When to reach for the main blade?

[somber]

There are times that I only have my smaller blade so I train with that also, just not as much.

I have a couple questions:

• Am I the only person here that thinks about defense and trains so my family and I do not become victims of criminals?

No, there are 14K active members on BF and 169K that have registered - guarantee you're not alone.

• Furthermore, am I the only person here that doesn't think it is wrong to defend yourself and family with the tools which are legal to carry with you?

No, but a large percentage of members probably carry defensive handguns.

"In knife fighting one person goes to the hospital, the other goes to the morgue"

Good luck to you and yours.

 

[XanRa]

No, there are 14K active members on BF and 169K that have registered - guarantee you're not alone.



No, but a large percentage of members probably carry defensive handguns.

"In knife fighting one person goes to the hospital, the other goes to the morgue"

Good luck to you and yours.

The most common sense and logic I've heard on this forum since I've joined

Kudos

 

[Slowrid-Der]

"In knife fighting one person goes to the hospital, the other goes to the morgue"

That is not necessarily so. Proper training as in anything, unbalances the outcome.

Training with a knife is not as difficult as one may think. Much of the training can be done alone and if you have a partner to spar with on occasion, you will have decisive moves directing the outcome to favor you. Almost all fist fights are started with a right overhand blow. If you trained to overcome basic incoming attacks with a proper counter attack, your odds of walking away unscathed are greatly increased and the same goes for training with a knife. A criminal has little chance against someone that trains properly. PPPPPP, Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

I do envy the people that live in states that protect their freedoms. There are a lot of people that don't, making it illegal for them to carry a firearm. Do you have any suggestions for these people to be able to defend themselves other than move to a free state? What would you do if you could not carry a firearm and wanted to be able to defend yourself and family?

 

[somber]

You're logic is great! Unless the person attacking you trains, too. Or... just shoots in you the head without any provocation?
But I don't have any suggestions for people that choose to live in states that limit their freedom to protect themselves or their family.
What states is it completely illegal to acquire or carry a firearm?

 

[Slowrid-Der]

You're logic is great! Unless the person attacking you trains, too. Or... just shoots in you the head without any provocation?
But I don't have any suggestions for people that choose to live in states that limit their freedom to protect themselves or their family.
What states is it completely illegal to acquire or carry a firearm?

Most criminals do not train and someone with a gun can not stop a criminal that would shoot without provocation.

States that it is next to impossible to carry a firearm legally are Illinois, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, Hawaii and New Jersey and certain cities and counties within California and New York.

So would you say that it is better to train and then defend with a blade or do nothing and hope for the best in these states? What would you do?

 

[P2P]

If it comes down to the nitty-gritty. I'm gonna train before hand. My family is first. I will not stand aside and watch something horrible happen to them ebecause I'm afraid of a messed up judicial system.

 

[BryFry]

Everyone who carries a knife has contemplated using it defensively. Whether fleeting or diligent in that thought, that contemplation makes the action premeditated. Pretending something different will not change the facts in a courtroom. I do want to point out that I have never heard of a charge of premeditated defense before.

If I ever have to use a knife, club, brick, gun... it will be because I have no other avenue and deadly force was called for to end a situation that was life threatening.

Since a self defense handgun serves no other function, would a person who is forced to defend themselves with their handgun be guilty of something because they armed themselves premeditatedly?

Planning ahead defensively is not a crime. It is in fact, the responsibility of all humans to protect themselves and their families. If a jury decides that a victim who had a defensive plan is criminally guilty, that would still be better than screaming for help while being attacked or watching a love one being attacked and waiting for someone else to intervene.

In a high stress situation, your response will be based on what you trained to do. There is no crime in training to not be a victim.

^BIG +1:thumbup:

I have a couple questions:

• Am I the only person here that thinks about defense and trains so my family and I do not become victims of criminals?

• Furthermore, am I the only person here that doesn't think it is wrong to defend yourself and family with the tools which are legal to carry with you?

No you are not the only one.

I think alot of people get too focused on firearms and forget about the simple effectiveness of a knife. Guns can be effective, but they aren't magical, they do have drawbacks. And as you, and others, have pointed out many many times, not everyone can carry a gun in the fisrt place.

Why is this so hard for some to understand?

 

[Chris "Anagarika"]

There are many ways to defend yourselves without a knife. A solid build walking stick, umbrella (non collapsible type), etc.

Having said that, I do carry more than one, use anyone I feel like & try keeping them sharp whenever I can. In a fight usually brute force applies, a knife doesn't need to be shaving sharp to penetrate or slash, unless the angle is poor, it might glance off instead.

 

[Slider817]

In public I try to use my SAK or Leatherman on my key ring. If that doesn't cut it, or I'm around friends I'll use whatever bigger blade I have on me. I always carry both a knife on my key ring, and a larger folder

 

[BryFry]

There are many ways to defend yourselves without a knife. A solid build walking stick, umbrella (non collapsible type), etc.

True. You could also substitute "gun" for "knife" in that statement as well.

You have to admit though, that a propper folding knife has some advantages when compared to a lot of other potential weapons. Comparatively they are compact, light weight, easy to carry, easy to use, can be inexpensive, legal to carry, not to mention convenient to have on you at all times do to their extreme usefulness in day to day tasks. And being so small and useful means you are more likely to have it on you when you need it.

Personally I would choose a good knife over a stick as a weapon, and I would rather face an adversary wielding an umbrella, than one wielding a sharp knife. ...of course the effectiveness of ANY weapon will be determined by the skill of the one using it though.

 

[Chris "Anagarika"]

Totally agree, but we're moving into Practical Tactical here, not sure if direction OP meant to be ..

 

[somber]

Most criminals do not train and someone with a gun can not stop a criminal that would shoot without provocation.

States that it is next to impossible to carry a firearm legally are Illinois, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, Hawaii and New Jersey and certain cities and counties within California and New York.

So would you say that it is better to train and then defend with a blade or do nothing and hope for the best in these states? What would you do?

Sorry, I can't reasonably respond to you. You're assuming that all criminals fall into the same group, and this is a fallacy.
Secondly, I can't say what to do if you live in those states except maybe pray and make sure you're right with God before you leave the house every morning.
I don't live in those states, nor would I if I felt that I could not reasonably protect myself or my loved ones.

 

[XanRa]

One thing that bothers me personally is the lack of real practical Knowledge by people on using a knife to win- you have to know what your doing, not no fancy martial arts- proper locations and timing- every shot should be a kill shot : kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, major arteries- almost everything else is a wound and not victory- If your using deadly force- you most go in for the kill

My 2cents-

 

[Slowrid-Der]

Sorry, I can't reasonably respond to you. You're assuming that all criminals fall into the same group, and this is a fallacy.
Secondly, I can't say what to do if you live in those states except maybe pray and make sure you're right with God before you leave the house every morning.
I don't live in those states, nor would I if I felt that I could not reasonably protect myself or my loved ones.

Funny how the conversation moves to "I don't live in those states, nor would I if I felt that I could not reasonably protect myself or my loved ones." Can you up and move at will? Most can not and situations dictate you location at times. You do know that many people in these states would like to move but can't for their own reasons.

The gun is not the perfect self defense tool. I have trained against a handgun. If you have trained properly with your gun, you should know that in close fighting, the knife wins. That is fact most of the time, when in close quarters, with the gun drawn or not. The gun can be pointed at the head or chest and still, the knife wins most of the time. So if you do not have the distance, you lose and would be in need of your own prayers.

I never said there were absolutes in defense making it impossible "to reasonably respond to me." There are many variables and compromises in any kind of self defensive system.

What I do and would do, no matter where I live, is train. If I ever have to defend myself or family, I want to do as well as I can possibly do. What do you do? I hope that you do not think carrying a gun makes you safe. It is purely the training that makes carrying a gun viable. Simply having the gun and and being able to safely use it will not make you proficient with it for self defense. That kind of thinking is as you stated, fallacious.

So back to the topic, I think my point of having a main blade that is always extremely sharp and a secondary for everyday use is the best plan for me. So I will reach for mine when it is called for and not before. If my smaller blade can do the job, that is what I will use until it can't. At that point, the blade will be ready for the task, whatever that is at the time.

Nothing I have read has made me rethink my system no matter where I live. How about you, will you rethink your system?

 

[Slowrid-Der]

One thing that bothers me personally is the lack of real practical Knowledge by people on using a knife to win- you have to know what your doing, not no fancy martial arts- proper locations and timing- every shot should be a kill shot : kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, major arteries- almost everything else is a wound and not victory- If your using deadly force- you most go in for the kill

My 2cents-

In my perspective, victory is a successful escape.

 

[Poez]

It is interesting how many times a topic starting with the "tool not weapon" mantra slips into self-defence discussion, with a knife being seriously considered as an effective weapon!
Or, not really interesting - it just goes in circle...

Knife is considered as a weapon - even by many knife enthusiasts here on BF. And that is a fact - does not matter what you personally think about it. So to shock people around you by your strange behaviour or not to shock "staying undercover" - is just everybody's personal choice. I prefer to keep it to myself as much as I can - thats my choice.

 

[Medic1210]

While I understand what this thread is asking, I think the logic is a bit off. Whatever blade you are usually grabbing for menial or mundane cutting tasks is your main blade, not your backup. The thread should probably ask when do you grab for your backup. For instance, at this moment, I'm carrying a large Micarta 21 as well as a small 21 micarta Insingo. While the large resides in my front right pocket and the small resides in my right rear, the large is actually my backup because I find myself using my small most of the time. Really, in all honesty and practicality, I have no reason to carry more than one knife. I have yet to run across anything that cannot be cut by my small. I just like having more than one knife on me most of the time, even if I generally only actually use one for most things. JMHO.

 

[Christian]

While I understand what this thread is asking, I think the logic is a bit off. Whatever blade you are usually grabbing for menial or mundane cutting tasks is your main blade, not your backup. The thread should probably ask when do you grab for your backup. For instance, at this moment, I'm carrying a large Micarta 21 as well as a small 21 micarta Insingo. While the large resides in my front right pocket and the small resides in my right rear, the large is actually my backup because I find myself using my small most of the time. Really, in all honesty and practicality, I have no reason to carry more than one knife. I have yet to run across anything that cannot be cut by my small. I just like having more than one knife on me most of the time, even if I generally only actually use one for most things. JMHO.

Gotta agree with you here- my main go to blade is my Case Tribal spear, my backup is my large Sebenza 21.