Recommend a Good Fixed Blade 3" for L.E. Carry

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do you mean under .. exactly .. or around 3 inch blade ?
how much you willing to spend a bit more info would be helpful to point you in a good direction
 
utility and last ditch
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That causes conflicts unless you know how to keep the knife sharp enough to serve in the SD role. How are your sharpening skills?

You'll want a straight edge with a relatively straight line from the grip to the point and a choil or guard to keep from sliding onto the edge. You'll want a little more to the grip than just a flat exposed tang to hold onto if you're using it for more than a minute.

Eskabar with the additional scales.
 
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just fine. have a stone, also stick sharpeners, and a good leather belt. I have a needs work and an onion that've been from Pakistan to the Gulf of Mexico, cut rope/line, apples, shirt sleeves, etc, ( and they're just as sharp as the day I bought 'em due to some semi-diligent sharpening. I have a JK everyday anniversary knife, but it doesnt have as positive of a grip as I'd like, especially if I may be wet and bloody if it comes down to its use.

Just would like a small fixed blade for utility/last ditch. Those ka-bars are cool(the weird angle knives) but too small for my hands. My wife carried one as a back-up, weak side carry.
 
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The TDI's are good last ditch retention knives, but not as utility pieces.

The IZULA is a great knife as well. Look at all the neck knives at knifecenter.com.
 
I'd second hso's recommendation of the ESEE Izula. Depending on the size of your hands and/or the length of grip you are accustomed to using the Izula II is another great option since it adds a 1/2 inch length to the handle.
 
Fallkniven WM1.

http://www.fallkniven.com/wm.htm

They usually run about $85- $90 in VG-10. About $140ish in 3G.

Just cause it was designed for women doesn't mean men don't carry them too.:)

You might need a Kydex bender to whip up a sheath for duty, since I don't know how you would be carrying it.
 
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The ESEE-3 is the smallest knife that I can get a full grip on. The wide, flat blade is big enough for anything I've ever needed, from cutting rope to dressing geese. It being so broad and flat, it carries great on a belt and pulls tightly into your side so it doesn't get snagged. The properly heat treated 1095 stays shaving sharp, and sharpens easily when needed. I own 3 of these, and can't recommend one highly enough.

I like my Izula for little camp chores, but the handle is way too small for anything serious.

As for utility, like diggin crap out of your nails and opening mail, get a swiss army knife for that stuff and keep the bigger knife for bigger chores.

RC3GripReverse.gif
 
The RC-3 is 3 7/8" from scale to tip. Might as well call it a 4" blade., an inch over the OP's request.

The WM1 , linked in my prior post, has a blade just under 3" with almost exactly the same grip length as an RC-3. And is about 1 1/4" shorter than the OAL length of an RC-3.

Now the RC-3 is an OK knife, if they ditched the choil and had a sharpened edge the full length of the blade it would be a great knife.:)

The RC-3 is about the same overall size as my Fallkniven F1. Too large for pocket carry, especially getting in and out of a cruiser. And would take up a good deal of space on a duty belt. Not really suitable for neck carry either, especially between a ballistic vest and a shirt.
 
Certainly, you should do as you like. But just remember that a fixed blade on your belt is another thing to guard in a scuffle, and potentially a deadly weapon that can be used against you. A folder can, as well, but is much more difficult for an aggressor to grab and deploy against you.

Just .02, of course.

Larry
 
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I just don't think in a LE role you can compromise with a knife that is good for both utility and self-defense. Get a small tough folder for utility.

My recommendation is to go with a push dagger dead-center on your belt or the Ka-Bar TDI oriented crossdraw slightly to the left (if you are right handed) of your belt-buckle, horizontal. This lets you access it left or right handed.

The push dagger is a nice option because it doesn't look like a knife and in a non-concealed OWB configuration, is less likely to be a target for grabbing in a fight. The 3" cold steel selections are pretty decent.



I'm big on ambidextrous access and the ability to use a robust point-oriented method (sewing machine type motion, stabbing vital areas when using the knife).
 
I have the ESSE 3 and a RAT3 and both are great 3in fixed super heavy duty knives that'll last a lifetime.
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Posted by Sniper X

The ESEE-3 is the smallest knife that I can get a full grip on.I own 3 of these, and can't recommend one highly enough.
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Posted by RatDrall

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Sorry guys a pet peeve of mine I must comment on....


I understand ESEE has a rabid following, much to Jeff Randall's chagrin.

The RC-3 is not a 3" blade.

How to measure blade length...

http://www.akti.org/resources/akti-protocol-for-measuring-knife-blade-length

An RC-3 IS NOT a 3" blade. It is 3 7/8" Only 1/8" shy of 4".


Unless you are talking about a specific state law in which the state declares the sharpened edge to be the official blade length.

Even then the RC-3 has a cutting edge of 3 3/8". So unless your tape measure is off , an RC-3 does not have a 3" blade.
 
Some refer to this type of knife as a gun retention knife. I believe Mas Ayoob addressed this in one of his seminars.

Me, back in the day, I had 2 switchchblades, one on each side. ( way more than 100 bucks) effectively used just once.
 
I think making the knife accessible to the weak side hand could make it useful for gun retention...but I always wondered about that moniker. Our labels and semantics affect the way we view our tools and use them, and I don't know why you'd necessarily want to bring another weapon out if you're having trouble holding onto the one you already had out. It's preferable to have a less tool-centric mindset, seeing as there are ways to retain a pistol without using a separate tool.
 
Unless you are talking about a specific state law in which the state declares the sharpened edge to be the official blade length.
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Which would matter except...

He is law enforcement so it doesn't matter.
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Special rules for special people. Laws don't apply the same way to law enforcers as they do to peons who have to obey them all.
 
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