WHAT DID YOU CARRY IN THE MILITARY?

Danke42 said:
Anti-Tank gunner.
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I hear ya...;)

Carried this 119 on deployments in the 80's - 90's and it served me well.
It got mixed up in a bunch of gear I shipped back home and didn't find it again till I was looking around my dad's shop 15 or so years later. Thankfully I found it before pops took it to the bench grinder again.:oops:
Man, if knives could talk...I'd suggest a gag order on this one lol.🤣
Also had a long lost 110 that was customized by a teammate with some sweet finger grooves, first time I'd seen anyone do that to a 110, wish I could remember the guys name, pretty sure he'd be hanging around here if he's still among us, good cat.
 
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If you told me I was gonna go to boot camp and serve for 4-6, and I could choose the knives I wanted to keep at "base"?

So, I like to alternate my carry for fun, to try different grinds, shapes, material, steel... but you cannot load up w/ knives... granted I do not know about the AF except for a friend in the Navy.

For sheer utility -
SAK, a 91mm model with nylon scales and a good tool set
Christy Cutter/razor taped in wallet
Leatherman Wave or Wingman, for weight/pocket clip and part serrrated blade
Douk Douk or two, thin small knives, TOUGH
Spyderco Dodo/Matriarch/Rescue, they are all light, so eff it.

Paramilitary 2, I have many great choices for this, but either BD1N/full aluminum scales, 3.2oz, very light and a tough stainless, or Cruwear micarta

Espada XL, very light, carriable tool that can be deployed with ease, prob the G10 for weight/no reflect, and the 7.5in easily extended to near a foot using grip dwarves anything but a scimitar, and is even OK for tighter spaces.

One of them pointy Carothers for utility and potential combat
 
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Hashishiin said:
If you told me I was gonna go to boot camp and serve for 4-6, and I could choose the knives I wanted to keep at "base"?

So, I like to alternate my carry for fun, to try different grinds, shapes, material, steel... but you cannot load up w/ knives... granted I do not know about the AF except for a friend in the Navy.

For sheer utility -
SAK, a 91mm model with nylon scales and a good tool set
Christy Cutter/razor taped in wallet
Leatherman Wave
Douk Douk or two, thin small knivees

Paramilitary 2, I have many great choices for this, but either BD1N/full aluminum scales, 3.2oz, very light and a tough stainless, or Cruwear micarta
Espada XL, very light, carriable tool that can be deployed with ease.
One of them pointy Carothers for utility and potential combat
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But this is a thread about what you carried in the military. Not what you’d like to carry if you went.
 
Ironbut said:
We would've given anything to have a basic Letherman.:)
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Free with every crate of kaboom.

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Usually a Spyderco of some sort and a multi-tool (leatherman, gerber, SOG). I carried an Emerson SOCFK in Iraq, served me well. We were issued all sorts of knives though,
- Gerber Gator
- SOG SEAL Pup
- SOG folder (can't remember the model)
- Benchmade Auto Presidio
- Gerber Multi
- Some weird little Titanium dive knife
- CS SRK

I'm sure there were others I can't recall.
 
I carried so many over the 21 years I was active duty.
A short list includes, in no particular order:

Gerber bolt action knife
Al Mar Woodsman
Benchmade AFCK and CQC7
Benchmade Nimravus
Spyderco Military
CRK Sebenza
CRK Shadow IV
Fehrman Peacemaker
Cold Steel Voyager(Clip and Tanto all sizes)
Buck/Strider 880 and 888
Gerber Collins River knife
Busse Natural Outlaw
Emerson Commander
REKAT Carnivore/Sifu
various Dozier knives
Boye folding knife

Sadly, I only have one of those with me today.
 
1911bphil said:
I carried a Gerber Folding Hunter when I was in the US Navy. Most of my shipmates carried a Buck 110, but I wanted to be different. It was my first expensive knife, I paid between $60-70 USD in 1984. I carried a marlin spike also because I was a Boatswains Mate. If I was in now, I would carry a Leatherman tool.
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Yes, hard to beat the utility of a Leatherman, a pricey Buck 110 used to be the best of what was available back then. So much to chose from now, with strong VG10 / D2 blades that can be had for less than $50.00.
 
PNWhovian said:
I carried so many over the 21 years I was active duty.
A short list includes, in no particular order:

Gerber bolt action knife
Al Mar Woodsman
Benchmade AFCK and CQC7
Benchmade Nimravus
Spyderco Military
CRK Sebenza
CRK Shadow IV
Fehrman Peacemaker
Cold Steel Voyager(Clip and Tanto all sizes)
Buck/Strider 880 and 888
Gerber Collins River knife
Busse Natural Outlaw
Emerson Commander
REKAT Carnivore/Sifu
various Dozier knives
Boye folding knife

Sadly, I only have one of those with me today.
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Some pricey selections, if I were in today, my go to blade would be an XL Tanto Voyager and some sort of plier combo device. So much to chose from in today's market.
 
navman said:
Usually a Spyderco of some sort and a multi-tool (leatherman, gerber, SOG). I carried an Emerson SOCFK in Iraq, served me well. We were issued all sorts of knives though,
- Gerber Gator
- SOG SEAL Pup
- SOG folder (can't remember the model)
- Benchmade Auto Presidio
- Gerber Multi
- Some weird little Titanium dive knife
- CS SRK

I'm sure there were others I can't recall.
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Benchmade Presidio is a great knife, I understand there were a lot of Gerber 06 Autos issued as well.
 
EVISCERATOR said:
Great looking vintage knife, if you were issued this, must have been with an Air Wing?
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I was a door gunner on a Huey. They were issued to pilots, but I don't remember any enlisted crew members ever getting issued one.. I traded something, (I forget what), to a desk type guy in DaNang who had no real use for it.
 
As a Navy Lab Tech I certainly didn’t need a combat knife. However my Benchmade CQC7 made me feel a little more “operational “ lol. It killed a lot of boxes when I was working in the blood donor center!
 
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