military/law enforcement EDC?

[puukkoman]

Paint a fruitcake black, charge an extra $20, call it tactical, and it sells better.

Don't forget the paracord wrap.

 

[citizensoldierNY]

I'm going to make an educated guess and say that the most common knives in the US armed forces are the blades on assorted Gerber and Leatherman tools. The majority of people in uniform aren't (normally) in combat roles. They're truck drivers and mechanics, cooks, aircraft support, warehouse workers... the people who keep the pilots, tankers and infantry fed, mobile and armed. People who are going to find a multitool more useful than a combat knife.


Also, I think the word 'tactical' as applied to any product has lost whatever original meaning it might have once had. It's a marketing buzzword now. Paint a fruitcake black, charge an extra $20, call it tactical, and it sells better.

Random looker,
Close but no cigar. In the Army we get issued Gerber multi-tools as part of the RFI package you get before deployment. Depending on your job you may also get a Benchmade auto issued, I have also seen griptilians issued. I believe the Nimravus FB also has an NSN but as far as I know not an issue item. Being in Aviation we don't get bayonets though.
As for personal knives I've seen it all, for the most part what is carried by the PX CRKT, Gerbers, Spyderco's etc. is what I saw carried . I actually bought my Benchmade Auto at Bagram PX. Though there were a few fellow knife nuts who brought some cool items overseas with them they were definitely the minority. I kept it pretty basic carrying a Spydie Endura as my edc.

 

[BWSkipper]

Way back when I carried a Case lock back much like a Buck 110, an Uncle Henry medium Stockman, and a small mag lite. This was back in the late 80's as a Navy Corpsman.

 

[MORIMOTOM]

i only know of one police department that issues a knife. mercop (bfc handle) is a dt/firearms instructor and recommended his agency issue a folding knife, to which they responded positively. i believe it is a buck/strider.

our department is governed by policy and law. we may carry folders with a blade length limit of 4", no autos or fixed blades. they may be carried in a pants pocket or belt sheath. there is no limit on the number of knives we may carry.

i carry several:

1. folder in right sap pocket for utility. i rotate several emersons, spydercos, and once in a while my hinderer xm18.

2. emerson combat kerambit in left sap pocket for weapon retention.

3. small sak on secondary key ring.

4. small multi tool on primary key ring.

i also carry 4 flashlights, generally. i carry a lot of crap. backups, to the backups, to the backups.

 

[ohmyheckinslc]

ohmyheckinslc, What knife is that in your avatar?

It's a WDZ knives, Saigo.
You can find them for sale, as well as Will's other designs, from time to time, in the Manufacturer area on BFC. Will makes a hardcore blade.




Back on topic, Idaho Jarhead reminded me how I got my first Emerson. It was a pre-wave CQC-7B A highway patrol officer had left it in their car when they turned it in at some point. They never came for it, so the Car lady, who knew of my knife knuttedness, gave it to me. What an expensive mistake that has turned out to be. I've been a knutty fan of Emersons ever since. Yesterday I used my mini-com to tactically remove the last few drops of breath spray from the bottom of the bottle before throwing it away.

 

[jbmonkey]

my brother who is a fed carries a serrated folder (a kershaw actually), as do most of his colleagues...i believe he was issued a s&w folder, which was crappy so he never used it...the serrated blade is definitely the preference over a plain edge, so he says...

that's cause most can't sharpen or don't want to sharpen. they use those serrations more like a folding tear tool than a knife. i see it in my field all the time, same logic, those serrations keep on tearing stuff, dull or not. those plain edges get dull after awhile and sharpening is not liked. there are always exceptions to every lumping of people, but this is my experience with most people.

 

[firefighterguy]

Not law enforcement, but I've noticed with firefighters that everyone carries a knife. They get sucked in by "rescue" knives. I personally carry a leatherman wave and a folder. I have seen our cops carrying a lot of different knives, bench made and cold steel the most it seems.

But I see guys on YouTube referring to knives as "tactical" knives and it makes me laugh. Outside of people on this forum, I doubt many people know how to use a knife for self defense. I know that I wouldn't know how.

The Emerson feature is pretty sweet. If I needed a tactical knife I would go that route.

 

[The cow]

Great observations. I've been wondering what "tactical" really means lately, as it applies to the folding knife market, as well... I use my knife tactically every day... If I have to covertly deanimate an envelope, I have a tactic for doing that... Also, no apple or cardboard box is safe from my tactics... And ZIP TIES...don't even get me started... I guess you could say that I'm a tactical knife user... Since any action you take, is either planned, or reactive, and the planned actions would, by definition, employ tactics...

tactic: a plan, procedure, or expedient for promoting a desired end or result.

Sorry, for my rambling... /rant

Its a meaningless word nowadays
Mostly a marketing buzzword to sell more stuff to part pudgy office workers from their money.
But what I visualize when I hear a "tactical" knife is a ESEE 5 or a Benchmade ADAMAS

I get salty with that word and how many market their blades as "military" knives since I rarely see enlisted persons with non-issued knife worth more than $50. Usually then, its some cheesy walmart knife.

 

[lazy otter]

I'm a big fan of the Helm Grind plate carrier knives. Fixed blades that can ride behind existing gear so I give up no space and are about the size of a mid/large folder. Won't fall out of my pocket,one handed operation though most folders can be closed one handed. But it's what I choose.

 

[bdmicarta]

i carry a lot of crap. backups, to the backups, to the backups.

I've heard some of the sayings- "two is one and one is none" and "a pair and a spare". Makes perfect sense if it is a piece of essential gear.

We talk a lot about the "tactical" thing, and nobody seems able to define it. I've been thinking about it and my theory is that at some point we transitioned from regular police officers to SWAT ("special weapons and tactics"), and SWAT started looking more like military than the military did. So I guess somehow "military looking" and "tactical" became the same thing. Anyway, just my theory.

 

[bodog]

Its a meaningless word nowadays
Mostly a marketing buzzword to sell more stuff to part pudgy office workers from their money.
But what I visualize when I hear a "tactical" knife is a ESEE 5 or a Benchmade ADAMAS

I get salty with that word and how many market their blades as "military" knives since I rarely see enlisted persons with non-issued knife worth more than $50. Usually then, its some cheesy walmart knife.

I carried a Kershaw boa with S60V (S440V way back then) as an enlisted guy. I think it cost me around 120 bucks. That was A LOT of money. Having said that, I don't know of many guys who carried quality knives either, if they carried them at all. A lot of dudes carried leathermans though.

 

[BTacblades]

Great conversation and question - yes, Tactical can certainly be used as a marketing term. The mission drives the gear so having a strategic approach with driving tactics takes certain equipment - hence the tactical nature or name.

Most of our customers are LEO/MIL and even on custom orders, sometimes it comes down just to the buyers discretion and budget. The lion share who come to us recommend and use (sometimes issued) Winkler II knives. Others we see are Spartan and brands we don't carry are common as well such as Benchmade and Gerber or the ones everyone else has already mentioned.

We have worked with folks newer to knives that do ordering who look to us to steer them and vice versa where the high speed pro's dictate what their units will get. One thing in common is that utility comes before beauty in these instances.

Just a few thoughts as "tactical," caught my eye - since it's in the name!

 

[Etna]

Conscript here.

Over here, 'tactical' is just another name for 'stealthy'. And the standard issue knife is a bright red SAK with mirror finished blades. Fat lot of good that does with being all 'tactical'.

On the plus side, I sure did not lose any sleep or tears when it got lost out on a field exercise.

 

[Ressiken]

I am in the Marine Corps and also Law Enforcement.

On my Law Enforcement duty belt I carry a Benchmade Griptilian in a black leather pouch attached as part of the duty belt. I additionally have a Gerber ghoststrike mounted to my bulletproof vest underneath my uniform (concealed but easily access to me in a fight). In my boot I also have the good old standby USMC KaBar tanto (Concealed ankle holster).

While on military duty in cammies I carry a Benchmade Nimravus 141 USMC Issue, and I also have a Leatherman OHT Multitool that I take off my duty belt and have a separate coyote condura pouch for the tool for wearing it while in cammies.


Overall this setup has served me well.

 

[Ressiken]

As a follow-up, it should be noted that whereas the Benchmade Nimravus has a much sharper blade, it can quickly dull so beware of this issue. The KaBar, however, I've used that to pry doors open with and cut straps - definitely the more utilitarian blade of the two.

 

[Sonnydaze]

While in the Marines I carried a Gerber mulitool and a SAK.

In the police department I work for I am the lone ranger, carrying a Spyderco Manix. AFAIK every other officer carries one of the waved Emersons.

I am seeing more of this waved Endura talked about by various folks . A great idea and even better when combined with a Glock tool...
Lone Wolf makes one of these, and a SWAT cop/firearms instructor whom I know, just loves his... left rear pocket carry.

 

[Bill_Brasky]

On average, people carry pretty crummy knives by BF.com standards. There's the occasional Spyderco or Kershaw, but mostly people don't pay too much attention to it. Gerber or whatever Wal-Mart happened to be selling the day they want to the store.

This is a perfect observation. I'm not a LE officer or member of the military, but I come from a very deep military family. When I first started getting seriously into knives I asked to see a lot of my older relatives EDC knives. The one knife I'll never forget is my uncle who served a decade as a Marine (including Desert Storm), later became a police officer, and was then the warden of a prison in Virginia when I asked him about his knife. He produced a Gerber Evo, partially serrated. He was quite proud of this knife, and to this day I don't know why. At the time I was the owner of an Evo and I considered it (and still do) to be a straight trash, piece of s*** blade. That experience remains one of those more confusing moments of my knife collector/enthusiast life.

 

[Danke42]

I suspect folks like that aren't proud of a particular knife but where that knife's been and what it's done.

 

[collim1]

Never heard of a standard issue police knife.

I have been a patrolman for about 11 years. Carried all sorts of knives on duty.

At the moment I am carrying a Benchamde Contego and a small Victorinoxm usually a Tinker or Farmer.

For many years I carried a nothing but a Leatherman in a belt pouch.

From what I have seen even non knife guys will buy a decent knife for duty carry. The majority of what I see are Benchmades, atleast in my area they have a good reputation and the training officers seem to recommend them rookies a lot.

I also see a lot of Kershaw Blurs, Spyderco Endures and a few ZT knives.

Funny that I don't see any Spyderco Police models.

 

[hatchettjack]

I was an MP in the army in the early 80s, I can't remember ever carrying a knife at all! Nowadays my tactical goto's are a benchmade triage and adamas! My tactical fixed blades are my gerber mark 2 and my Becker bk2!