Personal Defense Blades Under $200

S

Sierra912

Joined
Dec 9, 2001
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There seems to be a thought process offering tac-folders and fixed blades at $200+ are too much money for same performance across the board as same knives at $200 and less.

The presence of trained skill with a knife likewise appears to play a big part in the minds of those who prefer less expensive but quality knives for daily carry with self defense in mind.

It would be interesting on this thread to hear more on this, to include perhaps posting favorite folder/fixed blade at under $200 Forum Folks are opting for.

At my end I commonly - for road trips and fly aways, am very comfortable taking along my Columbia River Kasper tac-folder and a very well honed Glock fighting knife. Total investment roughly $135.00.

Und du?
 
i have a 98 commander i've used for the last couple of years, now if im going to an area that it might get confinscated or theres a real good chance i might have to "ditch the knife" i use a crkt kasper.
-clayton
 
Great thread - what most can afford to carry!

SOG Desert Dagger
Spyderco Endura w/serrations

I would guess total cost to be in the $120 range.
 
The Emerson Commander can be had from most web retailers for under $200...
I find this a good choice, and (until I lost mine a week or so ago :mad: :() its my chosen EDC.

For more in-expensive, easier to deal with if you get it confiscated, yet good quality defensive folders, I go with CRKT.
Their Ryan Model 7 is one I particularly like, also the only of their larger folders I have carry experiance with.

For fixed blades under $200, I've got Livesay/Wicked Knife Co. in mind. The neck knife I carry a lot was made by them, and for awhile I had one of their Company Knife fighters which I quite liked, and need to get another one.
The sheath for it had an extended nylon belt loop, and a great deal of Para-Cord for lashing to ones pack, but I found that if I turned the sheath upside down, ran my belt, ont he left side, through the loop, and then made a figure 8 set of loops (one around each arm) with the para-cord, it was a decent shoulder carry, that dissapeared well under a light jacket... and was suprisingly comfortable, even for several hours at a time.

CRKT makes some fixed blades as well, but I've never owned any, altho they do look nice, and I've liked the ones I've handled.
 
I don't carry fixed blades so I can offer no real advice on them.

As an edc/defensive knife, I love my BMs 910HS and 806.

For a pure defensive knife I like the Spyderco Matriarch. It is down around $50 from some retailers so it is not a huge loss if it gets taken or lost.

As a small knife where length limits might be a problem I would take an MOD Ladyhawk. It also hase advantage of being able to be worn very discreetly. It is small and if clipped to sob under a belt no one who is not looking for it will notice it.

If I had to pick one knife, though it would be a Spyderco Gunting. It gives you a lot of options both non-lethal and lethal. The blade is also just a tad under 3 inches making it legal more places. However, the handle is still full sized, allowing for a comfortable, secure grip.

Any one of these knives can be had under or right around $100. So for under $200 one could choose any two from here and be well served. If a person was only going to carry one blade on them I would suggest the Gunting because it is a very effective SD tool and has a regular blade for utility as well. If a person were to carry two, I would suggest one of the BMs and one of either the matriarch or Ladyhawk. The BMs can be used for utility and SD while the others are strictly SD. This ensures you will always have an effective tool at your disposal.
 
Newt Livesay makes a scaled-down (4" blade) version of the Company Knife that runs about $70.00. Great blade shape & very concealable.
There are probably multiples of dozens of knives at the $200.00 price point that would be great carry/defensive pieces. I like that little Livesay because I'm not afraid to beat on it a little & it can be replaced with a minimal bite in the wallet if need be. YMMV.
 
Fixed blade- Benchmade Nimravus. (got a hell of a deal on it;) )
Folders- Benchmade AFCK, CRKT Kasper-Crawford, Benchmade Emerson CQC7
I'm really enamored of the quality for price of CRKT, especially the great DESIGNS. Once you get in the right range of materials and manufacturing quality, it's all about design anyway. That's where CRKT does so well.

that's about it for me. Those knives fill my (knife)self-defense needs very well.
 
Barry and Phillip Jones make an assotment of excellent tactical fixed blades for well under $200.
 
get ya a BM 800S from newgraham.com for $67.50, and a small(or large) CRKT kasper folder and ya should be ready imho

as far as fixed, get a CRKT companion and a normark sheath, total investment $50 or less, and a helluva knife for the $$

right now i am carrying a BM axis AFCK and a spyderco G10 serrated police, and love them both, but a little over the limit, but w/the ones mentioned, i would be happy, esp for the price

fixed blade - MOD razorback or a CRKT companion in a normark sheath, and really the CRKT is as good as the MOD

guntings are cool too, but i dont like them for pocket carry, mine will open ip on ya sometimes

another good cheapie is the CRKT M16 series, and also look in the knives for sale forum in BF, not long ago saw a used MOD trident for $50, a great knife if it doesnt have to be brand new - so ya got lots of options



sifu
 
Folders: Spyderco Endura, CRKT Crawford/Kasper
Fixed: CRKT Polkowski/Kasper Companion
 
True, you can get even nicer stuff if you go used off the forums.

About the Guntings. The pivot on them should be pretty tight, so they cannot easily be flicked open. They will still open with your thumb or kinetically, but accidental opening is not as much of a problem. Another good option with the Gunting is the Kydex holster. If you are patient you could score a Gunting/holster combo for around $100
 
As a favorite folder/ fixed combo, I would go with the CRKT Companion in a Frank Sigman sheath for about $70 total, add an Endura for another $40. for $110, I have met what I need. If I need to add a biger blade in, toss in my Ek PB3 I got for $50 here get a $40 kydex sheath made for it IWB/ SOB as well.

I also really like the Entrek Cobra and Spearpoint plus the custom Sigman sheath for about $110-130, but you can find Entreks occassionally on Ebay for about $50 or so, I have done so four times.

Substitute in MOD tempest instead of Endura, I see them here new and used for $80-100 every so often.

The Chinook is way too heavy for everyday carry in my book, but for $100 it is as cose to bulletproof as I can find. A lighter fixed blade? The spyderco Lum in an Edgeworks kydex neck sheath.
 
Great responses.

Agree. The Spyderco Lum Chinese folder with additional sheathware (neck carry / equipment harness / belt, etc.) is a smart set-up. I saw Bob several months ago locally and he showed me one of the new folders. Wonderful design and nicely executed by Spyderco's folks.

In addition, what is it we can afford to LOSE...

You use a knife in self defense and see police involvement the knife is going away into Evidence for at least the course of the investigation. If there is trial, add that on, too. If you lose...bad thought...the knife goes bye-bye.

So much for your $400 tactical folder which you most often used to open mail.

There is a strong market in low cost, good quality bladeware these days + the references to smart shopping on the net. We're seeing one can mate up a solid fixed blade and folder with good carry systems for an average of $130.00. That's awesome.

Of particular note are the observations regarding purchases on Ebay. Very expensive (initial purchase) bladeware is being sold for pennies on the dollar. There's any number of reasons for this (not really, probably primarily personal economics and the realization that the original purchase was impulse and not "smart" or need driven. However, one man's impulse purchase can easily become another's so 'tis best to qualify your needs carefully then shop with these in mind.

I just reviewed the TOPs catalog and am blown away at what is being offered and for what prices. So far the two samples I've examined / carried reveal painstaking attention to craftsmanship and superb design input and understanding. These are not fantasy blades. These are real deal been there and done that knives with truly expert guidance and thought processes driving the design team at TOPs.

And SHARP! Holy cow, are these knives SHARP!

Point being (pardon the pun:p ) there are some smart folks out there doing great work for a fair price and you can outfit yourself quite nicely for under $250 if not less.

For example, my wonderfully reprofiled CS Master Tanto cost me $50 at a gun shop. It was taken in as part of a trade or whatnot. New sheath from Survivial Sheath Systems will see me dump roughly $100 total into the unit. Given it's exactly what I've wanted in such a knife I figure that's just darned okay overall.

Keep the recommendations and such coming. Great thread.
 
i have never paid more than $155 for a knife and i have a MT Socom E, MT LCC, BM TSEK, Emerson Commander, and a Kershaw Vapor II.
 
Folks,

Like the Polkowski Polecat, or the slight variation for NYC folks, very much. :D

What do folks think of the Wilson combat with a 4" blade?


Alan
 
Though I no longer have any of them (don't currently own anything I consider a pure "defensive" knife):
Folders-I like waved Emersons in a defensive folder. Very fast presentation, and great handles. Had a couple of Commanders and a CQC7B. Partial to the CQC7.
Fixed-SOG Pentagon, Cold Steel Terminator (push dagger-has some PC name now, I believe). Neither of these are what I think of as working knives, so the negatives of the cheaper materials aren't much of an issue. Besides, Kraton gives a comfortable, secure grip...
 
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