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Post by judomayhem on Apr 14, 2015 11:56:43 GMT -5
Let's keep this thread focused on knives in your combat load, not your EDC setup. The subject came up in another thread when Hawkeye displayed a dirk he had up on his chest rig. I have two setups, one for when I am representing the US Gov in a "light" recon unit and another for my personal UW 3rd line. Good Enough For Government Work Setup: Although we are smaller than a line unit, we are not Green Berets living off the land so my knives are not robust chopper/field/fighters. I carry a small prybar in my assault pack at times to compensate for this. We are in and out of Blackhawks and ground vehicles enough that bigger would not be better. I wear an M7 bayonet (dagger type) at 8:00. Bayonets are underrated weapons in this tech focused CQB era, IMO. There is a Spyderco folder or Buck 110 in a single pistol mag pouch at 9:00, and a multi-tool in a similar pouch at 9:30. I have lost knives that were clipped to my pocket whilst in the field. No bueno. Up on my armor I have a 2.5" Cold Steel punch dagger inverted (blade up). It is centerlined over my heart and lashed with 550. It is light enough to not be a drain, and 100% business if in a clinch. Eyes and throats, kiddies!
On My "I Do My Own Thing" setup:
I almost always run a belt kit of some sort, and any number of 6+" blades are worn at the 8:00 position. I should have just picked up a full tang Becker BK9 and been done with it, but.....live and learn. The folder and the multi tool are in the same location as my other setup. When wearing a chest rig, I have a Katz BK dagger lashed handle up as close to my centerline as I can get it. It is my defensive weapon in that situation. When wearing my LBE (YUP, YOU YOUNG PUNKS READ THAT RIGHT) I have a 3" Cold Steel punch dagger tucked and lashed behind a mag pouch at around 2:00 as my defensive blade.
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winter
Junior Member
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Post by winter on Apr 14, 2015 14:39:17 GMT -5
I used to run a 6"ish utility knife at 4 o'clock and a 9"-10" knife on the side of my ruck. In my ruck is a wyoming saw. I'm considering dropping the knife off the warbelt (which is used as an LBE) and relying on a 4" with sere kit on my first line.
It's all in whether I decide to carry a handgun on my LBE or not. If I drop the handgun, I'll have a knife at 4.
Multitool and large folder as EDC/1st line.
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Post by Patriotic Sheepdog on Apr 14, 2015 17:11:54 GMT -5
judomayhem and winter, can I ask what hand is your dominate hand? That would help when giving positions, at least me. I don't want to assume you are right hand dominate.
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Post by judomayhem on Apr 14, 2015 17:39:10 GMT -5
I am oddly ambidextrous. I cut and write with my left, but bat and shoot right. So my open carry flap holster is on the 3'oclock hip.
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protus
Junior Member
Posts: 323
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Post by protus on Apr 14, 2015 17:44:08 GMT -5
I've changed knives on my kits several times. I used to run a BK7 but it was rather heavy for what I needed. On my TT vest kit I ran a coldsteel peacemaker 2 tucked behind a rifle magazine pouch. How ever I found the handle would catch on things etc. So I removed it and placed a TDI kbar there. Which has worked out better. On my belt kit I run a g81 field knife. Its lighter than the becker and slimmer allowing me to save space. Ill prolly move the TDI to my UW rig once I get some kinks ironed out. A sog folder and Gerber multitool are carried in my pockets. A second multitool is carried in the mag pouch on my drop leg.
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Post by Patriotic Sheepdog on Apr 14, 2015 18:50:34 GMT -5
I am oddly ambidextrous. I cut and write with my left, but bat and shoot right. So my open carry flap holster is on the 3'oclock hip. I wondered that as you stated you have some at 8, 9, 9:30 and then at 2 o'clock positions.
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Post by Patriotic Sheepdog on Apr 14, 2015 19:01:03 GMT -5
TDI like Protus on my right side of my UW Gear Chest rig (accessible by both hands). For my longer patrols, I have a ESEE-6 attached to the outside of my patrol pack. My Patrol pack I carry in the AO has my ESEE-3-mil-clip point. A SOG folder or Benchmade mini grip usually attached to the inside of my BDUs (accessible by both hands) at 12 o'Clock and a CRKT Hitsatsu folder clipped to right side pocket. Gerber folder in SERE pouch. And being med guy, at least one Med shear within quick reach
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winter
Junior Member
Posts: 479
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Post by winter on Apr 15, 2015 0:58:16 GMT -5
judomayhem and winter, can I ask what hand is your dominate hand? That would help when giving positions, at least me. I don't want to assume you are right hand dominate. Hahaha, never even thought about that. I'm right handed and I can't even masturbate left handed.
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Post by omnivorous on Apr 15, 2015 1:20:42 GMT -5
I am oddly ambidextrous. I cut and write with my left, but bat and shoot right. So my open carry flap holster is on the 3'oclock hip. That sounds like cross-dominate, to me. For my vest I'll have the "fightin'" blade on about a 10-1030 position, like what I've seen for carrying bayonets on Ruski vests; it'll be easily enough with my right and left hand, but primarily for the left hand, which I'm just as good with as my right hand (my dominate hand) with a reverse grip (which I believe to be the superior quick-reaction grip and method, if you later have time and need, then you can transition to a forward grip easily enough). The work knife would be on the belt at roughly a ~4:30 position; accessible with my right and if need be for non-batoning uses, but separate from the vest, if the vest needed to be shed. The "fightin'" blade will eventually be a Cold Steel Tai Pan 3V. (Check dat shit out!) The work knife will likely be an ESEE 4 or 5, since the 6 would be a little too long for conducive use on a "vehicle/urban" rig. I've thought about slipping a Benchmade SOCP somewhere else on the vest, should the left hand be entangled or occupied in some other way. On application of the "fightin'" blade, have found in training, at least, since most people are right-handed, they have a difficult time dealing with a left-handed knifer, so I've purposely trained in the employment of my left hand using a reverse grip of a knife/dagger; the grip which requires less fine motor use than a forward grip, and still would allow for a faster transition to one's sidearm. I'm not terribly fond of inverted orientation of chest-mounted knives. The tension on the blades which needs to be provided by the sheathe needs to be quite high, or have an additional measure such as a catch on the guard, to keep it secure, but that orientation just seems like it would be easier for an adversary to access in a tumble. I don't really have any direct experience or evidence to support the notion, but my training in defensive edged tool use just gives me the vibe of it. YMMV *edit* Forgot to mention, multi-tool in a pouch on the belt, and a strap cutter mounted as center-line as can be had on the rig, as well as high on the chest. I find a multi-tool with a good knife blade, makes a folding knife superfluous unless it is separate from the rig and part of a pocket E&E kit.
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protus
Junior Member
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Post by protus on Apr 15, 2015 3:43:28 GMT -5
Omni...that tai pan has always caught my eye....but not tbe price tag. I got that coldsteel peacemaker cheap under 50$ at a gun show. Another that i liked like the tai pan is the SOG daggert. Check it out if you havenr already
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Post by thefng on Apr 15, 2015 9:08:21 GMT -5
Guys have beat me to it, but I kind of like the placement on the Russian "Little Green Men" (see 2nd guy from the right): I also remember reading about the Winter War between Russia and Finland, where the Finns chose 7" knives because they were long enough to get through heavy clothing and hit the vitals. Sounds like for a FIGHTING blade, that's still a good min length. I also notice a lot of guys list as a big knife a more woodsman type shape. If this is going to be a fighting blade (perhaps doubleing as some sort of utility blade), wouldn't you want a more dagger-like tip? Remember, even if it's not winter, you are often going to have to go through several layers of cordura to get to most people. So it seems like a dagger like that Tai Pan, or at least a tip that is sharp on both edges, like the new Ontario M16 bayonet, would be a better choice. If you are really worries about bushcraft (not sure how much of a place that really has), then couldn't you just thrown a weighs-nothing Mora in your pack and have that option as well, without compromising on the main blade?
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Post by Hawkeye on Apr 15, 2015 11:18:10 GMT -5
James Williams does an excellent explanation of knives and their uses/designs. Bottom line is, if you want a fighting/defensive knife, then get one made for that. If you want a utility/bushcraft knife, then get one designed for that. If you get one that tries to do everything, it usually wont do any of them truly well. I think that fighting/defense and utility/bushcraft are both equally important, thus I usually have multiple knives on me or in close access.
For fixed blades I currently use an ESEE 5 and a ESEE 4 as my utility/bushcraft knives, and a James Williams/CRKT Hissatsu and a James Williams/CRKT Yukanto as my fighting/defensive knives.
For a folding knife I use an Ontario RAT folder as my utility knife and a James Williams/CRKT Hissatsu folder as my fighting/defensive knife. I am also fixing to add a James Williams/CRKT Shizuka noh Ken as an additional defensive/fighting knife. I do have another utility folder that I recently acquired but I haven't used it enough yet to decide if it will be added to my go-to line up or not.
As for placement of the above knives, I have been going through having them positioned in different places for a few years now, and honestly its still an ongoing process. I have a few other placement configurations I want to try before I make a final decision.
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Post by Hawkeye on Apr 15, 2015 11:40:19 GMT -5
The one knife that I think may make a decent combo bushcraft/defensive knife, is James Williams Sakimori. I really want to get one to try and see if it would work as a potential replacement for my fixed Hissatsu and ESEE 5 knives, in certain situations/load out configurations.
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Post by omnivorous on Apr 15, 2015 12:44:46 GMT -5
Omni...that tai pan has always caught my eye....but not tbe price tag. I got that coldsteel peacemaker cheap under 50$ at a gun show. Another that i liked like the tai pan is the SOG daggert. Check it out if you havenr already The Peacemaker line have been redone by Cold Steel, and are no longer a dagger design. This is the particular Tai Pan model I'm talking about: www2.knifecenter.com/item/CS13Q/cold-steel-13q-tai-pan-dagger-fixed-cpm-3v-blade-kray-ex-handle-secure-ex-sheath$209.99 pre-order price, shipped. Honestly, still a high price point, but its one of those things where price is buying a hell of a lot of quality and function. I've been practicing with the FGX version of the Tai Pan, and though not weighted nor balanced the same, the dimensions, I believe, are optimal for the application. I want a guard on a fightin' blade, not to do any parrying, but to simply act as a hand-stop. The design of the Tai Pan is far superior, in my opinion, to other commercially available daggers, do to the hollow grind and strong, full-length, spine. Not to mention coming with a factory DLC coating on all metallic surfaces and an up-grade for the sheathe, compared to the San Mai III's sheathe at least.
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Post by wesker on Apr 15, 2015 13:01:51 GMT -5
I run a Buck Intrepid XL (Not sure why they call it XL, the blade is 5.5 inches) around 4 or 5 o'clock on my belt. That's for "tactical" and outdoor activities. It was really annoying finding a semi modern design with some sort of guard that was reasonably priced.
EDC can be a few different knives. Most with tanto points and wave features in my right pocket. I also like having a small push dagger style blade attached to my rig but its purpose would be purely for if someone was grappling for my weapon or anything else uncomfortably close up. Still weighing out if that one is worth it or not.
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