Military Knife

O

OrdnanceBubbaUSMC

Joined
May 23, 2004
Messages
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Why are there so many knives out there that are supposed to be for the Military but cost well over $100? It is common knowledge that we don't really make a whole lot. As part of the first wave of Marines that went over, and looking at the knives of about 250-300 different service members, I'd say only 5-10 had knives that cost over $100. A very small percent get issued knives...very small.

I don't think it's a very good use of time making knives to help/support troops with a well-thought fighting/utility design that only ends up going to the weekend warrior who makes $40,000 + a year or a knife loving Officer (who gets to have a pistol as back-up anyway and won't be prying and digging much at all).

What's with the prices and who are they kidding?

Atleast a good discount for the people who actually need them?
 
Yor actually correct in your assumptions in my opinion.Some have expensive knives but most "military"knives or "combat"knives are just hype to sell a product.
 
BTW, the most carried knives in Iraq and Afghanistan are Ka-bar for fixed blades and CRKT for folders.

At our Exchanges (most of you know what an Exchange is) Ka-bars $40-45...CRKT $30-50
 
Most of you guys don't get issued knives? I'm quite surprised. I had assumed that something like a Kabar fixed blade would be standard issue.

Let me check my other assumption - do all the troops get issued M-9's as backups?

Regards,
cds1
 
The Spyderco Military can be routinely found in the sub-100 dollar range and was designed specifically for use by servicemen. If your budget is even more limited, you can find an Endura for about half the money and you're still getting a workhorse of a folder.
 
We have to buy our Ka-bars out of pocket money...same with a lot of things (tactical slings, under armour shirts, etc.)

Staff NCO's (Non-Commisioned Officers) E-6 to E-9 and Officers get to carry the M-9 services pistols...or atleast are allowed to. Some have to wait for one who's got one to get ready to leave and then get it from him/her.

I have my own Kel-Tek 9mm but I can't bring it or carry it....crazy enough.
 
Camillus/Becker BK-7...Not alot of money, for quite alot of knife.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, the Becker 7 looks like a good design that you can find for $50 and I lost my Endura while on the ship on the way over there last year (it's good my wife got it for a special price of $20).
 
The Leatherman Pocket Tool, Gerber Multi-plier, or various other multitools are also highly purchased and used military knives. More a tool than a knife, but none the less, most infantrymen and aviation maintenance men in the Marine Corps carry them. Having been in the infantry and currently in the wing, these were tools that were almost regualar carry for most Marines. And the good part is that the cost between $40 and $60.
 
Yeah, I'm an Aviation Ordnanceman....and everyone's got a multi-tool. Never really use the knife on it though. Mostly just the screw drivers, pliers, and scissors.
 
Strange indeed that they won't let you carry your gun in the army... I could understand not letting you carry your Kel-Tec IF they would provide you with a better backup instead (M9 or 1911).
 
OOh-Rah. I went over the first time, took the scenic route through the Philippines, and I made the same discovery about edged weapons.

There are alot of companies that have since donated knives to troops or now offer them at a discount, but again I never saw or heard of any during my time in.

I carried a Ka-Bar, Leatherman and couple of other small fixed blades. None of my Marines ever spent more than $100 for a blade that I know of.

Some folks may ask you when you place your life on the line don't you want the absolute best, to that you should answer "Yes, that's why we count on our fellow Marines". :D
 
There are alot of servicable fixed blades under $100.00 from Kabar, BK&T, Ontario and Cold Steel that will do the job and won't cost an arm and a leg. While there are soldiers who will privately buy an Emerson or Benchmade folder, they're a minority. The rest buy what they can afford.

There's alot of hype out there and there are manufacturers who use the military image to market and sell their knives. While their claims may be legitimate or not, most of the people who will buy them are knife enthusiasts who buy into the hype and are willing to pay $300-$400 bucks for a knife that looks bad-ass.
 
OrdnanceBubbaUSMC,

You are right about many military or tactical named knives being costly. Same goes for firearms too.

Brands that come to mind which make decent knives for a good price (less than $100) are, in no special order:

Fixed blades: Becker Knife&Tool, Buck, Gerber, Spyderco, Cold Steel, Kabar
Folders: Spyderco, Camillus, Kershaw, Benchmade, Cold Steel
 
As far as our military blades, we do what we can to keep the cost down. There comes a point however, where in order to build a quality blade you have to use the right materials and they have a higher cost.

90% of the time, a warrior will use his knife for pretty normal tasks. Opening MREs and mail, cleaning their nails, opening boxes etc. A box cutter will work fine for the majority of cutting tasks he/she may have to do on a daily basis.

We, as well as most other American manufacturers, build our military and LE blades to handle the (hopefully) rare occasion where your blade has to be used to dig, chop, pry, stab and pound. Sometimes in a MOUT environment you have to pry doors, chop padlocks, pry manhole covers. You don't always have the right tools with you, so your knife becomes the default backup.

My advice to my Marines was to spend their money on good gear that will not fail and then go buy their pogybait and beer. Any Soldier, Sailor or Marine can afford $200 if he saves a little every paycheck, and I have seen many drink $200 worth of liquor in one night. If you buy quality, you buy it once.

A stout knife is one of the most essential tools of a warrior, and has been for thousands of years.

Just my thoughts,

SF

Josh
 
The M-9 (bayonet) from Ontario is a tough, affordable($100) service knife. its better on LBE or your web gear, not exactly a pocket carry. I've seen fellow servicemen drink and party their pay away and then complain about such things. If they buy then themselves, like I did, the knives get taken care of properly and don't end up in the local surplus store.
 
This thread makes we wonder how much USA servicemen actually make a year.

$ 30,000?


Shiden


Audentis Fortuna Iuvat
 
Shiden, here's a link to the most recent pay scale. http://www.dfas.mil/money/milpay/pay/ . Most start at around 12,000-14,000 a year (it varies with education) and don't see 30,000 until they've put in at least 8-10 years. Now, that number can go up very quickly if you are deployed to a war zone for a significant length of time. J Rummerfield is, however, correct about what many servicemembers waste their money on. Cars are another BIG ticket item many soldiers spend on. Several guys in my unit own cars worth 35,000, more than they make in a year.
 
$ 12,000 a year?! :eek: That's almost nothing... Now I understand why they can't buy a $ 100 knife.

Here in the Netherland military personel get paid much more. I don't know exactly how much, but for sure not $ 12,000. And they also get a lot of bonuses.

Shiden


Audentis Fortuna Iuvat
 
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