Spyderco Forums

This includes any brand at the present time. That's why I placed this in an off topic thread.

Mine at present is the Spartan Blades Akribis.

An ASP, pepper spray, and a Glock. I do not want to get close enough to get hurt myself.

If I had to choose, a regular old Ka-Bar would do nicely.

Agrees with Doc Dan on the close thingy...I choose a Bill Bagwell Custom ****'s Belle Bowie Knife.....Doc:)

Can I bring a machete?

Civilian. Because, right?

I guess whatever I'm carrying, since I don't buy and carry with SD in mind. I think most of my knives would fall into the tactical category. If I had to name a favorite for that role, I'd have to say Yojimbo 2.

Same here. I don't buy many knives. Only those I plan to use. Whichever is on me. My Military or one of my two Microtech Halo replicas.

My favorite tactical Knife?? Well it's a photo finish, running neck to neck with three of my all time favorites>> First and foremost I can't forget my treasured Spyderco C-60 Ayoob models :cool: Second and running very close to the finish line are my Benchmade ( sorry about the language ladies :o ) models 640 & 650 Boguszewski Spike models and of course my VG-10 first run Spyderco Matriarch.

There are others in the fixed blade category I think that deserve honorable mention>> first would be the Spyderco/Perrin STREETBEAT. Second would be my dearly beloved TEMPERANCE 1 models ( PE & SE). I've yet to snag a SOUTHFORK but I'm confident that it will be up at the top as well.

When it comes to folders I definitely like one with a well defined point like all the first three I mentioned. The CIVILIAN is one that surely demands respect but it's just a tad too big for my medium sized hands... But the Matriarch does fine for me as I'm much more confident carrying it instead.

I would say it's what's most comfortable to your own personal hands >> because if you are not confident with the grip and handling ability of the knife then the most wicked and most sharp knife in the entire market place won't do you much good when "PUSH COMES TO SHOVE" and I hope to dear GOD that never happens again for me as it did a few years back. It's truly an individual's preference when all is said.

Ah, I gotta say I really like my CRKT M16-14LE. Spyderco isn't the only company that had success with Taiwan factories. I have an older one with a 4" AUS8 tanto blade and an aluminum handle, and no annoying autolawks system that I refuse to capitalize. That knife has been abused quite a bit and still opens smoothly and locks up strong, and I have full confidence that it could still safely and effectively inflict damage to others. It's got some serious chips/dents in the edge though, so it's gonna hurt.

Though if I really wanted to go spec ops on someone and I forgot my gun in the car or something, I probably would grab my traditional USMC Ka-Bar and pretend I'm Tommy Lee Jones in The Hunted. Or even better, one of those knife fights from Dune! That was a long movie...

What about a Street Beat or Street Bowie for a fixed blade and the PPT Sprint for a folder?

Johnnie1801 wrote:What about a Street Beat or Street Bowie for a fixed blade and the PPT Sprint for a folder?

The PPT suggestion made me think of Boris the bullet dodger. "Heavy is reliable. If it does not work, you can always hit him with it."


In the completely ridiculous hypothetical situation where I know I'm going to be in a knife fight and can't avoid it, then I'd have to say the Warrior since I'm pretty sure it was designed with this in mind. If it's something completely unexpected then I'll make do with what I have on me obviously, but I would hope it was my Manix XL, and maybe the Yojimbo as a second place.

What is the definition of "tactical" knife anyway?

If I could only bring one knife into a combat situation, it would either be something like Becker BK-2 (a thick sharpened pry bar) or my South Fork, because it's the South Fork.

TomAiello wrote:What is the definition of "tactical" knife anyway?

I understand "tactical" to be not a physical property, but a behavior, as in small-unit tactics on the battlefield.

If you subscribe to the idea that you are the weapon and your knife/gun/whatever is just the tool, you have to regard the "tactical knife" as a fetish intended by sellers to enliven to the imaginings of buyers for whom combat is a Hollywood idea, rather than the repulsive thing it is. Witness Memorial Day.

For a knife to be truly tactical, it would need to stop its owner from being in dicey neighborhoods without coordinated backup by, say, a dozen other people.

This said, can some people kill others with a butter knife? You doubtless know the answer to that.

What I think this thread amounts to is what might be better than a butter knife in a fight...

wrdwrght wrote:

TomAiello wrote:What is the definition of "tactical" knife anyway?

I understand "tactical" to be not a physical property, but a behavior, as in small-unit tactics on the battlefield.

If you subscribe to the idea that you are the weapon and your knife/gun/whatever is just the tool, you have to regard the "tactical knife" as a fetish intended by sellers to enliven to the imaginings of buyers for whom combat is a Hollywood idea, rather than the repulsive thing it is. Witness Memorial Day.

For a knife to be truly tactical, it would need to stop its owner from being in dicey neighborhoods without coordinated backup by, say, a dozen other people.

This said, can some people kill others with a butter knife? You doubtless know the answer to that.

What I think this thread amounts to is what might be better than a butter knife in a fight...

That may have been the original definition, but at this point it's just a way of saying the knife will be used "ballistically" against flesh, and must be deployed quickly in a likely stressful situation. Your objection would be like objecting to the word "Organic" being used for food on the grounds that even non-organic foods contain organic compounds. It's just a way of saying something.

Obviously, whatever your stance on whether or not it's even worthwhile to discuss, you have to admit that certain knives will be better than others at such a task for a variety of reasons. No one has answered: "kiwi slipit" for instance. In spite of any moral objections, it is a possible use of a knife, and if you don't foresee yourself doing it, feel free to not participate in the discussion. I don't see people jumping into threads on processing fish and point out that a skilled fisherman could use any knife sharper than a butter knife. There are knives that are better for gutting/scaling fish, and if people want to discuss that, then cool. A majority of the discussions here are in the realm of the academic anyway, so I don't see the harm.

Additionally, Spyderco has described several of its products as "tactical" and I don't think they have some sort of nefarious plan to profit off all those mall-ninja fantasies. Are they not described as making the "first tactical folder?"

Of the knives I have now, I probably favor a Randall No. 1-7 as a "tactical" knife. The "7" refers to blade length. In theory, I would like something a bit larger and sturdier, perhaps a Randall 12-9, with a No. 14 grind, but I have never handled one, so can only speculate on that. Actually, a Randall No. 14 might be my ideal choice, but not with the standard finger-grooved handle; the "Border Patrol" handle option would work much better for my hands.

A bad right shoulder might inhibit my ability to use a larger blade, and that shoulder is getting worse, so my preference is subject to change, especially if my left hand has to become my normal knife hand. I use my left hand for writing and other such fine motor skills*, and I tend to favor a Strider PS Karambit as a lefty blade. (Mine are actually Mick Strider Customs, not labeled PS, but they are based upon the PS pattern.)

*Linear thrusting, and chopping, are better done as a "rightie." To some degree, I am ambidextrous, but my hands and arms are not equally-skilled. Must be dain bramage...

wrdwrght wrote:

TomAiello wrote:What is the definition of "tactical" knife anyway?

I understand "tactical" to be not a physical property, but a behavior, as in small-unit tactics on the battlefield.

Tactics, as relative to strategy, is similar to the idea that once it is decided what needs to be done (strategy), the other (tactics) is how to do it. Like I advise on my self defense blog about carrying a gun, the best one is the one you have with you at the time you need one. Same with knives I'd say.

So, given that a "tactical" situation may arise and a knife might be the only tool available, a discussion on which one would be better may have some value. I think it is a situational and personal judgement. Personally, I am not trained even minimally for knife fighting. I might be able to use one in conjunction with my level of hand-to-hand experience, but I'd stand a good chance of cutting myself in the process. For me, the best knife to use in a "tactical", hand-to-hand situation, that I would be likely to actually carry on my person regularly, would definitely be the Civilian.

A Warrior might be the better choice or the Schepp Rock, but I'm not going to be packing one of those on a daily basis. I think that means, for a reasonable discussion some ground rules need to be established to be a more objective means of comparison, like an EDC that is also a tactical use knife, or fixed blades only, or certain size limits.

Just an idea.

Knives, as tools, matter, of course, but as I've suggested before, I imagine Michael Janich could take me down with a spoon. His mind and muscle memory, each behavioral, are what is "tactical", not the tool he wields.

demoncase wrote:Civilian. Because, right?

I'm in the same camp as "demoncase" but instead of the Civilian I tend to like it's little sister the "MATRIARCH" better because it fits my hand absolutely perfect. I was lucky and got one of the original, first run VG-10 models from the early 2000s and it's been a great SD blade>> not that I've ever had to use it for SD but it was there if I needed it and it fit my hand so well that I have complete confidence in it.

But I can't stop there because Spyderco has two more knives I like for that reason and I carry my C-60 Ayoob Sprint with the G-10 handle a lot when I got out for the evenings. That Ayoob C-60 model has a great feel and it also fits my hand like a glove. That blade has so much belly to it that it is always at an angle of attack.

Now with fixed blades I like the original Temperance 1 model for the same reasons I listed above>> the handle on the Temp 1 fits me like a tailor made glove and has a blade that sharpens up like a straight razor. And I also love my STREETBEAT>> my late best friend even used the STREETBEAT as his everyday EDC knife and he wore it on his ankle until the day he died. Those are some that I would lean on for self defense just in case something bad were to arise in my path>> But as I get older I'm learning that avoidance is the best remedy when it comes to dealing with no so nice people and/or criminals.

"There are no tactical knives, only tactical minds" - Fred Perrin

One at the muzzle end of a rifle....