Have you gravitated away from "combat-type" blades with time?

There is nothing a combat type knife can do that a decent fixed blade hunting knife can't do and perhaps do better.
 
there's a special place in my heart I have for sinister/evil knives

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Bufford said:
There is nothing a combat type knife can do that a decent fixed blade hunting knife can't do and perhaps do better.
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As long as a distinction is made between the two and both are used for the designed purpose the the opposite applies to what you posted. Would I use my Puukko to open an ammo crate? Nope, I used to use my Glock field knife for that. Would I break up rocky dirt with the same Puukko so I could make an improvised fighting position? Nope. Could I use the Glock field knife to kill and butcher a goat to eat? Yup, but the "hunting" blade could have done that too.

I believe this post is about them ninja knives with huge teeth saw backs and wire cutter cut outs in the blade with a half serrated primary edge with spikes coming out of the hand guard. I never been interested in them kinds of knives so I never had a need to gravitate away from them.
 
I have never been interested in daggers.Which in its purest form is the first combat knife imo.
I suppose that in the modern combat era that butchers knives were the original combat knives.When I say modern I mean when a firearm was the primary fighting mans weapon be it muzzle loading flintlock up to now.When did a bayonet become more of a knife than a pike or sword?
Other than daggers when did the average soldier start carrying anything other than a Hunting Knife?
I read that in Nam guys still mostly used hunting knives if they wanted a knife.
What does a combat knife have to feature to be a 'combat knife' A full guard maybe?
I think that a Bravo from bark river is a combat knife. So is a Buck 119.
That being said a 38 revolver has seen as much combat as any pistol even though its not a combat pistol
 
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I like them all. Knives are the one area where endless variety thrives. You can go back hundreds of years and an even greater number of cultures and knives never seem to coalesce on any single ideal design. Each form provides its own perceived advantage. Enjoy them all. try them all and go with whatever works best for you.

n2s
 
I have mostly more modern style knives, none that I think would exactly be classified as "tactical" or any that I would take to combat. Except maybe one or two but not without pairing them with something bigger and beefier.

I've had trouble getting a traditional only because I don't use my knives that much as is but when I do I don't think a practical would withstand the use.
 
thatsaknife said:
....When did a bayonet become more of a knife than a pike or sword?
....
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After WWI, when the machine gun and the industrial revolution made horse mounted cavalry obsolete. The bayonet had been evolving and growing smaller since the end of US Civil/Franco-Prussian/Austro-Prussian Wars, but it is after WWI that they lose an additional 10" of blade length. Keep in mind that the 19th century bayonets were designed to kill the horse (famed British Square and all), while the later 20th century types are used against troops and for crowd control.

The British square
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n2s
 
Bufford said:
There is nothing a combat type knife can do that a decent fixed blade hunting knife can't do and perhaps do better.
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Both of those categories are so broad that general statements like this aren't very helpful. A 6mm thick combat knife will do a ton of things much better than a Sharpfinger will do. It will do plenty of things worse, as well, as they're designed for completely different things.
 
I avoided combat style knives before I even bought my first knife haha.

Though I wanted a Rambo knife as a child, as an adult they seem silly to have.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Both of those categories are so broad that general statements like this aren't very helpful. A 6mm thick combat knife will do a ton of things much better than a Sharpfinger will do. It will do plenty of things worse, as well, as they're designed for completely different things.
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There are many hunting knives robust enough to fit the bill for use as a combat knife.
 
HwangJino said:
Though I wanted a Rambo knife as a child, as an adult they seem silly to have.
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I thought so too, but for some reason, I keep looking at them even 20 years later. Knowing me, I will eventually buy one.

Yes, the Pre-WWII rifle mounted bayonets were essentially a portable pike intended mostly for horses/cavalry defense. Bayonets got smaller and became a "combat knife" for personnel. Warfare changed and so did the equipment.
 
Bufford said:
There are many hunting knives robust enough to fit the bill for use as a combat knife.
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Most combat knives are used to open plastic packages. You can easily use a traditional folder for that, but a heavy fixed blade is safer to use and more durable, and we are talking about a piece of equipment intended for a multitude of bored and over-excited teenagers.

n2s
 
Captain O said:
When I was but a lad, I tended to admire combat style knives. But my dad, a true WWII and Korean Conflict combat veteran (of the first magnitude) continually guided me toward more utilitarian (skinning and hunting) knives. He showed me that the kind of knife I carried into the wilderness could make the difference between survival and starvation. This resulted in my taste for cutlery that ventures away from the Marine Recon KaBar and stilletto knives of the battle persuasion and a real appreciation of what a multi-purpose knife can accomplish.

Has anyone else made this transition as they matured?

Captain O
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I think your dad steered you wrong :) My tastes have changed. I no longer carry a full size bowie knife while camping like I did in boy scouts. I carry a tool best for camping now. However I like knives with no purpose other than as a weapon. I live in an urban area that surburbanites consider crime ridden. I carry a P'kal, a Lone Wolf Defender, Stryker auto, BM31, Matriarch, Starmate, Jot, Terzuola custom, SOG Sidewinder, etc. on a regular basis.

As a knife knut, we all have a teenage boy buried inside...set him free with your current buying power and have some fun.
 
thatsaknife said:
Stupid question.
Do modern western armies issue a knife of any kind to regular soldiers?
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Yes. Multitools are common to various specialties, bayonets are popular with land based EOD and the USMC even has it's own bayonet. A lot of fixed blades became forbidden after soldiers were stabbed by locals who saw their knives and decided to grab them. They aren't banned, just on hiatus in response to one of the dangers of being in close proximity to locals while winning hearts and minds.
Has anyone else made this transition as they matured?
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Practical is more useful than tactical. Actual usage has garnered emphasis over time with my blade selection.
 
Well, Ka-Bar did just re-release the EK Commando knife which looks really REALLY interesting to me and that thing is purely for combat, so...

I guess I'm not done buying shanks just yet.
 
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