Knives Used By SEALs (member Qs)

WillB

WillB

Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Messages
492
Edit: Go to #67 for pics of the knives from the museum:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/knives-used-by-seals-member-qs.1633913/page-4#post-18679390

This thread got me to thinking. Per my comments in post #47 of that thread, knife use by SEALs is all over the place. If members here are interested, I could probably sit down with one of the guys and ask them some Qs on the topic such as what was/is issued, what they carried, etc. See my comments in thread above for how it seems to work on the Teams. If I didn't answer the Q, and there's some interest, I could probably arrange to some answers from the various gents who can be found at the UDT-SEAL Museum.

If that's of interest, post your Qs in this thread, and I will put them together, and see what I can do. Obviously, there are topics they can't/wont discuss so keep them to obvious Qs.

Finally, if there's interest, I'd be happy to give a personal tour to a a group of B.com members should someone put something like that together.

PS, there is a knife display at the museum. I will try and take a pic. Nothing special in terms of choices, such as SOG, CRK, etc. and one LOL worthy which was added as something of an inside joke.
 
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I used to go to church with an ex-Seal. He was in during the late 90s. I'll contact him and see if I can't sit down with him, as he is a friend of the family, and talk knives over lunch one day. I'm sure each unit is different and maybe even use different gear, depending on their mission. Anyone can speculate about who's who and what's what, but it's nice hearing it straight from the horse's mouth.
 
Over the course of my life, I've had some good conversations with guys that were U.S. Army Special Forces, from Vietnam to more recent wars, and being a knife nut I ask about knives a lot, and it has ceased to surprise me how often it's some common brand name bought at the Base store, and how few "high end" knives I hear about.
 
JD Mandrell said:
Over the course of my life, I've had some good conversations with guys that were U.S. Army Special Forces, from Vietnam to more recent wars, and being a knife nut I ask about knives a lot, and it has ceased to surprise me how often it's some common brand name bought at the Base store, and how few "high end" knives I hear about.
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My last two units in the army were 2/3 SFG(A) and 1/10 SFG(A) and there weren't many specialty knives to be found. This was back in the 90s, mind you, but as you've described it was primarily whatever the PX sold--including a lot of Gerber, back then.

By far and away the single most common knife I saw used by any 18-series guy was the basic Leatherman multi-tool, though. I'd say the ratio was roughly fifty Leathermans to every dagger, hunting knife, or other folder I saw used.
 
PS, here's a knife display from the museum.
evilgreg said:
My last two units in the army were 2/3 SFG(A) and 1/10 SFG(A) and there weren't many specialty knives to be found. This was back in the 90s, mind you, but as you've described it was primarily whatever the PX sold--including a lot of Gerber, back then.

By far and away the single most common knife I saw used by any 18-series guy was the basic Leatherman multi-tool, though. I'd say the ratio was roughly fifty Leathermans to every dagger, hunting knife, or other folder I saw used.
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As there's now a lot more options, and those options easy to find via the 'net, etc, I wonder if that's changed at all?
 
JD Mandrell said:
Over the course of my life, I've had some good conversations with guys that were U.S. Army Special Forces, from Vietnam to more recent wars, and being a knife nut I ask about knives a lot, and it has ceased to surprise me how often it's some common brand name bought at the Base store, and how few "high end" knives I hear about.
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Well, keep in mind that even though our special forces guys are some of our best warriors, they don't get paid a whole lot. So, the odds are probably low that a SEAL or Delta guy is going to spend $500-$1,000 for a knife when he may have a family at home while he's on deployment.
 
The SE Pacific Salt is known to be popular and has a NSN attached to it (indicating it has been bought by the USG), also in the past it was known that BUD/S classes would buy Emerson Commanders with their class # on them upon graduation.
 
Quiet said:
Well, keep in mind that even though our special forces guys are some of our best warriors, they don't get paid a whole lot. So, the odds are probably low that a SEAL or Delta guy is going to spend $500-$1,000 for a knife when he may have a family at home while he's on deployment.
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Especially just to have to explain to his wife why he has to spend that much again if it doesn't make it back from a mission for whatever reason. These were some of the thoughts I came up with after dozens of interviews with soldiers from all branches and units within them, and from all walks of life outside their military life. Hearing about knives being damaged and lost, and even one being refused to be loaned to do some dirty work because it was too expensive for that holding up a mission already in motion for a few minutes. After having spent a lot of my childhood in south Alabama in the 70s when there was no economy and knowing personally several soldiers who signed the blank check and willingly put their life on the line for us all with the hopes of getting their families out of poverty. I come from a family of vets from South Alabama My Grandfather was born in 1909 and enlisted in the Army when Fort Benning was just a tent city. He served as a Pathfinder in WW-II, My Dad was born during the great depression and enlisted in the Marine Corps and went off to fight in Korea All of these things were the driving force behind my desire to get two of the knives that I designed primarily for guys just like this into production. To get more well thought out and more ergonomic knives, that would be as dependable as any similar knives on the market made through a more affordable knife company. Because that went back to my roots and came from my heart.
 
morvlorv said:
Are you able to provide any info on the topic if you have run ranges with teams?
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He's just here to let everyone know he's a hardcore badass. Problem is guys with boat loads of experience are around everywhere and most don't particularly make it a point be the tactical badass. Shrug.


The fascination with SF is funny but I get it. They are the bees knees and they get much respect in the military. I think if someone claimed SEALs wore a certain underwear people would by them.
 
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I don't buy the "enlisted men can afford good knives" line. If you like knives and you think it will help you come home again, you spend it. The custom I ordered while I was still in basic cost more than my monthly check. Today for an E-1 that would be over $1500. You can buy some pretty nice combat knives for a lot less than that.
 
I was around some of these whacky guys in the late 70's and early 80's. I do remember that the knife selection at one store in Fayetteville, Cumberland Knife and Gun Works, was better than what you see today, but the same thing could be said of say Ranger Joes at Benning back in the early 80's. I remember Cumberland having a pretty big selection of Randalls along with the more typical Gerbers, Bucks, etc. They probably had a different customer base than some of the other Randall dealers like The Acorn in Gatlinburg or Stoddards in Boston. The "specialty" knives we know so well today like Al Mar, SOG, Pacific/Benchmade, Syderco, Cold Steel, etc started showing up in quantity a bit later IIRC. First place I remember seeing a case full of Al Mar stuff was in the early to mid 80's at Tamiami Gun Shop in Miami. I asked a family friend who was in Vietnam with SF what they carried. IIRC, he said the Buck fixed blade (119?)was popular because it was stainless.
 
Assume issue knives with a sprinkling of non-issue knives. The SEAL teams dont seem that interested in knives and why should they be. Its only in the fevered imagination of 'us' knife afis, they 'we' think they should and do care a great deal about knives (because we want them to, dang it).

This sort of thread often plays out the same...

Seesteel said:
...a pair of scissors? ;)
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Blunt nosed cheapo 'surgical' scissors are quite common for soldiers to carry in the field, as they are immensely more useful than knives (see above) for removing gear and parts of a uniform, when checking trauma on a fellow wounded soldier. Knives have a tendency to poke a thrashing person and that not really desirable in that situation.
 
I cant really see them carrying real high end knives, and in their line of work theres a better chance of the knife getting lost; so I doubt their carrying anything exotic or highly expensive.I know I wouldn't...
 
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