Recommendations for “mean” knives

brancron

brancron

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Dec 14, 2011
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I don’t know why, but recently I’ve taken a liking to “mean” knives, for no particular reason than that I like them. I don't carry them for self-defense really, I just think they're fun.

So far I've got a growing Spyderco Matriarch collection, and have a Spyderco Massad Ayoob and Civilian on the way. Any recommendations along these lines would be greatly appreciated.

These three Spyderco models are certainly special purpose knives designed for causing bodily harm, but I wouldn't necessarily characterize them as "tactical" if you know what I mean. I am not a fan of overbuilt, chunky tactical knives in general. And I've always disliked karambits for some reason. I don't know if these rambling thoughts will make sense to anyone, but hopefully someone knows what I'm getting at!

Ideally, 5 ounces would be at my upper limit as far as weight goes.

Just for fun, here's a family photo:

gPCqeWf.jpg
 
Emerson Elvia is pretty wicked. It's not a kerambit per se, but it is designed to be used in reverse grip like one. Definitely not made as a utility knife.
Cold Steel Black Talon is certainly "inspired" by the Civilian, mean looking and relatively inexpensive.
 
tknife said:
Emerson Elvia is pretty wicked. It's not a kerambit per se, but it is designed to be used in reverse grip like one. Definitely not made as a utility knife.
Cold Steel Black Talon is certainly "inspired" by the Civilian, mean looking and relatively inexpensive.
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Great recommendations, thanks. I actually have an Elvia on loan from a buddy. It is a cool little knife--I'm warming up to it a lot. The Cold Steel one I've never considered, I will have to check it out!
 
Did you check out the "tacticlol" thread? Lots of those knives are pretty mean looking, if nothing else. 🤣

Tacticlol Knives II: The Return of Ridiculous

The thread is back, now with some original content. Straight from my phone, after taking pictures of what my co-worker was carrying: Zombie theme? Check. Assisted open? Check. Knucks? Check. Functional tip? Nah.
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
Crag the Brewer said:
You lost me at 5oz
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Sorry sir! There's just something great about a large knife that's nevertheless so light you don't notice it's there. For example, this falls out of the "mean" knife category but the Spyderco Stretch 2 XL has a nearly 4" blade yet weighs only 2.7 ounces. It's so light you don't even know it's there until you need it, at which point it's there in a BIG way!

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Spyderco Yojumbo, the big one. That's a practical but wicked blade. It's what I carry when I walk my dogs, along with pepper spray/mace combo.

Ernie Emerson's best design, IMO, was the CQC8 "Banana". Great blade shape, great handle. Marred only by "ok" build quality of Emerson. I still like this one for self defense carry.
 
twinboysdad said:
Spyderco P’Kal
Spyderco Lil Temp Rhino (rare trailing point)
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Here I was confidently thinking I had seen all the Spydercos out there (I'm kind of obsessed), but I had no idea there was a trailing point Lil' Temperance! Now I want one bad.
 
If they're just for looks while your hosting a sausage roasting with friends, why not go for rubbish that looks like they come from a b-rated science fiction film? Or if you want to spend money check out medford Boa-P anti personal knife
But that's 650.00
 
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