Folder for Iraq Duty: How Necessary?

Hi,
I had my hot weather training at 29 Palms Cali back in the mid 60's before being deployed to Nam. I think the thought of you getting your friend a nice knife is very thoughtful. You have no idea how little things from home are treasured when you are 10,000 miles from home in a combat zone.
GOD Bless the Corps and all who serve.
Semper Fi.
 
Any folder will get used for more then cutting. Might as well start with a leatherman and get it done.
 
I Carried A Pacific Cutlery (aka Benchmade) Model 68 Balisong For About 15 Years In The Airforce. Nothing Risky, But I Pried Up A Lot Of Loose Asphalt And Concrete From Runways And Parking Ramps With It. Broke Off About 1/2 Inch Of The Tip, Re-ground It And Continued Using It. Rattles Like A Soda Can Full Of Rocks In A Wind Storm, But Open And Lock The Handles And It Is As Tight As A Rusty Bolt.
 
Weight, Weight, Weight and amount of bulk.......

After that, Your friend wont be doing any fighting with a pocket knife. But in the wildest of chance that he did.... you would probable never hear from him again.:( The SAK will serve the best and is compact and light weight. Opening cans, turning screws and clipping threads and finger nails are the main uses.
Dan

More time in the Nam than I want to remember.
 
I was a very young troop in Nam. 462 ammo man working the flight lines arming F-4's and launching them. Back then you could wear and carry any thing you wanted as long as it didnt get in the way. I carried Dads Randall. He wore it as a pilot in Nam before me and used it to cut out of a stuck harness in a bird that wouldnt fly anymore. He E&E'd his way home with that knife.

I used it to free stuck flag arming pins , and other needful tasks daily. I never had a folder, never even thought about one, but in hindsight would have loved one.

He still has that Randall, he sent it back and they cleaned it up for him for free. It looks new. It will come back to me some day and will be treasured.

A small knife like a sebenza would have been wonderful. Bless you for thinking about his needs.
 
Cool knife, but in my opinion, a good multitool could make a soldiers life a lot easier.I don`t know what your friends job is going to be, but having a small toolbox in your pocket when your in the field could be a life saver. Rifles jam, nuts and screws come loose, and you never know when you will find a bottle of cold heineken and need a bottle opener.
 
One time when I was in the Air Force we were surrounded by the Saudi's for reasons unknown. I know they were suppose to be on our side, but they encircled us with many big automatic guns making what seemed like rude threatening comments. They were laughing and chambering bullets through their rifles and letting them fall on the ground.

We were told on the radio to stay together and not make any threatening moves ourselves. My guys all had AF Survival knives with a stone in the sheath. We stood there for what seemed like forever just sharpening our knives, we had no firearms. We even got a knife sharpening cadence going that sounded really cool.

A knife in your pocket or on your belt can bring comfort whether real or perceived, it does not matter. Their are many times you need a knife to open your MRE's or do some task. I would not be caught without one. MV out!
 
Carried a CRKT M-16 or a S&W framelock. Invaluable tool in the field; yes he would use and does need one. A Ka-Bar can't hurt either.

OOH RAH JGarth
 
my cousin is sgt in the army.. been all over africa and kept his crkt desert cruiser the whole time.. still has it and swears by it.
 
leatherman surge, sak, or a swiss tool will get more use. more helpfull in survival situations. I carried a leatherman and a plain edge endura when i was in. leatherman got more use, but a sturdy folder gets its use too!
 
Anotther vote for the SAK One Hand Trekker! And thumbs up for you Confederate for getting a good folder for your buddy!:thumbup:

Here's hoping he has a safe tour!

Chers
 
He may get issued a multitool prior to his deployment. Units that are deploying get hooked up with tons of gear. I'd be surprised if he didn't already have one. If he is infantry, I'd be surprised if he didn't have one. All the men here seem to carry both a multitool on the belt and a folder in the pocket.

The people that are not interested in carrying multitools or knives always seem to want to borrow a knife. Some just get by with a slipjoint in the bottom leg pocket of the ACU pants.

At the PX, they sell tons of great multitools, but crappy folders and fixed blades (spyderco delicas, and enduras being the exception).

I use my swisstool alot to adjust the elevation and windage on my CCO when zeroing, and the thin screwdriver for prying dirt out of the soles of my boots, and fingernails. The other flat head screwdriver I use to tighten the "gangster grip" on my M4. I use the pliers to twist open the ammo crates that are held together with wire. I've also used the pliers to pick up things i wouldnt want to use my hands for.

I carry a folder in garrison for cutting tasks. Just whip it out and open with one hand. Its nice to have a dedicated cutter without going through the motions of getting out the multitool out of your pouch, then finding the nail nick for the knife. At the very least the knife is good for MREs.
 
get your buddy a good multi tool or Swiss Army Knife and a GOOD fixed blade (one that works and not just one that looks like a prop from Dune...lol) and he will be set. And make the fixed blade carbon steel and not stainless and preferably one with a convex edge. He doesn't need stainless in Iraq (if anyone with a gun cleaning kit ever does other than SEAL's) and the first time he has to sharpen it, he will thank you profusely.
 
That's a good, inexpensive knife that is currently sold in the PXs. I bring my own stuff, but whenever I'm close to the PX, I'll look and see what they have. They also carry CS SRK fixed blades, KABAR fixed, Leatherman tools, and some small Spydercos. Also the Benchmade AFO. So if he needs further knives of that config and price range, they have it over here already. What is usually overlooked is a good sharpening stone or sharpening system. They only carry very cheap stuff in the PX. So get him a good Lansky or a Spyderco system, and he'll be all set. And believe me, he'll pass the time and learn/fine tune a very valuable skill. BOBO :)
 
Oh damn, I got so focused on sharpening stuff, I forgot to mention the other hard to come by knife related gear you could send with your buddy. A Husky Torx screw driver (they make one that has all the bit sizes you'll need in the handle, very compact) and a small bottle of Loc-Tite (blue not red). Both are good to have because of wanting to change the clip position or for doing routine maintance on a folder, and both are next to impossible to find in the sandbox. My 2 cents.:D
 
by the end of basic training in 1978 almost every guy in my Dad's battalion had bought a Buck folder. my dad had that knife until 1990 when it was stolen, he said he was really pissed because of all the memories that knife had. Your friend wont forget it.
 
i EDC that same knife in black. The CRKT that is. Great great great handle. The problem with smaller knives are the smaller handles. If you want a knife you can use effectivly while wearing gloves the cruiser is the one.
 
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