How important are safety features on a knife?

[mmyron1]

I voted fir it doesn't matter. I very rarely carry a fixed blade. When I do carry one the one I carry varies based on activity or work. Some have guards and some don't.

 

[000Robert]

Isn't a Bowie knife just a clip point, conversationally and maybe legally speaking?

I thought that it was a large knife with a well defined and swedged clip point. But some people say that the original Bowie was not made like that, so I don't know.

 

[catspa]

You know that guards are far from a newfangled gadget, right?

Right. And back when edged weapons were the state of the art in personal defense, there was a practically irrefutable argument for guards.

However, long before I existed, reliable repeating firearms were invented and became widely available. When that happened, the knife was much less a weapon and much more a tool. I happen to think that was a good thing, you of course may not.

I have knives with guards, even though I don’t stab and thrust with them. Some of them get in my way for certain tasks, so I either modify them til they don’t, or use another knife for that task - no big deal. I have a couple old bayonets with guards that incorporate a muzzle ring. I sometimes hold them while reading military history, and wonder if they saw action in this or that battle. I’m not anti-guard, I just don’t favor them on knives where they’re not useful.

I have used other tools where the “safety features” actually make the tool less safe or effective. Many chop saws, for example, come with a plastic blade guard that almost immediately gets fogged up with sawdust and prevents you from seeing the cut. There are some cuts where seeing the cut not only contributes to precision, but allows you to spot tension or binding in time to prevent a kickback.

Some chop saw users need and want the guard, and I’m glad they have it. I have pristine guards up on a shelf that fit chop saws I’ve worn out. I don’t go around ripping guards off other people’s chop saws. I ask the same consideration in return.

Bottom line: In our present culture, there are many who want to force their risk preferences on others against their will. I don’t think much of that. I say, let each American choose how safe they want to be and let’s get on with it.

Parker

 

[DocJD]

NOT "just for stabbing"anymore ! Although that is a valid purpose,IMO .

Can defensively help block strikes from hostile weapons attack . Depending on design , some can catch or "trap" other blades . Bullets ...not so much .

Probably not needed every day for most here .

To protect the hand from overriding the sharp edges of the blade during any kind of thrust or push cut . Utility use as well as fighting .

Some will also provide protection for the hand from the environment and stuff being cut .

D type guards , for example , appear on some utility knives and machetes that are not primarily intended for combat .

Don't work well on every kind of knife , for sure , but very useful for some purposes .