Knife picking

[Rogelio]

Hi:

As I have posted earlier, I carry a GLOCK 25 and a knife for self defense. The thing is that I alternate between an Andujar Butterfly Knife and an old UZI knife (one side straight, the other one is serrated on the lower half). I carry the forst one in a very convenient nylon pouch that is great for all day carry, and the second one is carried in a hard plastic case with a button that gets the knife out. Sorry about not having any pictures...both blades are of the same lenght.....Which one would you guys pick?? I carry both comfortably, but lately have been thinking that the non folding one would be much quicker to draw...

Also, yesterday I was at the gun store and saw a really nice knife (the kind you guys have in your "knife and gun" threads..those with a little thing over the blade to open one handed)...would it be a good carry choice???

Thanks

 

[Drjones]

You have a butterfly and a fixed blade, correct?

Fixed blade definitely.

Fine motor skills are the first to go under stress. Strong chance you won't be able to open the folder, especially not a butterfly.

 

[Penforhire]

I only wear a folder to be inconspicuous. The fixed blade has performance advantages. You never worry about the lock failing. Time to open is zero. Grip size & shape are not compromised.

 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Butterfly knives are cool, fun, and they can be intimidating when they're spun around by an expert. That said...

They are NOT serious weapons. They are too slow to deploy. They lack any sort of guard to keep your hand from sliding forward, off of the grip and onto the blade. Their locks generally aren't sturdy enough to stand up to really serious stress. These are all things you want to avoid in a knife you expect to use as a weapon

The fixed blade, on the other hand, should excell in all of those areas. If your primary use is as a weapon, then the fixed blade is unquestionably better.

But why not cary both blades?

 

[winstonsmith]

Fixed, definitely.

Here's a little drill. Punch a bag, or a pillow, or the air for 10 seconds, then draw one knife. Then punch some more and do it with the other. See which one is faster.

Guarantee it's the fixed.

 

[Rogelio]

Wow!! The fixed blase is incredibly fast to use, and the butterfly is kind of hard to deploy with adrenaline and blood pumping all over your body!!

Now...which one is better for a REAL NEWBIE...sharpening stones ot those polymer sharpeners??

 

[Mr. Bombastic]

If you can carry a fixed blade, do so. A folding knife is inherently a compromise.

Two fixed blades I'd like to carry if self defence were legal here, is the Spyderco Yojimbo, and the Emerson La Griffe. Two very different, but great knives. They are both small-ish, so shouldn't be hard to carry at all.

I bought a Spyderco Sharpmaker a month or so ago, and found it very easy to put a great edge on my knives. The Sharpmaker even comes with an instruction video.

 

[Rogelio]

Thanks for everything...now, is there a FOOLPROOF sharpening technique??

 

[MaterDei]

is there a FOOLPROOF sharpening technique??

Take your dull knives to a gun show. Usually there is a guy there who sharpens knives.

Pretty foolproof.

 

[Mr. Bombastic]

The Sharpmaker I mentioned is pretty 'foolproof'. The first time I ever properly sharpened a knife was when I bought it.

 

[Rogelio]

The sharpmaker sounds really nice..but it is not available here in Peru...what I can get is a Gerber sharpener..it has "ceramic rods" and looks kind of easy to operate...it is onlu USD 6.00, so I guess it would not hurt to try it out...

Edited to add: This is the sharpener we can get here..it is the pocket model...it it good??will it really make my blade sharp??

Thanks

 

[JShirley]

(Seconds Sharpmaker suggestion.)

In fact, I have two new knives I need to sharpen...

John

 

[Mr. Bombastic]

I have the Gerber pocket sharpener too. It won't put nearly as good an edge as a full size sharpener, but it will sharpen to a moderate degree.

If you have no other sharpener, the Gerber is worth having. It'll do its job.

I 'cut my teeth' on the Gerber, before moving onto the Spyderco.

 

[Rogelio]

So..it won´t be a razor -sharp blade...but will it do for self-defense purposes??

Now, can you explain the coarse and fine sharpening to me ?? Gerber says it has both..what are they??

 

[Mr. Bombastic]

Yes, it will more than do for self defence. You might be able to get your knife razor sharp, it's just that I am REALLY crap at sharpening, and found I could only get a moderate edge with the Gerber. You might be better at it.

Coarse takes off more steel, and makes tiny little serrations in the edge. An edge like this cuts (slashes) very well, but you need to pull the blade to cut.

The fine stones polish up the edge to make the blade very sharp and capable of push cuts aswell as pull cuts (by push, I'm talking about the edge and not the point of the blade). However, this type of edge dulls quicker and takes longer to create than a coarse edge.

Either edge is fine for self defence, since stabbing rules under gross-motor, fighting for your life conditions.

I put a fine edge on my knife, as I mainly cut paper and stuff with it, but a coarse edge would be better for cardboard or rope cutting.

Try 40 strokes through the coarse, then 40 through the fine and see how sharp the blade is. Vary the amount of strokes as needed. Don't press hard on the blade as you run it through the sharpener, I find light pressure works much better.

 

[Rogelio]

Thanks for the tips.....ok...50 thru the coarse and 47 through the sharp one made the knifes sharp as hell!!!!!

Thanks Bombastic, Thanks everyone.

 

[Mr. Bombastic]

No problemo.

Now you've given the knife its first good sharpen, sharpening the knife in future shouldn't take as long (since the first sharpen is when you have to remove most metal).

 

[son of a gun]

I just picked up my first Switchblade the other day and have another one on the way, there legal here in Florida.

 

[The Tengu]

All butterfly knives are typically pieces of crap. Even the very nice and expensive butterflies are not made well enough for me to have any real confidence using one to defend myself.

Too many moving parts to handle in moments of stress, and the moving parts are exactly what makes butterfly knives weak; the joints cannot take very much stress.

They are better than nothing. Just not by much.

You are way better off with a Spyderco/Cold Steel/Benchmade, or even a $30 Gerber EZ-Out from Wal-Mart.