ok has any one really ever bought a trainer?

Bought a Spydie Endura trainer for Janich's MBC classes at SFO. It was cheaper than one visit to the Emergency Room. It IS the only way to safely train with another person. I don't train anymore. I sold it several months later for just slightly less than I paid for it.
John
 
I have a couple of them and think they are a good investment. Look at it this way: I've never used my live Gunting for anything but a defensive carry knife. With any luck, it will go many years with zero use. The trainer, on the other hand, gets used 2-3 days a week in classes and periodically for informal training. On a cost-per-use basis, the trainer costs a fraction of what the live blade does. Furthermore, training with a fixed blade trainer in the shape of the Gunting really misses some of the best features of the knife. To me, it is well worth the money. (Guro Inosanto has two Endura trainers, so he would undoubtedly agree.)

Although this is a little extreme, I trained with one fellow who was just out of the Marine Corps and trying to get established financially. He couldn't afford the Gunting set so he bought only the trainer, figuring that it was more important than the live blade. Incidentally, he carries it just like a less-lethal version of the live blade.
 
Got two of'em, both of the Emerson Commander model.

Also got a bunch of home-made variants.

As mentioned earlier, if you're going to carry a knife for defense then you'd better train hard, and why not with something that is as close to your carry as usual?
 
just curious, I have always trained with the real thing. Just figgured best to play like its for real with the real thing. Ive only had to use a knife in defense once ( the other guy will never forget it either). Ive always thought the trainers were kind of silly but Im glad people use them. Just a preference for myself
 
I train with my live blade too, but when i do sparring/partner training i use the drone/trainer.

Do you use the live blade for partner training too? or do you just do solo training?
I've used live blades when training on disarms but then we always went veeery slowly about it.

:)
 
I made my own Delica trainer by grinding and rounding off all sharp edges, and drastically blunting the tip on a used Delica that I bought for $20 from a friend.
 
I've also converted live blades to trainers as described with the Delica. Sometimes we leave them sharp enough to penalize serious mistakes, but not sharp enough to nick you on very minor errors.

I've trained will fully sharpened live blades, but there's no way you can do that in a martial arts class with different levels of students, switching partners, and liability concerns. In those situations, the trainer makes sense.
 
Wish I had money to blow on trainers... but if I had the money... I wouldn't spend it on trainers.
Just my opinion <g>
 
There are more than just these few using trainers. We get regular calls to verify we have the spyde trainers in stock. Actually I agree the Gunting trainer is a weapon in itself. I also have a fellow that bought a red handle trainer with the idea of putting 'live' blade in it...errrr...wellll... I think he just wanted a red g-10 gunting.
 
I love trainers. They make sparring so much more realistic. My teacher, Kurt Goodwin, after using some of the Spyderco trainers at our recent summer camp declared, "No more wooden knives!"

We sidelined the Gunting trainer, though. To many people were getting gouged by that nasty horn. But, that only shows you how effective that thing would be.

You really can't "convert" a live blade to a reasonably safe trainer. A live blade tapers from the spine to the edge all the way. A proper trainer tapers only slightly. To get it safe, you'd have to grind back the live blade way to far. And then there's the tip. Most live blades taper to a rather nasty tip. To round it off far enough to be safe, you'd loose a half an inch of blade length at least.

Belive me, purpose-built trainers are worth every penny. I'm delighted to see both Benchmade and Spyderco coming out with a few.
 
I guess I don't get it, but this is a common idea I see in threads:

Why waste your money on a trainer?

It's cheaper then stitches, it's cheaper then stiches on your partner.

The idea seems to be that a trainer or drone that costs as much as the live blade is some kind of rip-off or it's for those who lack the necessary male atributes to be a real "knife fighter". I would assume that since $100 on a trainer is too much, several hundred to get training from an expert would also be too much. So if you don't use a trainer and you don't pay for training. How do you get better?

If you step on the floor with Bram Frank or James Keating (and I assume or have heard that this holds true for other major players) you will use a trainer. If you don't have one, they will loan you one. If they need them, who is it that is so skilled that they don't need to use them???? And if you really are that good I would like to meet you so I can pay you to train me, because I've obviously been missing out on something better!

Yes, there is a time for live blade training, but how the do you do slash and cover or sumbrada drills with a live blade??????? It would last about 5 seconds. I guess I don't understand.

I will make a plea to those who train with the gunting, get a trainer, you will not be able to practice flow drills or 3 count without one, you will not be able to practice kinetec openings without one. Most of the openings will result in a cut as well as an opening. About the only place you can avoid this is opening on your opponent's forearm.

C'mon guys there are youngsters and novices out there who read this. They need good information about training not dangerous ideas.
 
Why should a trainer cost less? It's the same knife. It's the same body, the same pivot, the same lock. The blade has a slightly different shape, yes, but it's still there. Sharpening takes only a matter of minutes. The difference between a trainer and a live blade is maybe ten minutes of labor. Given that the trainer models always sell fewer pieces (which is why many manufacturers don't even do them), they should sell for more.

A trainer is worth every penny.
 
just because its a trainer doesn't mean you go full contact with it..Want alot of impact? alot of slam n jam?

Just like foam sparring pads were not invented for full contact training..
The Red man suit and Blue suits not invented for full power strikes..really read the labels & the warnings..

Don't use a functional metal trainer Drone..
Use a soft stick..a soft trainer..then bang away..
When one has a trainer..a GIFT in the world of knowledge and understanding the use of a knife..one has to use some common sense...

train safely..use a trainer drone, goggles and no full out training with METAL functional trainers..actually that goes for any hard trainer..wood, aluminum...

and trainers are worth every penny that they cost..
 
I like the comment about being too hard to sharpen. I once put a Gunting trainer out on the table at a club I belong to (not a knife/martial arts club) and a guy said seriously "it's awfully dull". With a completely straight face, I responded "well, they leave them that way from the factory because they also want to sell you a diamond sharpener." Somebody else at the table broke out laughing so I never got to press the story.
 
You can do solo training with a live blade if you are careful at the start, and you can do drills with a paint stirring stick, but the critical thing with a folder is drawing and opening it under duress, and the only way you can realistally train that is with a trainer. Drawing a live blade with two or three training partners pounding on you is too likely to get your vital body fluids running out on the ground some day.
 
I'm glad companies are starting to make more trainers. I've made some trainers of my own out of wood before but, they don't even compare to quality trainers that are out now. If you don't really want to practice opening techniques, I don't see why you can't make your own wooden trainer and save some cash. However, if you really want to get good, buy the real trainer.
 
I like the idea of trainers, but there is no real reason that they should be as expensive - For example: Why is the Gunting trainer "blade" made out of the same expensive and hard to work/finish steel (440V) as the live one? Why is it even heat treated? Why can't corners be cut in other areas that will not affect training performance? It seems to me that throwing a 420 stainless blade in there would not affect training performance one iota, and could perhaps knock a few dollars off of the price. I know that this is a losing argument around here (I don't know what some of you guys do for a living but I'm nowhere near poor, have lots of toys and make a pretty obscene amount of $$$. I still can't justify over $200 Canadian for a non-cutting knife -- too many "live ones" out there to acquire :) )

PM
 
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