SpecWar...the knife for CQC!

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DazedandConfzed

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May 9, 2005
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Ok I have been doing a lot of research on this knife lately and am now the proud owner of one, but I find that many people have nothing good to say about this knife! Why is that? I mean I have read everything from this thing is ground on the wron side, it sucks at cutting, etc. etc. The thing is those remarks are all crazy...why on earth would you get a knife designed strictly for close combat...a knife intended for a weapon, to skin your apples? This knife was never intended to be used to cut boxes and whatnot, it is intended to be a weapon. With that aside I want to address the common remarks of the grind being on the wrong side for right handers.

Ok think about what this knife was designed for...CQC (close quarters combat). Now with that in mind think about how people in this situation will, 90% of the time, have a nice small compact handgun and a knife. This knife was intended to be used alongside a handgun. Did it ever occur to anyone that it is ground the way it is because it would be held in a nonconventional manner? When actually in a CQC mode of sorts the user will have the handgun in the righthand, held as it is supposed to be, while the knife, or the Specwar in this case, would be held in the lefthand, upside down with the handle butted up against the grip of the gun, allowing both to be held simultaneously while keeping control of the gun. Does this makes sense? They use this stance, so to speak in CQC so one can quickly switch back and forth between knife and gun. When the knife is held in this manner, the grind makes perfect sense. Think about this, hell get a knife out or a SpecWar out if you have one and try it. Also, if you have ever seen people actually fight with knives they do not hold them upright in the conventional way because holding them upside down allows for a far greater range of movment. Does any of this make sense? Hell ome people in the military actually grind down the grips of the gun in the shape of their knife handles to better accomodate the knives when they are in this CQC sort of mode, course the grinding depends on the gun and the grip material LOL.
 
So what makes the Specwar specifically designed for CQB and what makes its design so much better than others? I don't see any advanatge over many others in the "tactical" fold.
 
I am not saying it is better. All I am saying is that for the people complaining that it is not ground on the correct side for righthanded people need to evaluate the purpose this knife was designed for and the way in which it would be truly held. It was not designed for cooking, peeling apples, or cutting boxes. It is a weapon. However, if you go back and reread my post I never stated that it was better than some other knife I am just saying it does what it was designed to do and will do it well. The knife was designed perfctly for what it was intended for. I never stated that it was better than another knife from the same class.

Maybe I should have assigned my thread a different title> I can see where one might think I was saying this knife was the best CQC knife LOL, but that was not my intentions. My intentions were to only point out where people's evaluation of this knife might be a little skewed.
 
Wow. Nice review...I think. Maybe that is the reason why "people have nothing good to say about this knife". Most people on these forums don't carry knives only for the purpose of using it as a weapon. That's just a guess, though. I am sure there are plenty that find it a "hard use practical duty knife" (quote from Emerson website.)

-Mike
 
LOL I cannot believe Emerson said that this knife might serve as a practical everday use knife LOL, cause I only see it as a weapon. As far as everyday use goes then this is definitely not the knife to be had. I dunno how Emerson could claim such a thing. I could see it being a nice weapon to have handy in certain situations LOL, but I cannot imagine anyone trying to use it for everyday practical purposes.
 
DazedandConfzed said:
It is a weapon. However, if you go back and reread my post I never stated that it was better than some other knife I am just saying it does what it was designed to do and will do it well.
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Just why would it do it well?

Don't you think that a blade geometry that lends itself to cutting/slashing would provide an advantage over that ridiculously obtuse grind on the SpecWar?
Most people think a fighting knife should be balanced at or around the index finger cutout...is that the case here? It doesn't look like it.
It doesn't have a sharp false edge and that thick tanto blade's tip doesn't penetrate all that well.

Don't get me wrong, I really like Emersons and I think the SpecWar's handle is very well-designed. But that blade doesn't have a lot going for it, to put it mildly.
 
DazedandConfzed said:
Also, if you have ever seen people actually fight with knives they do not hold them upright in the conventional way because holding them upside down allows for a far greater range of movment.
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You do know that there are different approaches to knife fighting out there? And you do realize that most experts do not advocate reverse grip edge out?
The main reason for that being that reverse grip fighters tend to telegraph their moves.

It allows for a "far greater range"? Holding a knife in reverse grip will actually give you a little less reach, just a few inches, but definitely not more.

Not sure about the practicality of that strange gun/knife tactic you described either...
 
My belief is that if you know how to use the tool to its optimum, then a newspaper can be a deadly weapon, like the saying goes. Special forces operatives are trained to use anything as a weapon. Your best weapon is your brain, after that, if you have been adequately trained, you can darn near use about anything in CQC. Just because the knife looks mean, and is marketed to specialists, that doesn't mean its more than a tool in your hands.

Just my 2 pennies.

BTW, not an attack on anyone, but I was told by an instructor that knife fighting with the blade upside down is a stupid move used by amateurs.
 
^^^ Interesting because I have been taught the exact opposite. I dunno, I guess everyone has there own opinions and ways of doing things. It seems as if I just wasted $167 then in buying this knife. I don't have it just yet, it should be in within a few days, so I cannot comment directly on how well this knife performs in the field. However, here is my problem Emerson/Neeley are both kind of legendary and both should know what they are doing so why in the heck would they design and produce a blade that seems to hold negative connotations by most people on this board?
 
Why don't you finally try to point out why this knife would be a good CQC design?

I don't care who designed it, but I know what I want in a defensive knife and I think that I can state valid reasons for my preferences.

I think that Emerson's Commander is probably the best folder design on the market, so I'm not posting this to knock Ernie or anything.
 
I don't have any problems with Emerson products, I think that they are overhyped, but one of the worst knife mistakes I ever made was getting rid of my Heckler and Koch Benchmade Emerson CQC7 on eBay. I should've kept that knife. If you're going to use that knife as a tool, and you like it, I think you spent your money wisely. For protection, carry a small auto or double action, and I'm not talking about knives ;).
 
Quiet Storm said:
Why don't you finally try to point out why this knife would be a good CQC design?

I don't care who designed it, but I know what I want in a defensive knife and I think that I can state valid reasons for my preferences.

I think that Emerson's Commander is probably the best folder design on the market, so I'm not posting this to knock Ernie or anything.
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I will wait until I have one in my hands to further clarify!
 
DazedandConfzed said:
When actually in a CQC mode of sorts the user will have the handgun in the righthand, held as it is supposed to be, while the knife, or the Specwar in this case, would be held in the lefthand, upside down with the handle butted up against the grip of the gun, allowing both to be held simultaneously while keeping control of the gun. Does this makes sense? They use this stance, so to speak in CQC so one can quickly switch back and forth between knife and gun. When the knife is held in this manner, the grind makes perfect sense. Think about this, hell get a knife out or a SpecWar out if you have one and try it. Also, if you have ever seen people actually fight with knives they do not hold them upright in the conventional way because holding them upside down allows for a far greater range of movment.
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D&C:

Well, it's cool that you found some niche situations that make the knife work well for you. However, the knife was definitely not designed for just those situations. Talk to Emerson, and he'll tell you: the knife wasn't designed only for fighting purposes, in conjunction with a handgun, held only in the left hand, in the unconventional grip you described. Nor is the knife only designed for reverse grip. In short, you've managed to cobble up some fairly spectacular restrictions on the use of that knife, that help it make more sense in the grand scheme of things. It's still not clear to me that this is the perfect design even for your unreasonably-limited usage criteria, but I think most criticism comes from folks who are criticizing based on broader design criteria.

Joe
 
Interesting discussion. I don't know why you are concerned why some people don't like this knife. If you like it, that's all that matters.

I am curious about one thing. While I am not in the military, I have a few friends who are currently SF, a few who are retired and a few LEO. I haven't heard of anyone grinding their gun grips to the shape of a knife handle. What kind of gun? Is it just the grip or the frame as well? Is it just thinning the grips down a bit? I would like to understand this better.

Thanks
 
Don't let these posts turn your tastes on this knife, if you got rid of it just because of what some strangers said, that would be asinine. Just recognize that in the right hands, any instrument (and I don't mean musical) can become a weapon. You bought a tool. That's all, a pretty tool that will take some abuse. If you, AND ONLY YOU, are unhappy with it, then I'm sure you could trade it or resell it in the EXCHANGE.
 
DazedandConfzed said:
It seems as if I just wasted $167 then in buying this knife.
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Not sure if you totally wasted your money. It's a tough "sharpened prybar", so it does have a purpose for heavy duty utility use like prying and digging.
Or you could try to find a knifemaker who can put a better grind on it. Don't do that yourself though, an amateur could possibly ruin the steel's temper while grinding away.
 
Oh and if you finally receive the knife, hold it in your hand and if you feel that it's perfectly suited for combat and everything, keep it. A bad design you have confidence in will probably work better than a good design you just don't like.

Just don't expect me to refrain from commenting on a thread titled "SpecWar...the knife for CQC!" ;)
 
silenthunterstudios said:
My belief is that if you know how to use the tool to its optimum, then a newspaper can be a deadly weapon, like the saying goes. Special forces operatives are trained to use anything as a weapon. Your best weapon is your brain, after that, if you have been adequately trained, you can darn near use about anything in CQC. Just because the knife looks mean, and is marketed to specialists, that doesn't mean its more than a tool in your hands.

Just my 2 pennies.

BTW, not an attack on anyone, but I was told by an instructor that knife fighting with the blade upside down is a stupid move used by amateurs.
Click to expand...

By the way a rolled up newspaper makes an excellent weapon LOL depending on the situation. ;) :D
 
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