This isnt a mall ninja thing. My brother works for homeland security and sometimes has to go after people. He doesnt carry a knife but he agreed to carry one if i bought it to make me feel better. What would be a gopd knife to carry? Im looking at a 250$ budget. Im considering the emerson cqc7 but i dont know of any other actual tactical blades. Must be a folding knife. Thanks for any advice in advance.
Send me an email, I'm familiar with uniforms and duty gear and such that people have to wear in DHS. If you can give me which specific agency and component he works for I can point to some possible knives that can fit in different pockets and pouches he has on his pants and armor.
My default answer is a spyderco military or paramilitary 2. But in all reality if he doesn't already carry a knife, which is crazy to me and makes me think he works in Field Operations under CBP, then he doesn't see the value and makes me question his field training officers and what they instilled into him. Get him an Ontario Rat which are really really good knives for the money. And get him a no frills self defense pen and/or thin good quality LED flashlight that works on AA batteries or thats rechargeable (CR123 batteries are expensive and not always provided by the agency) and a good Leatherman with a leather sheath. All of that can be had for less than $250 and it's a good setup no matter what environment he works in.
Here, having worked in DHS for a long time in multiple branches this is a setup I'd get for my own brother if he was needing them, about $200 for the whole package.
http://www.bladehq.com/cat--Ontario-Manual--156
http://www.bladehq.com/item--Fenix-RC05-Magnetic-Charging--37644
http://www.bladehq.com/item--Boker-Plus-TTP-Tactical-Tablet-Pen--36157
http://www.bladehq.com/item--Leatherman-Rebar-Silver-Multi-Tool--12952
If after carrying a knife and he personally sees the value of it himself then a higher caliber knife on its own would be a good gift. But for between 30 and 40 bucks you can't really go wrong with an Ontario Rat 2. It beats a lot more expensive knives in terms of fit and finish and is easy to maintain and is really ergonomic with a good blade profile and can be beaten on and if broken it's not a big deal to replace.
If you're only considering a knife and a knife only then I'd suggest a Protech TR automatic for the wow factor which has a lot to do with the "tactical" title. His buddies would be pretty impressed when he showed it off but more importantly they're also great knives for the money you spend on one.
Anyways, I know a couple of guys who carry emerson knives and I've checked them out after having been in the field for a long time and I personally wouldn't ever buy one for myself, not considering what else is available for the same price or less.
My own personal EDC but I wouldn't recommend it for people who aren't already knife nuts:
Oh yeah, buy him a basic lansky kit or a basic spyderco sharpmaker kit, too.