The Killing Knife ~ Deisgn

When I opened this post I honestly thought it was going to be about a knife made for the initial cut in the process of slaughtering an animal. An instrument known as a "killing knife". A double edged blade with little or no guard, friction of your hand on the handle would prevent your hand from sliding up over the blade, either cut the throat of the animal by slicing into it or by the stab and cut out method. Gut, skin, quarter, etc etc, with 1-2 other specific blades.

But hey, I am wierd.
 
Spectre said:
Not my favorite overall knife, but this blade shape is perfect, I think.
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Why?

The reason that I ask is that context is everything here, as many things can be used to kill a person if the desire is there. Besides the ability to kill (which is pretty much a given), the needs of a certain culture dictate what is desirable and what is not.

This makes a lot of sense in a prison, but not so much to me after work. It's constructed of a readily-available material that cannot be detected by wanding, is easy to work on a concrete floor, and there are ways to conceal such a thing that make detection by a pat search impossible and increase its lethality at the same time. I won't go into those here. It will do a fine job of killing someone, particularly when they're not aware that an attack is imminent. If the attacker is HIV-positive and thoughtful enough to smear some blood or some such on it prior to using it, the killing blow need not even be serious in nature to be mortal.

(This is pretty tame as far as shanks go, by the way. I've seen ones that are far better.)

This doesn't appear to be much unless you're fighting someone in harness; then, suddenly, it makes perfect sense. What better to lever and pry your way through plates of steel than with what's effectively a steel rod with a point on it? You're not going to chop through all that crap, you'll need to find a way around and through it and a rigid, pointy weapon that can accomodate a second hand partway down the blade to improve control and leverage is just the number for that. Again, it's not much use to me, but to someone else five centuries ago...

This is clearly inappropriate for concealing on my person on a trip to the grocery store, but that's not what it was designed for. The individuals that these were issued to had other concerns. It may not make as much sense now but it made perfect sense at the time.

When we compare the various attributes of weapons throughout the ages, it's important to remember what any particular group of people needed at that time, and why, making a description of the logic involved somewhat important.

But that's the beauty of open-ended questions, isn't it? There's always another answer, and sometimes that answer is just another question.
 
actually, the blade i had more in mind was ...

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cstorr2004 said:
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Ahh, the V42.

I think the questions to be concerned with are, HOW will the kill be performed: stabbing or slashing? Is this a fighting scenario, or an execution scenario?

Mind you, mine will probably only be used on wood and parcels containing other knives!
 
A long thin organ poker is always nice... from a simple boot knife/bayonet style, to a more 'combat/survival' oriented KaBar usmc. The usmc adds the option of the slash/chop...

A Spyderco Civilaian would make an awesome tie maker if you were operating in stealth... sharp/fast/hook/thin, but not so much for a face off-

I love the Smatchet design (WWII deal).,, have a Boker and the moment you grab it, you want to find a Castle to storm.. you can hack, slash, chop, and stick with great effect...

knife1026.jpg

Smatchet is top one...

but when i think of the Busse FBM... a serious whack on the head with the spine of the blade (or maybe even the flat of the SMatchet) whould render one stunned if not out... leaving time for any matter of death cut desired...

All Knives are potentially fine killing tools, and as said before, each style has evolved for this purpose in some way or another... But for a great 'do-it-all, come what may' well, isn't that the perfect soul mate we are all here serching for? The answer, as with the perfect woman, may be there is no perfect one, though many may get the job done, our passions will shift and always leave us wondering about how the next blade would be better suited to fill our needs, for the job at hand..
 
Dave,

Because it's made to penetrate extremely well while making a wide hole. That's why. I think Shane's question really is related to a stabbing knife designed to kill in the shortest time.

John
 
I have many knives in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Tactical tends to suck for daily chores, especialy in the kitchen. Notably Kitchen knives can be used for defence and account for a large number of incidents. It is important to me that my EDC fixed blade can be used for cooking, including slicing bread. The knives in the office are really tacky and useless. I have found that my SOG Tsunami can be used in the kitchen, is used by many in the office, but still lacks on many areas. I am currently having a revised version custom made. It will be sexy.

Now to extract some travel money from the boss to put down the deposit.
 
Yeah, this blade style is not my very favorite, but since Shane is interested in a knife designed solely for killing...I believe the thought came into his mind after a recent hunt where knives were used to stab hogs to death.

A "combat blade" is probably a knife mostly used for chores, with a backup potential defensively. Pure killers such as Fairbanes and Gerber Mark IIs are much in the spirit of what Shane is thinking about.
 
I don't know about pigs your end but the pigs in Africa take attempts on their lives seriously. Wild Pigs and Warthogs have tusks and evil tempers when wounded. To stab one I would be using full armour and a long spear. I would probably extend that to including someone in place of me.
 
American-style pig hunting involves catch dogs...otherwise, I'd agree with you. :)
 
Runs with scissors-I agree prefer firearm w/ auxilary cutting implement attached.;).
I guess it boils down to thin and pointy to skewer vital places or wide and heavy to split skull/detach head. For the former I would prefer something like the Randall #1 or V-42 ,for the latter I think a well-made kukri or hatchet would suffice. As is mentioned previously it depends on how you plan to dispose of the hypothetical foe. All-in-all most sane individuals would prefer to avoid a rolling-on-the-ground-battle-to-the-death with sharp objects.

ymmv

TWBryan
 
TWBryan said:
...As is mentioned previously it depends on how you plan to dispose of the hypothetical foe....
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i find a meat grinder with a sausage maker attachment works for me. the bigger bones that the dogs can't crunch up directly usually respond to a ball peen hammer. all my neighbors comment on the light and delicate taste of my long pork sausages, the secret is, of course, in the seasoning :)
 
Wild pig is one of the best meats available to mankind. Bettered only by smoked wild pig. GrrngheeeeeeEEEEEEEE! is the best I can do to imitate a pig's reluctance to donate his body to Domestic Science.
 
here in the UK, they raise wild boar commercially, a whole herd (flock, pack, gaggle ????) of them escaped last year, they rounded up most of them but enough remained at large to start a breeding colony. proper wild wild boar now. of course we here are not allowed to hunt the poor little abused creatures, it might upset the animal rightists who'd rather see some child gored.

domesticated 'wild' boar meat and sausages are tasty but very expensive here. long pig is free (see post 56), tho the police do not like you to hunt them either....
 
Why would I want to hunt police, I know they are frequently called pigs but they don't cook up that well.

Sheeple tend to think of piggies and the Babe factor. When you have seen one see off a Rottie and chase people up a tree there needs to be a wariness and respect for them. Injured by a fence or car their short temper snaps and they can go berserk.
 
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