy enough to carve someone up, then bleach it and toss it. No money lost and it did its job. This is all just my opinion of course, its worth what you paid for it
 
Spots said:
As said above, there has been no change in combat blades because blades are at best a last resort option. My choice of a combat knife is a bowie, 10-12" blade, sharpened concave clip point, and a double guard.
Click to expand...

That's interesting that you say that have been no changes in combat blades, and yet, your Bowie looks nothing like the sandbar Bowie.
 
marcinek said:
That's interesting that you say that have been no changes in combat blades, and yet, your Bowie looks nothing like the sandbar Bowie.
Click to expand...
I was referencing the top post that said blades hadn't changed since WW2. The bowies I have seen from that time period look like the bowie I described. The sandbar bowie seems to have been described as a large heavy, straight backed butcher knife. The bowie that was made a few years later seems by James Black would seem to be close to what I described. Of course, the orginal was lost at the Alamo and there was a flood of knives marked as bowie knives so who can be sure when the design I described above actually came into existence.
 
Spots said:
I was referencing the top post that said blades hadn't changed since WW2. The bowies I have seen from that time period look like the bowie I described. The sandbar bowie seems to have been described as a large heavy, straight backed butcher knife. The bowie that was made a few years later seems by James Black would seem to be close to what I described. Of course, the orginal was lost at the Alamo and there was a flood of knives marked as bowie knives so who can be sure when the design I described above actually came into existence.
Click to expand...

Point taken on your first sentence. The rest is historically inaccurate.

Read this to begin:

http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/adp/history/bios/bowie/knife_like_bowies.html
 
Spots said:
I was referencing the top post that said blades hadn't changed since WW2. The bowies I have seen from that time period look like the bowie I described. The sandbar bowie seems to have been described as a large heavy, straight backed butcher knife. The bowie that was made a few years later seems by James Black would seem to be close to what I described. Of course, the orginal was lost at the Alamo and there was a flood of knives marked as bowie knives so who can be sure when the design I described above actually came into existence.
Click to expand...

The US Army issued a design they called the W49 for one of their WW II fighting knives. Several knifemakers were awarded the contract including Case and Sons Cutlery. The most prolific of these was the Western brand (pre Camilus) W49 in which the opted for a wood handle vs the Case phonelic composite. When you hold a W49 you think of the traditional bowie mentioned by Thorpe. It is a big knife to say the least.
 
There are a few knives that come to mind for me: Ontario SP6, Zero Tolerance 0160 Shifter and the CRKT Ultima. I also have to agree with the earlier mention of the Buck Nighthawk, which is a personal favorite.
 
Any blade designed to kill wild pigs would be good in a fight.
SVOPSBnw.jpg

Svord Pig Sticker fixed blade. 11-1/2" overall. 6-1/2" L6 dht tool steel blade

SVOHB.jpg

The Svord Hog Beater is 17" overall with 11-1/4" double edge carbon steel blade
http://www.svord.com/index.php
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top