Karambit

R

Rex G

Joined
Aug 26, 2002
Messages
866
I went to the Houston Gun Collector's Association show today, and picked up a Karambit from Oklahoma Police Supply. It was the only one for sale at the show I could find. I had already checked with Joe Estrada, and he showed me his personal Karambit, but he had none for sale, and little hope of acquiring any more very soon. I did buy an aluminum trainer from Joe, and, with his blessing, went in search of a Karambit from another dealer. Joe is a good guy; I watched him deal with some beginners, and he was very cordial and patient with them. Regarding the Karambit, I had been doing my homework, reading Steve Tarani's excellent book and every article I could find. I am not qualified to review the Strider Karambit except to say that the workmanship is truly excellent, and the ergonomics superb.
 
I love mine but I wish the blade thickness didn't taper down so much near the tip (last 1/2" is dramatically thinned down). Kinda makes me worry when using it :(
 
True, it does taper down a good bit, but it looks much sturdier than the tips on my Spyderco Civilians and Harpies. I see this weapon as to be used for ripping as opposed to thrusting, so tip strength should be less of an issue, IMHO. A reinforced spear or tanto tip would obviously be much stronger and more versatile. If I did not carry a pistol daily, as I do now, I would carry a stronger-tipped knife as primary and the Karambit as backup, at least at my present level of training and understanding. Thanks for the input!
 
EricJ and Rex G,

The Karambit tip is pretty strong. As for the defensive tactic side of the Karambit it is ment for the soft flesh area of the body. I have used mine on thick card board targets and have had no problems with the tip. I have also used mine in cleaning fish and removing fish heads. It cuts through the cartilage with no problems. I will half to wait till Deer season to try it out on field dressing some larger game. I also know that Steve Tarani has tried it out on sides of beef. He told me it slice it up pretty good with no damage to the blade.

Brian Everett
 
I spent a couple of hours at Joe's table on Saturday (more time than I spent at the rest of the show) and his table alone was worth the drive and price of admission. Any Strider/knife enthusiast in driving distance from Houston should definately try to catch a show where Joe is set up. The guy is a one man knife show and a pleasure to deal with. I also grabbed a karambit trainer and a special M. Strider custom piece that had me running for the nearest ATM ( I'll post a pic later this week).

Hey Joe, can't get that one piece( you know which one) out of my head. I'll be emailing you this week to discuss it further
;)



MO


P.S. Anyone even thinking of getting a Strider or any other karambit should invest in one of the trainers. The thing will increase your confidence in manipulations practically overnight.
 
Ok, heres my question. Why are there two different blade grinds used as in the pics below. The Karambit I own is identical to the upper one, and the one TAD is advertising is more of a spear point..?

StriderKarambit4345.jpg


str-kerambit.jpg
 
EricJ, mine looks like the top picture. My best guess would be that the Tadgear pic may be a prototype. But then, since all Striders are handground, each is unique anyway. :) MOLEXLEY, do you train with knives? I am looking for knife training in the Houston area, especially the southwest or south sides of town.
 
Hey Rex, whenever I get a chance. I need to make more time for it because I do enjoy training. Unfortunately, I'm a couple hours away from Houston and there are no good training programs in my area that I'm aware of. As far as where to train in Houston I'd be willing to bet that Joe could point you in the right direction.


MO
 
:( This is me kicking myself in the a** for not driving up to Houston this weekend. :footinmou

So when is the next one? :D
 
The next HGCA show is the weekend at the end of May/start of June. Joe may not have any more karambits for a very long time, though. It is best to stay in touch with Joe because he makes other shows, too. I am not familiar with the Strider alphabet, but there are other good knives I liked, especially a small one that seemed very handy and fit my narrow hands quite well.
 
Hey Martin and Rex,
Thanks guys for stopping by and visiting....you messed the blood on Sunday! No sh*t!! stopped traffic for awhile...hey, anything for the Strider Guys huh??!!!:eek:
Martin....you got the BEST buy of the show...and I KNOW you know that:D , so I'll be looking for you in the future! Thanks again for your support.
Rex - the guys next to me were Class 3 Dealers and we may get some training going in this area pretty soon. It would include basic footwork and hand drills, similar to Filipino and JKD elements and go where the group is comfortable. We'll see...that's the best I can offer until we have a local meeting of the ITOG.:cool:

All the Best,
Joe
p.s. Pachucko....you missed it dude.
 
Joe, I saw the band-aids, but was too polite to say anything. It was good to see you there. I would appreciate you keeping me informed of the training. BTW, I am a total beginner, but I re-read Steve Tarani's book today, played with the trainer, and have been reviewing some other stuff, to get a foundation. It is interesting to see the similarities and differences between kali, silat, Bowie fencing, and Sevillian techniques! Thanks for everything!
 
Which one bit you? It was that karambit wasn't it?


Hey Joe, I'm totally stoked with that knife, my wife is getting tired of seeing me staring at it. As soon as I get my digi cam back I'm going to post a pic here. Thanks again for the killer deal.

Let me know when you'll be at another show.


MO


BTW, if you get the ITOG training down here consider me signed up.
 
I got "bumped" by the Axe....I say bumped because that's what it felt like. I knew enough to quickly make a fist and tear off a piece of plastic bag for a field fix. I was about to lick the blood off my fingers when I realized there was this lady intently watching the whole show and decided....nah, wouldn't be prudent - so I waited until she turned her head! Her husband saw me and I thought HE was gonna faint...you just never know.;)
All the Best,
J
 
With all those goodies on your table consider yourself lucky you only got cut once.

I emailed you a couple more knives on my wish list. Let me know if you come up with anything.

Take care,

MO
 
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