The Best Folder for self defense opinions.

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grter

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I got this suggestion from a post by a member of a knife forum.


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I wonder if the Cold Steels traid lock folders would be a top pick. I know how Lynn Thompson is very well loved and admired around here.

Whatever the case quality is a strong theme among most of his products. Like it or not.
 
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The best folder for defense is the one you've trained with, so there must be a trainer model available. You'd be better off investing in some skill set from a martial arts school, before worrying about buying a tool set.
 
The best folder for defense is the one you've trained with, so there must be a trainer model available. You'd be better off investing in some skill set from a martial arts school, before worrying about buying a tool set.
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Good advice, very good advice.

There are a variety of ways to hold a knife; choose a knife that fits your hand in a variety of grips. For example: hammer, saber, modified saber, Filipino grip, reverse grips, AKA ice pick, edge out, or edge in. And, there are others.. Meaningless names until you get training..
As ugaarguy stated train and practice. The first step is learn how to get it out and quickly.. ;)
 
There's no "best" defensive folder.

Get what fits your training, fits your grip, is of a size to strike with closed, as large as you can comfortably and legally carry, can be quickly and reliably deployed, has a reliable lock, and takes a keen edge. Since a defensive folder isnt a work or woodscraft knife edge holding isn't as critical, but you want the steel to be able to hold and edge for several cuts against leather or denim and not chip against bone, belts or buttons.
 
Folding knives would be far down the list for a self defense purpose. Gun if available, spray if available, hands always available. A small fixed blade knife is faster to deploy than any folding knife, and even some automatic/assisted knives. Many trainers have said, there is no such thing as a winner in a knife fight. They are an ugly business, so training is far more important.
 
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I am really fond of my CRKT M21-04G. It as been a signature part of my EDC kit for about a decade. It is big enough to be formidable, and I am comfortable with it, if I didn't have my G20 on me, it would get the nod as being preferable to harsh language, or curling into a ball and peeing myself.
 
As stated earlier "Best" is subjective.

Benchmade Bedlam, auto or manual.

Less than $200.00 if you look a bit.

I got mine through Lawman's Supply.

bedlam_1000x1000.jpg
 
I collect switchblades, as well as just about any other sort of knife, and don't recommend them for defensive use since finding that little button might be a challenge in a rush.
 
Now if want more intimidation than actual cutting, the Spyderco Civilian.

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The Spyderco Civilian was originally made for anything but (civilians.) The original aluminum handle liner lock (same basic design prettier but the newer ones are much better made regardless) was made at the request of undercover agents for a self defense knife that can be used effectively by the average layman with little to no knife fighting skills, essentially police working undercover who needed to carry a defensive weapon while on undercover assignments into places where people were carefully screened for firearms before being allowed in.

This is a vicious slasher that can be wildly swung around and very dangerous to an attacker within it's proximity providing a good last ditch effort at escape or incapacitation of said attacker or attackers.

For what it is I think it's great. Unfortunately in NYC Deblasio would jump for joy while you are arrested for carrying something clearly manufactured to be used as a weapon only. The blade length exceeds 4 inches also so it's a no go here in NYC.

Now I have to add that like most everything else nothing is set in stone and I would like to point out that there are horticulturists (maybe a lot them) who love the Spyderco Civilian since it's a convenient light weight easy to carry folder that according them makes an excellent pruning knife due to the blade shape and design. So not everyone who owns one intends to use it as a weapon. Then there are those who think it looks really cool (I would agree.)
 
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grter said:
The Spyderco Civilian was originally made for anything but (civilians.) The original aluminum handle liner lock (same basic design prettier but the newer ones are much better made regardless) was made at the request of undercover agents for a self defense knife that can be used effectively by the average layman with little to no knife fighting skills, essentially police working undercover who needed to carry a defensive weapon while on undercover assignments into places where people were carefully screened for firearms before being allowed in.

This is a vicious slasher that can be wildly swung around and very dangerous to an attacker within it's proximity providing a good last ditch effort at escape or incapacitation of said attacker or attackers.

For what it is I think it's great. Unfortunately in NYC Deblasio would jump for joy while you are arrested for carrying something clearly manufactured to be used as a weapon only. The blade length exceeds 4 inches also so it's a no go here in NYC.

Now I have to add that like most everything else nothing is set in stone and I would like to point out that there are horticulturist (maybe a lot them) who love the Spyderco Civilian since it's a convenient light weight easy to carry folder that according them makes an excellent pruning knife due to the blade shape and design. So not everyone who owns one intends to use it as a weapon. Then there are those who think it looks really cool (I would agree.)
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There are less expensive versions:

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https://smile.amazon.com/Spyderco-C...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B001DZT21O
 
Most of my picks would come from Cold Steel again, other companies have some nice picks too but never as consistently IMO.

The Black Talon II is a shameless Civilian copy and I can't see how it's any worse, if you like that kind of claw design.
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They have some ridiculously large mega-folders, some examples shown here, from 5.5 to 7.5 inches. Handles start reaching silly lengths, though. But due to that reason I think some of them can get away without much guard. The cartoon-like Espada XL was already shown above.
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A lot of this stuff says "mall ninja" and is quite tasteless, but the quality is there and I can't see how a 6" folding dagger isn't "better" for such a purpose than something far smaller and classier, from higher-end companies, which maybe was designed by some defense expert or other. That's all nice, but the mall ninja mega-folder still easily wins in the weapon contest. What I'm saying there is that some people seem swayed by the name or prestige instead of making a more analytical choice.

I like the Spyderco Chinook, honourable mention.
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If it's lacking in some basic design features (grip, guard, lock, pointy) I can't consider it a proper choice. For example sometimes I see people suggest in response to such questions, a Spyderco Endura or something, which is a bad joke IMO... at least it's a knife, I guess?
 
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cheygriz said:
If you can carry a knife large enough to be a true fighter, you can carry a pistol.
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Over simplified and inaccurate on the face of it.

There are many places you can carry a large knife that a handgun can't be carried.
There are also many people that aren't allowed to carry a gun that can carry a knife.
 
IMHO: the most effective property of a fighting knife is length. Before all the replies, yes, the most effective attrigute of a fighting person is training. But the OP didn't ask about training, he asked what is the most effective folder. For me, that is the longest one.

That said, I carry a knife for general purpose as the likelihood of needing to fight with it vs. all of the other things I need to do with a knife is exceedingly small.

here's my EDC:

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If you can carry a knife large enough to be a true fighter, you can carry a pistol.
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Even a very large knife tends to be more concealable than a small pistol. I have carried a 9" fixed-blade bowie-style knife concealed, just to see if it could be done and it worked quite well.

The real issue is that I can carry a knife with a blade under 5.5" pretty much anywhere in TX while handguns are somewhat more restricted. And, I can't carry at work, but nobody bats an eye at a large folder.
 
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JohnKSa said:
Even a very large knife tends to be more concealable than a small pistol. I have carried a 9" fixed-blade bowie-style knife concealed, just to see if it could be done and it worked quite well.

The real issue is that I can carry a knife with a blade under 5.5" pretty much anywhere in TX while handguns are somewhat more restricted. And, I can't carry at work, but nobody bats an eye at a large folder.
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You know the law changed right?

https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/5-things-to-know-about-new-knife-laws-in-texas-9573461

As someone who once had a custom knife made to skirt that law I still had a minor celebration.

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Right, but when you get over 5.5", there are some restrictions and the list of prohibited places pretty much mirrors the places that handguns aren't allowed.

Under 5.5 you can carry just about anywhere other than courtrooms and into the secure areas in airports.
 
JohnKSa said:
Right, but when you get over 5.5", there are some restrictions and the list of prohibited places pretty much mirrors the places that handguns aren't allowed.

Under 5.5 you can carry just about anywhere other than courtrooms and into the secure areas in airports.
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Okay, just checking.
 
hso said:
There's no "best" defensive folder.

Get what fits your training, fits your grip, is of a size to strike with closed, as large as you can comfortably and legally carry, can be quickly and reliably deployed, has a reliable lock, and takes a keen edge. Since a defensive folder isnt a work or woodscraft knife edge holding isn't as critical, but you want the steel to be able to hold and edge for several cuts against leather or denim and not chip against bone, belts or buttons.
Click to expand...

All I can add is very well said. IMO, best is what works for each person.

My hands from knuckle to knuckle are a bit over 4", so what fits me; may or may not fit another.

 
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