What knives do Special Forces use?

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When it comes down to it , it really doesnt matter as long as you brought one.
 
I suspect, for the majority, something small and light enough that it doesn't significantly increase the load they're lugging around already, and cheap enough that if they lose it or break it they can just shrug it off and go buy another.
 
cards94 said:
a folding knife is a broken knife in special ops.
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This statement is so ignorant, but I guess you are indeed entitled to your opinion...

Then again, maybe you have forgotten what a "knife" truly is supposed to offer to you...

Regardless, most of the soldiers I have come in contact with will carry multi-tools mainly... and a folder... When asked about a fixed blade they laughed and told me in 100+ degree weather the last thing you want is another 1 or 2LBS to add to your load... when their already carrying 80-100 LBS of gear and forget about it in mountainous terrain..

Also... in todays "modern" combat field, the engages happen from hundreds of yards away, soldiers aim through optics to take pot shots at the enemy... it isn't trench warfare were soldiers duke it out with fists and knives...

Only rarely would any soldier need to use a knive to "drop some1", and if a 3-4" folder cant achieve that then you need to get some training with knives...
 
My nieces husband I an Airborne Ranger. He carries an Emerson CQC7B. Says there are a lot of Spydercos & Benchmade. I am sure their carry habits are quite diverse.
 
No mention of Spartan Blades yet. I would expect to see a few amongst the tier one guys. I would also expect to see "neck knives" like the Izula, Charlie One, and CRK's Professional Soldier, which offers a fixed blade at the lowest weight.

Pohl Force Hornet comes to mind ...

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The truth will most likely disappoint you. last five years always spyderco military and often a leatherman Previously Buck 110. Always a KFS or spork ( I have titanium one as I like to show off and eat!) Very rarely a fixed blade although some do, the reason; no place to carry it, gets in the way, catches/holds up on gear (think parachuting, abseiling etc), rattles, weight, no need etc.
Spyderco military you can cut, kill, eat with it and generally that shit does not break.
 
Allmenatwar said:
The truth will most likely disappoint you. last five years always spyderco military and often a leatherman Previously Buck 110. Always a KFS or spork ( I have titanium one as I like to show off and eat!) Very rarely a fixed blade although some do, the reason; no place to carry it, gets in the way, catches/holds up on gear (think parachuting, abseiling etc), rattles, weight, no need etc.
Spyderco military you can cut, kill, eat with it and generally that shit does not break.
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Certainly makes sense. My uncle carried the old school stainless steel police a good amount. Simple is good.
 
Lol I can't believe I read all of that. Loved the war video rofl.

My brother (former 10th mountain) did a good amount of work with SF in the brown box on MIT team. Guns, explosives and leathermans were the flavor of those missions. Consider, 13lb M4 (m203, acog, infrared laser system, etc.), pistol, breaching shotgun, ammo, grenades, + your pack... yeah, who needs a big knife? He wasn't SF though, so his I will leave out his choice in knife, it was an expensive gift however.
 
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I would imagine a lot of spydies benchmades and emersons. My buddy in the marines told me they couldn't take anything overseas without a NSN and anything over 5" had to be a Ka-Bar, officially. But he was general enlist.

For special units, as someone said earlier, they generally carry whatever they want or feel they need. And that's nots just their knives either...armor, clothing, weapons... They carry whatever they are most comfortable/effective with.
 
I would think that the last thing anyone would consider packing would be something of sentimental value, like an expensive knife. Then I've also read that soldiers cannot just take knives in and out of the States, so again ... nothing sentimental/expensive. Probably buy the cheapest thing that will do the job when deployed that can be given away or left behind when returning home. I've also heard that some guys just "borrow" knives from other soldiers (ie take whatever is available on base).
 
DeathByCactus said:
Lol I can't believe I read all of that. Loved the war video rofl.

My brother (former 10th mountain) did a good amount of work with SF in the brown box on MIT team. Guns, explosives and leathermans were the flavor of those missions. Consider, 16lb M4, pistol, breaching shotgun, ammo, grenades, + your pack... yeah, who needs a big knife? He wasn't SF though, so his I will leave out his choice in knife, it was an expensive gift however.
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An M4 is more like 6 lbs, 8 lbs fully loaded down with accessories.
 
A Justice said:
An M4 is more like 6 lbs, 8 lbs fully loaded down with accessories.
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Mmhmm. It was an estimate by him given the m203, infrared laser system, acog and spending 7+ in an 100*+ desert. We had the conversation years ago. It could be how he felt about it. Care to troll harder?

E: Just did the math, comes out to roughly 13 lbs. Either way, you lug 100 lbs of gear all day at 5'3 everything feels heavy.
 
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DeathByCactus said:
Mmhmm. It was an estimate by him given the m203, infrared laser system, acog and spending 7+ in an 100*+ desert. We had the conversation years ago. It could be how he felt about it. Care to troll harder?

E: Just did the math, comes out to roughly 13 lbs. Either way, you lug 100 lbs of gear all day at 5'3 everything feels heavy.
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Settle down Francis. I get what you're saying about wanting to hump the least amount of weight possible, but it's not like every soldier is going to be carrying an M203 on their rifle at all times. One of SF's primary missions is training local militia, but I think that the operations and forces that this thread is suggesting are the intelligence gathering and reconnaissance missions that are carried out by smaller squads, deeper within enemy controlled territory (operation red wings would be a good, well known example since they made a movie about it - the information about what knives those guys carried, plus their rifle setups should be available online I would think). Get the weight for M4 + M68 CCO + ATPAL, and that would be closer to the average SF rifle on missions that are not aggressively offensive. On those missions, I think that soldiers are more likely to carry a capable fixed blade like an SRK, Ka-Bar, Ontario M9 or similar as well. Just a simple task like constructing a hide is much more time consuming with a folding knife. When you get into MITT groups, that's probably closer to the kit of forward operations, Marines, Rangers, etc.

I think that if you really wanted to know what they carried during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, there are several military communities online. It's mostly legit too, falsifying valor is a huge no no, and a big part of communities like that is investigating claims, advice for younger soldiers, veteran meet ups, etc. Also, Mark and Curtis from Spartan Blades are both ex SF. Not only would they probably contribute to this discussion if someone reached out, they could probably give you a better idea of where to go for a wider survey of active SF.
 
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