What defines a fighter?

I think this is going to be akin to "What makes a gun an assault rifle?" If you ask the government, they will tell you about a lot of scary features that all mean virtually nothing.

That being said, it seems to me a fighter is something that is designed and built to be used against human targets, as difficult as that might be to swallow for the vast majority of "fighting" knives.

This probably means that it would need to excel in cutting meat, be good for piercing deeply, be quick in the hand and have good grip retention.
 
There is always going to be a blade shape and style that when you mention to a knife afficionada the term fighter will come into his minds eye . Depending on what country or even region of the world you live in it will be different. But to me any knife that was built for the sole purpose of combat. Like I said it could be a gentlemen's ivory handled Loveless or even say something like a Busse TERRORMONKEY Aragon Assault which screams I am for no other purpose
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We debated this question about this same time last year as a result of the "Best Bowie" thread. Didn't come to an agreement as to a definition then, doubt if we will now.

All I will say is that I know one when I see one. ;) :D :D
 
I think that the guy who makes the knife defines its purpose. They'd be thinking about things like weight, grind type and edge thickness, handle shape, point control, blunt impact...

Basically, intent is 9/10s of the law as the saying goes.
Like STeven said, though, most fighting that involves knives happens in the household with Walmart kitchen knives. Whoever designed those knives didn't design them for killing and maiming people, so even though they might be used for such horrific things more than any other kind of knife, they will never be considered 'fighting knives'.

Ironically, the vast majority of custom, handmade 'fighting knives' would never ever be used for such- or at all, but like Kevin said, we all know one when we see one.

And I don't mean to be a prick, but if you're looking for defining what a fighting knife is, the thread you referred to is full of examples, so why the question? It's good to stimulate discussion, but this thread is pretty much a non starter, (even though I couldn't help from wading into it;)). Maybe it belongs in the general discussion section?
 
Lorien said:
I think that the guy who makes the knife defines its purpose. They'd be thinking about things like weight, grind type and edge thickness, handle shape, point control, blunt impact...

Basically, intent is 9/10s of the law as the saying goes.
Like STeven said, though, most fighting that involves knives happens in the household with Walmart kitchen knives. Whoever designed those knives didn't design them for killing and maiming people, so even though they might be used for such horrific things more than any other kind of knife, they will never be considered 'fighting knives'.

Ironically, the vast majority of custom, handmade 'fighting knives' would never ever be used for such- or at all, but like Kevin said, we all know one when we see one.

And I don't mean to be a prick, but if you're looking for defining what a fighting knife is, the thread you referred to is full of examples, so why the question? It's good to stimulate discussion, but this thread is pretty much a non starter, (even though I couldn't help from wading into it;)). Maybe it belongs in the general discussion section?
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+ 1

Paul
 
I'd tend to think of fighters as just cool to collect and really not useful (for me). Maybe if I were out in combat it would nice to have one.. but that wont ever happen.

I think they should function as an extention of the hand. Not like some big bulky thing weighing you down.
 
Lorien said:
And I don't mean to be a prick, but if you're looking for defining what a fighting knife is, the thread you referred to is full of examples, so why the question? It's good to stimulate discussion, but this thread is pretty much a non starter, (even though I couldn't help from wading into it;)). Maybe it belongs in the general discussion section?
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The reason I ask this question is because there seems to be a wide variation of knives in that thread, it seems as if almost anything can be called a fighter. There were quite a few knives posted in that thread that I wouldn't have considered as fighters, i.e. no guard, unergonomic and clunky looking. I also noted that quite a few people said they were not sure of the definition.

So can any knife be called a fighter or are there some basic design elements which should be considered when designing such a knife?
 
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KamSingh said:
The reason I ask this question is because there seems to a wide variation of knives in that thread, it seems as if almost anything can be called a fighter. There were quite a few knives posted in that thread that I wouldn't have considered as fighters, i.e. no guard, unergonomic and clunky looking. I also noted that quite a few people said they were not sure of the definition.
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Who said a fighter had to have a guard?

How can you determine ergomomics from a photograph?

Who says a fighting knife can't be clunky-looking? Ever seen a Smatchet? A pretty devastating edged weapon and as clunky as can be.

A fighter is a knife designed for use as a weapon. There are and always have been many varied design approaches to that basic requirement. Go tell a Gurkha that his khukri isn't much of a fighting knife because it doesn't have a guard, and let me know what he says. :)

Kevin's right (there, I said it :p) - if you're looking for a single, universally accepted definition, you're going to be disappointed.

Roger
 
KamSingh said:
So can any knife be called a fighter or are there some basic design elements which should be considered when designing such a knife?
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I'd say no, and no. One can call any knife a fighter, but that doesn't mean one's right. Just because there are pictures of knives in that thread doesn't mean they belong. Hell, there are production knives in that thread! This is the effing custom and handmade knife forum. Those production knives, while designed as fighters, don't belong there either.:p

There are no standard or basic design elements. If the maker intends for the knife to be a fighter, then it is one. And it either appears as such, or the maker compromised the intent of the knife when he/she designed it.
 
RogerP said:
Who said a fighter had to have a guard?

How can you determine ergomomics from a photograph?

Who says a fighting knife can't be clunky-looking? Ever seen a Smatchet? A pretty devastating edged weapon and as clunky as can be.

A fighter is a knife designed for use as a weapon. There are and always have been many varied design approaches to that basic requirement. Go tell a Gurkha that his khukri isn't much of a fighting knife because it doesn't have a guard, and let me know what he says. :)

Kevin's right (there, I said it :p) - if you're looking for a single, universally accepted definition, you're going to be disappointed.

Roger
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Fair enough but the Khukri is more of a chopper, I would expect a small knife designed primarily for thrusting to have a guard, maybe this is just my perception of what a fighter should be.
 
Every culture has a different perceptive. thats what makes them so interesting I guess
 
KamSingh said:
Fair enough but the Khukri is more of a chopper, I would expect a small knife designed primarily for thrusting to have a guard, maybe this is just my perception of what a fighter should be.
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Well, it's pretty much only a chopper - but a devastating combat chopper in skilled hands. It is a design that has proven itself over, like, a really really really long time. Taking an exclusively Western view of the fighting knife is fine - if rather parochial.

Some other guardless fighters - the Mediterranean dirk, the Yataghan, the Bolo. I wouldn't say that any of those should have guards.

JParanee said:
Every culture has a different perceptive. thats what makes them so interesting I guess
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Exactly. :thumbup:

Roger
 
My two cents, for what it's worth - Roger and Kevin said it all. As Kevin alluded to, and as a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court once said about pornography, "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it".

I think about as close to a definition as one can come is that a fighter is a knife designed to be used as a weapon in combat.
 
Ask 100 people and you will get 100 different answers. I sold a filet knife to a guy heading back to Iraq. Guess what he wanted it for. It doesn't make any difference what the maker had in mind when he built it, it's what the user has in mind when he is using it. I bought an Ek Commando (Vietnam era) a few years ago from a guy that had been using it to clean fish. Go figure that one out.

I like the pictures in the other thread and don't see much potential here, so I thought I would throw one out. How would you lable this knife?

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The February issue of Blade had an article on fighters. Two quotes by makers that I liked:

1) "A fighter has to be fast in the hand and maneuverable and not nearly as heavy as a camp knife. My blades are generally 7-inches, with the center of balance at the guard so that it feels like nothing in your hand." - Shawn Ellis

2) "I use a bowie-knife shape and make it a little more wicked. It's light, fast and I sharpen the end of the really long clip. With the long clip and flowing, curvey handle, the knife looks like it is moving [even when it is at rest]." - Jason Knight

Each maker will have his own definition, but these both work well for me. Of course, the length issue will always be debated, also. Jason likes his fighter blades to be 8 to 12-inches, Shawn likes his fighter blades around 7-inches.

- Joe
 
There are some great answers to this grey area that we call defining knives. I think Kam's question was valid, his wording wasn't trying to be specific, and yet I read some potentially snarky comebacks to the query. :confused: Why is that? Not everyone is a seasoned and knowlegable member here.

Hell, I was hoping for a bit of specific info, too.

Guards? A guard is specific to providing caution to the holder so that a thrusting motion might be further enabled in force, and even protected from sliding forward. In the defensive scenario it may also protect the hand.

So, For a VERY efficient fighter, I am going to suggest that a good guard is paramount. Not to say guardless models haven't worked for millenia, but it's a starting definition.

Let's discuss further. Thanks, Kam.

Coop
 
If the intent of the maker is that a knife be used in a fight, against people, it's a fighter. To me that includes daggers, most Bowies, and more Indian dohickies with blades than I can count. I added a pic of a fighting knife of mine on the other thread at:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=611014&page=2

Often the line between a "Working" knife and a "Fighter" blurs the more you look at it. This is true with a lot of Bowies and larger belt knives.
In a fight you might use damn near anything. In that case anything is a fighter.

Dino in Reno
 
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