 
 I really like my ultralight AG Russell “mini-bowie” — shown at left in the pics — it’s so light you forget it’s in your pocket. On the other hand, although it feels quite sturdy, I have been thinking it would be nice to have a somewhat more substantial blade on my person in the event of trouble. Also, I just like having extras around — although I didn’t learn the phrase until recently, I’ve been living the “two is one, and one is none” philosophy for most of my life.
Now, Perceval would fit the bill in a pinch, but it’s just not very quick to put into action in a stressful situation — the lack of a true handle makes it just too hard to get a good instinctive grip. An elegant design, but not a defensive knife by any means. And although I keep the new Benchmade DPT close by, during work hours I’m just not going to have it on my person.
Sooo, this Survivalblog post pointed me towards the CRKT M16 knives. The “Big Dog” model mentioned in the post was interesting, but what caught my eye was the M-16 Titanium versions. I got mine here for significantly less than the retail price shown on the AG Russell site. Some time spent web-searching might result in even more savings.
This is a substantial, solid, well-made knife. The AUS8 blade is nice and sharp; there’s an easily-operated one-hand-unlock catch that can’t possibly be accidentally moved; to top it off, there’s a little rowel lever under the thumb that when pushed forward absolutely blocks the catch from unlocking. CRKT says this makes it as sturdy as a fixed blade. I don’t know about that, but it’s a pretty good system in my view as it takes just a simple instinctive movement with the thumb to activate, and I like redundancy anyway.
Anyway, my M16-01T now rides at my left hip, over the waistband, under the belt. The clip is very unobtrusive; looks like I’m carrying a pen or something clipped to my waist. You really can’t tell it’s a knife, which is what I need. But more importantly, I feel confident that it would not fail me if I needed it to defend myself. Can’t ask for much more than that.
Carry knife? As in “carry weapon”? I hope you’re very highly trained in edged-weapons warfare, David, because the surest way for the “average” guy to get into trouble ANYWHERE is to whip out a knife.
Most knife-wielders don’t know the stances, don’t know the footwork, and don’t practice knife moves against a master who could actually teach them.
In most defensive situations, the average guy is FAR more likely to successfully defend himself with closed fists and feet, depolyed either to kick or to run with.
A few dozen hours at the range will make you competent with a carry pistol or revolver, but hundreds of hours in the dojo are required to make you even familiar with edged weapons warfare.
If a person did not start out their edged-weapons fighting training in an intensive special forces military training school, that person would have to be REALLY dedicated to pick up the art later in life.
I teach personal defense, mostly to women. I’m occasionally asked about knives. I tell them that any knife-wielder MUST be respected, but not worried about, since only a tiny fraction are ever competent with their blades.
You’re right, I don’t have the training I need and I’m acutely aware of it. The training I got was two decades ago and I certainly haven’t kept up. And I’m not going to say that it was anything remotely close in either depth or quality to what’s available now.
OTOH, I’ve been increasingly aware of the absolute impossibility of CCW legislation to be passed in Cali anytime soon. I also personally know two untrained women who were able to fight off attackers with pocket/pen knives. One of them broke during the fight, which is why I wanted something a mite sturdier than the AG Russell.
I wouldn’t “whip out a knife” unless I had to. Heck, anybody pulls a knife on me, I’m going to run. I used to run 6-minute miles ten miles at a time, and I’m getting myself back towards that level. I always evaluate a situation with the knowledge that I can get away from a lot of things pretty quickly. That’s my first option. Second would of course be fists & feet, as you mention. But if I were ever in a situation where that didn’t work, I’d hate to be thinking “damn I wish I had a knife right now!”
But yeah, training — serious defensive training — is definitely next on the list.
I took a few of years of Kempo with some other stuff thrown in, while my master had black belts in about 7 different styles and had learned weapons from a bunch of those, he taught us Eskrima. I’d recommend finding a good teacher in that discipline if you want to learn edged weapons. Most people think that Eskrima is just stick work, however, even when using sticks we use them as if they had an edge. Of course everyone has their own opinion on what’s best in martial arts, I thought I’d just go ahead and throw in my 2 cents
Oh, and good choice on your new blade, I carry the CRKT M16-z. I’m looking at getting the Kershaw Boa, the speed safe assisted opening is very slick and I would love a folder with a recurved blade.
This te one you’re talking about Brass?
http://www.thebladeshop.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3696
That is a nice looking blade.
I broke the clip off my last folder and have been looking at this one as a replacement
http://www.thebladeshop.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=35
Although, if I had more dinero, I’d just grab up one of these
http://www.thebladeshop.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3256
If you get the Boa, let me know what you think of the recurve. I’ve never been able to get past point work so the recurves don’t really work for me, but since you sound like you know a decent amount on the style, if you don’t mind, send me your report on it.
There’s an Eskrima place down the road. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!
I’ve been thinking of my wife and I learning Krav Maga just to get started. The dojos seem to have a lot of good press here in the Bay Area, but that could just mean they have a good publicity machine. Any RNS readers have an opinion on Krav Maga, good or bad?
Krav Maga has become very popular recently, especially among women. I think most of the popularity comes from the heavy amount of aerobic work they do at the beginning levels. At the higher levels this is a balls-to-the-wall attack and defense system.
Most teachers in the civilian section don’t teach the come-along techniques that law enforcement use or the crippling/killing techniques that the military use. I’d try to find someone willing to teach those skills to me when I reach a sufficient skill level.
The other thing about Krav Maga is that it is pretty much a strength based martial art and is a much more effective art for men than for women.
I’m in the military, and having had those SF teachers, there really isn’t a whole lot to knife fighting.
The number one thing to remember:
IN A KNIFE FIGHT YOU ARE GOING TO GET CUT.
Just cut the other guy worse.
If you can remember one other thing, it would be, “Slice, don’t stab”.
Most goblins don’t spend hours and hours in the dojo learning to become master knife fighters just to go out and do petty crime. So if you need to pull a knife to protect yourself, fight hard because your life depends on it.
Other common mistakes is that when someone holds a weapon, ANY weapon, they forget that they also have their natural weapons. If you can’t get a good slice in, kick the bad guy in the knee, or punch his throat.
Good choice in steel by the way, I carry a walmart cheap version of the M16 and it makes a decent carry knife. Easy to sharpen, quick to open. I can’t complain.
Jimro
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