Dirty Bob
Member
I carry a sword daily: next to the driver's seat in my car. It's a Condor "Combat Machete," which looks like a smallish gladius. It fits nicely in a little "pocket" on the floor, to the left of the driver's seat. I can open the door and get in, but it sits low enough that no one has ever noticed it.
I don't worry about it like I would a firearm, while the car is parked in a parking lot for many hours per day.
If someone were to try smashing a window and invading my vehicle, I don't think a small gladius is a big step down from a firearm. I know how to use it and fought with a short sword in the SCA. A wide, double-edged blade is also sort of intimidating. Maybe it would bring about an attack of common sense in someone who just broke a car window, at least long enough for me to drive away.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of a sword/machete over a firearm is that it isn't a danger to someone in the next car, across the street, etc. The other is the low cost for an effective machete.
For something big, inexpensive, indestructible and well made, find a Japanese-made hori hori knife. I have the one in the link, and it's a beast! The knife is made for gardening—including digging—and it's slightly concave on one side of the blade, like a trowel. I've often thought that an infantryman might be better off with a sharp hori hori in a good sheath—and a multitool—than with most other combat knives, given how often a soldier needs to dig.
It takes some work to sharpen up, but it's a solid knife of good steel. The sheath is garbage—meant for resting on a shelf, not for carry. This is one of those knives where you can see that all the money and effort went into the blade. Love it!
All my best,
Dirty Bob
I don't worry about it like I would a firearm, while the car is parked in a parking lot for many hours per day.
If someone were to try smashing a window and invading my vehicle, I don't think a small gladius is a big step down from a firearm. I know how to use it and fought with a short sword in the SCA. A wide, double-edged blade is also sort of intimidating. Maybe it would bring about an attack of common sense in someone who just broke a car window, at least long enough for me to drive away.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of a sword/machete over a firearm is that it isn't a danger to someone in the next car, across the street, etc. The other is the low cost for an effective machete.
For something big, inexpensive, indestructible and well made, find a Japanese-made hori hori knife. I have the one in the link, and it's a beast! The knife is made for gardening—including digging—and it's slightly concave on one side of the blade, like a trowel. I've often thought that an infantryman might be better off with a sharp hori hori in a good sheath—and a multitool—than with most other combat knives, given how often a soldier needs to dig.
It takes some work to sharpen up, but it's a solid knife of good steel. The sheath is garbage—meant for resting on a shelf, not for carry. This is one of those knives where you can see that all the money and effort went into the blade. Love it!
All my best,
Dirty Bob
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