[7mm Gumbo]

Does anyone have an informed opinion on the CRKT Bear Claw, how would it compare with say a Ka-Bar TDI, or some other small fixed blade? This knife would be worn on a belt near the centerline of the torso, availible to either hand for use in a dire emergency. Also what about something like a Beker Neker or a CRKT Dogfish.

Thank you in advance.

 

[mercop]

Emerson La Griffe gets my vote.- George

 

[psychophipps]

I own a Bear Claw and it's a decent knife for the price. The sheath that it comes with is the suckiest suck to ever suckity suck. It's really that horrible.

George likes the La Griffe but I prefer a Spyderco Swick. I find the ergonomics of the Swick superior and the off-hand reverse grip isn't a cold, cruel joke with the Swick. The Wharncliffe blade of the Swick works just as well for gunting strikes as the La Griffe and allows for better thrusting in a pinch due to it's straight blade geometry. The Swick also costs less and is made of superior steels, IMO. You can get a top-tier kydex Swick sheath $21 shipped as well.

 

[2edgesword]

Maybe it is founded in having worked various types of handgun disarming but I have developed an aversion to knives designed so that you stick your finger through a hole when using it.

 

[Buckles]

i just bought the kabar tdi the other day. i have carried it everyday since them. i love it. sometimes i forget im wearing.

 

[psychophipps]

Agreed. Like all things in life, it's a compromise. It just happens to be one I'm willing to make, 2edgesword.

 

[7mm Gumbo]

What is bad about a finger hole in a small knife like a Bear Claw? Help me out here, I know very little about these kinds of knives.

 

[LethalStang]

Ka-Bar

 

[mchasal]

What is bad about a finger hole in a small knife like a Bear Claw? Help me out here, I know very little about these kinds of knives.

I haven't formed a personal opinion on this, but I believe the concern is that with the finger hole the knife can be used (by an opponent) to gain a lock on your finger. While that would be bad, there is an advantage to the hole for control and retention. Not sure where the balance lands.

 

[Hopyard]

No pointing

I haven't formed a personal opinion on this, but I believe the concern is that with the finger hole the knife can be used (by an opponent) to gain a lock on your finger. While that would be bad, there is an advantage to the hole for control and retention. Not sure where the balance lands.

Stick your finger out and someone will grab it, break it, twist it, bend it, pull you to the ground, pull you up again, put you down again--and thoroughly enjoy watching your "dance of pain."

I'm not familiar with the knife, but perhaps that would make using your own finger against you a bit more strategically unacceptable--ah, not that one anyway.

 

[7mm Gumbo]

I think if I had a small sharp knife in my hand it would be at best very difficult for some one to grab my finger. Maybe I am missing something here but I don't think so.

When I first got my OK Concealed Weapon Lic. and started to carry with regularity my mom was concered that "a bad person would take my gun away" from me and use it on me. I simply told my mom not to worry, if anyone ever took my gun I would grab it right back from them. To this she replied that a person with a loaded gun will not simply let you grab it away, just as the words left her mouth you could see the light go on and we have never had that discussion again.

Maybe I should consider a small fixed blade without a finger hole. Ka-Bar is looking better. LDK or Becker?

 

[Hopyard]

re 7mm gumbo

I think if I had a small sharp knife in my hand it would be at best very difficult for some one to grab my finger. Maybe I am missing something here but I don't think so.

That was my point, though I put it awkwardly and in a round about manner. Stick your finger out and you give your opponent something to grab. Stick it out with the knife on there and you give your opponent a sharp edge to grab. Doesn't mean they won't still be able to break your finger, but it will be a little (a lot ) more risky to try. OTOH, there is something there to leverage the snap of the finger.

 

[psychophipps]

Most of these finger hole knives are set up to where your thumb sits on the spine of the blade to create a fairly straight line from the blade tip to your elbow for good biomechanical efficiency. In this grip you find your index finger is actually being covered and tucked under your thumb with your hand in a modified fist around the handle. Not a whole lot to grab there if that blade is swinging around at anything you stick out.

Being a Small Circle kid of a few years, and Small Circle Jujitsu's official patch symbol is an index finger lock surrounded by a two-direction circle, I learned that trying to grab a finger while it's in a fist is largely a waste of time. It's moving more often than not and the tension of the entire hand makes separation of a single or two digits all but impossible because it also has lateral tension as well as linear to the joint movement. In order to get a good go at a finger you need to stun them or cause enough of a reaction at a different location than the targeted limb to make them "forget" to clench that fist anymore and then you grab a digit or four.

So having a grab at the knife hand with one of these blades and thinking that "just locking the finger hole finger" will be simple to do is largely incorrect in my experience.

 

[mercop]

Did I say La Griffe? It is the J Frame of the knife world.

 

[psychophipps]

Even the J Frame has it's LCR, George.

 

[mercop]

Clinch AKA in a tight spot right? Make sure their is a trainer available or you will never know if you will even be able to get it out under stress. No tool is a talisman.- George

 

[2edgesword]

I haven't formed a personal opinion on this, but I believe the concern is that with the finger hole the knife can be used (by an opponent) to gain a lock on your finger. While that would be bad, there is an advantage to the hole for control and retention. Not sure where the balance lands.

It's not as much of an issue with a knife with a relatively small blade but mchasal is accurate in expressing my concern, getting your finger trapped/pinned in the hole and then using pressure against the sides of the blade to snap the finger or use that same pressure and pain to lead and off balance.

 

[keith56]

Emerson La Griffe gets my vote.- George

I agree 100%