S & W Badge Knife

The Magician

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Jan 19, 2000
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I ran across this knife while looking for a self defense carry. I decided to give my impressions of it. I am well aware of the controversy surrounding the S&W name and the knives contracted by them from Taylor Cutlery. This post is all about the knife, it’s performance, materials, etc. Any problems you may have with S&W, please email them. Now for the good stuff:

The knife is part of the S&W HRT Series. The acronym stands for Hostage Rescue Team. There are several knives in this series as can be seen here at onestopknifeshop On to the review.

The S&W Badge knife is so named because it is designed to be carried around the neck with a badge attached. (see picture attached) This should work well for some LEO’s. The sheath is very well designed for this purpose, and appears to be well thought out. The badge clip is easily removable, yet holds the badge securely. The sheath also comes with a clip for horizontal belt carry. This works pretty well. I am disappointed that the sheath cannot be carried vertically with the clip. If it were changed slightly, the sheath would be even more versatile. As it is it is functional, but could use improvements. The retention is fair, I prefer the tighter fit of kydex/concealex, but don’t worry about this under normal use. For LEO, losing knife in a roll around on the ground could be very bad. I would definately go custom for this purpose. Overall the sheath is functional, but not fantastic.

The knife was advertised on the KnifeCenter web page as 440C stainless.
Mine is marked only as 440. I have heard some or possibly all of the other knives in this line use 440C. It is also marked R.O.C. For my use, the steel is not the important factor. I will only use it once as it is a pure defense piece.
I do not use it for anything else, ever. The knife is serrated and very pointy. Mine came very sharp and was very well ground. The handles are zytel and very comfortable while remaining thin. The finger hole is very large and should fit all hands. The blade is 2.25” long. The handle is 3.375"
The overall length is 6.875". Weight is 1.92 OZ. I found it very comfortable
to wear around the neck all day. A heavy badge may change that. Overall for under $25 bucks this knife makes a good SD piece for those on a budget. Check local laws and all that crap.
 

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Magician,

I had my wife buy me one for X-Mas. Like you, yes I am aware of the curent attitude towards S&W. Hopefully, now that the previous British owners have sold it off back to some Americans, they will stop playing footsy with the anti-gun crowd. Also, a lot of people, specifically Emerson fans (the Usual Suspects) are also pissed off because essentially the knife is a design infringement on the Emmerson-made/Perrin-designed LaGriffe.

Having said all that, I agree with you. For $25.00 I got a well made knife that should function well in the Self-Defense mode. I also agree with you that while the sheath is serviceable, it is less than ideal. I picked the HRT BadgeKnife primarialy because of the price. I wasn't sure if I was going to like the design/style, and honestly didn't want to spring for the LaGriffe. However, having carried the HRT BadgeKnife now for several weeks, and done some cutting drills with it, I am sold on the efficacy of the basic design. In the future I intend to pick up not only the LaGriffe, but probably one of the CRKT Bearclaw variants.

At the moment, my favorite mode of carry is with a paracord loop through the bottom-most grommet holes, the paracord looped around my belt on my strong side, with the knife tucked into the groin/leg fold. The knife sits at about a 30deg. angle off the horizontal. and is very fast and easy to access.

P.S. Don R. if you're out there, don't get pissed at me. I promise I'm going to get a LaGriffe as soon as I can spring for the bucks.
 
I like the handles on the S&W best, a good comprimise between nothing on the Emerson & the much bulkier handles on the CRK&T. the blade seems - I may be wrong - to have a more pronounced and wickeder curve than the Emerson, feels like a more effective defensive piece. If I were an LEO I would NEVER trust that sheath under my badge - take a tuble and that thing could end up deep in your own chest!! thick custom kydex would be worth the price - not hard to make one yourself, actually, ugly but serviceable.

This little knife has replaced a whole host of other defensive carry options for me. Holding it, I feel a sense of confidence in my ability to protect myself with it that is greater than that I get from much bigger knives, because it is so secure in the hand. Nasssty, nasssty knife, we likes it, yes we do, pretty precioussss . . . . .
 
Originally posted by The Magician
The knife was advertised on the KnifeCenter web page as 440C stainless.
Mine is marked only as 440.

The new framelock DDR collaboration is also supposed to be 440C but the blade is marked only 440. I dont know why S&W wouldn't put the C on there to differentiate. Kind of confusing.
 
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