Proven Military knives

Knifein said:
That's nothing to lol about. Tomahawks are actually pretty common in use by our boys.
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The guy you are replying to SERVED IN AFGHANISTAN. He didn't any tomahawks; if you have reason sufficiently good to correct him ***perhaps you should say what that is?*** (I'm guessing Soldier Of Fortune magazine or some web equivalent...)

If I had the choice of carrying a fixed blade or tomahawk I would take the hawk in a heart beat.
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This rather misses the point of what the professional soldiers here have actually said.
 
Many, many types of knife have been used by many soldiers in many wars over many decades.
It really comes down to personal preference these days, for the most part (well, there's also what the CO will allow, but beyond that it becomes preference).
 
Been in for over 12 years. 9 Years as an Infantryman, currently a cavscout. Been to Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, and kuwait. Always had one fixed blade (3-4" blade) and a smaller folder (benchmade, kershaw, or ZT). Never saw anybody carry a tomahawk. Smaller fixed blade knives and folders where pretty common. I have had to stab holes in barrels and pry smaller things open that I would not feel comfortable doing with a folder, so for me a smaller fixed blade is always on me. And, if I ever was to need a blade for CQC I would want a fixed blade for strength and ease of deployment.

I have been making knives for about 2 years and tend to stick with fixed blades with blades around 3-4" in length since some military schools will not allow a blade over 4 inches anyway. I feel a good 1/4" thick, fixed blade with a 4" blade can do just about anything you can ask of it in a military environment.

But, to each his own.
 
Knifein said:
Just because ONE person didn't see them doesn't mean none are being used by our boys. :rolleyes:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90038&page=1#.UXBuesof2Uk

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/weapons/a/tomahawk.htm
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Not saying that hawks are not used but I would guess that of the conventional ground units that it is probably about 1 out of a hundred or less.

Out of my battalion of around 500 I don't remember anyone carrying a hawk. I was also with an SF unit for about a month and they did not carry them either. I worked with some 10th mountain infantry battalions and I did not see any of them fellas carrying them either. There are a small few that carry them, but its a lot less than what the hype and the media leads you to believe.
 
I met a guy who carried two hawks, he was AFOSI. I've seen one Strider folder in a decade, and one TOPS fixed blade. They were both owned by intel guys. I also saw a Spyderco Civilian in garrison. I've never seen anything too impressive or expensive from a knife knut perspective on anyone in combat arms. Well, I know one former infantryman who is now intel who buys knives and watches like candy.
 
From my experience as a veteran of OIF/OEF I'd choose a Leatherman. A multitool is more useful than a fixed blade for combat arms. Also when you weigh over 300lb with full kit and got to go up and down mountains in extreme elevation, go through flooded farm land, you don't want added dead weight that you most likely will not use...If we were fighting a conventional war, sure than I might carry a bayonet/fixed blade.
 
Knifein said:
Just because ONE person didn't see them doesn't mean none are being used by our boys. :rolleyes:
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You did not say that one tomahwak was being used, or some. You said that they were "pretty commonly used". This is very different, and a reasonably intelligent person would find this hard to reconcile with actual vets saying that they haven't seen or heard of a single one. :rolleyes:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90038&page=1#.UXBuesof2Uk

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/weapons/a/tomahawk.htm
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So you read a couple of puff pieces - which I don't think you understood, because neither shows any evidence for "pretty common" - and decided you know better than people who have actually served and would helpfully correct them... :rolleyes:

But what you did was even sillier than that! The only source quoted at all to show that troops are carrying tomahawks was a tomahawk maker! Who stands to gain considerably if he can convince knife fan bois that buying his products will make them like "operators". The only army source quoted was a retired general saying that actually most COs would think carrying a 'hawk was a bad idea and ban them. You don't see a problem with this as "evidence" for your statement??? :rolleyes:
 
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meanwhile said:
The only army source quoted was a retired general saying that actually most COs would think carrying a 'hawk was a bad idea and ban them. You don't see a problem with this as "evidence" for your statement??? :rolleyes:
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No, I don't. If you want to get in a philosophical debate regarding "evidences" then you should know that his statement doesn't mean much. It is simply a speculation/assumption and overall opinion with no evidence to support its structural base, as opposed to the tomahawk makers that were interviewed in the article who have actually received testimonials from real troops commemorating their products in real life use.

You want some evidence to support my statement? Stick this in your pipe and smoke it.

 
Amazing how fast an interesting conversation about knives and the military can degrade into a peeing match because of Internet egos.
 
I'm an Army Reservist musician with no deployments; my small SAK's (used to be a small Tinker, now just the same Alox Bantam I always carry) are all I need and more. :D
That said, I've worked a lot of random Army things and the Joes I work with that carry a knife ALWAYS carry a big combo tanto folder, usually CRKT. About half of them have deployments, none are knife folks, and ALL their CRKT's are flawless in operation. Where the hell do they get them?? :D
 
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Army Reservist here with no deployments, the small Vic's I carry are all I need and more. :D
I've worked random things here and there and oddly enough, every Joe that has a knife has a big combo tanto folder, usually a CRKT. About half of them have deployments, none of them are knife folks, and ALL their CRKT's are absolutely flawless in operation. Where the hell do they get them?? :D
 
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Knifein said:
No, I don't. If you want to get in a philosophical debate regarding "evidences" then you should know that his statement doesn't mean much. It is simply a speculation/assumption and overall opinion with no evidence to support its structural base, as opposed to the tomahawk makers that were interviewed in the article who have actually received testimonials from real troops commemorating their products in real life use.

You want some evidence to support my statement? Stick this in your pipe and smoke it.

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae280/Wolf-Eyes/SFVT_zpscf30bce8.jpg[/URL
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That's 8 out of about 2.5 million troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hardly "pretty common" in a statistical sense. Hawks are used by a relative few troops (I realize more than 8). They have a use, but the VAST majority of our guys don't have any use for them.
 
shunsui said:
If the US Military loads it's soldiers down with so much weight they throw away their knives, maybe those opinions are not a valid measuring stick for the true value of knives to a soldier.

Just saying. ;)


On a more positive note, I was reading Chipped Karambit's review of a Yojimbo2 and was thinking it would make a good recommendation for the overloaded soldier.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/990863-Spyderco-Yojimbo-2-Review-(PHOTOHEAVY)
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Wow. Thanks for bringing up that review. What a great read. I had just recently been watching and commenting on CM's modding of his Yojimbo on YTube. He actually took a little more of his blade actually off if I remember right then he kind of evened it out to make it look even better. CM's is definitely the fella I will be sending mine to. Thanks again and thanks to the reviewer.:thumbup:
 
I have always carried a fixed blade on deployment, for utility as much as a back up weapon if my primary or secondary
Weapon system failed for watever reason. Last deployment I carried a sog government agent attatched to my LBE and I barely noticed it was there. I also carried a mini pentagon and spyderco para 2 which I used for mostly utility roles such as opening boxes etc. I would never go on patrol without a decent fixed blade as I think they definitely have a place on the modern battlefield especially in today's conflict zones such as Afghanistan.
In saying that a lot of the other soldiers I work with only carry a folding knife and multi-tool so it's personal preference for most I think.
 
Despite the responses from service members who have actually served in various combat zones (myself included), the Rambo knife/tomahawk crowd are apparantly going to continue to assert, based on having read it in a book, heard it from a friend, or saw it in a magazine (with pics provided by knife/tomahawk maker) that all combat troops carry Rambo knives/tomahawks. If that is so, then Uncle Sam, I am still waiting on my Busse knife and my tomahawk to be issued. Please hurry before I retire. I would like to have these to hang on my wall along with my colors, placques, and certificates of training.

I think if you asked anyone who had actually been in a firefight if they would rather have had two pounds of knife/tomahawk or two pounds of ammunition during the fight, he would say ammo unequivocally. And although the internet commando crowd thinks that all infantryman are studs that can carry infinate amounts of weight over long distances (It's all about the "weight management," don't you know?), the truth is there is a rather small amount of weight one soldier can carry and then be able to fight once he has walked to his destination. This used to be expressed as "combat load."
 
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