Help on tactical folder

I like a concealable knife. I don't want everyone to know I have a knife clipped to my pocket. Can you use the wave if knife not clipped?
 
The Recon is definitely a nice knife, but personally I'm partial to a few of the Kershaw folders for a few reasons...

1) Great value - always lots of knife for the $$
2) Many have a very slim profile & solid steel or aluminum frames (impact device?)
3) Great AO system (speedsafe)...especially with the flipper.
5) Very high quality steels.

I don't love their tanto blades, but their knives tend to be pointy as hell and some have a pronounced recurve for more belly. Given Some of their curvy styles and harder steels, they can be a pain to sharpen, but Kershaw will give you a factory edge anytime for the cost of postage. I would recommend a Shallot, Blur, RAM or Cyclone...if you want something a little smaller, a leek. Their standard steel is Sandvik 13c26 or 14c28n, but they have LE runs in S30V, S60V, S110V, CPM D2 edge, etc... You can find great prices on the net, or you may be able to find a cosmetic blem or two on this very forum :-)

PS...Zero Tolerance is Kershaw's (KAI's) tactical brand. Emerson knives also have a big thumbs up from me. All great knives, but tend to be both a little hefty and pricey for me. If that is your style, then go for it...
 
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IGotStabbed said:
I like a concealable knife. I don't want everyone to know I have a knife clipped to my pocket. Can you use the wave if knife not clipped?
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Not to well. Why not just wear your shirt un tucked?
 
Charlie Mike said:
Not to well. Why not just wear your shirt un tucked?
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:thumbup:

Also, I Just wanna addend my post from before...Forget 90% of what I said - too wordy.

Kershaw Tanto Blur - assisted open
Kershaw Tanto Groove - flipper open

Two bad ass tactical knives, both are tanto blades, both are in the same price range as the knives you were initially considering.
 
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CWL said:
However, the Spyderco Civvie was not designed as a SD carry knife, it was designed as a back-up, last resort & deep cover knife.
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My understanding of the Civilian was that it was not really a back-up weapon, but rather as a primary weapon in situations where the user could not carry a firearm.

It was meant to be used by someone already grabbed and on the ground to shred somebody's arms.
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With a blade of over four inches and an overall length of over nine inches, I would consider it really too large to be optimal for that sort of grappling range use (take a look at the Ka-Bar TDI Law Enforcement Knife for a blade that was specifically designed for back-up, grappling-range use). The main design criteria for the Civilian as far as I know was a knife optimized for people with little or no training in "martial blade craft". In other words a blade that could be used in a relativly intuitive "slashing and clawing" manner by a LEO or civilian.

I would consider the Civilian an excellent choice for dedicated concealed carry SD, although it's not much of a general purpose EDC sort of knife.
 
rguy said:
Tanto blades seem kinda useless you're in the military.
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Being in the military doesn't make them any more useful. And most soldiers carry inexpensive droppoint liner locks like the Endura. Being armed with an effective primary weapon, a team buddy, and artillery backup, going for a 4 inch pocket folder usually only happens when the MRE hits the hands.

Most of the knives recommended look exactly like what the makers should avoid - tough, "bad ass," and a reason for the cops to remove it and you from the scene. They're a tactical failure because they are so obvious - like a pink M16.

Having tried to use a hawkbill for utility, I quickly gave it up. The one I tried made things harder. That is a significant point - 99% of a knife's uses are daily utility tasks - and SD with one, is, at best a fantasy. I won't trash the thread explaining that.

The features that make a good utility knife are exactly the features that make a knife good.
 
tirod3 said:
Most of the knives recommended look exactly like what the makers should avoid - tough, "bad ass," and a reason for the cops to remove it and you from the scene. They're a tactical failure because they are so obvious - like a pink M16.
99% of a knife's uses are daily utility tasks - and SD with one, is, at best a fantasy. I won't trash the thread explaining that.
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Dang it Tirod! You got me started!

Tactical is so overused. I have steak knives that are ‘tactical’ for crying out loud.

For self defense, I’ve found that ‘tactical pepper spray works well.
The ‘tactical’ Nike principle works too.
Mostly though, the ‘tactical’ don’t -put- myself-in-dangerous-circumstances, tactic, works best. Being drunk and/or smart mouthed is a recipe for disaster.

Let’s not forget the scene from Raiders of the lost ark, where the sword wielding thug threatens Indiana Jones…..That tactic always trumps the knife.
 
tirod3 said:
Being in the military doesn't make them any more useful. And most soldiers carry inexpensive droppoint liner locks like the Endura. Being armed with an effective primary weapon, a team buddy, and artillery backup, going for a 4 inch pocket folder usually only happens when the MRE hits the hands.

Most of the knives recommended look exactly like what the makers should avoid - tough, "bad ass," and a reason for the cops to remove it and you from the scene. They're a tactical failure because they are so obvious - like a pink M16.

Having tried to use a hawkbill for utility, I quickly gave it up. The one I tried made things harder. That is a significant point - 99% of a knife's uses are daily utility tasks - and SD with one, is, at best a fantasy. I won't trash the thread explaining that.

The features that make a good utility knife are exactly the features that make a knife good.
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When I was in the military I hardly ever carried a folding knife in the field, I used my fixed blades for everything. A folding knife was just one more thing to worry about so I never carried them. My folders only got carried when I wasn't in the field.
 
Ankerson said:
When I was in the military I hardly ever carried a folding knife in the field, I used my fixed blades for everything. A folding knife was just one more thing to worry about so I never carried them. My folders only got carried when I wasn't in the field.
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Same here, never had a folder on me when I served.
 
Strange... When I was in Iraq (03-04), I saw very few fixed blades. Our company didn't even have enough bayonets to issue to everyone. This was infantry!
 
Everyone's going to whine when I say this, but if you're *seriously* considering a knife for self defense, make it a knife you can throw away immediately after an incident.

Now, for the things you don't want to hear:
If someone came at me with a knife, I would take it away from them (and have done this multiple times). If you use a knife as a weapon, expect this to happen. It is likely.
Oh, and don't cut people. It makes us all look bad.
 
bearcut said:
For self defense, I’ve found that ‘tactical pepper spray works well.
The ‘tactical’ Nike principle works too.
Mostly though, the ‘tactical’ don’t -put- myself-in-dangerous-circumstances, tactic, works best. Being drunk and/or smart mouthed is a recipe for disaster.
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Exactly. Anyone who is seriously considering a knife as a self defense weapon is obviously living in a fantasy world. Knives are much less effective than pepper spray or impact weapons, when attempting to deter an attacker, and a knife wound can also be lethal, which you don't want on your conscience or criminal record.

:jerkit::jerkit::jerkit:
 
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Even more odd, we weren't issued fragmentation or 40mm grenades. I was a mortarman in a mortar platoon HHC 1/502 101st ABN DIV. We never got to use our 81mm because higher up was concerned about collateral damage.

BTW, if you look at my avatar, you'll see a Spyderco OIF Native clipped on my vest next to a Surefire E2.
 
Charlie Mike said:
Strange... When I was in Iraq (03-04), I saw very few fixed blades. Our company didn't even have enough bayonets to issue to everyone. This was infantry!
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Well... I served in another country, and 20 years before you were in Iraq. ;)
Maybe times have changed, and substantial visible fixed blades attached to a webbing are no longer deemed PC?
 
puukkoman said:
Exactly. Anyone who is seriously considering a knife as a self defense weapon is obviously living in a fantasy world. Knives are much less effective than pepper spray or impact weapons, when attempting to deter an attacker, and a knife wound can also be lethal, which you don't want on your conscience or criminal record.

:jerkit::jerkit::jerkit:
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In 15 years of forum discussions I have never felt the need to say "You are full of it" but this statement made me come close.
People who actually know about this subject (as in having lived it for decades, studied it and taught it) have shown that even a gun is sometimes inferior to a knife. In close quarters, a knife is as dangerous.
Pepper spray and impact weapons are better than nothing but they have SO many limitations - discussed in detail all over the net - that they don't even come close to the effectiveness of a good knife.

As for taking away a knife from a person; I'm sure it can be done. Man also went to the moon. Most of us did not go to the moon, and most of us do not and will never possess the skill to do it, safely or otherwise.

Read this book for how deadly a knife can be. And this man actually know what he's talking about. :rolleyes:

Anyone who is seriously considering a knife as a self defense weapon is obviously living in a fantasy world.
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This is an instant classic. Thx for that.
 
puukkoman said:
Everyone's going to whine when I say this, but if you're *seriously* considering a knife for self defense, make it a knife you can throw away immediately after an incident.
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The implication being you will "stab-n-run" correct? Personally, leaving aside the legal and moral issues of leaving someone to bleed out while you take off, I'm not sure just how good of an idea it would be to be dropping evidence at the scene of a crime. A totally "sterile" blade that you have only handled with gloves on... maybe. One that you have possible owned and carried in your pocket for weeks, months or ever years could just be leaving behind something that will link you to the attack (finger prints, DNA, etc.)

If someone came at me with a knife, I would take it away from them (and have done this multiple times).
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With a live blade and someone who wanted to cut you? Forgive me if I doubt that was the case. Disarming a knife weilding attacker is neither easy nor safe, except in Hollywood movies. I have practiced it regularly in the dojo and it is far from a sure thing even for experienced martial artists. I have seen plenty of advanced black belts with years of training get stabbed/slashed a significant percentage of the time with practice blades while practicing disarms.
 
mdauben said:
The implication being you will "stab-n-run" correct? Personally, leaving aside the legal and moral issues of leaving someone to bleed out while you take off, I'm not sure just how good of an idea it would be to be dropping evidence at the scene of a crime. A totally "sterile" blade that you have only handled with gloves on... maybe. One that you have possible owned and carried in your pocket for weeks, months or ever years could just be leaving behind something that will link you to the attack (finger prints, DNA, etc.)
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And more importantly, it would be righteous selfdefense. You shouldn't run after having successfully defended yourself, unless you live in a country where you will be screwed over regardless. In most Western countries, you might - or will - get into trouble for having carried a knife, but not for defending yourself.
After all, it's not like you did something wrong.
 
puukkoman said:
If someone came at me with a knife, I would take it away from them (and have done this multiple times).
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Really..... :yawn:

You are going to take a live blade away from an experienced knife fighter. ROFL

Two words:

NOT LIKELY
 
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