Knife for an infantry soldier?

[katanas]

You, sir, are an ass. Everyone who has seen a lot of combat lives there; YOU obviously would not know. It is no surprise that you limit viewing of your profile. I apologize for the diversion of the thread.

 

[Airborne 1]

Bull S**t

Considering I combat jumped in two invasions, and played ground pounder in another, and did some advising/training in tropics,

 

[GermanyChris]

You, sir, are an ass. Everyone who has seen a lot of combat lives there; YOU obviously would not know. It is no surprise that you limit viewing of your profile. I apologize for the diversion of the thread.

He might be but he has a point. The gear infantrymen carry changes quite a bit even between missions and it's very different from Vietnam. For me a big change was IBA and carrying everything I used to carry in a belt on my chest. SAPI plates limit movement and bind when sitting if you combine that with a 10" piece of steel you're now limited even more like. There just isn't all that much space and a knife will be competing with night vision, radios, drones, remotes, batteries etc. A quality folding knife clipped to your pocket will do everything you need and not be intrusive.

 

[katanas]

Some things change, some don't. The thread was asking about fixed blades for a particular kind of unit which, in combat deploy, still tends to use them. Also, officers do not tend to carry all the gear the enlisted carry (though I admit we old farts tended to because we ALL needed everything we could carry since resupply was questionable at best and, in ops in high alert (i.e. "Indian country" areas), still is. I understand that most ops are now large scale, but the Officer mentioned might well be involved in small unit engagements; hence a fixed could be a life saver in a number of ways. My .02

 

[Danke42]

Some things change, some don't. The thread was asking about fixed blades for a particular kind of unit which, in combat deploy, still tends to use them. Also, officers do not tend to carry all the gear the enlisted carry (though I admit we old farts tended to because we ALL needed everything we could carry since resupply was questionable at best and, in ops in high alert (i.e. "Indian country" areas), still is. I understand that most ops are now large scale, but the Officer mentioned might well be involved in small unit engagements; hence a fixed could be a life saver in a number of ways. My .02

There sure are some officers in the Canadian Army do that but they're not doing it with a knife their 20 something no money in the bank buddy bought them as a gift.

 

[Yonose]

For $150 or less, on ebay, an original NIB Cold Steel Carbon V Recon Tanto. I never seriously hurt a Carbon V blade in three theaters of operation. They do rust in temperate and tropical climates (the edge, anyhow, the epoxy powder coat holds up well, and he can always repaint in garrison), and he would need wipe DEET off his hand before grabbing the kraton of that time. But exceptionally tough, sharp, edge holding blade, trim shape, can bust open ammo cans and hack rope to his heart's content.

Isn’t there a Becker knife similarly sized to the recon tanto? I ask because 1095 cro-van is the same steel as carbon v(0170-C) but would be a lot cheaper(allowing for handle and sheath upgrades) since these are still in production.

 

[katanas]

Danke42, that's one of the really nice things about this thread; a guy (I have NO idea of his age or $ situation) wants to shell out significant (to most of us) bucks to equip a buddy as best he can and honors us with the seeking of our advice.

 

[Sharp Steel]

I have never been in the military, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt.

I would go with the Gerber Strongarm (Strongman) or the ESEE 3. They will be smaller and easier to carry. The Strongarm sheath is designed for carry on military equipment. The ESEE 3 will be a better slicer, but the Strongarm has a skull cracker pommel. My point being that these two are small, sturdy, and can be replaced without too much cost.

Would they be issued a M-9 bayonet, though?

 

[DocJD]

What do you mean by this?



Get with the program We are talking asymmetric warfare in open desert - not Iwo, Okinawa or clandestine ops in dense jungle foliage in Vietnam.
Romantic notions of times gone by are all well and good - just not the reality (apart from a few notable exceptions - anything is possible of course
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/01/29/40-train-robbers-vs-1-gurkha/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...hought-I-going-die--I-tried-kill-I-could.html)

I'm not trying to tell anybody what they should be carrying under present , known conditions . But the future conflicts may not be asymmetric or in the sand . So far as fighting with a "combat knife" , it does still happen but rarely . But I still think it serves an important morale purpose as a talisman , if nothing else .

 

[Danke42]

Danke42, that's one of the really nice things about this thread; a guy (I have NO idea of his age or $ situation) wants to shell out significant (to most of us) bucks to equip a buddy as best he can and honors us with the seeking of our advice.

Nice doesn't get you far in the Infantry. Everyone gets a ribbon day doesn't ever come due.

 

[SALTY]

I voted for the SRK as others that I may have preferred were not listed, such as the CS Recon Tanto or Ontario SK-5.

That being said, it's hard to beat Becker Knives in bang for the buck. The Becker BK2 is a do-all beat-the-hell-out-of-it knife but you pay for it in weight. Enter from stage left the BK-10. However, the BK 16 is light enough and capable enough to take the prize.

 

[Gideons]

I voted for the SRK as others that I may have preferred were not listed, such as the CS Recon Tanto or Ontario SK-5.

That being said, it's hard to beat Becker Knives in bang for the buck. The Becker BK2 is a do-all beat-the-hell-out-of-it knife but you pay for it in weight. Enter from stage left the BK-10. However, the BK 16 is light enough and capable enough to take the prize.

You own an Ontario SK-5? I looked up that knife it does look like it has promise with 154cm and micarta handles.

 

[Yonose]

You own an Ontario SK-5? I looked up that knife it does look like it has promise with 154cm and micarta handles.

The first ones made had micarta, soon they were only made with black g-10.

 

[unklfranco]

The ESEE 4 will do just about every knife chore a soldier will usually have to do. They are also a great knife for when he gets home safe and sound. It is never to soon to get his collection going.

 

[mfunnell]

I spent (almost) 10 years in our Army Reserve (signals, not infantry) and never carried a fixed blade knife - though mostly because there were always a few of these around to be pressed into service if you needed one. But I can't imagine a bayonet would be much use on the modern bullpup-style Steyr our Army uses now. It occurred to me when reading this thread that something like the SCHF55 might do the job right: small and light enough that you might actually carry it, tough enough to stand up to some hard use and cheap enough to replace. Just a thought. Thankfully, I'm too old and ugly these days to ever again be in a position to find out.

...Mike

 

[BladeScout]

I spent (almost) 10 years in our Army Reserve (signals, not infantry) and never carried a fixed blade knife - though mostly because there were always a few of these around to be pressed into service if you needed one. But I can't imagine a bayonet would be much use on the modern bullpup-style Steyr our Army uses now. It occurred to me when reading this thread that something like the SCHF55 might do the job right: small and light enough that you might actually carry it, tough enough to stand up to some hard use and cheap enough to replace. Just a thought. Thankfully, I'm too old and ugly these days to ever again be in a position to find out.

...Mike

There is a mounting bracket for the Glock Field Knife to be mounted on the AUG but I dont know if the Aussies have either (the Field Knife or bracket).
But as you post, the short bullpup AUG wont be as effective for use as a sticker, as for example an old M1 rifle or 'Smelly' should an unhappy scenario arise, where one has to use ones rifle with a bayo attached.

 

[Andy the Aussie]

There is a mounting bracket for the Glock Field Knife to be mounted on the AUG but I dont know if the Aussies have either (the Field Knife or bracket).
But as you post, the short bullpup AUG wont be as effective for use as a sticker, as for example an old M1 rifle or 'Smelly' should an unhappy scenario arise, where one has to use ones rifle with a bayo attached.

......for the F88 the Army issued the KCB77 in small number to start with, lovely looking thing but a bit brittle and prone to rust, then the M7 that had been issued with the M16 was put back in service, In the mid-90s +/- the M9 became issue for the infantry initially (the M7 hovered on in other areas). The M9 remains it today. F88s do not make the best platform with which to parry, thrust and twist....

 

[BladeScout]

......for the F88 the Army issued the KCB77 in small number to start with, lovely looking thing but a bit brittle and prone to rust, then the M7 that had been issued with the M16 was put back in service, In the mid-90s +/- the M9 became issue for the infantry initially (the M7 hovered on in other areas). The M9 remains it today. F88s do not make the best platform with which to parry, thrust and twist....

Ive got the field knife version of the KCB. Its bulky but never struck me as brittle … but then Ive never had an occasion to use it (not much good for 'bushcraft'), so cant really say one way or the other.
The rusty part, I believe. These sort of blades are relatively cheaply made.
I looked up the Aussie AUG and noticed the mounting bracket for the bayo on the barrel.
Im sure, the M9 is just fine - just odd, that the Australians didnt get the Glock (Austrian like the AUG and cheap).
Then again there might have been other considerations …

 

[Andy the Aussie]

They "tested" over and over to choose the M9. They also had Buck add a "Crows Foot" (Commonwealth property mark) to the M9 and for a bit there were actively pursuing the "lost" ones turning up for sale at Gun Shows etc. They not pretty much don't give a rat's. After the initial issues with the Australian made rifles and Steyr not being too much help the Austrians were on the nose a bit... The Air Force still went with Glock sidearms however (well they had been using the G19 since the 80s anyway in a limited - Jet Air Crew- role).

Funnily enough I was just at a Gun Show today (an hour after I typed the above) and ran across three Australian marked M9s.

 

[Charlie Mike]

How about this?