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If I had to Do It Agin: Buying Knives For a Marine Aput to Go into Combat

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Thanks to all . . . .Lots of great experience based advice here . . .all good stuff.


Back in 2004, the experience base pool was much shallower. I had ordered a Tandall #16 beginning in maybe 1999 when our son entered Texas A&M on a USMC scholarship knowing that by the time it cam, he would be a 2nd Lt.. Later on I got him a Chris Reeve Green Beret and a pile of other knives (Ek, Ka-Bar, Cuda Maxx etc). It eventually all added up to a little over a grad . . .which was a lot of money 20 or 25 yers ago. . . .and I had no real idea of what I was doing. At the time, it was expected that every one in his unit would carry a big fixed blade. For enlisted, it was the OKC M9 bayonet I think.
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Weight? When they deployed to Iraq in 2004, e was a platoon leader in a light armored reconnaissance company of the 3Rd LAR Bn. They drove around in eight wheeled LAV-25s. So weight was a peripheral issue.

Knowing a little more about knives and the needs of wargfghters today, I would probably buy him something from Medford. Cost was n to a primary consideration for me twenty years ago and it would not be today.
 
norcalAF said:
This one rode on my belt in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is scheduled for Africa next year 😁View attachment 2942743View attachment 2942744
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These will also be accompanying, for what I do (logistics and casualty transportation coordination) I don't have a huge need for a fixed blade, but I have carried one on each previous deployment and want to have a LG for the upcoming!PXL_20250804_231046827.jpg
 
My son did a stint in the Marine Corps. I bought him a Marine Kabar and. Leatherman. Based on his experience (helicopter crew chief) with deployment, SERE School, various postings (mostly desert environments or on board ship), he told me his most useful item was the Leatherman. He was issued a Spyderco Salt as part of his flight gear, but I don’t think it saw much use.

So my vote for general purpose is a multitool.
 
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A good multitool. I like the Gerbers because of the replaceable blades.
Swiss Army knife like the Huntsman.
Modern day, I'd strongly consider the Spartan Difensa or Chris Reeves Pacific. Both are good as utility knives for heavier tasks. Though there aren't many sector stakes or tent stakes to be cut from local trees in the desert. I used to also carry a kukhri on my ruck for bigger chopping tasks, later to be alternated with a Gerber hatchet. Those were left in a storage bag though, and even if in a true combat area, I wouldn't have needed them. Maybe in some dense tropical rainforest (mistakenly called a jungle).

Most of the time I was in I carried a Swiss Army knife, a Gerber folding knife then a Spyderco Endura, and a Ka-Bar. Later a Leatherman or Victorinox multitool instead of the Swiss Army knife, and a the larger version of the CQC6 made by Benchmade, the one with the 3.9" blade. During my deployment a Cold Steel Outdoorsman replaced the Ka-Bar.

At a local gun store near JBLM, I sold a number of fixed blades, and some folders to infantry and Rangers. A few of the Rangers were buying smaller 4 inch fixed blade that they could carry centerline on their body for ease of access.

Most everyone I've known found a SAK or multi-tool to be extremely useful. There's a reason that when I changed MOSs for a while to combat engineer I found that thost always ended up missing from the squad demo kits.


EDIT: I'd also consider a smaller blade like the Benchmade Anonimus, a Bradford Guardian 4.5, or a Becker BK18. 5", 4", and 4.6" respectively although the Anonimus is light and doesn't seem as large. Small enough to carry easily, good for most every chore other than heavy choppinjg, and all have good guards to keep the hand from sliding onto the blade if you stab someone and hit something hard like a clip or magazine it's too easy to cut your own fingers... or even if cutting something and pushing when it stops suddenly. This is HUGE thing for me after I slide my finger almost to the bone on my BK16... I love that knife but also hate it for that reason,it's too easy to do.
 
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VorpelSword said:
new to me, but it looks like they have been around for a while. Likely, many here know all about out them. Here are two links to their stuff. Looking at MKT products now, tis is what I'd be seriously looking at if I were b buying knives if our son was facing a serious deployment
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VorpelSword said:
Knowing a little more about knives and the needs of wargfghters today, I would probably buy him something from Medford.
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Ok - why?

What is it about Medford that you prefer it to all the other knife brands out there, even though you just discovered them?

Can’t be their reputation right? Is it their design aesthetic? Materials? Exclusivity?

Which model(s) of their fixed blade would you pick?

Personally, if I had to pick right now from my collection without knowledge of where I’d be serving, it would be something not too heavy like this one:

IMG_3978.jpegIMG_3779.jpeg
Swamp Rat Gen 2 Taliwhacker

It’s lightweight at 10oz, long and pointy enough for poking but with a reinforced tip. It has an extremely comfortable and ergonomic handle with a substantial guard that can be used for long stretches without hand fatigue. The brand has a long history of designing combat knoves and is well respected by many knife experts on this forum, and finally SR101 keeps a great edge that’s easy to field sharpen. 👍

Or maybe I’d take a different 10oz baby like my AD6… or maybe my Greco... 😅

IMG_5048.jpegIMG_6694.jpegIMG_0953.jpegIMG_1040.jpeg
 
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Why?

Well I am not comparing Medford products to other knives available today. I do not have a wide knowledge of the knife market; didn't back then and don't really now. I am comparing the Medford offerings today to what I was floundering around with in 1998-2004. . . .and what I eventually did buy.


I was trying to assuage my anxiety at our son's anticipated deployment to an active war zone with a frontline unit likely to see action . . .and they did. Cost was not a primary concern for me, performance and suitability were, but I really had no ides. Reputation , tradition and specification were what I had to go on.

The Medford knives look to be "hell-for-stout" as some folks say here in Texas. Designed and produced by a real world combat veteran adds credibility in myth eyes. What I bought and what our son actually took to Iraq were generally less effective in his war zone experience that I imagine for the knives I see on Meford's site. He did not take an EK dagger, the Cuda Maxx folding dagger, or the "modern" Ka-Bar. What he did take were a Randall #16, a CRK Green Beret, a CRKT M21 folder and a Leatherman Wave. He says that he has less confidence in the Randall than the CRK and left the Randall at home when he deployed again. In retrospect, I have more confidence in the MK folder than the CRKT M21 and would offer to replacing the CRK GB with the MK fixed blade . . .leaving it up to the warfighter as to whgich to bring. I would encourage him to bring one of the AR platform specific multitools from real Avid today.


It is all moot head-stuff now. Our son has been out since 2010, is married with two kids and a cat, so . . . .
 
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