mercop
02-04-12, 09:49
Whenever I look at adding a piece of gear I go through this process-
Selection
Carry
Deployment
Use
In this case I am talking about selecting a knife to carry on my offside to back up my pistol or my primary defensive blade carried on strong side.
The biggest issue here is that most people are no where near as dexterous with their off hand. Add that to the fact that we need to be able to deploy the blade from disadvantaged positions such as sitting, crouching, on our back, or on our stomach, you can see that it gets harder and harder. Then we add the following, it has to work from all three phases of combat-
Standing free range moment
Clinch
Ground fighting
So as you can see selecting this knife is no easy task. That is probably why up until this point I have found exactly two knives that meet these needs. One a folder, and one a fixed blade. The other thing that sets them both apart is that they have trainers available from the manufacturer allowing realistic pressure testing during force on force.
First is the Emerson Karambit. I am not a fan of Karambits or the Wave feature, but I love the waved Karambit. The key is wearing it in the reverse grip so that the blade is deployed edge up as you draw it from your pocket. This allows the default targeting using in Inverted Edge Tactics where we attack the inside of the arms of the attacker.
The ring of the Karambit allows you to retain the knife even under stress and gives you the ability to establish a two handed grip on your pistol.
The fixed blade is the CQB Tool from Spartan Blades. It too has a ring on top allowing for rapid deployment. I prefer to carry it on a Tactical Tether just to the left of my belt buckle at an angle. The CQB Tool trainer fits in the same sheath as the live blade. Here is a short video showing me working with the CQB Tool.
Use of both of the blades is pretty instinctual because of grip and take advantage of cyclic angles of attack and task fixation.
Selection
Carry
Deployment
Use
In this case I am talking about selecting a knife to carry on my offside to back up my pistol or my primary defensive blade carried on strong side.
The biggest issue here is that most people are no where near as dexterous with their off hand. Add that to the fact that we need to be able to deploy the blade from disadvantaged positions such as sitting, crouching, on our back, or on our stomach, you can see that it gets harder and harder. Then we add the following, it has to work from all three phases of combat-
Standing free range moment
Clinch
Ground fighting
So as you can see selecting this knife is no easy task. That is probably why up until this point I have found exactly two knives that meet these needs. One a folder, and one a fixed blade. The other thing that sets them both apart is that they have trainers available from the manufacturer allowing realistic pressure testing during force on force.
First is the Emerson Karambit. I am not a fan of Karambits or the Wave feature, but I love the waved Karambit. The key is wearing it in the reverse grip so that the blade is deployed edge up as you draw it from your pocket. This allows the default targeting using in Inverted Edge Tactics where we attack the inside of the arms of the attacker.
The ring of the Karambit allows you to retain the knife even under stress and gives you the ability to establish a two handed grip on your pistol.
The fixed blade is the CQB Tool from Spartan Blades. It too has a ring on top allowing for rapid deployment. I prefer to carry it on a Tactical Tether just to the left of my belt buckle at an angle. The CQB Tool trainer fits in the same sheath as the live blade. Here is a short video showing me working with the CQB Tool.
Use of both of the blades is pretty instinctual because of grip and take advantage of cyclic angles of attack and task fixation.