If you were to go to war today, which knife would you take with you?

I've asked soldiers a lot of (probably) silly questions, trying to learn what they really want in a knife.

My information mostly comes from Infantry, but I suspect that all enlisted tend to use whatever tool they've got, as whatever tool they need. So knives become hammers or pry bars, as the moment demands. If it breaks, they either draw one from the Quartermaster, or buy a better one, next trip to the PX.

For most things, the entire military has specialized tools that are issued for things that need to be opened, or hammered, or pried on. Whether they work or not, is kind of a dice roll.

Most soldiers who I've heard talk about the subject would rather have a very rugged multitool, than a knife. They may back it up with a folder, but there are all kinds of reasons why they wouldn't bother. Somebody who's rucking 80 pounds of gear already is going to be mighty keen on leaving things in their foot locker or sending it back to their family. Nice things tend to get stolen in barracks, or "borrowed" by somebody who doesn't know, and doesn't care what you paid for it, only to return it in too many pieces. "I don't know what happened! It must have been defective!"

The only dedicated knife I can think of at the moment that stands a chance of being stout enough to survive is the TOPS Pry-Knife.

TP39WPk.jpg



Even then, mission requirements or commanding officer whims means there are four or five people at the level of Sargent or higher who might take one look at it, and "advise" me that they don't ever want to see it again.

My mechanical aptitude would hopefully be able to get me into armor maintenance (farther away from the flying, exploding things), which means I would have access to a whole raft of hammers and prybars at the other end of the bay, and little use for a knife that would snag when I stuck the upper half of myself into the engine compartment to get at some poorly placed, rusty, jammed, bolt.
 
lieferung said:
The answer is always Smatchet. And when it isn't Smatchet, it's Titanium Sword.
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Many moons ago, around these parts it was the holy trifecta of Smatchet, ballistic knife, and shark-exploding wasp knife.

Well let's answer this hypothetical...again since it hasn't been asked yet this week;)

The reality of it is that while in pretty good shape I'm basically 40 with absolutely no commando training short of the keyboard variety. I own firearms and can probably effectively shoot anything handed to me if given a minute or two to figure it out, however no one would want me on the front lines of a conflict right now because I would be pretty useless unless it was in more of a seabee/construction application. But I'll play...

Let's see, if I had to pack along a large fixed blade it would mostly likely be a Himalayan Imports khukuri or some flavor. Probably an 18" M43 simply because I have swung one for over a decade, know what it can be capable of, and even if I had to pass it on to the next person I don't feel an attachment to my knives (or try not to) as the philosophy is that they always find their homes on their own.

Most likely to actually be used: Leatherman Freedom P4. I know a lot of folks like the Wave, but two I have had always liked to jam up when I tried closing the pliers at times. I also hate the spring retention system of the bit driver. The P4 does away with the driver bits and all of the tools open externally. I have carried one pretty much every day in my pocket since I bought right around this time last year, and I would gladly choose it over any other knife or tool should I be tossed into the wilds with nothing else but my wits. The only thing thst sucks about passing it on is that they run about $130 to replace ;) Nevermind... changed my answer. I can do the same stuff with a $40 Gerber tool:P
 
As has been mentioned the right answer is always a smatchet. If they had smatchets at the Alamo it wouldn't have been a glorious last stand. If there were smatchets at Little Big Horn the massacre would have gone the other way. If there had been smatchets there the Japanese would not have attached Pearl Harbor. It was the well known smatchet commando corp that took out Adolph Hitler (cover story that he "killed himself" to the contrary). Smatchets turned the tide in Korea. Osama bin Laden? Killed by a well thrown smatchet. The answer is always a smatchet.
 
Having been to Iraq in 2005 ill tell you the number one tool I used was a multitool of some kind so my first blade would be on any needle nose type multitool. Second blade would be a smaller 3" fixed blade. Something strong enough to pry with...

Don't know the model of the multitool I had either but it was a gerber. Had a button on each side that needed to be pressed in to retract the plier part. I liked it though because I could loosely grip the bottom the grip and deploy the pliers with the flick of the wrist. Liked it so much I still have it to this day 15 years later :)
 
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S SanLuisObispo , way long aways back, I started a thread like this too, and it went about this same way. I don't know if you had expectations about what kind of answers you were going to get, or not.

Modern conflicts don't much involve knives as primary weapons. There is a case of a fella who did use his knife in a self-defense fashion, but I think he ended up stabbing the opposing person's hand? He was able to get himself out of immediate harm. I wish I knew how to find the write-up easily. I don't feel like wading through page after page of Google results.

"Knife fighting" is still taught in some parts of the military, and there are hundreds of thousands of words about "How the (Seals/Green Berets/Special Forces/Para Rescue/Rangers do it!" Which are mostly, excuse my french, bullshit. Moreover, unless you can find somebody who has been trained how to "knife fight", and you can verify their credentials, you have no idea whether or not you're getting a straight story.

Now, if we were to construct a scenario where guns were out of the question, like "going to war in the 12th Century", then the answers get very different. But still disappointing, because the most popular weapons of that time were spears, and blunt instruments like the mace. Swords and daggers were shockingly expensive to make, and required a whole lot more training to use than a long, sharp, stick.

Edit: I tend to think of things in terms of my suburban America upbringing, which leaves out a lot of the world. There may be accounts of forces facing a post-1918-equipped military with primarily melee weapons. If you want to find history, you might try looking at the British occupations in Africa or Southeast Asia.
 
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Wave with a customisable design from the LM site. My name, phone number and ID on both sides and blades in big big letters. Might possibly last a bit longer than otherwise in a military environment.
 
The FN SCAR does not have a bayonet lug so I would have a multitool and a Victorinox. There is not as much use for a big knife as in past times, my father carried a bayonet for the RK 62 rifle.
 
I'd design and build my own fixed blade; probably from 3V with an 8" or so blade.

For a folder, I think I'd choose a Leatherman.
 
-Leatherman Charge TTI
-CPK Field Knife 2 (FK2 is a 3V 4.5" blade)
-As a cost-effective alternative to the CPK, Buck has an excellent similar-sized blade out in 5160 steel, the Buck 104 Compadre Camp knife.​
 
I'm too old personally for that :poop: !

But I'd recommend something like the 5.5 or 7.5 Warcraft and a SAK Rangergrip or other multi .







 
precisely what I would have taken from 1975 to 2005, had I hadn't been given an unwanted by me forever (honorable) medical discharge when I reported for Basic Training:

The "Demo Knife"/"G.I. Utility Knife" I was issued by the Army Reserves, before I went to Basic and received that daRn discharge. I still have it.

(I wanted 30 years ... it took 12 days to process the discharge paperwork. I never got past the reception center at Ft. Jackson. for basic :( )

A knife is not on my list of "weapons". Never has been; Never will be.
 
Shorttime said:
S SanLuisObispo , way long aways back, I started a thread like this too, and it went about this same way. I don't know if you had expectations about what kind of answers you were going to get, or not.

Modern conflicts don't much involve knives as primary weapons. There is a case of a fella who did use his knife in a self-defense fashion, but I think he ended up stabbing the opposing person's hand? He was able to get himself out of immediate harm. I wish I knew how to find the write-up easily. I don't feel like wading through page after page of Google results.

"Knife fighting" is still taught in some parts of the military, and there are hundreds of thousands of words about "How the (Seals/Green Berets/Special Forces/Para Rescue/Rangers do it!" Which are mostly, excuse my french, bullshit. Moreover, unless you can find somebody who has been trained how to "knife fight", and you can verify their credentials, you have no idea whether or not you're getting a straight story.

Now, if we were to construct a scenario where guns were out of the question, like "going to war in the 12th Century", then the answers get very different. But still disappointing, because the most popular weapons of that time were spears, and blunt instruments like the mace. Swords and daggers were shockingly expensive to make, and required a whole lot more training to use than a long, sharp, stick.

Edit: I tend to think of things in terms of my suburban America upbringing, which leaves out a lot of the world. There may be accounts of forces facing a post-1918-equipped military with primarily melee weapons. If you want to find history, you might try looking at the British occupations in Africa or Southeast Asia.
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No, no pre-conceived notions, just curious. I've read where individuals who actually see combat often carry two instruments. A larger fixed blade of some sort, and some type of folder or multi-tool.

There are a lot of practical issues to consider. From having your fancy/expensive knife stolen, to having to use it as a pry bar or as a screwdriver

I've also long been interested about how many bring/buy their knives for war, and how they are allowed to do so. I particularly appreciate this photo of this SAS Trooper and his CS Kobun. So much for fixed blades never being carried in combat.

jDsN4eq.jpg
 
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I'd definitely want something that I can attach to my battle belt, chest rig, or plate carrier. Fixed blades don't have much purpose in the battlefield besides as a tertiary weapon in close quarters. I'm thinking you'd have to use it if you were clearing rooms and got into a tussle and couldn't access your rifle. I'd honestly go with a Buck 119 in a custom AZWELKE kydex sheath. If not the Buck 119 I'd consider the Kabar fighting knife or the Cold Steel Kobun. Maybe even the Benchmade SOCP in a custom kydex sheath for better retention. Ugh so many decisions...

I'm not sure a folder with the philosophy of use as weapon would be too practical - drawing and opening a blade in combat, especially if you have to reach around/under body armor, gear, and clothing - may take too long to be practical. Thus, a multitool would be the more practical choice. I'd personally go with a Leatherman multitool, probably the Surge.
 
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