K-Bars Tactical Knives
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Always interesting to see what people post. I had a period 8-10 years ago where I was into Busse knives and have a couple. Really like the Zero Tolerance and own two.
Kind of surprised there's so little love for Spyderco. I own a couple, find them easy to carry and kind of like the Spidy hole. Plus they offer some of their models in a wide variety of premium steels like S110v, S90v, Magnacut, etc. Of course, I can't say I've ever subjected my Spyderco knives to really hard use - that's what my Busse fixed blades are for.
Kind of surprised there's so little love for Spyderco. I own a couple, find them easy to carry and kind of like the Spidy hole. Plus they offer some of their models in a wide variety of premium steels like S110v, S90v, Magnacut, etc. Of course, I can't say I've ever subjected my Spyderco knives to really hard use - that's what my Busse fixed blades are for.
Here is a couple Winklers. A Twenty 24 Hawk, from Bladeshow, and The General knife. Neither are catalog items, but both are available if you know where to look.
So...pardon my ignorance, but how are you defining a "tactical knife"? How is it different than a strategic knife? Is it different from a fighting knife?
I'm pretty much with Lt. Col. Fairbain in as much as any fighting knife ("tactical"?) Should have a blade at least six inches long. While knives will exsanguinate someone a lot faster than bullets, you still want to have enough penetration to hit vitals and open arteries. Most of the CCTV of knife fights I've watched, both in the street and in prison, the guys who sustain light wounds keep fighting, and the ones who sustain deep ones that hit arteries and bleed profusely can measure the rest of their fight in seconds. The alternative, if you only have a short knife, is the sewing machine attack used in prisons with short shanks stabbed as rapidly as possible to make as many holes as fast as possible. Once you've opened up an artery you mostly just have to keep your distance and wait for the guy to pass out, which happens very fast with their heart pumping in a fight. It is the very adrenaline that is fueling their fight that kills them by causing them to bleed out scary fast.
I can't find it, but there's video of a street fight somewhere in Asia where one guy gets just one good downward stab on the other guy's shoulder, hits the subclavian, and the guy goes woozy and passes out in less than ten seconds.
The Japanese have it down when it comes to sharp blades. Ichigo Ichie = one chance.
Edit-I am not the slightest bit squeamish, but about 15 years ago I cut my radial artery with a carpet knife, from the top wrist to the webbing at my thumb, and the amount of blood that poured and squirted out, in one split second, was astounding. I wasn't scared from the big wound, or the blood, but it was the amount of blood and how fast it came. Direct pressure instantly, and I was fine for the trip to the ER, but without immediate direct pressure it surely would have killed me in a minute or faster, and that was just a hand injury. It would have been a lethal wound in a fight if I couldn't stop and attend to it. Knifes are every bit as dangerous as guns when used as a weapon.
I'm pretty much with Lt. Col. Fairbain in as much as any fighting knife ("tactical"?) Should have a blade at least six inches long. While knives will exsanguinate someone a lot faster than bullets, you still want to have enough penetration to hit vitals and open arteries. Most of the CCTV of knife fights I've watched, both in the street and in prison, the guys who sustain light wounds keep fighting, and the ones who sustain deep ones that hit arteries and bleed profusely can measure the rest of their fight in seconds. The alternative, if you only have a short knife, is the sewing machine attack used in prisons with short shanks stabbed as rapidly as possible to make as many holes as fast as possible. Once you've opened up an artery you mostly just have to keep your distance and wait for the guy to pass out, which happens very fast with their heart pumping in a fight. It is the very adrenaline that is fueling their fight that kills them by causing them to bleed out scary fast.
I can't find it, but there's video of a street fight somewhere in Asia where one guy gets just one good downward stab on the other guy's shoulder, hits the subclavian, and the guy goes woozy and passes out in less than ten seconds.
The Japanese have it down when it comes to sharp blades. Ichigo Ichie = one chance.
Edit-I am not the slightest bit squeamish, but about 15 years ago I cut my radial artery with a carpet knife, from the top wrist to the webbing at my thumb, and the amount of blood that poured and squirted out, in one split second, was astounding. I wasn't scared from the big wound, or the blood, but it was the amount of blood and how fast it came. Direct pressure instantly, and I was fine for the trip to the ER, but without immediate direct pressure it surely would have killed me in a minute or faster, and that was just a hand injury. It would have been a lethal wound in a fight if I couldn't stop and attend to it. Knifes are every bit as dangerous as guns when used as a weapon.
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A tactical knife is a folding knife, in black or FDE, whose primary role is opening MREs. A fighting knife is a fixed blade, in black or FDE, whose primary role is opening MREs.
Well, if it’s tactical knives with longer blades, here ya go. Just ignore the shorter ones. These are of course from the Randall shop. The top one is from a time in history when Bo Randall still ran the shop. The Model 16 on the bottom actually got carried daily in the Persian Gulf by yours truly.
DPX Gear HEST/F Urban & Bradford Knives Guardian 5
Jimmy Lile SOG ….mine in book. A Lile Sly ll below it. Knurled handle vrs Para Cord.
- Nov 3, 2010
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Posted else where but since hawks were getting some love... I was bored on Valentines Day at work and jumped on HFB for a peek. Found this bleeding heart hawk and grabbed it! Fate perhaps? Or just lucky on a dumb holiday? 
Flash forward a few weeks and I saw this Gula Gula available. I love the blade profile and the carbon fiber pins that disappear into the black chaos grips. Ought to be a great skinner at the worst!
Flash forward a few weeks and I saw this Gula Gula available. I love the blade profile and the carbon fiber pins that disappear into the black chaos grips. Ought to be a great skinner at the worst!
Here’s a Jimmy Lile Packhawk.Posted else where but since hawks were getting some love... I was bored on Valentines Day at work and jumped on HFB for a peek. Found this bleeding heart hawk and grabbed it! Fate perhaps? Or just lucky on a dumb holiday?
View attachment 8641498
Flash forward a few weeks and I saw this Gula Gula available. I love the blade profile and the carbon fiber pins that disappear into the black chaos grips. Ought to be a great skinner at the worst!
View attachment 8641500
Just bringing this back to the top. I have been missing the knife porn that this thread provided!
11” Frank Bertrame bolster lock in stag horn. IMO, the penultimate switchblade stiletto.
Those remind me of a Natzy gravity knife my grandfather pulled off a dead tanker. He gave it to me when I was a kid…lost it.
All very cool! I was at the county dump a few weeks ago and the guy working there had a Frist Blood knife on his belt. I got all excited and my wife was making fun of me. I was wishing it was a LILE but unfortunately it wasn’t. I have always wanted an original…
Jimmy was from Russellville, as I’m sure you know.
I knew Jimmy before I had any of his knives. He was real laid back and easy to talk with. Never rushed , always kind . His shop was 4 miles away from me.
I got to be friends with his widow Marilyn after he passed away. I could put knives on lay-a-way , and I got lots of paperwork with each. I even have a carved wooden “Handmade by Lile “ sign that hung on their shop front. She gave it to me one day
It would have been awesome seeing what he came up with next.
I know a man that owned a single serial # First Blood knife that his dad gave him. He lost it in a bet , tried numerous times to buy it back …never did.
No kidding! That is very cool.I knew Jimmy before I had any of his knives. He was real laid back and easy to talk with. Never rushed , always kind . His shop was 4 miles away from me.
I got to be friends with his widow Marilyn after he passed away. I could put knives on lay-a-way , and I got lots of paperwork with each. I even have a carved wooden “Handmade by Lile “ sign that hung on their shop front. She gave it to me one day
It would have been awesome seeing what he came up with next.
I know a man that owned a single serial # First Blood knife that his dad gave him. He lost it in a bet , tried numerous times to buy it back …never did.
Not yet, but it’s in the queue. I have been loving the riding here in Newton County.
This as close as I’ll get to a First Blood. A Sly ll with a knurled handle versus cord.
The Gents Folder was in the handle .
The Gents Folder was in the handle .
