Knife defense
- Thread starter Loosedhorse
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Owen Sparks
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- May 27, 2007
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A bear hug? That is where cutting is effective. All you need is to create a little wiggle room and after a deep deliberate cut the bad guy will want loose from you a whole lot more than you want loose from him. Once that happens and you get a little space go right back to stabbing.
(In reply to the above post, of course)
I agree that cutting is a good response to a bear hug (if the situation merits lethal force), but my point was that for practical purposes, if you can actually carry an 11" bowie or similar knife, it will be very, very difficult to draw if you are entangled. You would need to move your hand approximately 8-9" in a single direction, a very obvious movement might add. If someone really knows how to hold onto you this would be overly difficult and you'd be likely to cut yourself. If you are in a car, stall, corner, etc, forget about it.
My point was simply that this is why I prefer centerline carry of 2-3" blade length knives.
I agree that cutting is a good response to a bear hug (if the situation merits lethal force), but my point was that for practical purposes, if you can actually carry an 11" bowie or similar knife, it will be very, very difficult to draw if you are entangled. You would need to move your hand approximately 8-9" in a single direction, a very obvious movement might add. If someone really knows how to hold onto you this would be overly difficult and you'd be likely to cut yourself. If you are in a car, stall, corner, etc, forget about it.
My point was simply that this is why I prefer centerline carry of 2-3" blade length knives.
EvilGenius
Member
I think anything up to 5" would be much easier to deploy and wield in that kind of range than something like a Bowie knife and just as effective.
Yes...additionally I think what you might find is that, if we concede that point-driven knife work is the best way to run a knife that size, especially in-close, that there is a sweet spot based on the size of the user, and the situation. Even a 5" blade in a VERY close situation may be hard to work in and out repeatedly.
If it is necessary to use a knife in a lethal force situation to protect your life or loved ones, you probably want to stab as hard and often as possible, until you don't have to. I submit that a 3" bladed knife that you can stab 3x as often and 2x harder with, is superior to a 5" bladed knife that is awkward and forces you to articulate your wrist at strange angles.
As an example the Clinch Pick is optimized for this, with the edge on the back (to provide shearing power as you pull the knife back toward you after a stab) and has the perfect angle for, well, clinch work too (slightly rearward of the center-line of the knife handle, with a slight hawkbill curve to the cutting edge).
(NB: in that picture Phil Elmore is holding the knife awkwardly. He should be white-knuckling it with the thumb clamped down over his fingers, and if he did, it would force the point back some)
If it is necessary to use a knife in a lethal force situation to protect your life or loved ones, you probably want to stab as hard and often as possible, until you don't have to. I submit that a 3" bladed knife that you can stab 3x as often and 2x harder with, is superior to a 5" bladed knife that is awkward and forces you to articulate your wrist at strange angles.
As an example the Clinch Pick is optimized for this, with the edge on the back (to provide shearing power as you pull the knife back toward you after a stab) and has the perfect angle for, well, clinch work too (slightly rearward of the center-line of the knife handle, with a slight hawkbill curve to the cutting edge).
(NB: in that picture Phil Elmore is holding the knife awkwardly. He should be white-knuckling it with the thumb clamped down over his fingers, and if he did, it would force the point back some)
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