What to consider in a good tactical self-defense knife

[Providence Ranch]

Maybe I haven't stated this clearly. My goal.is NOT to get into a knife fight. My goals are:

1. To learn how to defend against a knife attack, and
2. To learn to use a knife to defend myself if the gun is not practical or appropriate.

I'm neither looking for a knife fight, nor a gun fight. But I think wed all agree, if you find yourself in one, its a good idea to survive it.

[JD Beam]

I will not buy expensive knives anymore, the few I have left are staying with my camping and hiking gear. I almost always carry a knife with me, of course I use it every day I am at work. I have found that the walmart 1$ lock blades are awesome. They hold up decently, keep a blade decently and if I nick the blade or just all around mess it up or snap the blade off... Well I don't care it was a dollar. If a cop decided that he doesnt want me to have it on me outside of work and confiscates it (stupid city ordinance against lock blade knives) then I won't really be out a ton of money for the cost of the knife or time going threw the courts to get it back.

[blazemyowntrails]

I will not buy expensive knives anymore, the few I have left are staying with my camping and hiking gear. I almost always carry a knife with me, of course I use it every day I am at work. I have found that the walmart 1$ lock blades are awesome. They hold up decently, keep a blade decently and if I nick the blade or just all around mess it up or snap the blade off... Well I don't care it was a dollar. If a cop decided that he doesnt want me to have it on me outside of work and confiscates it (stupid city ordinance against lock blade knives) then I won't really be out a ton of money for the cost of the knife or time going threw the courts to get it back.

This is an excellent point. While I spend a lot (too much) of money on a good self defense knife, it is dedicated to that purpose, and that purpose only. I carry that knife every day, and I do not ever open it. I don't ever open that blade, it sits in my pocket and collects dust until I clean it. The trainer version of that blade gets opened while I'm training. If I have a lot of heavy use throughout any given period of time, I'll either carry a different blade, or carry another blade in addition to the self defense knife. (Carry that blade in a different manner because speed and muscle memory doesn't matter.) Those are the knives I don't care about using heavily, being razor sharp, or breaking. Funny, I spend a lot of money on something I never use except to practice. But I guess we all do that with our handguns now, don't we?

On another note unrelated to the above quote, I can't believe some of the responses to this thread. The same guys claiming to be always prepared, and not walking around in their own home unarmed, and not answering their front door without a gun in hand, and not sleeping without a flashlight, shotgun, handgun, pepper spray and baseball bat nearby... the same guys who go out on a daily basis with a gun, and a backup gun.... the guys who have a BOB, and know exactly how fast it takes to bug out... but they wanna razz you about wanting to carry a knife, and wanting to know how to use it. I call BS, "Tactical Teds." You want him to be prepared for ANYTHING, as long as it goes BOOM!

OP- Get yourself a knife. Find a LEGITIMATE training source, and go hog wild. *Note* finding a legitimate training source often involves finding many terrible ones. And finding terrible ones is often impossible if you haven't found a good one. Sorry, but this paradox has been making me mad for the duration of this thread's lifespan...

[BluesStringer]

I am looking for helpful suggestions as to the selection of a good tactical knife. So...any suggestions?

I do have a suggestion or two, and also an observation or two. I'll start with an observation about the above question, and what I think is a misconception you have about what "tactical" knives are designed for. Most tactical knives are neither designed nor marketed as weapons. Most have more design features dedicated to cutting certain types of material, like a serrated edge will go through seat-belt webbing quite a bit easier than a straight edge, which is why so many popular tactical designs have a combo edge - part serrated and part plain edge. They're intended for LE and rescue personnel in dealing with traffic accidents and such. The one-handed opening feature is likewise related. Working with an accident victim in tight quarters where maybe one hand has to maintain pressure on an open wound, while having to extract from a pocket, open and start using a knife on the seat-belt with the other, is a fairly common scenario for which "tactical knives" are designed and needed.

Now, of course, a knife is a weapon too, both historically and potentially in today's world, though knives that are designed for inflicting deadly wounds on humans aren't called "tactical" knives, they're called swords, or kukris, or Bowies.. If you've got your heart set on learning how to knife-fight, have at it, but my answer to your question about suggesting good "tactical knives" won't have much to do with how good of weapons they make.

Good tactical knife suggestions....One of the more common compromises that users have to make with a tactical knife is the desire to open and close the blade one-handed. The way that compromise is usually met is in the locking system. A lock-back is certainly among the toughest kind of lock, if not the toughest, but they are typically difficult to close safely with one hand. One-handed opening is easy enough with modern lock-backs though, and one of my faves is the Spyderco Native II or III in VG-10 blade steel.



Cold Steel's "Tri-Ad" locking system is very strong too. Here's a good description of how it works. However, Cold Steel uses lower quality steels than I prefer. That doesn't necessarily make a knife junk, but it does affect how sharp it has the potential to get, and how well (or poorly, as the case may be) it retains the edge once it gets sharp. Most (maybe all) of Cold Steel's folders, regardless of locking system, use AUS8 steel, which is not the worst steel you can buy, but at the lower end of the spectrum.

One of my favorite locking systems is the frame lock. It's similar to a liner lock, but stronger and many times made out of higher-end materials, such as Titanium or higher-end stainless steel. There are a ton of great frame locks out there, many that are specifically designed with the LEO, soldier and every day hard-user in mind. My EDC is a Bradley Alias I. Titanium handles and locking bar, S30V blade steel (a VERY durable blade steel), ambidextrous thumb-stud, phosphorus-bronze pivot bushings....it's my dream knife that I got about a year or so ago, and it knocked all of my other folders out of the rotation, probably for good....which means I have some other good folders for sale, so PM me if you're interested. LOL Anyway, this is mine, and I'll show you at least one close up of how the frame lock works:







If size and weight aren't particularly your concern, another great frame lock is the Zero Tolerance ZT300 series offerings. Also S30V, also Titanium, but they add a textured G10 scale to the non-locking-bar side of the handle and this is a BEEFY knife. They come in a few different colors and blade coating options:







Oh, and the Zero Tolerance 300 series knives are "assisted openers," meaning they have a spring-loaded system that kicks in after the user has started deploying the blade to about 30º, unlike a full-auto-opener (switchblade) that deploys the blade via spring for the 180º of travel by just pushing a button or other activating system. I've heard of exceptions to this rule, but in most jurisdictions, assisted openers are legal even if autos are not.

Probably the most common of tactical knives is the liner-lock. They work similarly as the frame lock, but the locking liner is typically much thinner material than a frame lock, and therefore has less mating surface against the blade, and thus not as strong a system. But they're adequate for most users. Here's a couple or three of mine that used to find themselves in my pocket often before I got the Bradley:

Kershaw Cyclone:


Kershaw Blur w/S30V blade:


Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT) Crawford/Kasper Fighter:



CKRT Ryan Plan 7:



Browning Ice Storm w/VG-10 blade steel:



Hope that helps. Good luck!

[wooddoctor]

Nice collection Blues! Nice photos as well!

[Firefighterchen]

Hey providence, any update on how the class and what knife you ended up getting?

I have two Kbar TDI knives now. Like another poster said, I never use it, it stays razor sharp, the only time I will ever use it is if I have to. It allows me to keep my immediate vicinity defended. No one will lay a dangerous hand on me or my firearm without getting cut.

[DarrellM5]

First let me answer the "why bring a knife to a gunfight?" posts. There are places I can't legally carry a gun (work, post office, government buildings, etc..) and places that it's very hard to carry an easily accessible gun (Kalifornia, Washington D.C., etc...). I always carry 2 tactical folders and a multi-tool. Also, it's a good idea to have at least one knife you can quickly deploy for handgun retention. If someone's fighting me for my gun, they're going to get cut really bad.

I personally carry several different models, but they all meet some basic criteria.
> Quality steel from a reputable company.
> Solid locking mechanisms like frame locks or other secure sytems. I don't carry any with a liner lock or a lockback system.
> An adequate hilt or finger notch to prevent your hand from sliding forward onto the blade while stabbing. This is very common in knife fights.
> Ambidextrous clip and a blade that's easy to deploy with one hand.

Some of the brands that I carry are Zero Tolerance, Benchmade, SOG, CRKT and Emerson.