What Makes A Knife "Tactical"?

[Corpral_Agarn]

Everything I've read said the blade is 3.75 in.

I don't want to be that guy but I had to look it up...
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Benchmade-710D2-Axis-Lock--1725

 

[The Night Rider]

I don't want to be that guy but I had to look it up...
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Benchmade-710D2-Axis-Lock--1725
View attachment 1161640

I believe you. I measured the spine of the knife from the tip to the grip and I got 3.9 too. I assume that they meant the cutting edge?

 

[Speedo66]

I guess the person writing the ad copy decides if it’s tactical, outdoors, survival, hunting, camping, or fighting.

Or just a knife. Using the word tactical with anything anymore has become a cliche.

 

[SteadyD]

If you can attach a weapon light!

I just ate my lunch on a tactical plate, using a tactical fork, and a tactical ....wait for it .... tactical knife. While sitting on my tactical chair in my tactical office. Puns intended. I simply think the term is way over used. As if something called tactical is somehow better.

Tactical post!

 

[GEM]

I prefer Modern Sporting Knife. Is a yellow handle version a tool and black handle a weapon? The jury wants to know.

 

[CapnMac]

So what does make a knife "Tactical"?

Well, obviously, the Red Dot Sight and the bipod

 

[lemaymiami]

If I had to come up with a defining “tactical” description… For me it would be what it was designed to cut… or how it was intended to be used.
That said, every knife is just a tool first and foremost. Different cultures used different tools for the same task…

Nowadays “tactical” is much more of a description of something being sold.

 

[redneck]

Reese now sells a "tactical trailer hitch". The box says it was designed "deliberately"...I think you can call anything anything you want these days.

 

[JohnKSa]

I measured the spine of the knife from the tip to the grip and I got 3.9 too. I assume that they meant the cutting edge?

This is a problem with some knife laws that regulate blade length. They don't specify how to measure blade length.

Is it measured along the cutting edge? Does that make a double-edged knife twice as long as an identical single-edged knife for legal purposes?
Is it the straight line length of the sharpened portion of the knife? (What constitutes sharpened--any beveling at all?)
Is it from the hilt to the tip? What constitutes the hilt in a folding knife?

 

[SteadyD]

This is a problem with some knife laws that regulate blade length. They don't specify how to measure blade length.

Is it measured along the cutting edge? Does that make a double-edged knife twice as long as an identical single-edged knife for legal purposes?
Is it the straight line length of the sharpened portion of the knife? (What constitutes sharpened--any beveling at all?)
Is it from the hilt to the tip? What constitutes the hilt in a folding knife?

This is why I modified a Spyderco Salt knife last year. It was listed below 4 inches but it was possible to measure it at over 4 inches if one wanted to be ungenerous or perhaps even a bit disingenuous.

 

[Blue Jays]

I think among the first folders to use that description was the gorgeous Benchmade AFCK and the Mini-AFCK.

 

[Jonah77]

A

I think among the first folders to use that description was the gorgeous Benchmade AFCK and the Mini-AFCK.

Agree. Definitely the AFCKs are on the list of the first “tactical folders”

Emerson CQC7 is another from that period that comes to mind…

 

[JFrank]

Gotta have s fork fold out to be tacticool

 

[hso]

On a more historical note, Bob Terzuola is the father of "Tactical" folders. In 1979, Terzuola began making knives and joined the Knifemakers' Guild in 1981 on an endorsement from Bob Loveless. Terzuola's first knives were fixed blade designs made for soldiers in Guatemala. Later that year he moved to New Mexico and began making folding knives. He designed the ATCF as a hard use folding knife that could be carried discreetly featuring a 3.5- 4" subdued blade of 154CM and ATS 34, black micarta for the scales, and bead-blasted titanium bolsters. He coined the term "Tactical Knife".

In short, Bob T is the originator of the term Tactical Knife and the father of tactical knives.

 

[Jonah77]

On a more historical note, Bob Terzuola is the father of "Tactical" folders. In 1979, Terzuola began making knives and joined the Knifemakers' Guild in 1981 on an endorsement from Bob Loveless. Terzuola's first knives were fixed blade designs made for soldiers in Guatemala. Later that year he moved to New Mexico and began making folding knives. He designed the ATCF as a hard use folding knife that could be carried discreetly featuring a 3.5- 4" blade of 154CM and ATS 34, black micarta for the scales, and bead-blasted titanium bolsters. He coined the term "Tactical Knife".

Nice! I appreciate the write up. I am familiar with Terzuola and Loveless but was unaware of his history.

Good stuff!

 

[The Night Rider]

I think among the first folders to use that description was the gorgeous Benchmade AFCK and the Mini-AFCK.

Agree. Definitely the AFCKs are on the list of the first “tactical folders”

Emerson CQC7 is another from that period that comes to mind…

I went and looked at a picture of an AFCK and there was nothing about that knife that made me think "that's a tactical knife". More importantly, to me, there is nothing about that knife that would make me think "If I had to go to the field today I would wish I had that knife".

Emerson knives on the other hand, were designed to be used by soldiers and Marines in the field. I remember reading somewhere that they're actually designed so that if you had no other option you could sharpen them on a rock. I would call that a tactical knife.

I like my 710. It has a special place in my heart because it was my first Benchmade and it was a gift but if I were suddenly recalled to active duty today, that's not the knife I'd take.

Out of everything I have (which isn't much) I would take my Buck 110, My Gerber Multiplier, or my Victorinox Trekker and my Gerber Strongarm if allowed.

I would seriously consider laying out for an Emerson.

 

[Blue Jays]

"…I went and looked at a picture of an AFCK and there was nothing about that knife that made me think 'that's a tactical knife'. More importantly, to me, there is nothing about that knife that would make me think, 'If I had to go to the field today I would wish I had that knife'…"

One must also view the Benchmade Advanced Folding Combat Knife (AFCK) through the prism/lenses/goggles of how Benchmade was positioning that knife in 1996-1997 or so when it was hot and brand new.

 

[Jonah77]

I went and looked at a picture of an AFCK and there was nothing about that knife that made me think "that's a tactical knife". More importantly, to me, there is nothing about that knife that would make me think "If I had to go to the field today I would wish I had that knife".

Emerson knives on the other hand, were designed to be used by soldiers and Marines in the field. I remember reading somewhere that they're actually designed so that if you had no other option you could sharpen them on a rock. I would call that a tactical knife.

I like my 710. It has a special place in my heart because it was my first Benchmade and it was a gift but if I were suddenly recalled to active duty today, that's not the knife I'd take.

Out of everything I have (which isn't much) I would take my Buck 110, My Gerber Multiplier, or my Victorinox Trekker and my Gerber Strongarm if allowed.

I would seriously consider laying out for an Emerson.

Edit to add: I *believe* a primary consideration of the AFCK design was that it be a fighting knife first and foremost and a utility knife secondly. Although in my experience, it was one of the most utilitarian designs I have ever EDC’d.

The AFCK was designed by Chris Caracci, a Navy SEAL, with extensive experience in Law Enforcement and martial arts, including teaching defensive and combat training.

I assume some of that training went into the design of the AFCK. Quit a few of that model were indeed “carried into the field.”

As noted above by Blue Jays we are talking about an early 90s design and designs and materials have evolved since then. But back in it’s day it made quite an impact.

 

[RA40]

We'd seen the usage of "combat" though the mental image is not very positive. Somewhere in that early to mid 90's we'd hear "tactical" being used. The Benchmade AFCK and "Navy Seals" along with the other ops teams were frequently brought together in these designs to promote them. Still used today.

 

[The Night Rider]

One must also view the Benchmade Advanced Folding Combat Knife (AFCK) through the prism/lenses/goggles of how Benchmade was positioning that knife in 1996-1997 or so when it was hot and brand new.

Edit to add: I *believe* a primary consideration of the AFCK design was that it be a fighting knife first and foremost and a utility knife secondly. Although in my experience, it was one of the most utilitarian designs I have ever EDC’d.

The AFCK was designed by Chris Caracci, a Navy SEAL, with extensive experience in Law Enforcement and martial arts, including teaching defensive and combat training.

I assume some of that training went into the design of the AFCK. Quit a few of that model were indeed “carried into the field.”

As noted above by Blue Jays we are talking about an early 90s design and designs and materials have evolved since then. But back in it’s day it made quite an impact.

I don't disagree

 

[JohnKSa]

I think when you look at folding knives, there's a clear line. I don't know if the proper word for the category is "tactical knife" but it's obviously a very different category than "pocket knife".

When considering fixed blade knives, things are harder to delineate.

 

[Blue Jays]

"…I *believe* a primary consideration of the AFCK design was that it be a fighting knife first and foremost and a utility knife secondly. Although in my experience, it was one of the most utilitarian designs I have ever EDC’d…"

Agreed. My sense is because the shape of that old school ATS-34 blade had plenty of useful "belly" for everyday common tasks it offered tons of utilitarian capability. Loved the opening hole they licensed from Spyderco, too.

"…I think when you look at folding knives, there's a clear line. I don't know if the proper word for the category is 'tactical knife' but it's obviously a very different category than 'pocket knife'…"

Exactly, there is seemingly a feeling you just know when you heft the blade.

 

[JohnKSa]

Not just that, they have features that set the two categories apart.

Most pocket knives have a smooth finish and streamlined shape to make for ease of carry and to be friendly to pockets. "Tactical" knives tend to have some kind of aggressive texturing, or at least some kind of grip shaping to insure a good grip during vigorous activities perhaps under less than ideal conditions.

Almost all "tactical" folding knives are going to have a clip and some kind of one-handed opening provision to allow rapid deployment one-handed. Those aren't features you see very much in pocket knives.

Almost all "tactical" folders are going to have a locking blade. You do see some pocket knives with locking blades, but it's pretty much a requirement for anything called "tactical" whereas it's not even all that common a feature for pocket knives.

And so on...

 

[hso]

Almost all "tactical" folders are going to have a locking blade.

A knife without a locking blade won't be a "tactical knife" and a knife with a lock may not be a tactical knife, but all tactical knives will have a lock.

 

[JohnKSa]

In the absence of legislation, I would say that's correct. Laws against locking knives have resulted in some knives that would otherwise be considered to be "tactical" that don't lock to get around that legal restriction.