I think people get confused about those carrying a knife for legitimate self-defense and those carrying it for violence offensives. The difference is that while the latter might consider it okay to draw a knife to try to intimidate or prevent a fight from occurring, the person carrying a knife for self-defense would realize this is more likely to get their knife stolen and used against them, or be seen as excessive force and earn them an attempted murder charge; or even worse get them shot by someone carrying a concealed pistol.
I don't think that there is anything wrong with carrying a knife that is capable of dispatching a person "just in case", but what does "just in case" mean? Just in case someone mugs you? No, give them your wallet; best self-defense ever in that situation. Just in case someone pulls a gun or knife of their own? No, really bad idea in either situation. Just in case you've got no other options, you've already sustained injury or have been overpowered, and your assailant is about to kill you? That's the just in case I'm talking about. If a guy is on top of me pummeling my face and head and all I have is a knife, I would be a lot better off stabbing the guy to get him off of me than just hopelessly trying to defend myself. So even though the use of a knife is offensive, I carry it to be used in a defensive circumstance; afterall, pulling a trigger is an offensive operation as well.
I think that people's views of knives as self-defense weapons just doesn't make much sense. I mean, on the one hand, people are constantly telling others that you can't use a knife without risking it being taken and used, or it not penetrating, or you not connecting, or it just not being legal... Yet then they turn around and tell women to use their keys to slash and stab at an assailant's eyes. Are keys really more effective than a knife at slashing and stabbing? Since when is stabbing and slashing at some guy's face when he grabs you last-resort, anyway? It seems that when it comes to the "defense" community, there's a lot of contradicting advice being given.
On top of all this, what even defines a "fighting" knife, or what characteristics make it good for self-defense? I see a lot of people talking about various features of "tactical" knives, when I don't think they really make a difference when using a knife for defense. Having a black oxide blade doesn't mean anything to me, nor does having some "I can pierce through car doors" tanto blade. I mean, think about things like the Buck 119; it was designed as a hunting knife, but because it's a little long and has a finger guard, a contoured handle and a fixed blade it seemed appropriate to movie writers to use as a murder weapon in horror movies, and then the general public saw this and since I've seen people considering the Buck 119 a fighting knife.
There seems to be some notion that people carrying a knife for self-defense are interested in all sorts of tactical features, and are fools to snakeoil marketing campaigns. Here is my characteristics for a knife I would carry with the idea of it being capable of defending myself:
Large handle
Finger guard
Fixed blade for very strong lock
Fast deployment
Pretty much all of these characteristics have everything to do with protecting me and virtually nothing to do with killing them. Simply put though, I'm not going to carry a slip-joint with the same confidence of, "Well, if I'm near death, I can use my knife," as I would with a knife with any of the characteristics mentioned above. Even then, a lot of knives can fit into that category without being very intimidating or large; I like to carry my Kulgera because it's a great EDC knife, and it fits most of those criteria minus the finger-guard. I would also carry an Izula for its utilitarian usefulness and how closely it resembles what I think is required for a knife to be used for defense. Neither of these knives are very large, and neither would be likely to be seen as "man killers", but they don't really need to be; as far as my plans to use them on people, they're pretty limited to, "If shit hits the fan, this end goes in bad guy," and if that doesn't work then tough luck. I don't have any designs of, "Well, I need an 8" blade to pierce through his diaphragm and enter his heart," because I realize that even using the knife will be lucky, but I also realize that limiting the tools you have on you to defend yourself is a worse move than increasing them.
I think the real thing going on is that knife companies realize what types of things people are looking for in a knife that would allow them to use it for self-defense, and then releasing knives in that vein that are heavily stylized to be tactical. I mean, just look at the Buck 119; no tactical design implications at all, but people are still seeing it as a knife that could be used as fighting instead of the hunting knife it is. When you get a knife company that sees the interest in tactical knives and then adds on all sorts of things to make it look like a rambo knife, and then calls it a "fighting/utility" folder, do you expect anyone not to buy it because of that?
I mean, take for example the Izula. The sheath, the coating ( depending on the color you pick ) and the paracord have a decidedly "tactical" look to them, but the knife's overall design make it attractive to me. Two ounces without the sheath, under 3" blade length, fixed blade, 1" wide, and a sheath with many different carry options. What that translate to me is a very easy to carry fixed blade, with a blade more suited to EDC; but if the shit hit the fan, it's still a fixed-blade knife, that that is much stronger and deploys much faster than any folder.
If anything, I wouldn't buy the Izula not because, "Well, I don't need a survival knife," and I wouldn't have that use for it, but because of society's assertion that I don't need it, and I only intend to do bad things with it. Have you ever heard the phrase,"I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." The only thing that would make me reconsider getting an Izula is the general public's feedback of, "Oh, that's black, and it has a plastic sheath and paracord. You must be some kind of tacticool mall ninja." Or even the less informed, "Eeek, a weapon!" Either are ignorant in their own regard when at the end of the day, if I got an Izula in saftey-orange instead of black, I doubt anyone would say a thing.
At the very end of the discussion are knives that are intentfully designed as weapons though. To me it's quite weird that so many will rag on "tactical folders", yet go right ahead and use a KaBar USMC for buschcraft. I mean, they're using a knife that was specifically designed to be a combat knife for utility purposes, yet they cannot see how anyone would ant to use a tactical styled folder for anything other than stabbing someone? Why would you want to use a KaBar USMC for anything other than stabbing someone? The obvious answer is because you found the knife more useful for the task you're using it for than others; so why is it impossible that someone may be using some tactical fighting folder as a box-cutter because they like the ultra-fast AO? Why does it have to carry some intention to stab someone or to make a statement? I can't like a knife for its features? I mean, sure, "Well, there are other knives more suited to this kind of work with AO." I can say the same thing about a KaBar being used for buschcraft, but since most of the time people are out in the woods using it no one seems to care; throw someone into the city with a tactical folder and all the sudden they can't be trusted and they just want to stab someone or look intimidating. It's a bunch of crap in my opinion.
I really resent the psychology of knife styles, because it effects both knife nuts and regular people to the point where no one really wants to leave you be and let you carry what you're going to carry without wanting to assert you have some kind of agenda based on the style of knife you're carrying. Granted it's just common sense; if someone is walking down the street with a machete, I doubt he's busy removing his yard-sale signs from the telphone poles. However, in other instances it seems that people just want to be self-righteous and give them their opinions. "Oh, you're using that to cut boxes? Why, do you need to make a statement? Do you secretly want to stab someone?" To those people I ask, "What business of it is yours? Are you the knife police?"
I mean, think about a knife like the Needs Work. It looks like some kind of Star Trek knife you'd see the klingons would be using; it's AO even helps to that image. However, it's also a fantastic knife to use for tasks, and it wouldn't exactly be the most lethal thing as a weapon, yet I still know people that wouldn't want to use it to cut boxes because it looks too "scary" or too much like a "weapon" and they're afraid of being grouped in with people that are carrying a knife around itching to stab someone or trying to make some kind of statement. Really, I resent that; people can't get over their inane assumptions and let people use what kind of knife is more suitable to them.
It gets in the way of good sense really. I mean, why do we have knives with AO? Most people would like to think that it's to replace switchblades, and that since switchblades are illegal, people must want to stab others with them since they open so fast. Yet they ignore that fixed blades deploy much faster, come in smaller packages and are far more legal. Everyone misses the fact that assisted opening knives make opening the knife easier, more convenient, and safer. I mean, really, while people want to put on their fraid-cat hats and suggest, "A slip-joint is a safer knife," I'd like to point out that I've never had a blade on an AO knife snap back after slipping off the nail-nick and cut my finger. Seems like that danger is pretty well rectified by AO, but because it rubs so many people the wrong way as being weapon oriented, we can't have progress like that.
Would anyone here feel I had a weapon or I was trying to make a statement if I put a black oxide coat on my Case Trapper and also put some nice black micarta scales on it? Maybe some serrations... Would that be nice and scary?
I mean, really, it's just silly... I could take a stag handle bowie with a nice polish, carry it on a fixed leather sheath in the super market here, and no one will say a thing if I pull it out to cut the bag off the real at the produce section or something like that. If then I decided, "Hmm, black oxide, serrations, black handles, and a molded kydex sheath would be better for this knife," and did the same thing, I know I would rub some people the wrong way. It would essentially be the same knife, but because of people's preconceived notions on "Why someone would need a knife like that" they get uncomfortable.
On top of all of this, I really fail to see how anyone thinks someone is making a statement when half the time these types of knives are concealed.
JeremiahWeaver09,
Someone tried to stab me with an ice pick or a screw driver in a parking lot a couple of years back, but I had a heavy canvas shop coat on. The deepest puncture was not even half an inch ( would estimate anyway ) and pretty much everything else was just scratches. Didn't even notice it until I got home and thought, "Man, something kind of stings, I should check," and noticed little holes in my coat. Until then I simply thought the guy had been punching me.
??
) and had my small Seb 21 on me the entire time.
