Met a former Navy Seal the other night...

D R E said:
I remember the article from Fighting Knives. He carried a Gerber Mark II for killin, Gerber folder, Tekna knock-off for water insertion use, "Demo" knife for sharpening wooden pencils etc. He mentioned a bolo for jungle choppin.

I recall some chairborne commando criticizing him for keeping the Mark II purely for fighting. Everyone is an expert :)
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Thank you, yes thats the one, I couldn't remember the name of the magazine. Seemed like a respectable answer to the question at hand :D
 
I work on occasion with SERE specialist in the Air Force. These guys use their knives harder then pretty much anyone else out there in my opinion. I usually end up asking them what knife they use. Most of them have never heard of 'high end' knives that we talk about here. The record so far is 4 users of Cold Steel (Trailmaster a popular one) and one K-Bar.
 
I had a buddy from 5th Group while I was at Bragg. He carried one of those $3 POS little auto knives you get from the bucket at a gas station. I ask him one day if thats what he carries to which he replied, "it cuts don't it".
 
So , the concensus is that most Spec-Ops folks ,not to mention regular military , do not put as much emphasis on knives as some entities would try an have us believe ?

I'm shocked !

;)
:D

Tostig
 
isn't the answer about official seal knives in here somewhere?
www.ehow.com/about_4686474_navy-seal-knives.html

sometimes there are new equipment which have merit in superiority of design,
that can actually perform better than what's currently available.
but more often than not,
contracting is more likely about manufacturers trying very hard not to reinvent the wheel;
so when it comes to producing basic individual equipment as a knife;
the question then becomes just how far can technology lower the cost of manufacturing in order to secure a possible tender?

www.special-operations-technology.c...-volume-7-issue-3/1112-cuts-like-a-knife.html
 
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Charlie Mike said:
Just look for the guy in an Oath Keeper shirt that has this on his knuckles:D

l_ea5e9eefa7bf493392e6e44bea1c599e.jpg
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You know I took a glance at that and first read PARA CORD. I need to get glasses I think. That or stop obsessing about gear.
 
I dare someone to get that inked!
 
Tostig said:
So , the concensus is that most Spec-Ops folks ,not to mention regular military , do not put as much emphasis on knives as some entities would try an have us believe ?

I'm shocked !

;)
:D

Tostig
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Surprise, surprise!

I just love it when a knife magazine talks up some high end or custom knife as being popular with the troops.

I spent 10 years in the army before being medically discharged for injuries while on active duty. In the whole 10 years, I saw exactly two custom/high end knives. One was on the web gear of a 1st Sargent who was a known knife knut, and the other was a Captain who was a knife knut. Both were Randall's.

Everybody else who had need of a knife just used what was on sale at the PX. I served from May of 1961 to September of 1971, and THE most popular knife I saw on just about everyone's belt was the Buck 110. In the field, the most popular sheath knife was the Buck Special or the Camillus made MK2. The Buck Special was also on sale at the PX for a low price, while the company supply room had some MK2's on hand.

Soldiers don't spend a lot of money on knives. If it cuts, that's all that matters.
 
A friend has been accepted into and has already started with the SEALS.

Last night I asked him if they are issued a knife.

He told me that everyone will train with a knife that is issued to them. He said it was like a KaBar (he's no knife knut) and that they wear it throughout their training. He said it's made of steel. He hasn't yet gone to BUD. He also said that while they have to train with that specific knife, which has the Navy's trident on it, that afterwards they are free to choose whichever knife they wish.

Folderguy
 
jackknife said:
Surprise, surprise!

I just love it when a knife magazine talks up some high end or custom knife as being popular with the troops.

I spent 10 years in the army before being medically discharged for injuries while on active duty. In the whole 10 years, I saw exactly two custom/high end knives. One was on the web gear of a 1st Sargent who was a known knife knut, and the other was a Captain who was a knife knut. Both were Randall's.

Everybody else who had need of a knife just used what was on sale at the PX. I served from May of 1961 to September of 1971, and THE most popular knife I saw on just about everyone's belt was the Buck 110. In the field, the most popular sheath knife was the Buck Special or the Camillus made MK2. The Buck Special was also on sale at the PX for a low price, while the company supply room had some MK2's on hand.

Soldiers don't spend a lot of money on knives. If it cuts, that's all that matters.
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Hey Jackknife,

first off , thank you for your service to our Country. Second , I enjoy your stories :) Third I believe exactly what you are saying is true.
Certain knife companies/brands which I will not name ;) want folks to think that the knives they make and sell and in high demand by our Armed forces and other nations armies to boot , so many people lap that crap up it's not even funny. I inhereted my Dad's knife he used when he was in the U.S.C.G. , it was an old Camillus knife , the one that goes by a few names , some folks call them rope knives or sailor knives , at any rate a simple sheepsfoot blade and marlin spike. My good Marine buddy Dave was in O.I.F., he didnt know much at all about knives until we started hanging out more , I bought him a CRKT M-16 for his birthday which was a step up from the horrible thing he bought from Big5 , think it was S&W maybe.. anyways yea , your average soldier is going to buy what they can afford , not the latest G10/S30V/Titanium offering with operators grip/skull piercing jigamahoo/tritium inserts/lanyard with screaming skull. :D


Tostig
 
Modoc ED said:
None of them ran around when off duty bragging that they were Seals.

The Navy Seals (active duty/inactive duty) are a great bunch of guys with impecable qualifications. They know it and are comfortable in that knowledge and don't feel a need to brag on themselves to others outside their community.
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:thumbup:
Of the very few "true blue, real deal" special forces guys I know, they don't like to talk about their days in combat, and don't pound their chests that they were special forces. A friend of the family once remarked to me about a knife, that "he would have liked to have that in combat". Other than that, not a word.
 
Just to add some input into what may be the reason those folks In-The-Know may not advertise the brand they are issued.

I work for the gov't (EPA, to be specific) and the gov't tries very hard to avoid the appearance of favoring any one brand of ANYTHING over another, whether it be contractors to mow the premises of a gov't building, or the supplier of copy paper, or probably even the supplier of issued military gear.

By avoiding the issue and not volunteering the brand name of their equipment, they are respecting the idea of not showing favoritism, which is a big no-no in the gov't. It may take a few years in the gov't to become fully aware of this idea, but once you know it, it is deeply ingrained in how you do business.

If every GI who worked in an elite position blabbed about what was issued, it would create an unfair advantage for that company over all the others, as can be seen in the marketplace with all the "Official-Whatever-Issued" such-and-such out there.

In my opinion, they may ALL have had a chance to be the exclusive supplier of that item for a specific amount of time, but when the next batch needed to be ordered, the low bid took the contract, so it probably changed.

As to the OP's first post (I didn't read past the 2nd page) it just shows that his friend is probably respecting the gov't convention of not playing favorites to the public which supplies those items to the military.

All this is just based on my opinion, which is based on limited experience, and is all just conjecture on my part.
 
Soldiers don't spend a lot of money on knives. If it cuts, that's all that matters.
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That's very true, but sometimes the soldiers don't have to spend the money on the knife. The SERE guys I mentioned before get free knives on occasion, companies send them to their units. Other units do buy knives for their troops sometimes. Back in 2004 when war money was flowing freely (unlike today) I remember being handed one of the Gerber folding Fairbane knives. Simplely because my unit asked for money to buy "deployment items." Did we need them, not at all, but we all got one. In 2007 I was deployed again (and in 2005, but no knife that time). Once we arrived in theater they handed out the Gerber automatics to everyone. Did we need them, not at all. This was an aircrew unit this time, no parachutes, there was no reason for me to get a $100+ knife, but they were available so of course they get handed out.
So yes, everyone that says that soldiers can choose their own knives are correct (depending on unit of course). I can fly with whatever I want, usually a Busse or a Fehrman. But some units do "issue" an official knife, usually not super high end. Although the Benchmade autos are popular "issue", seen lots of those around.
 
I met one of those security, Black Water types. He didn't tell me who he worked for but that's what he did. Anyhow, he had a beat up full size Griptillian and told me he also carried a multi tool and he was a "knife guy". He said he buys a new Grip when he wears the old one out and wouldn't use one of his "better" knives out on duty because it would get too banged up.
 
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