I need help picking a fighting knife.

[Private Sanders]

I am 19, live with my parents, and have never been allowed to own weapons. My sister, who is 25 and lives with us, is allowed to have swords and knives, and owns several. As I am currently in the process of joining the US military, I have reason to believe that if I were to ask for a knife for my birthday I would receive it. The only fighting knives I'm familiar with, however, are the Ka-Bar, Bowie, Kukri, and Fairbairne-Sykes. I like them all, but only want to ask for one knife, want to ask for something that can be ordered from Amazon or another reputable online dealer based in the US (I don't want to ask my parents to undergo the hassle of shipping a weapon in from overseas), and don't want to ask for something that costs more than 30 or 40 dollars. I need recommendations on which knife to choose. If any of you know of good knives other than the four I listed, I am very eager to hear your recommendations. This will be the first weapon I have owned.  

[Fresnel]

The basic, no-frills KA-BAR runs about $50, and it's pretty much the best fixed-blade knife in its price range. As they get more ornamental the price goes up, but I doubt you want a VIETNAM VETERAN GOLD INLAID KA-BAR anyway. The F-S probably outclasses the KA-BAR for pure fighting, but you'll hardly ever use a knife for fighting as often as you use it for other menial bullshit jobs, and the KA-BAR kicks a** at those.

Oh, and a real, GOOD Kukri runs about $175 and up, so that's pretty much out.

Come to think of it, Glock has been making field knives longer than they've been making pistols, and they've gotten quite good at it. I think one of our regs has one... Armas, maybe? I hear it's a hell of a knife, and Amazon has them at under $30.  

[Buki_Actual]

Fresnel

The basic, no-frills KA-BAR runs about $50, and it's pretty much the best fixed-blade knife in its price range. As they get more ornamental the price goes up, but I doubt you want a VIETNAM VETERAN GOLD INLAID KA-BAR anyway. The F-S probably outclasses the KA-BAR for pure fighting, but you'll hardly ever use a knife for fighting as often as you use it for other menial bullshit jobs, and the KA-BAR kicks a** at those.

Oh, and a real, GOOD Kukri runs about $175 and up, so that's pretty much out.

Come to think of it, Glock has been making field knives longer than they've been making pistols, and they've gotten quite good at it. I think one of our regs has one... Armas, maybe? I hear it's a hell of a knife, and Amazon has them at under $30.

Could have gotten a Glock field knife at Crossroads for $25. Was tempted, but I already have a good fixed blade.

You could get this Cold Steel Thrower for about $30. Pretty solidly made and it has real cordage on the grip.

I was thinking about getting the Counter Tac 1, but if I had to use it, retarded CA judges would be all HERP DERP DAGGER HURR.  

[Recon_Ninja_985]

m1917 bayonet.
those ******** are like swords.

but in all seriousness a good fixed blade at least 3 inches will do.
if you want my opinion, for home defense a baseball bat or a foot long machete might do better.
for every day carry I reccommend a non-serrated kabar TDI. it's a good concealable fixed blade.



I have an email saved from suarez international that focuses on how a good knife should be. i'll see if I can dig it up  

[Recon_Ninja_985]

ok, here we go.
copy pasting from a saurez international email. (aka warriortalk.com)

KNIFE FIGHTING POINTS
Ten Points About The Fighting Knife

1). The knife is always with you, even in places where the gun cannot go.

2). It becomes the first line of weaponry when the pistol is not available by choice, policy, inaccessibility or loss.

3). If things have gotten bad enough to need the knife, the use of the knife should be aggressive, brutal and terminal, and not "defensive".

4). There is a place for using a knife against the unarmed adversary if that adversary is younger, stronger or faster than you are...or more numerous.

5). There is a place for keeping them away with your edge, but there is also a place for closing and stabbing.

6). A knife worthy of combat carry should facilitate stabbing and be simple and instictive to use.

7). The more complicated and complex a knife is, and the more elaborate its system of use, the less desirable it is.

8 ). Conversely, the simpler the knife and the system and more gross motor dependant it is, the better it will do in a fight.

9). A fixed blade is more desirable than a folder, but a folder may be required in some applications. If a folder is used, the lock should be robust and not technically clever.

10). Learn to be violent with your knife



Ten Attributes To Select Your Fighting Knife

1). Sharp as hell and pointy as f***, you can't stab anyone or cut anyone with a dull round nosed blade. If this sounds vulgar, it is. There is nothing dainty about ramming a 3" piece of steel into a man's thrioat and tiwsting it as he fights to get it out.

2). Point in line with the handle. Upswept blades may be the acme of the knifemaker artist, but they suck eggs for ramming through a clavicle.

3). Long enough...but not too long. We hear that about lots of things.

4). Rough handle. Either G-10 or rough designed zytel handles. When you stab another man, his juices will get all over your blade and hand.

5). Solid lock. Liner locks suck. I don't care how graceful or cool they are...they suck. Axis lock as seen with benchmade or with Cold Steel is the way to go, or with an old style lockback design.

6). Solid opening method. This being 2009, and the "Wave" concept being as old as the pyramids now....a combat blade should have a wave feature if it is a folder.

7). Good steel. That does NOT mean stainless. I don't give an airborne fornication about stains on my knife...I WANT IT SHARP!

8 ). Again, if a folder, it needs a movable clip so operators may carry it as desired. The more I work on this Killing-focused system, the more I am liking reverse grip - edge in. That means for a righty, you carry point up- blade forward.

9). It must be cost-effective. Notice I did not say CHEAP. Cheap knives are for fags. Cost-effective means that if I decide to ditch it, I will not be heart broken to lose my special one-of-a-kind....nor will that special one-of-a-kind be tied to me.

10). There should be a boatload of them out there in society....like Glocks. Thus you cannot be identified or tied to the gear you use.

If some of this stuff sounds like it comes from the world of the criminal rather than the world of the law abiding good guy, it does. One does not go to a clean shaven altar boy to learn to cut a throat.


Ten Points About Using The Knife In A Fight

1). A fighting is knife is fueled by rage and ferocity, not by cleverness and showmanship. I recall seeing CWS go ape (or was it AMOK) on a knife expert we brought in one year. The best the very clever and artistic knife expert could do was match CWS stab for stab. But that was after CWS had stabbed him three or four times.

2). Learn to stab....HARD

3). Learn to hold the knife in a way that you will not lose it when you STAB HARD.

4). Since few of us go about with a 10" bowie, learn your targets. You may not be able to behead an attacker, but you can in fact rip out his jugular even with a 2" box cutter.

5). Footwork gets you off the line of the attack, but also gets you close enough to STAB HIM HARD.

6). The instant you pull steel your intent should be to stick it in his neck and rip it out a different way, and not to spar, fend, or ask him to stay back.

7). The grip area of your knife MUST be rough enough to stay in your hand if your hand is covered with blood (hopefully not yours).

8 ). The point must be in line with your stab. A Cold Steel Scimitar of a Spyderco Chinook do not have this, but a Cold Steel AK-47 and a Spyderco Endura do.

9). To train it, each knife must have an identical trainer (dulled knife) and a wooden/rubberized trainer (like Nok's). The identical trainer is used for technical and access drills. The wooden type trainer is used for attacking the heavy bag or the stabbing post.

10). Contrary to the advice of others, use your fighting knife for everything. From opening letters to cutting cheese or tomatoes. Handle your knife daily, keep it sharp, keep it handy. make accessing it as natural as scratching your butt.
 

[Private Sanders]

I searched "Glock Knife" on Amazon, but did not find any Glock knives. I DID, however, find some rather attractive looking Smith & Wesson knives:

Smith & Wesson SWHRT9B Black HRT Boot Knife

Smith & Wesson CKSUR1 Bullseye Search and Rescue 10.5" Fixed Blade Powder Coat

Smith & Wesson SW423B Oasis Linerlock Knife, Black

Any thoughts on these? So far it's between these three and the Counter Tac 1 Lt Buckner mentioned, and I could only have one. Which one would be best to choose?

As for what I'm doing, I'm going into the US Army in a Military Intelligence MOS or as a watercraft operator or aircraft electrician (I was originally planning to go Navy, and took the ASVAB for them, so I have to meet my Army recruiter today and transfer the Navy paperwork to the Army.).  

[Das Rabble Rouser]

WWI trench knife.  

[Fresnel]

Jackie Flores

I searched "Glock Knife" on Amazon, but did not find any Glock knives. I DID, however, find some rather attractive looking Smith & Wesson knives:

Smith & Wesson SWHRT9B Black HRT Boot Knife

Smith & Wesson CKSUR1 Bullseye Search and Rescue 10.5" Fixed Blade Powder Coat

Smith & Wesson SW423B Oasis Linerlock Knife, Black

Any thoughts on these? So far it's between these three and the Counter Tac 1 Lt Buckner mentioned, and I could only have one. Which one would be best to choose?

As for what I'm doing, I'm going into the US Army in a Military Intelligence MOS or as a watercraft operator or aircraft electrician (I was originally planning to go Navy, and took the ASVAB for them, so I have to meet my Army recruiter today and transfer the Navy paperwork to the Army.).

I just searched "Glock knife" on Amazon and found several Glock Knives. This was my first hit.

ETA: of the four, I'd go for the second Smith. Looks like a cheaper version of a KA-BAR, but really for that I'd pay the extra twenty bucks and go authentic. They haven't kept their name around for eighty years because of TV commercials and billboards, that's for sure. Oh, and the Cold Steel knife is $100. ALL Cold Steel knives are worth half of what you pay for them. They make mall ninja knives and sell them to mall ninjas who never actually use their knives to defend themselves.  

[Private Sanders]

After my meeting with the Army recruiter, it seems that I will be enlisting as in a military intelligence MOS, such as Civil Affairs Specialists or one of the analyst jobs. Which would be more useful for such a job: a fixed or folding blade?  

[Requiem ex Inferni]

I rather want an Eickhorn KM2000. Don't know what you guys think of tanto blades, but I rather like the look of it, and it's got a pretty good reputation. Only problem is that it's almost $200 on Amazon.  

[Private Sanders]

Requiem in Mortis

I rather want an Eickhorn KM2000. Don't know what you guys think of tanto blades, but I rather like the look of it, and it's got a pretty good reputation. Only problem is that it's almost $200 on Amazon.

I feel the exact same way. That thing is awesome.  

[Whence it Flows]

Jackie Flores

After my meeting with the Army recruiter, it seems that I will be enlisting as in a military intelligence MOS, such as Civil Affairs Specialists or one of the analyst jobs. Which would be more useful for such a job: a fixed or folding blade?

A ******** huge fixed blade so you can show off just how OPERATOR and WARRIOR your job is.

In all seriousness, a three-inch folder.  

[Maddness91]

i had This (the search and rescue from above) for a brief time and it was a good knife... my friend has it and the tanto version of the same knife and this one is his standard carry knife when he goes camping (not weak camping, like week long canoe treks through Algonquin Park) so yeah u would not be unhappy with it, though that being said, it's stainless steel and not the best knife u could get...  

[Recon_Ninja_985]

fixed blade dept



and one of the few OTF knives worth a damn



orrr you can just get a vietnam era $15-20 m16 bayonet, which would probably hold an edge better than most knives in your price range  

[Valkyrie Hatter]

I would suggest a Jimmy Lile knife but recently all his producton knives have been nothing but commoratives to the Rambo movies and run from $35 to $200 dollars.

The cheapest one I found was $35 dollars on google shopping and it was an original Rambo II knife not a decorative ******** had a 10 inch blade on it, a compass and a hollow survival knife handle with a checkered grip.