[The Tourist]

I'd like to share some ideas about knives during this deer and holiday season that might save you some time and money, besides getting you better performance. And trust me, I've already made every mistake possible.

The most common question I get asked is, "What's the best knife/steel?"

Without trying to be a [email protected]$$, I ask what they need to cut. And the information is more important than you might think. And of course, your budget plays a very important part.

I've found Japanese laminate knives to be the best choice for kitchen use and food preparation--bar none. Oh, you can get a wicked edge on a premium Wustoff, but you can darn near do surgery with a Masahiro with a polished edge. Just about anyone can afford some of their models.

If you're a hunter, my advice could go one of three ways. That is, camp use, field dressing and caping.

For use around the camp for general use you cannot beat a Buck 119. Been there, done that, bugs fixed long ago. Everyone should own one. If you need something stronger, get a small axe.

For field dressing, get a name brand high carbon, low chromium 4-inch knife, either folding or fixed configuration. Something that is easy to clean seems the best advice. It's not necessary to break the pelvis, and if you insist on that style of field dressing, a small saw might be better. Again, a polished edge around 20 degrees is about right.

Finally, if you do get that trophy 6x6 elk, and you have the skill to do your own caping, get a small, fixed blade knife. Since the knife will see no use for any other job in camp, you may want to try the excellent cutting service of a carbon steel knife. The blade should have a wicked tip, a painfully thin blade and tightest angle you can maintain without the edge crumbling. If it dulls after one use, so be it.

As for steel, I'm a stainless fan. The technology in the last ten years has negated the stainless vs. carbon steel debate. True, there's nothing like the "packed edge" of a forged carbon knife with a mirror finish, but such a knife requires more care. It most likely will stain and tarnish.

I like the family of 154-CM, BG-42, VG-10 and the newer S30V. My wife's knife of CPM-440V (S60V) is quite glass-hard and can chip. It does have superior edge retention. **** Strider once wrote that most users could not tell the difference in a well made knife, anyhow. And I believe it. I also believe in quality heat-treat.

If you are lucky enough to own a knife heat-treated by Paul Bos, congratulations. You own a fine knife, and I'm jealous. I am proud of the fact that I own four of his knives, and each one cuts like a chainsaw. My wife owns a small Buck Mini-Alpha Hunter with a Bos' blade. It has a Loveless style drop-point that is by far the standard.

I do dabble in space-age stuff. I have to, I have to sharpen anything a client hands me. In that vein, I also own a new Spyderco made from ZDP-189 laminate. It is my understanding that Spyderco made about +/-600 of the knives and for some reason has decided to make it a short run. My guess is the expense of production and then the final end-cost to the client.

However, yikes, the edge scares me.

I recommend that you shop for knives like you shop for Wig-Wam socks, good boots, warm jackets and sleeping bags. Buy the best you can afford that fits your needs and your hands. Learn to sharpen, keep it clean. Keep a knife handy like you would your wallet or keys.

Then when it's really valuable in your life, give it to your grandchild.

 

[jjl_05rkc]

As a former jarhead my favorite is and always will be a K-bar. And remember never bring a knife to a gun fight!! LOL

 

[The Tourist]

never bring a knife to a gun fight

For 90% of the defense problems, that is not only a joke but some very valuable advice. Distance is your friend, best provided by firearms. Your attacker should never get that close to you. You should always walk around in "condition yellow" keeping in mind bizarre actions by folks trying to close distance on you.

There are some major exceptions.

You may indeed find yourself grappling with an aggressor. I don't believe there are such things as "knife fights" that appear in The Westside Story. When people ask me for the best fighting knife, I respond that a rigidly defined knife is a waste of money. The very idea is the stuff of combat forums and romance novels. But if you want to buy a Bowie and shoulder holster, be my guest...

However, there are muggings and knife attacks. These events were never designed by the aggressor to be a toe-to-toe duel with knives. The attacks were to use a knife to take you out of the fight. A few years ago we a typical attack here in Madison where a guy ran up behind a woman and stabbed her in the back with a kitchen knife.

For these attacks, I just keep my regular EDC clip knife extremely sharp.

Not only will I get good daily service out of it, but it also is just as good as anything else to severe wrist tendons, throat arteries, groin muscles and the back of the knees.

But just like I told everyone on every combat forum to which I was a member, I rode in clubs for five years, routinely ending the day in sleazy saloons. We carried Buck 110s, and many of the townies carried Buck 110s.

With all of the knives, the booze, the young testosterone and the foolish pride, I never saw one knife fight, not one, ever.

(And as you can tell, I'm also a little cheesed at these ego forums where the owner foists himself off as a combat guru with credentials he doesn't have attempting to sell weapons you will never need.)

 

[vindex1963]

For 90% of the defense problems, that is not only a joke but some very valuable advice. Distance is your friend, best provided by firearms. Your attacker should never get that close to you. You should always walk around in "condition yellow" keeping in mind bizarre actions by folks trying to close distance on you.

The "condition yellow" is by far the #1 advice for anyone armed or not. The best defense is to run from the attacker, avoid the fight. I know that's a sissy response but it's better than a bullet in the chest or a knife in the ribs. If fleeing isn't an option and you pull your weapon of choice be damned ready to use it all the way to the end.

 

[jjl_05rkc]

Tourist,

Wasn't trying to get you cheesed. All your points are valid and excellent advice. Just horsing around.

 

[The Tourist]

Oh, don't worry, it wasn't you.

I was just thinking about an ego-centric martial arts guy and the forum in which he writes.

They come in all colors.

 

[shinbone1028]

Buck folder was my first real knife,and I still have it,my favorite but I don't carry it daily anymore.Nothing wrong with the knife,it took everything I could abuse it with for 20 yrs.Sheath broke,I started carrying a clip knife in my pocket and it's so much lighter and easier to carry,I never went back. I carry a leatherman on the belt now.I just got a new clip knife I really like,its a Shane Sloan model called the delta 5,it's got a unique locking mechanism that allows you to open it with a flick of the wrist,very useful,for work of course.
Have you ever heard of it Tourist? I got it from bud k for 9.00,seems like a real quality knife for the price so I tried to order another one,but it is now unavailable in Ca. I guess the state thinks we all use our knives to fight with.

I did see a knife fight once in Ponce PR,well,!/2 a knife fight,1 guy with a knife and 1 with a club. The club won,no contest.I never considered a knife for fighting after that. Unless you're trained like Benecio Delto..whatever his name is, in The Hunted.

 

[teegee]

The only thing I really remember from the training I received was that if you actually got into a knife fight (both people armed) "you're gonna get cut".

I carry a gun.

The advice for camp, kitchen, field is in my opinion, excellent.

 

[jjl_05rkc]

Oh, don't worry, it wasn't you.

I was just thinking about an ego-centric martial arts guy and the forum in which he writes.

They come in all colors.

Good to go. I studied Kempo many years ago when I was a young Marine. The instructor was the real deal. At the time 6th degree in Okinawan Kempo and a 6th in Weapons. Also a 3rd in Hawaiian Kempo. He was a Vietman Vet, grunt, the whole deal. Hard as woodpecker lips. I went to a weapons class one Saturday (with a hangover). He asked why I was so slow. I said "I'm hung over sensei, you know what I'm talkin' about" He said "No". He'd never tasted alcohol. Being a wisea$$ I asked what good is this stuff anyway if the badguy has a gun? He said calmly, "All this stuff is in case you run out of ammo". I'll never forget those words.

 

[The Tourist]

Your teacher is correct.

My point here is that knife fighting never happens. By this I mean two guys, fighting for honor, two keenly sharp Bowie knives and both the combatants "step into the light."

I have argued for years about this fighting concept, and my love for well made and properly manitained knives. The issue is that "virtual sensei" have no interest (hence, no profit) in learning how to sharpen a hunting knife.

The catterwalling usually goes, "Yes, Chico, knife fighting is rare. But I always carry a good fighter 'just in case.' Why, last week I was forced to go to a violent ******* bar whose only exit abutted a dangerous dark alley..."

I then ask these ninjas if anyone has ever been in a knife fight. *crickets*

I have come to believe that these guys overstate their credentials almost to a man. There is little real info to be gained (other than to walk in condition yellow) and you can probably learn more simply by talking to a bro recently freed from prison.

At least that fighting is real.

 

[Jams]

Interesting knife laws --> <-here->

 

[The Tourist]

Very interesting, thanks for the link.

As I have often stated, the main problem with views like this is that it assumes that the primary use for a knife is as a weapon. I have even heard guys in knife forums openly admit that when they slip their EDC into their pocket that the main goal is to arm themnselves.

No wonder they take our nail clippers at airports. We tell each other it's a weapon.

We show shoulder holsters for large knives in national magazines. This constant bad press convinces LEOs that knives made for them as rescue tools are, in fact, weapons.

My own city of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin will not allow their officers to carry a S&W Special Ops knife, designed primarily for cutting seat belts and extracting injured drivers.

And yet, no real knife fighting ever occurs.

 

[Jams]

I always wondered how the law could find a fix blade knife illegal with a blade length longer than 3" as if only a blade that long could reach a vital organ yet we saw how deadly box cutters can be in the hands of someone with evil intent. :huh:

 

[The Tourist]

I've asked several Wisconsin LEOs the same question. (One third to 1/2 of my friends are Leos, and I believe I am getting the truth.)

Here, length means nothing, it's intent.

They know I carry autos and blades over 4-inches.

I'm a graybeard now and only fight when provoked. The LEOs ask to see my autos in case they wish to make a future purchase.

They always hand the knife back. Then again, they know that knives are my job. YMMV.