Need Combat knife advice.

I will also have to cast another vote for the CS Recon Tanto. The Recon Tanto is VERY underrated. It is quite possibly the best tanto on the production market. The handle is the most comfortable handle that I have EVER held, even over my customs. The blade is thick yet razor sharp and even has a large ammount of "belly" which seems to be lacking in most of today's Tanto designs. If you like Tanto's and are looking for a heavy duty fighter/camp knife, I think the Recon Tanto is the best choice.
 
mpj13,

Here are some pics of the Recon Tanto that I just took for ya. You can really see the "Belly" in the pics. Also note, the last pic shows the size of this knife. In no way can it be easily concealed for comfortable discreet carry.

View


View


View
 
Put in another vote for the Becker line as well as Fallkniven's A1 or S1. As has been stated. You can get better, but it will cost you. Becker and Fallkniven will give you good value for the money spent.
 
Must say, if you decide to go with the Recon Tanto, I would go ahead and get a factory second. I have one and the only blemish is that "COLD STEEL" is stamped unevenly. but really, who the hell cares for $45 plus shipping. The knife is really nice, although I don't really appreciate Kraton, it's well done on this model. Well worth the money, especially with a new custom sheath by normark

Nitin
 
I would go with the Recon Tanto. I have one and it is well balanced and a good overall blade. It's a bit big for personal carry especially if you are going to carry it concealed. I might recomend the Cold Steel Recon 1 tanto. It is very nice. Picked one up last week. They are made with AUS8 steel, have a wonderful locking mechanism, use teflon coating on the blade, etc, etc. You can even open it flicking your wrist intead of using the thumb disk.
 
Combat Knife- Knife used in combat.........ONE YOU STAKE YOUR LIFE UPON!!! DONT buy a cheap knife.......get a GOOD custom knife made out of ATS 34, 154CM, or BG 42.
You didnt specify shape....but I would recommend 7.5" max.
Go take a look at the Randalls on the Nordic Knives site.....you can get any number of them for around $250.
 
I'd spend a few extra bucks, and get a Busse Basic 5 or 7.
Becker Campanion would also be a good choice, failing that.
 
Having not read the entire thread, I will go out on this topic.

Mayo is right, you buy the best you can afford. You only have one life.

You do not buy a folder for combat or conflict purposes. Mr. Murphy tells me the lock will fail to engae or hold as you try to open it under high duress, you get a fixed blade with a sheath made for your use, belt carry, drop leg, IWB whatever your use is. You must be able to securely retain and carry your weapon while maintaining the ability to retreive your weapon in a hurry (immediately) You get a sheath that works for you in everyday use. A shoulder holster is a pain in a winter jacket for instance.

You get a point that will withstand impact with bone repeatedly.

You get an edge that is durable and easy to resharpen. You get a design that can cut and thrust within your needs. If you want a stabbing implement, do not buy a blade with a huge belly you could skin a water buffalo with. If you want a cutter, it needs to be able to take a wicked cutting edge but not entirely razored edge, as a thin razor sharp edge is going to chip off and dull the moment it hits a hard target.

You get a grip that is on the large side as opposed to small with ergonomics and texture that will remain usable when your hand is cold, wet and covered with blood (think MOTOR OIL ALL OVER MY HAND ON A COLD DECEMBER DAY) The grip can have whatever configuration you want as long as you maintain control over the weapon during use.

Most important, if this is to be an everyday weapon (carried daily) it needs to be a size big enough to be effective yet samll enough you will carry it every day. Bigger knives weigh more than smaller ones. Bigger knives like bigger anything takes more toll on your back and body on a daily basis.

My personal recommendation, what I carry, is the Mad Dog Rat series or the Mini Shrike followed by a Busse or a MOD Razorback. I carry the MDK Mini Shrike on a more or less daily basis IWB or in the briefcase outer pocket. I have another Busse 3 on the way, which I just traded off an Entrek Companion Spearpoint to get. The entrek is another high recommendation.

In terms of bigger knives, try the MDK Attack, the Randall series, or the busses and Chris Reeves. I also own one of the CS Tantos, I like the blade and handle, but the sheath is POS regardless of what they are shipping currently. If you go this route, hve a good sheath made, Frank Sigman or Blade Tech are the way to go.

Stay away from cheap junk or designs that do not work for you doing everything you need them to. Additionally, invest in a good Swiss Army knife, Victorinox, in the same pattern as the old Boy Scout knife and use it for as many chores as you can. it will save your primary big blade for its bigger mission and you will also be able to have a beer or soda now and then with the bottle opener.
 
I have but one thing to say...

www.striderblades.com

You want tantos, spearpoint, clip point, cord wrap or G10, folder or fixed, they got it. The cord wrap affords a HELL of a grip, and is replaceable, but uncomfortable for some. I've found their G10 grips to be supremely comfy and even (GASP!) kinda ergonomic...:D
And if you're military or whatever, they're happy to work with ya...I swear by 'em, several will be going with me if my unit gets deployed...

SGT Fitts
 
Would also go with the CS Recon Tanto of the listed choices.
Of an unlisted choice I would highly recommend the MOD Razorback!
It might be somewhat small for the field/camping but makes up for that in its ease of concealment. All MOD knives are built like Tanks.
 
I've had a Razorback for a bit more than 2 weeks now. More than I could have hoped for, two thumbs way way up :) This is my go to war knife :D

Dan
 
Well, from the choices that you mentioned the Recon Tanto is a great knife, especially for the $$. Carbon V is very easy to re-sharpen and the blade is fairly thick and durable. I (personally) find the handle more comfortable than the Ka-Bar. The only draw back to the rubberized handle is, it gets caught up on clothes.

I also have the Oyabun. It is a fine knife, the fact that it is stainless is why it was purchased. I was looking for a rust resistant tanto. However, I think the Recon is a better choice for what you mentioned. Personally, one of my favorites (although heavy) is the Cold Steel Recon Scout. It is very stout and can perform as a great utility knife.

Somone mentioned customs. If you can find a good custom in your price range I'd go with that. However, most are fairly expensive. I have a hard time forking out more than $200 on knife. At that price range I can think of other things I'd rather trust with my life.

Good luck
 
I've been oogling a 5A1 but am having a hard time swallowing the price as I was trying to stay under $300.

jmx
 
This is one big area of a warriors gear where the last thing you consider is the price. Humming and hawing about $50 or $100 will seem like nothing when your bargan starts to take a dive on you. Why buy a somewhat good knife if you know from the start you have to buy another sheath from someone else. By the time you end up fixing all thats wrong with a bad or OK knife you have prob spent what you would on a good one. Footwear and tactical nylon is the others. When your miles from bum**** anywhere and your gear starts to die on you you will wish that you could pay double and get the gear you thought about but talked yourself out of.
Yes price must be thought of but only on what is the BEST I CAN afford, not what can I get away with.
The two I can speak of that I own and have used and can recomend without hesitation are STRIDER KNIVES MOD.WB and RANDALL KNIVES #14
Take care.
 
Sorry but it seems you're being a bit harsh on me. It's not like I'm trying to cheap out by setting a $300.00 limit on my purchase. I can get a reasonably serviceable Camillus KaBar for about $30.00! I'd like to spend the extra dough to get whatever tickles my fancy but come on, it's not like I was cheaping out, I do have other things in my life that need money (like my wife).

If cost was no object I'd have a few HKs (MP5, Model 91), a few Sakos, some Benellis and a 6" Colt Python. Nevermind the Ferraris.

jmx
 
I base prices on the materials, and time. Plus heat-treating has gone up 300 %. I'm trying to keep the prices down, really! It's hard to tell from a picture, but there is a lot of 416 ss on the butt. I start with bar atock that is 3/8" X 1 1/2" besides the lanard hole there are 4 1/8" holes ( coned out a bit ) with 416 pins beat into them. The guard has another 2. Then fiting 3/8" canvas micarta inbetween them. Shaping everything down in an "hour glass" kind of shape. To fit the hand comfotably.

Basicly, you could think of them as Striders with real comfortable handles. If you want, just wait for the next Tactical Knives to come out. It will be Dec. 12. They did a field test write up on a black T coated 7" Combat model 5. I don't know what they did, but They said I would like the artical.

By the way,I've met some people that have snaped Randels at the guards. No one has done that to one of mine.
 
Since I enjoy the taste of my shoes, I'll chime in here...;)

jmxcpter,

I don't think that people are meaning to be hard on you. Folks here generally are VERY supportive of our soldiers, and probably feel that if you are looking for a combat knife, then someday your life might depend upon it. If they didn't chime in, and you went with an el-cheapo that failed on you and cost you your life, none of us would feel very good about that.

I agree with Mr. Mayo, buy the best you can get. I understand that you (like all of us) have a budget, just use your best judgement. While it is true that your knife will be used for utility 99% of the time, the 1% of combat usage is far more important than all the rest.

There have been great recommendations on this thread, good luck!
 
I'm not trying to be hard on anyone, just giving my 2 cents of real world knife use advice. If my advice saves anyones hide or hard earned money in the long run then everyone is happy and safe.
I've known guys who look at my blades and say they would never pay that much for such and such knife, then I ask them how many K-bars and Pilots survival knives or other cheap blades they have been through in the past few years. Once they add those blades up it comes out pretty even. Of course if you don't use your knife then just about anything will do.There is someone around here who says "buy quality and only cry once". Sound advise. Take care. Also before you put your money down have you thought about buying a book or two on the subject? Greg Walkers book "Battle Blades" is pretty good and I'm still thumbing through Bagwell's "Bowies, Big Knives and the best of Battle Blades" it's got some good info in it also. This thread has some real good advise in it also, you just have to figure out what you want and what will work for you. I'm always learning and ready to look at some other type of knife that I think might be better for what I do. Don't get caught up with what everyone else is carrying around if you pick out a type of knife that makes you happy and you feel is best for what you bought it for then it IS the best.
Just a thought, I talked to the folks at Randall Knives the other day, if your in the military you can get a stock #1 or #14 pretty quick for the catalog prices plus S&H. This will probably go for alot of your tactical knife makers, just start calling around. Enough for now, take care.
 
The Recon Tanto will keep you happy IMO...


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
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