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High-Performance Blades Sharing ideas for getting the most out of our steel.

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  #1  
Old 08-11-2003, 11:10 AM
Jerry Hossom Jerry Hossom is offline
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Tactically Speaking...

Let's talk tactical, assuming there are some folk on here who are into that area of knife use. What's the best tactical blade type/make and why?


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Old 08-11-2003, 01:26 PM
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Jerry Oksman Jerry Oksman is offline
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Jerry, I will give you the pat answer, the knife you have with you is THE tactical knife.


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Old 08-11-2003, 01:37 PM
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tactical -of or relating to combat tactics : as a (1) : of or occurring at the battlefront (2) : using or being weapons or forces employed at the battlefront b of an air force : of, relating to, or designed for air attack in close support of friendly ground forces
2 a : of or relating to tactics : as (1) : of or relating to small-scale actions serving a larger purpose (2) : made or carried out with only a limited or immediate end in view b : adroit in planning or maneuvering to accomplish a purpose
tactical-Of, relating to, or using tactics.

Of, relating to, used in, or involving military or naval operations that are smaller, closer to base, and of less long-term significance than strategic operations.
Carried out in support of military or naval operations: tactical bombing.
Characterized by adroitness, ingenuity, or skill.
those are definitons i found on 2 different web sites but i think we should break it down to tools, weapons,or tecniques that are used in life or death situations to get out of said situation alive and with mission intact. whether it be a dea drug raid or a night vision laced navy seal rescue mission.i consider law enforcement officials as well as emt and fire dept to be tactical fields of employment.
now what knife is best for a certain enviroment might not be good for another. for exaple an emt might need a knife that wiil cut seat belts and not the trapped person under that seat belt. where as military personel might opt for a more deadly blade with better stabbing power. the LEO might opt for a good pb auto .the fire man should opt for somthing that will be hefty enuff to pry chop and hammar plus still cut well after all that. i think that there is no best tactical knife overall. but im sure there is a best tactical knife for each individal situation the only problem is having it at the rite time. now if you could produce a knife that could morph like the t1000 in terminator 2 then we are talking bast tactical knife ever! so if we are talking using a knife to defend ones self in battel( to kill another human that is trying to kill you) i would take a dagger with a large guard and a non conductive heat restiant handle most likely a cold steel piece keeper with minor changes . or mabey a mod mark v cqd atac fixed blade fighter but just becuas it looks deadly. i do own 2 cold steel recon 1 folders and thay seem like thay would get the job done.but im quite limited in my experience with tactical needs.

sorry for such a long post.....justin
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Old 08-11-2003, 03:39 PM
Jerry Hossom Jerry Hossom is offline
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Alright, let's narrow the search. Military. You can carry anything you want.


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Old 08-11-2003, 04:41 PM
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Jerry Oksman Jerry Oksman is offline
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OK Jerry, but in most cases they don't let you carry what you want. In any case, for me (not being in the military) I would look for something around 7" of blade spear point or bowie or modified bowie. distal tapered, but not grinding at the ricasso just befor the guard. Double guard (steel), micarta or g10 handle grooved for grip. No finger grooves, for revers grip ease.

hows that to start?


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Old 08-11-2003, 05:09 PM
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I know little about this, but I would think the following parameters would be stressed for a completely utilitarian folding knife:
  • A guard area or designed hand protection for plunge cuts
  • serrations for control on the blade or upper handle
  • A handle with a hook contour for pulling or holding on in defence
  • Very heavy-duty locking mechanism
  • One-handed quick opening (deployment?)
  • sharpened partially on two sides (for defence or limited accesibility)
  • Textured non-absorbing grip for oily or--'worse'--hands
There are a million other ideas. These would be my specs *if* it was being built just for these needs.

Style? Form follows function.

Coop


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Old 08-11-2003, 05:14 PM
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Tactical is...........

In my opinion it comes down to two things.
1. Anything you are comfortable with. This means you have it with you, it is accessable and you have the will to deploy it.
2. It is very very sharp. It does not need to be pointy: It does not need to be pretty. It needs to be very very sharp.

Also, and just my opinion, but a knife should never be the primary weapon but a backup to a firearm.


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Old 08-11-2003, 09:11 PM
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aiiifish aiiifish is offline
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Before I knew that there was such a thing as a tactical blade and that I was supposed to have one on my web gear, I carried a 5 inch droped point hunter with neoprene grips on my H harness and a 10 inch bowie straped to my pack. I usually used my bowie for clearing a site for my hooch and pallet bands and my 5 inch for MRE's, toe nail cleaning etc. During my 5 years with 2nd Mar Div I only knew of one person that used an edged weapon to defend them self and that was an E-tool.

That being said....If I were now going back I would like a 7-8 inch bowieish style blade 3/16 or so thick, flat ground, Ats or S30v with g-10 or micarta with a steel butt. Sort of a jack of all trades.

Working as the medic for our local tactical team the knife that would fit the need seems to be a hell for stout 4 inch folder. None of the guys want a straight blade and they are always breaking the folders they buy.


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Old 08-12-2003, 04:40 PM
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Kevin Hagan Kevin Hagan is offline
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tactical

look at the gerber LMF for a good example, only I would like to see it done without the choil.

Kevin Hagan
Regular Army 5 years w/ a little time in Saudi and Bosnia and Kosovo.


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Old 08-15-2003, 07:36 AM
Jerry Hossom Jerry Hossom is offline
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Well, I guess I got as much philosophy as suggestions.

I am curious about one thing though. Why have some of you insisted on a flat ground blade? This is a military knife.


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Old 08-19-2003, 01:03 AM
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If you're using a knife for combat, get one that works with the combat style you've trained in. That's alot of ground to cover...

If we're talking non-military, then the situation is similar to that of a survival knife- the best knife is the one you're carrying. A scottish backsword could be very effective in a non-ballistic streetfight, but nobody is gonna use one for EDC.



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Last edited by Jerry Hossom; 08-19-2003 at 08:23 AM.
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Old 08-19-2003, 08:25 AM
Jerry Hossom Jerry Hossom is offline
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BTW, I didn't really edit your post. I was reading this one, thinking I was editing my post on the other thread. I clipped and moved the comment regarding your profile to that thread.

Brain fart! Sorry


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Old 08-19-2003, 01:18 PM
mumbleypeg mumbleypeg is offline
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Jerry, I'm always impressed by how much thought you put into your tools.

I don't consider myself any kind of tactician but here are what thoughts I can shake out of my head this morning.

For a pure Tactical knife I want a 4"-5" inch fixed blade with a false edge. I'd like a hollow grind, perhaps a recurve. I like Polkowski's designs in that they carry flat and are easily concealed. He manages to have enough handle to fill your hand but keeps the profile low for an easy carry. Since we are talking tactical and I'll add strictly self defense what I want is a fast knife that will be comfortable in a number of different hold positions, one that will orient itself easily when the pucker factor is high. If I'm in a position to use this knife things have gone wrong, distance has closed and I am trying to get out of a very bad situation. I want a knife that is very sharp and will cut on every pass and provide good penetration. I'm looking to save my life and or those close to me.

I haven't had opportunity to handle your hunter fighter but that's the neighborhood I'm thinking about.

For hard a use field \ military knife. My choice would be Walter Brends Model #2 or something like it. I like a 6" blade. I find it very easy to control the tip while providing enough length to do everything but chop. When pressed it will chop but it's not optimizing the knifes design. The design with it's length and choil allows it to be used for a very wide array of tasks. This is always the issue with combat knives\ military knives, they get called on to do a little bit of everything. One issue that I don't see discussed much is weight. If you have to shlep all your gear and part of that gear is an akward, heavy knife. You will make other choices.

I would like to see some more discussion on how s30v will be able to improve performance, especially in larger knives. The Harsey\Reeve GB\yarborough seems to take advantage of the strength of this material.

Would for example a tool steel knife design be made lighter, faster and tougher using s30v. Will this allow a thinner yet tougher knife?

Ok I'm almost through. I live in California, fixed blades are almost impossible to carry. I settle for a folder most days. I'm very fond of titanium knives with a bunch of holes drilled in them.


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Old 08-19-2003, 03:06 PM
JimmySeymour JimmySeymour is offline
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I'm no expert on this but I will give my 2 cents. I was stationed in Coronado California for awhile at a command there. That is also were they train the Navy SEALS. Every chance I had to talk with one of them about the knife they carried the answer was pretty much the same. It is whatever is issued to them. A few had custom made knives, but most just used what was issued to them. As one put it. If I have to use my knife, I'm allready dead. They depend on stealthyness. I have been told that for taking out sentries a silenced 9mm pistol is the best. Trying to slit someones throat makes a lot of noise. Most just said they wanted a knife that in a bind was tough, light, and well built. Of course all the things like no reflective surfaces, etc.. was also included. Oh and could be sharpened easily and stayed really sharp.
The Navy Divers were just the opposite. They wanted a knife that was sharp enough to cut rope, but not sharp enough to cut them. They do a lot of things like rigging underwater, wich is pretty dangerous. Could be used as a prybar, dosn't rust, non reflective, stayed sharp, and wouldn't break when used as a prybar. The navy divers are very hard on there knives. It has to be a tool that used a lot, and abused. Most of them now are being issued titanium knives and the few I talked to, really liked those, except for sharpening them. I only spoke to a few SEALS and Divers so someone else here might have a different opion, or more information on this subject.
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