need help finding a knife

G

guitardemon

Joined
Jun 8, 2005
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I know that these are on here all the time and they start to get old, but I need some good ideas.

Lately we have had a couple of sexual assaults on campus and one of my friends has late night lab classes. Every time she leaves for lab I hand over my Benchmade and my surefire. Her birthday is coming up next month and I was thinking about getting her a good knife. I know she likes the ones with black half serrated blades. She is not "sheeple", so I’m not really looking for a girly knife (we both got knives last year and she ended up picking up an Ontario Tak-1). I’m going to try to get a few people to get in on this, but seeing as how it is college and how we have enough trouble scrounging up money for beer I don’t think we’ll be buying her any CRKs. I look forward to you suggestions. Thanks,
John
 
Is she in the dorms, and what kind of restrictions are there on campus?

What's your feasible budget?

pepper spray would be a good start, the knife will be tricky because of the environment.
 
if you are really looking to keep her safe
a) make sure she never walks to class/lab alone
b) short of that I would go with a pepper spray
 
Better yet would be to enroll her in a self-defence class.
 
First off, she wont let me walk her to lab, but its early when she leaves and she tells me she gets walked back most of the way(I think I talked her into letting the guy walk her the full way though. ill see tonight). Second she has pepper spray but refuses to carry it. She doesn’t think its effective, I’ve tried explaining to her its better to have the distance that pepper spray will give you rather than letting them get close enough to use a knife. I’m still working on that though.

I emailed the university police department last year to find out what I could carry and got a response saying this "in regards to a folding lock-blade on a CSU campus, they are in and of themselves not illegal. However, once the blade is locked into place it becomes a "fixed blade" and is illegal. With that said, the district attorney's would take into account the circumstances in which someone would be charged. The courts usually look at the "spirit" of the law vs. the "letter of the law" in cases like these." We also are at an outdoorsy school (the knife will probably end up being used when we are out in the woods), and allot of the guys carry at the school so I don’t think it’s much of a problem.

The main reason I’m thinking about getting her the knife is not for self defense, it was just what made me think of it. As uncommon as it is, I think that she would really enjoy a nice little knife.

Right now we are looking at spending maybe around $100 or less. If I can get some more people to chip in then ill let you guys know. Thanks again,
John
 
How about a waved Endura? Excellent knife, quick to open and good for utility as well as self defense. And it's affordable, too!

If fixed blades are OK, you might want to look into the RAT-3. It's very easy to carry concealed.

Try to talk her into carrying pepper spray as well as the knife, they make a good combination.
 
I think that a Kershaw Military Boot Knife or one of the Cold Steel push daggers would be handy. If you can get in trouble for an illegal weapon, your illegal weapon should be an effective one(gun) though.
 
Im thinking a fixed blade would be a bad idea. We arnt supposed to carry them on campus, and im looking more for somthing she can EDC rather than just carry when she goes to lab.
 
Unless they are is trained in self defense a knife makes a poor weapon for a woman. You have to get up close and personal to use a knife and most men can easily overpower a woman and take it away from them when they are in close quarters like that. Pepper spray is a better option as it can be used from a much safer 8-10 foot range.
 
Pepper spray is her best bet, and if she doesn't think it's effective....give her a demo....with her on the recieving end.
If she continues to think that way....move on...she's beyond help.....
 
To paraphrase Heinlein, "There are no dangerous weapons; only dangerous people." Equipment is minimally useful without knowledge. Self-defense is best served with alertness and some good training.

If a knife is going to be useful outside of the self-defense scenario, go for it. A knife that never gets used outside of the emergency itself won't even be remembered when needed.

Go for something simple and effective like an Endura, or a Delica if she's got small hands. The Waved versions are awesome but may look a bit more aggressive than you need. Wait! you said something about beer ... the Wave is an excellent top-popper! :D
 
Get her a nice big can of pepper spray and tell her to walk home with it in her hand. A knife or a can of spray in a purse or pocket will often not even be though of or accessed before its way too late, especially in a campus setting where it will most likely be a fast attack with no warning.

If I were going to use a knife to defend an attacker, I would make it a big, long knife. In an extreme situation, i doubt a little 1" blade is going to take an attacker out enough to guarantee your safety. it might even make the situation a whole lot worse.

Self defense class and awareness training all the way....
 
In response to Omaha- Shes been taking my old linerlock mini afck and I dont think they make these anymore(I cant remember when i purchased this little guy does anybody know when they were made?).

As far as everybody else who is reccomending she carry the pepper spray and get self defence training. I am working on that. Like I said earlyer im not getting her the knife for self defense. Last night when she came to get my surefire and knife, it made me think about getting her her own. Since we go into the forest and do alot of outdoor activitys(crabbing, fishing, hiking, etc) I figure she would enjoy it and she would get use out of it.

Right now im looking at the benchmade 705's. I cant seem to find any that are half serated and with black blades.. the few places i was able to find them they were more expensive then the full sized 710(which I think might be a little big for her). Im guessing this knife is nolonger made? Anybody know where I can pick one of these guys up for a reasonable price?
 
705 was disco'd. What about a griptilian or mini-griptilian? You can get them with hole or studs in black combo-edge.
 
I've got a waved endura and love it....i vote for that.

Plus with the wave it comes out of the pocket almost as fast as a fixed blade.
 
So I was showing her some pics of knives today to see what she liked. and she seemed to like the gerber applegate. I was thinking the covert might be a little to big, so i was thinking maybe the mini covert. I couldnt really find much review wise on the knife though. Does anyone have any imput on the knife? should I go with the mini or the covert?
 
Guitardemon,

I second everything everyone on forums said about the pepper spray and self-defence classes. As an female college student and academic, I'll vouch that working late is common-place and that campuses are not the most well-protected places despite the emergency call police points in place.

A good 'hard and dirty' self-defense system cannot be underestimated --especially one that teaches improvisation on weapons. Does your partner write with a steel-barrelled fountain pen or even a regular steel barrelled cross ballpoint? Are there stones on campus which your partner could slip in a sock if she forgot her benchmade? Will she use her teeth, her thumb/knuckle in the attacker's eye or throat etc.? Does she have a really loud whistle on her keychain? Can she identify things in the environment that could help her avoid and then get out of a nasty situation? You mention that you are in an outdoorsy campus where hikes etc are common. Have you considered getting her a stout hiking staff? That will give her additional reach against her opponent and also act as a very visible deterrent. It also gives her a legal excuse; 'I always carry a hiking stick as I take short hikes all the time and use it to poke around in holes etc'.

I guess what I am saying is that despite carrying a knife everyday now for 20 years, it's not the first thing I would reach for in a self-defense situation. Firstly, a knife in the hands of your attacker might just be used against you in ways that you won't enjoy and the possibility of being disarmed exists, especially if you are not specifically trained well in knife fighting. Secondly, even if used legitimately, there are severe legal issues deriving from proportionality of force arguments that you will face if you pull a knife on a person (even if he/she is the attacker). I know that some states in the US have changed their laws on this recently -- I can only recommend that you seek good legal advice from your law faculty.Talking to campus security doesn't necessarily help because the campus rules they rely on may not hold in a court of law. And pulling a knife will definitely remove jurisdiction from campus security to state police.

Get her the knife -- it's a great gift. But maybe the both of you might want to look at exactly when and how you'll use it. You may find that you will be thinking of your knife more often for food preparation and outdoorsy tasks than self-defense. But that's cool -- 99% of the time, that's what knives get used for.

And get her some really good self-defense lessons too heh?

Keep safe.
 
Give her the knife (i think that's nice) but for self defense why not give her a surefire E2D defender or other like designed flashlight? You mentioned that she borrows your surefire so that might work out well (you can't attack if you can't see, right?) if things get really seriuos it will probably draw some attention and may not be classified as deadly weapon in a court of law.
 
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