military/law enforcement EDC?

Ghurkas
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US in Vietnam
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US Soldier in WWII
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I had to attend an incident command class yesterday. The instructors where both from the governors office of homeland security and emergency preparedness. They where both involved with the response to Katrina (which sucked but not due to their problems at the time) and BP oil spill (which was a complete success and model incident command response even though the operations where questionable to most), large scale flooding of the red river and a couple local chemical faculty incidents. Very experienced and accomplished gentlemen.

One carried a Kershaw tanto assisted (damn it I can't remember the model, that common Walmart one) and the other had a smith and Wesson. These guys could pretty much get anything they want with state funds and that's their choices. Nothing fancy that does the job needed. I know not everyone agrees but it's hard to argue with the guys who put them to use.
 
Retired now but while on active duty I carried and used the hell out of a Cold Steel Voyager 3" clip, a Sebenza, a CRK single guard Shadow IV as well as a Project 1 and a solid stainless Spyderco Endura. My favorite to use was the Cold Steel because it was cheap, sharp and I didn't give a shit about it. I eventually passed it along to an old girlfriend who was deploying.
Of the blades I have now I'd definitely feel good with the Gorgon, the Sebenza 25, the Strider DB and the Randall Fireman Special. For my beater FB I'd take my Ambush Alpha.
 
USAf vet, and now in law enforcement, I carried a leather-man CORE during my service time, along with a gerber folding tanto. Mostly for utility use. Currently I upgraded to a leatherman charge TTI, and a zero tolerance folder ( the recurve ) - I have polished up the blade to 6000 grit to a mirror polish.

The idea of a tactical these days is really just a marketing campaign to sell "mean looking black things". You'll find most guys carry a multi tool, and a user knife. Another popular item has been a small hawk - again for utility.
 
Army here. Most of us just carry our own knives as long as it falls within installation regulations. The regulation here where I'm stationed mentions that the blade must be no longer than 3.5" fixed or folding. Despite this regulation, it is not strictly enforced. Most of the guys I work with like to carry folding knives. That said, I usually carry a spyderco endura 4 in my pocket or a esee candiru on my belt. The majority of people in my unit don't even carry a dedicated blade but rather, a leatherman or gerber multi-tool instead.
 
I was Army for 20+ years. I carried a Boker pen knife in my pocket, a Glock field knife in my ruck, and a Victorinox Champion in my shaving kit. For a short period I carried a Leatherman on my belt but never reached for it so it got relegated to a drawer at home.
 
Navy here. I hardly see anybody even bring a blade or multi-tool into work. In the aviation field we're not allowed to have them because the aircraft can suck them up :( but I usually bring a griptilian or endura and my leatherman. Don't need anything tactical as we're not combat but every now and then we'll get some stubborn boxes that need opening lol.

Everyone that I work with thinks their gerber is great and a crkt m16 is the bees knees. I have a friend who is a Seabee and she gave me a griptilian and another friend a presidio that her command supplied her. I have seen many various good brands (benchmade, etc.) I have been on the hunt to try to get a friend in the army to order me a strider smf with a nsn.. :D high hopes on that one.
 
In army we were issued a camillus TL-29. The internet wasnt much back then (2000), and no one used it like we do today, so the idea of looking up a brand name wasn't one we thought of. So everyone wondered what this knife was designed for, what the locking screwdriver blade was for (seeing as we didnt have a whole lot of screws in our issue gear) and why it was sharpened half way down. Everyone hated the fact the main blade didn't have a liner lock, because slip joints were no good for some rougher army tasks. Lots of people opted for a brand they knew like Victorinox and leatherman, while others found the TL-29 too heavy, so they got left behind after basic training ended. No one carried a tactical knife or large fixed blade, because they served no useful purpose and added weight.

In my police career I was issued a leatherman wave, which I carried on overseas ops, but wished I had a larger knife! I didn't carry a gun so the leatherman was all I had for self defence. It wasnt much when the locals all carried machetes, and guns, and sometimes used them to attack our officers on patrol. Probably the only time a bigger knife like a bk tweener would have been of any value.
 
I work in a courthouse, and see literally dozens of law enforcement officers on a daily basis. I have never seen a uniformed LEO who was not carrying some sort of knife. I seldom see them on plainclothes officers or detectives, but maybe they are just being discreet.

By far the most common knives I see are inexpensive MTech-types, which both our local PD and Sheriff's office sell to their officers for $20. Probably 80% are carrying these.

Next most common are Gerbers and a few Kershaws (given their price-points, surprisingly few CRKTs). A few SOGs.

I do see Spydercos (mostly Enduras and Delicas) and some Benchmades, but they are rare. And I see a few which I cannot identify from the clip and visible portions, but surmise many of those are probably Cold Steel based on the obviously polymer handles.

I have yet to see an officer carrying a mid-range Spyderco such as a Dice or Domino, never mind the more expensive stuff. Nor have I ever seen an officer with a fixed blade knife, not even SWAT-types. Perhaps they keep those on their tactical vests.

Perhaps carrying a cheap, easily replaceable knife makes sense when you consider the daily activities of patrol officers.
 
I work in a counter poaching unit and, sad to say, as rhinos are becoming less and less the poachers that hunt them are becoming more and more brazen with no regard for human life. By day I carry either a custom, double edged p'kal fixed blade or an emerson combat karambit in my front left (weak side) pocket. At night I opt normally to have a longer fixed blade (fixed contego) predominantly in case of a hurt or malnourished lion deciding to take a chance. Firearms are very ineffective in the dark against wild animals and I doubt a knife would save my life but I feel better for carrying it... I always keep a leatherman in my pack though!
 
I know.. old posting thread here... I used to say I had experience in the old and the new Army, but now, it is the old and older Army. Going back to my early days as a Cold Warrior, I carried Gerber double edge fixed blade daggers in the field, but rarely used them at all. My real use knives were Swiss Army Knives or cheap lock back folders. In later years, including deployments to hostile environments, I carried either a Leatherman and/or Gerber multitool. Today, I carry a folder on each side and, when I have a handgun on my right, I carry a small fixed blade on my left, but accessible with either my right or left hand.
 
USMC '87-'93

I liked practical and not tactical (still do)

EDC - always carried Leatherman PST and VIC Farmer, usually carried something else, too

Field carry - PST, Camillus scout-style steel handle US knife, Kabar fighting knife and Spyderco Rescue (w/plastic clip)

Everything carried in the field had a dummy cord on it.
 
Army here. The Army issues Gerber MTs for deployment, but most people don't use or carry them. In our Aviation toolboxes we have a Leatherman ST300, but again, rarely ever seen being used. The PX carries mostly Leatherman and Gerber. I personally carry a Swisstool Spirit and a separate folder (ZT 0566 or griptilain clone). I don't care for Gerbers. Theres no rule or regulation about tools needed to be blacked out, but thats basically all "tactical" means.
 
The vast majority of cops that I know carry very cheap knives, unless they were given something nicer as a gift. Most simply don't really care that much about the type of knife, but they do seem to care about having one in general.
 
I'm in an airborne battalion, recon unit. I think the word tactical in the knife community doesn't have much meaning. I think any item can be used as a "tactical" item. I just look for a knife that has good traction, has a good steel so I don't have to sharpen too much and is strong enough to handle what ever might happen. I used a ZT 0560 for a long time, now I use an xm-18 as an edc.
 
Six years of law enforcement I carried dozens of folders but I carried a BM Contego 90% of the time. I also always carried a Wilson tactical cop tool.
 
My son-in-law has 26 yrs in L.E. and long-time SWAT member. He was always fond of Columbia River knives and other rather inexpensive knives. If you dig around in blood and Coke on the job, then you hesitate about bringing such a knife back into your home at the end of the shift. He carried a Lone Wolf engraved Endura with an Emerson opener..in his left-hand back pocket as an emergency backup.
 
I picked a knife that takes care of a few different areas. For work, I used to carry a window breaker and seatbelt cutter in one cargo pocket, then i had a zt0350 as my edc in the other. Now, i carry the benchmade auto triage which covers all 3 and cuts down on stuff flopping in my pockets when im running. Also, having 1 tool makes it easier to single out which pocket has what i need in an emergency.
 
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