What do Real Military Men/Women Carry

About a year and a half ago I bought a Strider MT. I'd read a little about them and wanted to see what they were like (I'm not in the military). When I got the MT it certainly looked rugged but I wasn't too impressed. However, I decided I may as well use it after paying a pretty good amount for it. It has really grown on me. I wouldn't want to be without it. It handles well. It is rugged and it takes an amazingly sharp edge. I liked so much I bought the MTL and I'm looking for another Strider to purchase.

Good luck,
Rich
 
Major, USAF, AFSC: 14N3 (intel ops), active duty for 11 yrs, reserves since 2000, but activated since Nov 2001.

What I carried when recently deployed to Kuwait: cheap "snap-off" box cutter for probably 90% of the cutting I had to do, Victorinox SwissTool for just about everything else. I brought my own MT Scarab but never really used it.

My unit issued Gerber Gators if we wanted them...but most everyone bought their own blade at the BX to put in their A bag. As an intel collection/analysis group that, we're not going to be outfitted with the high-speed (and $) blades you all are talking about here...so if you wanted one you had to buy it yourself. Although we all had bayos for the M-16s we carried when we were out and about...they were sharp and pointy and fit the bill for a fixed blade...plus it attached to the end of my rifle!...much better if I needed it in fight (although as an Air Force type, I'm probably screwed if it came down to a knife fight...means our Security Forces have been overrun/outgunned)...but I'd much rather go down swinging a bayo-tipped 16 (after I ran out of 5.56 and 9mm ammo of course) than anything hand-held.
 
When I was in the army I carried a Victorinox Rucksack. I owned a MOD survival knife, but considered it too heavy to carry in addition to everything else that I was lumbered with.
Whilst on operations in Northern Ireland I carried a concealed Gerber Mark I when "off duty", as we were not allowed to sign handguns out to go shopping!
 
Thanks dboy and Mr. Andrews for getting this thread back on track. My intent is to pass by hype and see what the real world offers. If it'll do any good, my hearty apologies to the Strider gang, ColdSteel and anyone else who misinterpreted my initial post as a bash. Please reread the initial post...

All I want is some real intel, not hype or manufacturer's claims.

WHAT DO MILITARY MEN/WOMEN CARRY?
WHAT DOES THE GOVT. ISSUE TO YOU?
WHAT DO YOU BUY YOURSELF?
WHAT'S YOUR RANK/OCCUPATION?

Seat of the pants summary, so far we have, some MTs, Coldsteels, Victronix, bayonets, box cutter, Gerber, multitools, gift strider, hometown sebenza.

What else is out there?
 
Originally posted by anewguy
I don’t think he is trying to “bash” strider anymore than the other knives he listed. It appears he is just giving a background for his question and perhaps preempting lame responses by strider groupies like, “well, the new MARSOC has a gov. contract so that means that every grunt has a strider.”


Originally posted by jayharley

I disagree. Brownshoe is not giving a background for his question. He is stating his biased opinions by questioning Strider's postioning from the onset of the thread. Also I am not sure why you refer to supporters of a popular brand of knife as "groupies" with "lame" responses. It sounds to me that this tread is going nowhere. Brownshoe is asking military folks to answer, directly as to what they carry. This is a very good question. Why not leave the question simple and see what the answers are without "preempting" anything that military folks might say?
I disagree. Brownshoe is not giving a background for his question. He is stating his biased opinions by questioning Strider's postioning from the onset of the thread. Also I am not sure why you refer to supporters of a popular brand of knife as "groupies" with "lame" responses. It sounds to me that this tread is going nowhere. Brownshoe is asking military folks to answer, directly as to what they carry. This is a very good question. Why not leave the question simple and see what the answers are without "preempting" anything that military folks might say?



That is ok if you want to disagree, the only reason why I said that is because he listed several other brands and gave a bit of a rundown as to claims he had heard and was curious of their validity. Strider was one of those brands, that’s all I was trying to say.
Second, if you re-read my post I am not calling all “supporters of a popular brand of knife ‘groupies’ with ‘lame’ responses.” Maybe my wording was unclear, what I was trying to say was sometimes people get so fanatical about something that they hear their pet-whatever mentioned and rush to defend it even though it is not getting attacked. Often times their line of argument is driven more by their emotional attachment to they pet-whatever than by reason which in tern produces a poor argument like the one I gave as an example—thinking that one small gov. contract equals every regular guy getting one. I wasn’t trying to knock striders, heck I’ve never even held one. I wasn’t trying to knock the guys who make ‘em either, I appreciate anyone who supports our troops in any way. I wasn’t even trying to knock people who like their knives. I just thought the guy (brownshoe) was asking a question, one that I thought you were ignoring and were turning into an “us vs them” debate that would go no where.

oh yeah, and the "preempting" wasn't for the military folks, re-read the post.
 
Still no active milatary personnel have stated they use the Strider blades.
Click to expand...

Try the "search" function. Especially the archived "STRIDER forum".

I wonder how you managed in school... did the teacher always give you the answer on a silver platter?

Oh, and I don´t own any Strider knives.

/Colinz
 
Just trying to do a poll, this is a legitimate use of the forum for information gathering. If you don't like it, sorry.

Why not drop the rhetoric and lets get on with the info? If you can't add to the basic topic, why not post elsewhere, such as whine and cheese?
 
If I was in the military I wouldn´t have time answering polls like this. I would be honing my skills to kill Talibans and followers of S. Hussein.

I´ll drop out of this thread now...

/Colinz
 
Former Marine here and I carry a Kershaw or Gerber folder always. A Benchmade fixed blade when possible.

My bro-in-law is still current Army and he being an E-6 can afford the good stuff...LOL
He carries a Sebenza and a Project 1, both from Chris Reeve Knives. He also carries a Microtech auto.

You can't do much better for EDC than those 3 knives.:D
 
brownshoe,

If I were to go back and search all of your posts on Strider Knives I'm pretty sure the majority are nothing but Strider bashing.

For the record I carried a Strider MT-L and a Strider AR as an E-4 in the 82nd ABN. Oh by the way, there is a war going on so I think all the Strider users are kind of too busy to answer your pity questions. Or maybe they just don't give a rats what you think BS!
 
When I was in the Navy, I carried a Leatherman Super Tool and a MiniMag. Most other ETs (Electronics Technicians) carried a multi-tool as well, bought out of their own pocket. I don't recall ever seeing anyone carry a knife. As much as I like "tactical" folders and fixed blades, there simply is little reason for 99% of people (military included) to carry one.

Noone I know was ever issued a knife or watch.

Mark
 
What did I carry on my gear? I've used abused and gone through a few pieces.

Cold Steel Safekeeper 2: MIA

Cold Steel Tanto: replaced handle with Para-cord. but otherwise in good shape.

Benchmade Pardue(auto): don't remember the model. it was black and small, fit right into my waistband........KIA

Kabar: every grunt had one. i never carried it though.

Chris Reeves Shadow IV: transferred to another Marine and still going strong. One of the best I ever had. Shoulda kept it.

You don't need to be a high rank to get a good knife. You figure out what you want ti to do and try to decide where each piece might fail you. Then you suck it up and cough out the cash.
 
Retired (a few years ago) Army Colonel (logistics officer). Carried a Fieldmaster SAK, either a Sebenza or a BM AFCK, always a SOG Power Plier, and when in the field, either a Randall #1 or #14 or a MadDog ATAK Hunter. Yes, I made enough money to buy good knives, and I did. I advised my troops (at least those interested) on knife use, but the only knives in the issued category were the M7 (and later, M9) bayonet, and the little steel slabbed utility pocket knife. This knife was a part of the mechanics tool set but the troops were constantly removing it for other duty use. I didn't mind. These were readily available through the supply system (me). There were no other knives.

Incidently, there are two kinds of "issued" knives available. (1) Those accepted into the supply system for issue. These receive a National Stock Number and are entered into the Federal Supply Catalog. (2) Those obtained by "local purchase". These are bought by the government at the local level, and probably do not have an NSN and are not in the Federal Supply Catalog. They are still owned by the government, are accountable, and the loss of one can result in the individual soldier having to pay for it. These do not show up on your TO&E (Table of Organization and Equipment) or TDA (Table of Distribution and Allowance) like organic equipment does (weapons, bayonets, vehicles, generators, etc.)
 
When I was a Coastie, I rarely carried anything more than a stockman at shore commands. When I was underway (on the white needle of death picture below) we ordered Gerber Multi-Pliers for our division. They sucked. I also carried a Buck Lite or a SOGwinder. Good cheap knives that I wouldn't cry over if I lost 'em.
index_r1_c6.gif
 
I have lots more pictures similar to this one. I gave away a lot of knives to soldiers in Desert Storm, OEF, and OIF. When I couldnt give any more away I started a sponsorship program and some very good men bought knives from me and I sent them to soldiers in Iraq and A-stan as gifts from those customers. I have many paying customers in those theaters as well. Some units have discretionary funds as well and I sold knives as deeply discounted as possible to get them knives that are in service. etc etc. There is some damn good bladeware in those unfriendly places right now, and my bet is there are a whole lot of Strider knives in service.
 

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One more real military person checking in. Well, I'm in Military Intelligence and working a desk job right now, so I guess I'm just half a soldier since I don't hunt actually shoot bad guys
:rolleyes:. Anyway, at my desk job I carry a BM-31 bali and whatever pass-around knife I have for the moment, or my Camillus EDC. While I was stationed in Korea I carried the EDC most of the time, when out in the field I would carry a REKAT Fang. If it were an option I would carry a khukuri or a Becker, but in Korea I was limited to a 3" blade so I didn't dare carry any big fixed blades. My current unit has a 5" blade limit for deployments, so I'll probably get a Becker Crewman when I get sent to the sandbox. I've never been issued a knife of any kind, although in Korea we did have bayonets in the arms room. I know because I was voluntold to sharpen them. :D Not that I minded.

Within the MI world, however, I am an anomoly for carrying even a pocketknife. Lots of folks have multi-tools, say more than half, but I've yet to meet a fellow knife knut in the service. A couple of guys I served with carried FRN Spydercos, Gerbers, or knock offs sold at the PX, but most got by with their multi-tools or nothing at all. I've no doubt I would be called Rambo a lot if I tried to take even a BK-7 on a deployment, not that it's an option anyway. I'm sure the situation is quite a bit different for combat branches, I would hope that they're a bit more pragmatic about such things.

As far as hype goes, just ignore it and buy a blade based on it's merits. The bottom line is that each individual carries a knife that meets his needs. It's pointless to buy a knife based on it's association with any particular group. The same khukuri that serves a Ghurka's needs in battle serves a farmer's needs in Nepal; or my needs while clearing brush in Pennsylvania. It's not a good knife because the Ghurkas carry it, the Ghurkas carry it because it's a good knife. The same applies to Striders, Busses, Randalls and Ka-Bars, as well as a plethora of other knives available today. If it's a good knife, chances are some military person out there is carrying one. Not because it's a 'military' knife, just because it's a good one. That's how I see it anyway.
 
Thanks for the replies. It's interesting to see what is really being used.

Mr. NIB, you're right I don't like striders or the company. Any supposed bashing done by me has been returned in double. On the subject of srider knives I've been called a fag, welfare cheat, armchair warrior, idiot, liar and more. Thus rest easy your honor has been maintained. However, as I said before, I didn't mean for my initial post to be taken as bashing any company. Thus again my hearty apologies to the strider and cold steel gang for any unitential bashing in my initial post.

All I want is to see what our men and women in the armed forces carry and are issued as their knives.
 
Well, I'm just a Recruiter now, was an Intel puke before this, still a soldier though. I carry a Benchmade axis-lock and a Strider/Buck mini tanto everyday in San Francisco. Deal with some real winners out here. I also own a Strider WP and SLCC which I carry in shoulder bags with me while out and about. Two others I have are Shane Siberts Argonaut and Expedition. These I bought for their beauty and wickedness. I am a little bit of a knife nut, I always have at least 2 blades on me somewhere. I am also anxiously awaiting my new MercWorx folder. BTW, I'm just a lowly E6 in the Army(hoping to escape from recruiting to go play in the sand box).

Joshua Reis
 
Help a poor biker out, here, please.

I'm always befuddled why a civilian always covets what a military guy has or needs. I mean, my suburb rarely gets overrun with insurgent forces. We get drunken teens a few times per month.

Yeah, I'm a loyal Strider client, but not because of what he sells to other people. I've been OCD for so long that I've grown sick of oilling and polishing every item I touch. I want solid implements.

True, I own an AR and a SnG, but I also bought an F-150, a Harley, a SOG Tomcat and Wraptor hiking shoes for the same reason.

Now, some SF guy might own a SnG, and I hope he does. But does he opine, "Gee, I wonder what Ichabod is carrying today?"
 
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