If you had to take one knife to war

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Boris74 said:
I am a retired 11B. So I have an inside scoop on what a knife really does. The only flesh it penetrated was a goats to butcher it. It needed to be butchered because we were in a no shit real life survival situation, and we needed food. Do you know how you cook food? That's right, on a fire, and wood is the least toxic. Yes I did use it to split wood. Over the years and many tasks like dig holes there was times we had ammo kicked out helicopter doors for us. We didn't carry band cutters so guess how we broke the bands. They are also used to pry.

If you carried a knife and limited its uses you were doomed to carry multiple very heavy tools adding to the 80-130 extra pounds of weight you carried. An 8oz Glock knife worked perfect for me. So tough I use it to this day and while deployed it performed many tasks that I seen with my own eyes break other knives.

carrying a weaker designed knife with the justification of using the right tool for the job will mean you will be carrying many more tools, which means lots of extra weight. At that point it becomes clear most people commenting never have used a knife and its actual tasks in war. That's fine, we all need to exercise the imagination. A knife must be expected to dig a hole, pry open ammo cases, cut metal bands around ammo cases, Open dinner or kill it. While you try to figure how to carry a shovel, pry bar, band cutters, butcher knife on top of mission essentials I will be clipping a Glock knife onto my belt. I already know what it can do, no need to speculate or make up a scenario to justify why I do. One thing you won't hear me say is I carry this pry bar because my knife is too weak to pry with.
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Love the Glock.
 
Boris74 said:
I am a retired 11B. So I have an inside scoop on what a knife really does. The only flesh it penetrated was a goats to butcher it. It needed to be butchered because we were in a no shit real life survival situation, and we needed food. Do you know how you cook food? That's right, on a fire, and wood is the least toxic. Yes I did use it to split wood. Over the years and many tasks like dig holes there was times we had ammo kicked out helicopter doors for us. We didn't carry band cutters so guess how we broke the bands. They are also used to pry.

If you carried a knife and limited its uses you were doomed to carry multiple very heavy tools adding to the 80-130 extra pounds of weight you carried. An 8oz Glock knife worked perfect for me. So tough I use it to this day and while deployed it performed many tasks that I seen with my own eyes break other knives.

carrying a weaker designed knife with the justification of using the right tool for the job will mean you will be carrying many more tools, which means lots of extra weight. At that point it becomes clear most people commenting never have used a knife and its actual tasks in war. That's fine, we all need to exercise the imagination. A knife must be expected to dig a hole, pry open ammo cases, cut metal bands around ammo cases, Open dinner or kill it. While you try to figure how to carry a shovel, pry bar, band cutters, butcher knife on top of mission essentials I will be clipping a Glock knife onto my belt. I already know what it can do, no need to speculate or make up a scenario to justify why I do. One thing you won't hear me say is I carry this pry bar because my knife is too weak to pry with.
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I apologize, I seem to have let my imagination go. I was sentenced to a ship most of the time, so my beliefs may differ from yours.
 
Wolfeye said:
I've got a question for the "Ka-bar Guys." Doesn't the thin tang cause a problem? It seems like it could snap & even if the blade doesn't break into two pieces, it could still do that thing that the foam tubes people put in their pools do.
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in 16 years of military experience in field units i have never seen a ka-bar break.. I carried one for a few years and seen many of them abused, have i seen a tip broken off, yep, handle bent yep. the thing is still a tank even though the tang is thin, it is soft enough to take a real beating and still be there when you're done. there are better knives out there, but if i was on a budget and that's what i had to take with me, i would never feel like i didn't have enough knife for most anything that would come up. Carrying 5 tools for every eventuality can get heavy and heavy can get you in a place you wish you werent. we always had a saying "pack light and freeze at night" and i it still holds true for me so i bring one fixed blade for god knows what, and either a multitool or folder for everything else.
 
The Ka-bar is low-saber flat grind, so I'd say stay away from history and get a Cold Steel SRK or BK-7, or almost anything else that is just plain better, even in or close to the price range.

Gaston
 
Gaston444 said:
The Ka-bar is low-saber flat grind, so I'd say stay away from history and get a Cold Steel SRK or BK-7, or almost anything else that is just plain better, even in or close to the price range.

Gaston
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The SRK isn't much better as far as the grind. It's still a shallow grind - pretty comparable to me. The BK7 is a much better slicer with it's high flat grind, but might not be as tough (for prying or digging).
 
I'd go with a Loveless Big Bear by one of the current makers in 3V and canvas micarta, plus my 110V Manix 2.
 
^^^ohhhh mama - didn't think of that one. Great suggestion!
 
Same Damn knife I took to RVN in 68...Randall # 1 7" o-1 leatherhandle and a SAK for the c-rat cans



2Panther
11B4P
2/505 pir
RVN 68-72
 
The whole "one knife" only restriction is what led me to a good sharp (light weight) karambit... I was an 11bravo once upon a time as well, and while in real world I had a fixed pig sticker plus my leatherman plus a sharp small folder on my person at all times, if I was limited to where i could only have "one knife" as the post suggested, a good sharp (light weight) skinner would be my choice; being as my e-tool was issued and usually never far away, and it could handle most hacking duties, my one knife should do what it can't do, cut quick and smooth, plus I could still carry a small mini multi pry tool and a small pair of pliers/cutters in my 1st aid pouch (replacing the leatherman), and if really necessary, a small flatbar could get molle'd up for prying... All that Without breaking the "one knife" rule, and all at minimal added weight replacing what was lost.

I used my folder more then my sticker (both were schrade, nothing fancy) to open mre's, cut cord, clothes, boxes, etc... And since my folder + e-tool in essence could do everything that my sticker could, if I had to lose one I'd shed the heavier. Certainly wouldn't get rid of the e-tool being as many times I used it as a seat, couldn't sit on the pig sticker very well.

The leatherman came in handy for the pliers/cutter and the can opener, but as I said, a small plier and mini multi could replace that with minimal weight and space.

IMO a smaller light weight easy to manipulate sharp blade is invaluable in combat today moreso then a larger hack and pry blade. Though they are nice to have both, sucks hacking wood with a sharpened shovel.
 
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RButch82 said:
Carried a Buck 110 and small Gerber folder for seven years as a 11B. Was assigned to the 82nd Airborne twice,the 10th MT Div and the Berlin Brigade during those years so those knives got used a lot in the field and worked fine. Also used a Gerber Bolt Action Exchange and a 1966 Camillus Demo knife. Would have loved to have had some type of Leatherman tool,but got by with the Buck and a P38 and a pair of Linesmans commo pliers I found in the field on FT Bragg. All I ever needed for stateside,Germany,Panama Italy and the Middle East. Was always humping too much stuff already to add a heavy fixed blade.YMMV
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DocT said:
Old Soldiers know, light weight is the way to go. I carried a Buck 110 and a Buck Skinner, plus a Buck 501 or 503 in my pocket. Those, my medic scissors, and a p38 were all I ever needed. My gear was already 100 lbs or so. Today, I would pack a Spyderco Endura instead of a 110 because of weight savings.
A rifle and a pistol, and an entrenching tool took care of self defense needs.
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Not judging, but just being surprised, that so many real soldiers mentioning light weight and mentioning carrying a 7.2 oz Buck 110 folding hunter in the same sentence (weight without sheath/pouch). For 7.2 oz you can get a lot more tools with a lighter multi-tool, or more strength with a lighter fixed blade.

Just to name a few:

Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Spartan 2.1 oz
Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Camper 2.6 oz
Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Climber 3.0 oz
Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Ranger 4 oz
Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Swiss Champ 6.5 oz

Leatherman Rebar 6.7 oz
Leatherman Sidekick 7.0 oz
Leatherman Wingman 7.0 oz

ESEE-3 5.2 oz
Bark River Gunny 5.6 oz
Bark River Bravo 1 LT 6.6 oz
Fällkniven F1 6.0 oz
Fällkniven PRK 6.0 oz
Fällkniven S1 6.7 oz
Spyderco Street Beat 3.2 oz
Spyderco Aqua 4.2 oz
Spyderco Lum Tanto 4.7 oz
Survive GSO 4.1 6.5 oz
Chris Reeve Nyala 6.2 oz
SYKCO 511 6.3 oz
Busse Mean Street 7.0 oz

Fixed blade weights without sheaths though.
 
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I would go with a ka bar bk17 with a multitool in the stock sheath front pouch as my folder pick. I believe the size, weight, and affordable price would allow easy carry, easy replacement if lost or stolen and the functionality I would want in the field. That would be my pick.
 
Gaston444 said:
The Ka-bar is low-saber flat grind, so I'd say stay away from history and get a Cold Steel SRK or BK-7, or almost anything else that is just plain better, even in or close to the price range.

Gaston
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SRK is a great pry bar... but just an OK knife and that it's better than a kabar is debatable depending on what you want. either way, I was just saying that it wasn't going to break very easy as was suggested.

and I'm sorry, but "strategy9" did you really say Karambit? ...you really can't possibly believe that a karambit can be the best choice for a soldier. I can't possibly imagine where in any survival situation I would want that one trick pony over any sensibly designed straight blade.
 
"I've got a question for the "Ka-bar Guys." Doesn't the thin tang cause a problem? It seems like it could snap & even if the blade doesn't break into two pieces, it could still do that thing that the foam tubes people put in their pools do.'

You go ahead and snap one for me, A La pool noodle style, and me and a couple other vets will shake your hand.
 
I explained above why if i had to choose "just one knife" why i would go with a small lightweight pocket knife over a fixed blade; aside from my carbine, it was tbe one tool i used more then any other, almost daily, and anything I "needed" the leatherman or larger fixed blade for, NEED being the key word as opposed to "want", could be found in other available tools (ie. Small plier/snips, stool, etc);
I've personally never HAD to use my knives in "combat" other then a good sharp edge for opening things, (packages, mre's, etc), and more importantly the cutting away the clothes for applying immediate first aid to my downed mates, all of which a smaller "sharp" pocket knife was more suitable and convenient then a larger fixed blade.

Im not saying just any karambit, to each their own, but after my own personal field experiences, a small clipped pocket knife being IMO the more optimal tool to have available, My current 5.11 Turani karambit not only looks mean, but would have made the tasks mentioned above much easier with its slight hooked blade over the conventional straight drop (or even clip) point blade I did carry when I was in theater. Especially in the more critical task of cutting away loose tattered clothes to address a potentially life threatening wound on a comrade, the small(er) hooked blade would've gotten right in there and held through the cut; plus my current understanding of knife steel vs. My ignorance of such back then tells me the s30v blade would've held that sharp(er) edge much longer then the cheap Chinese blade I had, but still would've been relatively easy enough to sharpen if/when it did get dull.

Different strokes for different folks, but from my own personal combat experience, yes, without a doubt, if I had only one knife to carry with me in combat again, I would carry my 5.11 Turani tactical as my pocket knife; with a small plier and small multi pry tool accessible in my first aid pouch to replace my leatherman, and possibly a small flat bar in my vest molle and my etool fully capable of handling the common duties required of a larger fixed blade.
 
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strategy9 said:
I explained above why if i had to choose "just one knife" why i would go with a small lightweight pocket knife over a fixed blade; aside from my carbine, it was tbe one tool i used more then any other, almost daily, and anything I "needed" the leatherman or larger fixed blade for, NEED being the key word as opposed to "want", could be found in other available tools (ie. Small plier/snips, stool, etc);
I've personally never HAD to use my knives in "combat" other then a good sharp edge for opening things, (packages, mre's, etc), and more importantly the cutting away the clothes for applying immediate first aid to my downed mates, all of which a smaller "sharp" pocket knife was more suitable and convenient then a larger fixed blade.

Im not saying just any karambit, to each their own, but after my own personal field experiences, a small clipped pocket knife being IMO the more optimal tool to have available, My current 5.11 Turani karambit not only looks mean, but would have made the tasks mentioned above much easier with its slight hooked blade over the conventional straight drop (or even clip) point blade I did carry when I was in theater. Especially in the more critical task of cutting away loose tattered clothes to address a potentially life threatening wound on a comrade, the small(er) hooked blade would've gotten right in there and held through the cut; plus my current understanding of knife steel vs. My ignorance of such back then tells me the s30v blade would've held that sharp(er) edge much longer then the cheap Chinese blade I had, but still would've been relatively easy enough to sharpen if/when it did get dull.

Different strokes for different folks, but from my own personal combat experience, yes, without a doubt, if I had only one knife to carry with me in combat again, I would carry my 5.11 Turani tactical as my pocket knife; with a small plier and small multi pry tool accessible in my first aid pouch to replace my leatherman, and possibly a small flat bar in my vest molle and my etool fully capable of handling the common duties required of a larger fixed blade.
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If, when it does get dull is more like you will be sharpening your knife on a 5 day stay away from the chow hall and mwr. There is an appreciation for steel that sharpens on a rock and can be stropped on the barrel of one of the guns to bring it back. If you did real missions then you used your knife. It wasn't there as an oh shit tool, it was necessary to have one and use it. A super steel that requires special sharpening tools is quickly replaced by grunts for something less prone to chipping and sharpens easily. Carrying all them extra tools isn't needed if you have a tough knife to begin with, so you don't have extra weight and what if your little pry bar falls out of the med pouch? You have a prying task in front of you and you need to do it now. So you will use what you have and pry with that knife. It is what happens. Never once ran across a grunt who carried their etool either, and that thing weighs pounds, not ounces and takes up precious space on top of that. All can be cured by carrying a tough easy to sharpen on a rock knife. Just today I split a bunch of birch to get good strips of birch bark with it. A week hasn't went by that I haven't used the Glock knife since I got it 11 uears ago. Still takes a fine edge easily and holds it pretty darn long considering it's just high carbon spring steel. Splits wood like nothing else I've ever had.

The SRK would be a fine substitute.
 
AntDog said:
The SRK isn't much better as far as the grind. It's still a shallow grind - pretty comparable to me. The BK7 is a much better slicer with it's high flat grind, but might not be as tough (for prying or digging).
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Pay the extra for the San Mai, which is the only one worth getting: The grind is vastly different, hollow and super-sharp. Out of the price range but worth it. Or get a Recon Scout...

Gaston
 
I never said I carried my e-tool everywhere, just that it was almost always close by, usually on the stryker. My own personal experience is that I never really "needed" my fixed blade; anything I cut with it I could've cut with my smaller blade, and I personally didn't run into any prying situations. I fired a lot of rounds, breached doors with shot guns, pulled a lot of security and check points, and simply see a lighter sharp blade as a more practical "tool" for what I needed. And I certainly wouldnt take 5 days to sharpen s30v. I wouldn't need a perfect polished edge, and I can get a pretty servicable edge on s30v with a dry ceramic stone in under an hour.

In real world, I wouldn't and didn't carry just one blade. "If" I had to pick just one, I'd take a sharper smaller one, every day.
(Edit-every day considering modern combat where I had an m4 as my primary weapon)
 
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strategy9: Sitting on the e-tool sounds like a bit of a bone-chilling experience- given where that point & the sharpened edges line up on a man, ha ha! Speaking of which, what design would you suggest? I like the Spetsnaz version & have a couple of ideas to make it even more versatile, but I was wondering on a good portable one that could be reliably used for chopping. Don't want to waste the money on something that'll break the first time I chop a branch with it.
 
You know, this would make a good springboard for a discussion of what you'd bring to war as your personal loadout. It would be interesting, but then there's so much variation & situational differences (like if you're going to get picked up & go back to base or if you're running & fighting as you go). It seems to me that "going light" is the prefered method for soldiers, but then they carry 80-100lbs of gear or more. Why is this? I'd think the soldiers have some sway over how things are done in the military & especially if it amounts to sabotage or general antagonism (not adversity in training like cursing & sparring without pads, like attacks- whether conventional or unconventional, because there's more opportunity for orchestrating situations in the military).

Just thinking out loud, here.
 
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