Knife Recommendation for Security/Law Enforcement

[Converge]

Why not go with something affordable and of high value like a Kershaw or an Ontario? There is a good chance you may damage/lose one or more knives in the course of working in the field, no sense spending a lot of money on a high end knife that really doesn't cut any better than a lot of other knives out there. Right now, it would make a lot more sense to buy something reasonably priced and of good value and then be able to put funds towards other pieces of equipment that could be more useful to you in your work, like better cuffs, light, holster (if applicable) and so on.

This

My vote would be Recon 1 half serrated. It seems to be a strong knife. The cost to replace wont hurt if you damage or lose it which is very likely if you use it like it was meant to be used, as a tool. It carries pretty deep which is good esp if you carry on your strong side. I imagine it is true that 99% of the time you will use it for mundane everyday cutting tasks, but if and when the time comes to depend on it I think it will stand up to the task. Many other will as well but some come with a higher price tag. I also think the G10 grip will prob eat some of your trousers but would perform great if your hands or environment is wet or you are covered in other material. My only gripe with my Recon is that it opens hard and when I got it I had a hard time closing it. Some people on here recommended leaving it half open for a while which did help. Speaking of hard opening to me that would be a concern if you had to open one handed but I believe it would be possible for me to open the knife one handed while under stress. I imagine for your career choice this would be a good option. CS now makes the Recon 1 in Carpenters CTS® XHP Alloy.

http://www.coldsteel.com/Product/27TLCTH/Recon_1_Tanto_Point_Half_Serrated.aspx

and this

 

[Charlie Fox]

If I was going back on the road I'd want a good quality knife that did break the bank. I'd seriously look at the Ontario Utilitac II or RAT 1; fairly light, good blade shapes, decent edge retention, serrated models available and best of all they cost right around $30 U.S.

 

[HotRodColt]

When I worked for an armored car service, they had an official "no knives" policy. Funny thing was you needed to cut things to do your job. I carried one of those Super Knife folding utility knives.

I think a Rat 1 or utilitac would perform great for basic tasks. Try one of those.

If you want an expensive knife, buy one, but don't be afraid of an OKC.

 

[Wenglo]

Benchmade triage. Nice blade along with a window breaker and seatbelt cutter. Perfect for a first responder.

 

[senoBDEC]

Spyderco Assist series. Have heard good things too of the Hinderer Rescue folder....

For general use with minimum maintenance plus the ability to shatter windows "rescue" style folders would be an excellent choice, affordable too.

Not sure why a LEO knife needs to be "tactical", they do have so many options of weaponry after all.... pistol, shotgun (perhaps), baton, sometimes pepper spray, taser.....

For fixed blade (SD / weapon retention) the Ka-BAR TDI still seems a good option... it was designed for it after all. However a bit of skate-grip tape on the handle may be in order, much like on pistols.

 

[TheRadical]

If you are planning on getting a leatherman multitool, as several keep suggesting, then you could always get their C33 folding knife. It only costs ~$25 to $30, so it isn't a problem if something happens to it, and it comes both plain and combo edge. They really are very good knives, I have had one for a few years, and actually just got done sharpening it for the first time in 2.5 years. To tell you the truth, it will need to be sharpened more often than that, but I never seemed to have the time. In hind sight it really is rather silly because it only took me about 20 minutes to sharpen the knife even with over 2 years of abuse. You will definitely like the knife.