legal carry SD knife

I looked are the manix, para, and chinook. I liked the manix and para. Are their advantages over the endura or 551 worth the extra cost? Also what about the military? Or is carying a 4" folder with the word "millitary" stamped on it asking for trouble?
 
Esav Benyamin said:
The Waved Enduras are in short supply. There was only one special run. (I just lucked into two of them to replace one I had to trade away :))
Click to expand...

Just a heads up, there are more waved Enduras and Delicas coming very soon if they interest you.
 
just got my chinook today. must say it appears to be one hell of a good sd weapon. perhaps number 2 only to the
afck. got it shipped for just under 90 bucks on ebay. also- for a awsome pure self defence weapon check out a spyderco civilian. any of these are hard to beat imho.
 
Yeah, I agree the chinook would be a good sd weapon. I'm just not sold on the blade shape... to each his own. As for the civilian I'm just not partial to forward curving blades. Seems like they'd be be great for cuting rope. or maybe cutting hard objects that your knife wants to slip off of. As for using them for sd, I get that they're easy to point at your opponent, but it seems like your arm wouldn't be lined up to deliver maximum force in a thrust. Maybe I'm way off here, my knife fighting skills are essentially nil.
 
The Manix and especially the Chinook are excellent self-defense knives, but they are also exceptionally big and heavy.

The Paramilitary should be a good compromise: extremely strong lock, great cutting edge and ergonomic handle. The Military itself is even better, even though the blade tip looks relatively weak. It would take real abuse to damage it seriously. I believe the current Military is being made without the name on the blade. Although the Military may be bigger than you need or want to carry, it is very light and flat for such a big knife.

Keep in mind though, that many people don't trust liner locks like the Military for SD. The compression lock on the Paramilitary corrects this problem.
 
Any well-made lock will hold up under normal circumstances. Mass production may not provide a well-made lock of any given type every time. But liner locks, and to a certain extent, framelocks, may suffer from another problem .

Take a knife and stick it into a board. Now turn the knife, twisting it as if to drill a hole with the tip. This torquing can disengage a liner lock, and possibly a framelock, as well. It is much less likely to have a similar effect on lockbacks or axis locks.

Some liner locks are augmented, as CRKT does with their LAWKS system, to keep the liner from slipping off the tang.

Framelocks are unlikely to torque away from the tang because your hand is holding the lockbar in, and the harder you twist, the harder you have to grip the lockbar.

If you do decide on a liner lock for SD, make sure it is reliable, not just from a good company -- test your own knife before trusting it not to fail and fold onto your fingers.
 
I agree with all points on the Military.

That said, I am really wanting a titanium framelock for EDC and SD....
 
In my limited experience, I would not be so concerned about self defense other that to have a knife that is very sharp and fits your hands. If you like the folders for their concealability, then go with them. I do like the Syderco Native as an all around knife and you can open the blade pretty quickly. Go to Walmart and check it out. I bought one a month or so ago at Wally World just to see what all the hype is about with the Spyderco blades. In most knife fights from what I gather, you primarily slash your opponent rather than just stick 'em. If you are like most people I know who like knives, you will have more than two knives anyway and you will gravitate to the one(s) you prefer the most.

In a hiking/camping scenario where there is that hint of a need for self defense, I would have both a fixed blade knife and a folder. Both are useful. As I mentioned in the other thread, I like the SOG Northwest Ranger; it really is a nice knife. You have to hold one in your hand to appreciate one.

Some of the bowie style blades have a sharpened "false edge" that allows you to stab as well as slash. I have a couple of this design made by Randall. But, that is way beyond your price range. Basically, in the woods you carry one on your belt and have a back up in the pocket; the pocket knife then gets the nod for general day to day carry for general purposes.
 
Ethies, since your primary function of this knife was self preservation, - think GRAB YANK SHANK (fixed blade) versus grab, try to access the hole or thumb stud with gloves on today when it is cold as hell and windy, pivot the blade open to lock, all while the friendly pissed off biker is trying to cave your head in.

Whatever you choose, I recommend taking the time to use either a palm sander or a piece of emory cloth on the raised points on the handle of your knife, remove any sort of sharps, burrs, irritations on the handle. You'll enjoy the knife a lot more.

Take another hard look at thoses Entreks - they are no harder to carry than a folder, they just require a little more thought at times, and a good sheath. I carry a fixed blade nearly every day while wearing either a suit, a pair of jeans and a t-shirt or whatever. It's just a planning thing and a lifestyle.

I cannot believe I overlooked this - I have also carried quite a bit a Swamp Rat Howling Rat in a slip-sheath, essentially a kydex taco for the knife, which just tucks inside the waistband. I have carried fixed blades for several years this way and have never had a problem with this. if you want a little more info on this, drop me an email
 
Self Defense; I'd get a good knife you're comfortable with such as recommended on this thread. Then I'd get a gun. Why have someone in your face which is exactly where they will be if you use a knife.... gun allows distance and can be a lot more FINAL in fights. If you're still thinking knife, then get some training. Fighting with a knife is not for the squeamish or weak of heart. Very messy business which is why a gun works better. I know, you hope by showing the knife that the bad guy will just go away.... don't count on it.
 
Well, thanks to everyone who contributed. I went down and handled some of the knives we've discussed. While fixed blades felt very comfortable, I really can't understand how you can conceal them. If you can, more power to you but I don't think that's for me. It really came down to either the BM 551 Griptilian and the Spyderco Military. Right now I'm kinda leaning toward the military but I don't know which edge to get. I like the combo edge, but how the hell do you sharpen that crazy spideredge?
 
The spyderedge is just as easy to sharpen as a plain edge. I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker, which comes with a DVD instructing you on all of it's vast uses. You basicly sharpen it just like a plain edge, but you draw it down the stone slower and on the corner side so that the corner of the stone slips into each divot as it slides down. Some people sharpen them on one side only as they are only ground on one side, but I find the serrates smooth out and cut better over time if you shapen both sides.

Also, you may want to consider getting it fully serrated for SD. It will cut deeper and easier on a slash that way, ripping straight to the bone. I realize serrates don't look as nice, but they cut much better in my experience. I would never take anything but a fully serrate knife into a heavy work day. A plain edge just dulls to quickly.
 
The d`allara drop point is about the same price as an Endura and would clean its clock, no doubt about it. Much beefier, enlarged spyderhole, ball bearing lock, tip up carry...it's 55 dollars. One of the big pluses of a d`allara in a self defense situation is that in my mind, it will be hard to show a jury that your knife, based on a rescue model and named after John D`allara, was carried around with the intent to go stabbing people (because I assume that's what they're going to try and do).

The paramilitary is a superior self defense tool, well, I dare say it's just superior all around, but it does cost twice as much.

One thing about the d`allara is that this is a big knife in unusual ways. Try one (or a similar d`allara rescue, they're pretty close) in real life and make sure you want to lug that much knife around. I loved my d`allara but I traded it today because I just couldn't EDC it. Of course, if you're considering the Manix and Chinook, both of which are much larger, I suppose this isn't a big concern.

The Spec Bump is right around there and is a pretty cool knife with good SD features, in my opinion.
 
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