Recommendation? Friend cannot decide which knife to choose

Which Ka-Bar to pick?

  • Ka-Bar Short 1254 (tanto)

    Votes: 3 7.9%

  • Ka-Bar Short 1256 (clip point)

    Votes: 35 92.1%
  • Total voters
    38
If I were getting a KaBar, it’d be the classic clip point. Because, well, KaBar.

As for the strange, vague bedtime defense potentiality situation... Humans are generally squishy, likely rendering the clip point vs. tanto argument pretty much insignificant as long as either is sharp.

Seems to me though, your friend might just be better off moving somewhere he can sleep more safely, since he asked you to ask us which knife he should get for his unusual circumstances. If pillow knife is his only option, he needs better options.
 
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If the classic clip point was good enough for WWII, it's good enough for your friend to keep under his pillow.

That said, as others have mentioned the sheath has a retention strap. I wouldn't want to have to actuate a retention strap in the dark, under stress, having just woken up. Or use a knife in those conditions in general...
 
Centermass said:
If I were getting a KaBar, it’d be the classic clip point. Because, well, KaBar.

As for the strange, vague bedtime defense potentiality situation... Humans are generally squishy, likely rendering the clip point vs. tanto argument pretty much insignificant as long as either is sharp.

Seems to me though, your friend might just be better off moving somewhere he can sleep more safely, since he asked you to ask us which knife he should get for his unusual circumstances. If pillow knife is his only option, he needs better options.
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This. Guns are best but if you cant go that route, might be time to move. Pillow knife is a pretty tough set of circumstances to be in.
 
To summarize:

Europe - no guns, and if he went through legal trouble of getting one, it'd land him in jail if he used it in home defense.

Tactical flashlight - already has one (I know because I got him one for Christmas), and I'll tell him suggestion about using it. That thing is impossible to look at even during the day, let alone at night. So props for suggesting that.

His house isn't the largest one you've ever seen, so any kind of club or baton with significant reach could be hard to use as you'd have to make adjustments to take a swing in tight space.
Also, I know he does have a pepper spray too, but you'd hate using that in narrow closed space.

Good thing is - he also has a dog outside.


About moving - he had that plan anyways, because of his job and university mostly.
This place where he lives actually used to be nice, but as unemployment skyrocketed because of this COVID situation - bad things started happening.
 
Smiling said:
To summarize:

Europe - no guns, and if he went through legal trouble of getting one, it'd land him in jail if he used it in home defense.

Tactical flashlight - already has one (I know because I got him one for Christmas), and I'll tell him suggestion about using it. That thing is impossible to look at even during the day, let alone at night. So props for suggesting that.

His house isn't the largest one you've ever seen, so any kind of club or baton with significant reach could be hard to use as you'd have to make adjustments to take a swing in tight space.
Also, I know he does have a pepper spray too, but you'd hate using that in narrow closed space.

Good thing is - he also has a dog outside.


About moving - he had that plan anyways, because of his job and university mostly.
This place where he lives actually used to be nice, but as unemployment skyrocketed because of this COVID situation - bad things started happening.
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He’s better off keeping a ball peen hammer under his pillow. Fighting someone with a knife is messy and unless you stab them like, straight in the heart or maybe the eyeball, they aren’t gonna just collapse like in the movies. I don’t care what tactical instructor or fantasy novel told him otherwise. If you’ve ever seen someone get stabbed, the fight doesn’t end there.
 
The Aflac Duck is correct. I have been stabbed in the stomach. I was pull cutting towards my body trying to trim a plastic throttle tube.

Dumb.

Tube cracked and fell apart suddenly, rather than the knife cutting the plastic, and a sharp ZT in Elmax slid right into my gut.

I pulled the piece of shirt out of the 3/4 inch slit and put pressure on the gushing wound. I had plenty of time to swear at myself, wipe the blood of the bike, and saunter in the house to have my wife swear at me too.
 
MolokaiRider said:
The Aflac Duck is correct. I have been stabbed in the stomach. I was pull cutting towards my body trying to trim a plastic throttle tube.

Dumb.

Tube cracked and fell apart suddenly, rather than the knife cutting the plastic, and a sharp ZT in Elmax slid right into my gut.

I pulled the piece of shirt out of the 3/4 inch slit and put pressure on the gushing wound. I had plenty of time to swear at myself, wipe the blood of the bike, and saunter in the house to have my wife swear at me too.
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Exactly, now add in a lot of adrenaline during a confrontation and possibly even someone on drugs, and they most likely won’t even be phased by a knife wound. Even if you cut an artery the person will need to bleed like a half gallon before they die. That’s disgusting, and who even wants that to happen in their home? Sheesh...
 
Along the same lines as a hammer...at my previous employer I would send my technicians out to new nursery plantings to pound t-posts to hang field signs on.

We had to outfit them with head protection, and eventually a powered post pounder.

One of the gentlemen pounding post inadvertently went too high up and the post pounder caught on the top of the post. It came down on the top of his head and folded the poor guy up unconscious. He was 6’3 and 300 pounds.

I would say a blunt impact instrument would be a better choice for home personal protection.
 
The Aflac Duck said:
He’s better off keeping a ball peen hammer under his pillow. Fighting someone with a knife is messy and unless you stab them like, straight in the heart or maybe the eyeball, they aren’t gonna just collapse like in the movies. I don’t care what tactical instructor or fantasy novel told him otherwise. If you’ve ever seen someone get stabbed, the fight doesn’t end there.
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Exactly what I meant. Better options. A knife is a hell of a thing to fight with, if you don’t even know which one to buy for yourself, much less in the dark... or out of a dead sleep. Probably hurt yourself worse.
 
Tantos are cool. I’d go for the short tanto version.

If “classic is classic” is the line of thinking here, might as well go for the full-sized version.
 
MolokaiRider said:
Along the same lines as a hammer...at my previous employer I would send my technicians out to new nursery plantings to pound t-posts to hang field signs on.

We had to outfit them with head protection, and eventually a powered post pounder.

One of the gentlemen pounding post inadvertently went too high up and the post pounder caught on the top of the post. It came down on the top of his head and folded the poor guy up unconscious. He was 6’3 and 300 pounds.

I would say a blunt impact instrument would be a better choice for home personal protection.
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Yeah, and blunt objects are less likely to stick into the opponent. Swing, impact, reset, repeat.

But I dunno. I’m fond of short one-handed blades too.
 
Mister Coffee said:
Let's be clear. You mean self-defense against little green men. Let's not have people thinking that Space Force troopers are going to go "astro loco" and have at each other. That would really spoil my day. Especially with such a ridiculous "knife." :)
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Little green men, sure. But will it work against xenomorphs? What about hunter aliens with shoulder-mounted plasma cannons?
 
DangerZone98 said:
Tantos are cool. I’d go for the short tanto version.

If “classic is classic” is the line of thinking here, might as well go for the full-sized version.
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I agree with this.

If I wanted a show piece then I'd go for full size USMC with stacked leather handle.

If I just wanted something I'll potentially jam into someone - tanto.

I mean, if he's going for kraton handle and short blade then he may go for tanto tip too, if it's already different then it may as well be completely different, at least it's more unique.

MolokaiRider said:
I would say a blunt impact instrument would be a better choice for home personal protection.
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As someone who fell off the tree, bike, had an axe with piece of wood on it break off and hit me in the head, had bottles broken on my head, plus got punched into face more more than once - I would say otherwise.

My head is a bit bumpy, I do have few small scars, but none of these things took me out instantly as people tend to believe it happens.

With dull weapon you're pretty much screwed if you don't hit attacker's head, unless you have serious weapon that has capacity to break bones, such weapon is also likely two handed and he'd need some space to take a swing, and from looks of the thread, this guy is in narrow space.

What are chances he'll hit the attacker into the face if he just woke up, is scared and is in the dark?

With a knife, he'll do some serious damage no matter where he hits, they might not go down fast, but they eventually will. If nothing else - police is going to track them down more easily.
 
With respect to your friend, He's kind off contradicting himself since he doesn't plan to use but want's a tanto for its cutting function

I would go for classic kabar since its more versatile
Also for collection and non use the classic looks nicer for me
 
Flashlight suggestion is nice though, bright light at night is blinding and disorienting.

Hammer suggestion is also nice one, hammer could actually break a bone.

No weapon is perfect though, hammer is arguably slower than that Ka-Bar, because of weight and balance.


If I was in this situation I'd do this:
I'd put that tactical flashlight under my pillow, and I'd put that Ka-Bar on chair or night stand next to my bed so it's within arm reach, but I'd also put something over it so it's not visible.

Why?
That flashlight is fast and easy to use, just grab and click, you can hit with it too...

I'd hate to deal with leather retention strap of sharp blade under my pillow.

But grabbing it when I get up and use it in combo with that flashlight would probably work well.

As far as blade design goes, they will both do the same - stab and cut.
So I'd go for full size classic USMC and I'd keep it near my bed, not under my pillow.
 
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