My Gunting bit me! (Beating a dead horse)

ThinkOfTheChildren

ThinkOfTheChildren

Joined
Jul 7, 2000
Messages
1,556
Since I bought my Gunting 8 months ago, I've carried it primarily in my Skunkworks sheath rather than clipped to my pocket. Today, I recieved a painful reminder why I decided to do this in the first place...

I wasn't wearing a belt today so I just clipped the Gunting into my pocket. Took it out to cut open a package and then tried to replace it in my pocket. It wouldn't clip back into my pocket one handed so I reached over with my left hand to pull my pocket open further. I wasn't looking at my pocket while doing this and upon pushing the Gunting down I stabbed about 1/4" of the tip into my left thumb. OUCH! :( Apparently, the reason that I couldn't get the Gunting in there the first time was that the ramp had caught the seam of my pocket. You guys know how well that ramp opens the blade! Luckily it was my thumb and not my thigh.

Now I know I've said this before but I'll say it again: the Gunting's inability to stay closed is quite dangerous. People told me to tighten the pivot before, and they'll tell me this time too. Well, that pivot is tight! It's tighter than any of my other knives and this still does not solve the problem. This is not the first time this has happened to me and I know it's happened to some of you others too.

Am I at fault? Of course! I wasn't looking at the knife as I pushed it into my pocket and I should have taken more notice when it wouldn't go in the first time. Still, I think that this can be dangerous and I want to warn future owners of the Gunting. I'm not going to go without the Skunksworks sheath anymore.

I know that this topic has come up a bunch of times, but I think that's good. I hope that the Gunting proves to be popular enough to have later "generations" as knives like the Military have. Hopefully future versions will be better at pocket carry.

Another thing I dislike about pocket carry of the Gunting is the balance of the knife. I am fine with the clip placement and the amount of knife that shows but unfortunatley this causes a large portion of the knife's mass to rest above the seam of the pocket. This feels less secure, especially when leaning over, as the knife feels like it will tip over out of the pocket. I can't help but feel that due to the difference in balance that the Gunting might be more prone to fall out of the pocket when running than other knives.

Sorry if I sound like I'm whining. I love the Gunting and I carry it every day. It is my favorite knife and I love almost every aspect of its design. I feel that with a few fixes, it could be just about perfect.
 
hi - i had a joht singh kalsa knife about a yr ago, and discovered that when in your pocket it had a tendency to open up on you if ya reached into your pocket - your hand will catch on the hump as you pull it out, and it cut me 2X fore i learned - i love my gunting too, but i will not carry it clipped to my pocket for these exact reasons - it is too likely too open up on you - no big deal,I carry it in a horizontal sheath from brigade quartermasters, and have a skunkworks sheath on order - i am thinking about removing the clip from my knife, anyone done this?? again i love the thing, but ya need a sheath, imho - because they will bite you, and mine is SSHHAARRPP!!!!




sifu
 
I found the best way to avoid accidental ramp opening was to clip the gunting to my right back pocket. It also made it stick out a lot less when I sat down, because it was flush with my hip. If the ramp caught on something, the blade couldn't open because the pocket was in the way (thank God it was only sharpened on the one side).

I, unfortunately, ended up trading my gunting, and am regretting it now. It was a slick knife, but I thought it was only fair to send it to someone who would actually use the "gunting" feature or even for finger holds, etc. I'm afraid I'm not much of a martial artist. :) Hopefully it found a good home. When I get the money together, I'm going to buy another one.
-- Rob

PS - I get bit by my butterfly knife a LOT more than I ever did with my Gunting. My butterfly knife keeps finding new and creative ways to get me.
 
Well, I have to mention that I have had completely different experience with the Gunting. Although I own the skunkworks sheaths I have used them only once. I currently own three live blade Guntings and regularly carry one of them in my right front pocket. I clip it to the pocket when I am wearing jeans or just drop into the pocket if I am wearing slacks. I have even clipped it to the waist on running shorts. It is exposed high out of the pocket but because of the hump I think there is little you could do about. The UUK design may allow for a similar hump and lower carry. My Guntings are very smooth and the pivots are not very tight. I am one of the people that have slashed their legs so maybe I am just more careful. I have considerable respect for that little blade. :)

- Glenn
 
Three times I brought my Gunting trainer to my martial arts academy. Three times I showed one of the front desk guys how it would begin to cut if opened on someone's thigh, chest, etc. Three times he tried the trainer for himself to see that it would in fact start to cut on those openings. He asked to see the live blade so I brought it in. As I was handing it to him someone distracted me for a split second. I saw him start to open it across his upper abdomen and screamed "DON'T DO THAT!!!" Fortunately he stopped pretty quickly, but it still left a cut about one inch long and a quarter inch deep. He felt pretty stupid, having had that feature explained and demonstrated three times with the trainer. However, I now open my live Gunting before letting someone look at it. If they want to manipulate it in any way, I hand them the trainer.

Great knife, but it does require training and supervision.

DPD.
 
How many times do people need to be told that a Gunting is not your father's knfe, or anything like it, unless your dad was one strange dude? The Gunting is a very different design from any knife before (the REKAT Escalator, also by Bram Frank, excepted), and requires that you treat it differently. Because of its design, it MUST be treated with the respect a quality tool. but a tool that can be dangerous. Would you simply thrust a sharpened chisel into your pocket without loooking at what you were doing? OF course not! Why would you jam a razor-sharp knife into your pocket without paying attention? It makes no sense to me.

I apologize for the rant, but I am becoming tired of reading about how people have hurt themselves with the Gunting by not paying attention to Bram's warnings and by not treating it with the basic respect one should always give a potentially dangerous tool. The Gunting is not at fault, it is the person using it.
 
Sounds like a Glock. Never just stick it in your pocket; always use a holster. ;)
 
thanks Hugh..
every design has its timetable for people to adjust..
Rock Spyder: you are correct! Trigger safeties on GLOCKs took awhile..
then we got it..( hm carry it in my pocket...yeah great idea! BANG!

Get a DRONE..carry a DRONE..fondle a DRONE..it will let you know the parameters of EDC and use of a GUNTING...
Not sure of that..Check out the videos..thats why they exist..
This is a NEW knife.
Its a new way of knife usage..
and its not a inertia opening tool..If you can its too loose.
Its a Kin-Op..its not supposed to open till you need it to..
Yes the detent IS the lock itself..a great concept..

I'm sorry that several of you have gotten bit by the GUNTING..
No tool is perfect BUT each tool has a learning curve..
I am a poor one to talk to about accidental openings..
I've carried one version or another for years @ this point..daily carry two to three @ a time..
I carry them all over the world in many different situations..

It doesn't bite the hand that designed it..


Thanks again Hugh..for carrying the Gunting as an EDC tool...
thank you to those that got custom holsters or took the time to see it's differences and nuances...
thank you to all of you for caring about the Gunting & making it better....
 
Hi, Bram. I just get frustrated with folks who seem not to pay attention and then get bit. Yes, the Gunting is different from any other knife, just as the Glock is different from other pistols. I bought my first Glock in 1987 and I still love them, so I guess that I have a taste for "different". I would no more stuff a Glock down into my beltline than I would force a Gunting into my pocket, and for the same reasons: they both violate elementary rules of safety with the respective devices.

In DC, when they police first went to Glocks, we had a spate of accidental shootings where they tried to blame the light weaight of the trigger. Well, when the investigations were over, it turned out that most were the result of sheer stupidity such as the guy who was twirling his loaded Glock around his finger with his finger in hte trigger guard! No wonder the pistol discharged! Other examples were "fast draw" exhibitions in the locker room with loaded pistols. Once people learned that the pistol needed to be treated more carefully than their old service revolvers, the stupid accidents stopped. I hope that we are getting ahead of the learning curve with the Gunting.
 
I agree, the Gunting is a new sort of tool, with it's own characteristics.

Guntings and Glocks seem to attract the same type of folks. Even thinking of pushing my Glock 19 with a round in the chamber into my waistband makes my stomach queasy. On the other hand, pushing it into a Kramer IWB holster is quite satisfying.
 
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