I am just starting to carry and am feeling the need to also have on my person a knife to use in the event something should come up where another avenue needs to be taken. I will be carrying my Glock in a IWB. My dress is usually dress slacks and ocassionally I need to wear a suit or sports coat from time to time, etc.
What direction should I go for a solid, reliable knife? The state I am in allows me to carry a blade up to 3.9 inches.
Well... there are a lot of options. Dont fall into the all show and no go types. Stay away from those with tough sounding names too. They give them those names to cover up the trash they sell to you.
A good reasonable knife is Spyderco. I've bought one from the advice here, its a good knife. I'm partial to Benchmades though, but they are a bit spendy.
Good advice.
It's also good to avoid the mall-ninja "tactical" knives. The MOD knives and such may look really cool, but they tend to be expensive, and I wouldn't want to have to defend myself and then answer for it if I had used a "Devastator 2000 Ultra-Penetrator with the Ripper extension"...
Spyderco makes a few knives that, based on their design and the strength of their lock, they certify as combat bladecraft knives (or some similar term). Among those are the Manix and the Chinook. Not sure, but the Gunting might also be one. (I have a Gunting, and it's built like a tank!)
Be careful about the idea of having a knife for defense. I'm not trained at knife fighting, and I sympathize with the desire to have a knife because you don't have to be a knife-fighting genius to stick someone in a pinch; but knife fighting is serious stuff and if you're in a fight with someone else and you both have knives, you're probably both getting hurt. But in any event, just about any knife will work for a desperate knife fight, as long as it can be deployed quickly enough.
I am partial to Kershaw, Benchmade and Gerber. Lots of options to chose from , as well as many other good brands. Maybe pick a few you like then ask if anyone carries it?
I'm no knife expert, but the one knife I have never been without for the last four years has been my little Kershaw.
The thing has done so much for me and it's beat up, but it still works like a champ. Even when I don't have my Ka-Bar on me, I always have my Kershaw Chive.
the delica is a smaller version of the endura. i'm gonna add another thumbs up for spyderco. they're great knives, and cost much less than other knives with lower quality. i recommend either model, with the wave feature.
In Florida with a CCL switchblades are legal, so I almost always carry a 4- inch Benchmade switchblade, clipped in my front strong side pocket. When I’m dress in dress slacks, I carry a small 2.5 inch razor sharp Kershaw one finger flick open in my pocket. We travel a bunch and when out of state, I carry a 3 ½ inch Kershaw assist open instead of the Benchmade.
I’ve carried a knife since I was a young kid, and really consider it a tool, instead of a weapon.
I love my Spyderco Delica, goes great with my Glock30. Really any good quality knife will work, but I swear by Spyderco. I sound like my wife, "these shoes look great with this outfit,"lol.
KenpoTex is right on on the size...either spyderco Delica or Endura can be had for under $50.00...ya get a lot of knife for not much money me thinks...
I carry a SOG, spyderco, or benchmade depending on what I'm doing for the day. I love my SOG's as they have really stood up to all I've thrown at them. but the other two have as well.
I prefer Benchmade - My first one I had for 10 years before I decided to retire it and get a new one. Still nothing wrong with it - just would hate to lose it somehow. So I got a couple new Benchmades. I've handled the Kershaws and they are pretty nice - but I don't want one. The CRKTs that I've seen were pretty cheaply made. Spyderco's are good knives - just don't work as well in my hands. JMO
I sometimes carry a SOG, they are good well designed tools. I always (5+yrs) carry a Spyderco. Nothing I can say will do them justice. Any complaints I had about older models were taken care of when they designed the Delica 4s(my current carry). I too carry a Glock.
Check out the SOG Trident. It's a spring assisted opening folder that is easily opened with either hand. Lots of blade options, too, and it's price (about 65 bucks on ebay) keeps your wallet happy. Comes with a nice sharp edge, too, and has a reversible pocket clip, along with a couple other nice features. I think it's a well thought out design.
I just picked up this knife. A Trident tanto w/ the black coated blade.(tini I think its called, model TF-7) Got it off ebay for around 50$ new in the box and couldn't be happier.
I have been carrying a Spyderco on a daily basis for 12 years. My first was an "Endura" which I now keep in my handgun safe. My current carry is a "Native" model pictured here. Good size and blade quality. Under $100.
I have always carried a legal knife since I was a boy. I find it surprising that so few men (or women) carry a knife. Now I have become a knife snob and own many of the popular name brand knives.
That being said, most knives that I see these days, including the cheap ones are rather good quality. In my life time I have only seen a few knives that actually were worn out.
Some of my favorite knives (not listed in order of quality, price, or desirability):
Spyderco
SOG
CRKT
Kershaw
Puma
Buck
Victorinex
Leatherman
Case
Also, there are a lot of made in China knock offs that are pretty damned good. Unless you are seeking to impress someone, buy what you like and what you can afford, and don't worry about what others think. However, do inspect the knife, and make sure that it functions well and that it is a legal carry knife.
Currently I usually have a Spyderco waved Endura (bluish handles for Sgt Mac :biggrin2 and a Cold Steel Ti-lite. The Endura is pretty much my basic utility knife, which will still be good for slashing/stabbing, while the Ti-lite is pretty much a stabber only. Both are non-spring assisted, which is good becuase some places have laws against spring assisted knives, they operate by a part of the blade almost like a hook, that catches on the pocket and opens the blade while it's being removed.
Most of the CRKTs that I've really liked were great filed knives but don't fit in well with civilian attire.
I've heard nothing but good things on Benchmades, but as noted above they are pricey for the relative size.
Probably my favorite knife for EDC has been one Spyderco or another.
Buy a EXPENSIVE looking knife, gold with fake diamonds, the more flash the better, and if it looks like you're about to get into a knife fight----throw it on the ground and RUN LIKE HE^$ :rofl::rofl:
Go with the Spyderco brand. I carry two Delicas, one left, one right pocket.
Think about the names of the knives that you may want to carry. I would rather have the prosecutor hold up my (say it in a girly voice) Delica knife rather than a (say this in the deep rambo voice) tactical bloodletter combat killer knife.
i actually had a guy in one of my classes carrying a pink Delica. Imaging being a bad guy and having to deal with that stigma......getting hurt by a little itty bitty pink knife.....
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