"Tactical" Is Not a Purpose of Use and Represents an Undesirable Design Feature

mtangent said:
The marketing world has found something they market based on fashion to men. Men have been tougher nuts to crack than ladies, who buy shoes, handbags, dresses, hairstyles & other things based on nothing other than marketing hype.
Men buy cars & mbikes on engineering & performance, clothes for comfort & purpose.

We buy knives because we like the look of them. Fashion for men. We all have more knives than we need.
The tactical fad will pass, only to be replaced by something else, Marketers won't be letting knives out of their reach. Knives are one of the few things men will buy for no reason.
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Words of wisdom right there.. I'd be more happy with one/two good knives than a pile of them - now, how to stop? :confused: :) lol
 
P_Meticulous said:
Words of wisdom right there.. I'd be more happy with one/two good knives than a pile of them - now, how to stop? :confused: :) lol
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I'll heroically help you out. :)
Every time you have more than 2 knives, send the excess to me. :thumbup:
 
stabman said:
I'll heroically help you out. :)
Every time you have more than 2 knives, send the excess to me. :thumbup:
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Well I did start a "pay it forward with knives" thread in the BM dealer forum but it didn't quite take off, maybe one over here would be better ;)
 
"Tactical" It's a marketing term to draw people in, thats all it really is. Do I own "tactical" knives, yes but they were all bought due to the design and quality of the knife and not because it was marketed as being "tactical". The closest "tactical" knife I own is my Kershaw Cryo and I don't think it was ever marketed as such where as some of my other knives where marketed as this. To me this is good EDC/work knife that has a lot of features I desire which makes it easier/safer for ME to use one hand opening, speedsafe, frame lock, flipper which doubles as stop for hand so you don't run you hand up too far and so if the lock fails the flipper will hit you not the blade.

In general most times I see someone pushing a knife as being "tactical" the knife is junk and is meant to be admired 10ft away where you can't see the poor quality, fit and finish, and you think wow that looks dangerous.
 
Thomas Linton said:
And Finns famously carried what YOU are willing to call a Puukko into war. They have taken a traditional puukko (Puukko for you) blade shape and built it into a dedicated military knife - the M95 illustrated.
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I love that M95 and want one a lot. They are a bit pricey but I have other knives that cost as much. Some day!

If I implied that a puukko has no use in the hands of a Soldier, I did so erroneously. In fact it would be my belief that a good puukko would serve anyone "in theater" quite well, the proof being the fact that the Finns have indeed done so for centuries.

This is probably good evidence that the term "Tactical" is more about marketing than intended use. Sort of like obscenity...can't be defined but one knows it when one sees it. The M95 is tactical the antique puukko below it is not. Either would serve a soldier very well. Either would serve me very well. In fact, I want both of them!
 
Thomas Linton said:
Given the fact that Finnish soldiers routinely carried puukot into war with the Soviet Union, a puukko is perhaps not the best example of a knife not useful to a soldier. Some modern versions seem even more suitable for military use.



But as an example of "non-tactical," absolutely. :thumbup:
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This reminds me of the heyday of Gerber. Back when they made those Armorhide blade in that crazy hard tool steel. Model A400, A450 I think. I wish they still made them like that!
 
I agree totally, and it's funny because I really like the looks of some of those "tactical" knives and even knowing the lack of any real practicability like blade blades, but the vast majority are not designed to be the best for what 99% of the people that buy them for use them for. Guys like heavy duty, overbuilt things, unfortunately in the knife world that usually comes along with a thick blade with steep angles that's not idea for most civilian use. There's nothing wrong with it as long as people recognize it, I think the big downside if any has been that the vast majority of new knives and designs are on that tactical theme, leaving less resources put into just designing great EDC knives.

I think that's a huge reason the paramilitary 2 is such a huge hit, it's not built like a tank, but it has good ergonomics, it disappears in a pocket, looks tactical but still has a blade shape/thickness that vastly superior for general cutting/slicing than most other tactical overbuilt knives. Spyderco has "tricked" people into getting a "tactical" knife that's actually a great all around cutting tool for general use. Hopefully we'll see more companies follow that recipe.
 
ToddM said:
I think that's a huge reason the paramilitary 2 is such a huge hit, it's not built like a tank, but it has good ergonomics, it disappears in a pocket, looks tactical but still has a blade shape/thickness that vastly superior for general cutting/slicing than most other tactical overbuilt knives. Spyderco has "tricked" people into getting a "tactical" knife that's actually a great all around cutting tool for general use. Hopefully we'll see more companies follow that recipe.
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Same with the Military.
And the Yojimbo 2.
Even the thicker Tuff comes able to actually cut things. :eek:

"Tactical" doesn't have to mean "thick piece of garbage that cannot cut anything, with handle ergonomics equivalent to a kick in the balls for your hand." :)
 
I've not bothered reading the 14 pages of replies, so this kind of thing might have already been said...sorry if it's repetitive.

Like most sizes of knives, including the big ones that have a lot of what companies market as "tactical" features.

My reason behind buying a burly folder like the Adamas, Contego or Manix 2XL (all three of which I own) isn't for the "tactical" catagory they all fit into. I dig them because I'm 6'7, 280 and have XXL hands, and lets face it, there are many of us in the blade buying community who dig the looks of a huge "tactical" folder and the functionality of said blades.

My first tactical folder was the CRKT Hammod Desert Cruiser. I've since given it away to a soldier, but it hooked me on big knives. Love'em.

This dunderhead doesn't buy them because they're tactical, I buy them because they're big and tough...if that is tactical, so be it.
 
I agree, it sells to the kids.

when I was 16 I looked for 'tactical'' style knives. As an adult it just seems silly.
 
HwangJino said:
I agree, it sells to the kids.

when I was 16 I looked for 'tactical'' style knives. As an adult it just seems silly.
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Well not entirely IMO. There are a lot of very good, very functional knives that would fall into the technical category (to the extent that an objective grouping is possible). ESEE, Busse, probably a lot of Spydercos, Benchmades, Beckers, KaBars etc. Now your saw-back Rambo knife...not so much.
 
You're being a little inconsistent I think. What is it you are against? Knives for self defense or knives for heavy duty military use? You complain about thicker blade stock that inhibits cutting, but that's more of a hard use folder feature, not a self defense feature. Those are two different things. I agree though that if the knuckle dragger, hard use folder trend causes Chris Reeve to thicken the blade of the already more or less perfect Sebenza, then we have a problem. ''Tactical folders'' in general though are usually defined by three features: locking blade, one handed opening and pocket clip. IMO those are not just ways of making a knife more ''tactical'', they are improvements of the knife in general. Them of course I don't think it comes as a surprise to anyone that a lot of knife buyers are spoiled teenagers who like to spend a lot of money to pretend they're special forces operatives and a lot of people want to profit off of that. I still think there will always be companies who put performance first though.
 
ToddM said:
... I think that's a huge reason the paramilitary 2 is such a huge hit ... Spyderco has "tricked" people into getting a "tactical" knife that's actually a great all around cutting tool for general use.
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Before my days as a knife nut, I've used an Opinel, SAKS, a Leatherman and I even abused a cheap kitchen knife as a utility blade. Spyderco must have put a special grind on my blade because whatever I'm cutting with my knives: cardboard, foodprep, whittling wood, the aforementioned have so much better blade geometry it's not even funny.

Don't get me wrong, the PM2's construction is great, fit and finish is great, the clip is great, the lock is great, it's stout but when it comes down to actually cutting and whittling stuff, the cheap Opinel's blade is just better by a margin that makes it hard for me to justify carrying the PM2 (and almost all other tactical knives).
 
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