Current Military and Law Enforcement Knives

I'll speak on this simply because I spent almost 2 decades between guard and active, also have some LE time.
Military- I was issued the benchmade rescue hooks several times. I was issued a serrated Benchmade AFO once in like 2001. The M9 was issued to me once around the same time, never carried it. I have been issued several Gerber multitools. I bought a RAT 3 after I got to my unit and carried it everyday in garrison and deployed until I replaced it with an ESEE 4 which took its position and got carried everyday until my last 2 or so years. No one ever gave me any hell about carrying a fixed blade. A winkler blue ridge hunter covered my last year or so. My personal purchase folders were usually serrated spyderco models. I do have an Emerson CQC 7 that was with me my whole career and got carried often.
LE- folders abound. A lot of cheap non sense, but the majority of them I have seen are middle of the road. Spyderco endura/ delicas, benchmade griptilians, Coldsteel voyagers and the like. Most of them combo edge. The various Benchmade autos are somewhat common. Fixed blades are usually small and hidden somewhere opposite the duty pistol. I have not heard of anyone issuing knives to their officers/ deputies. If I was gearing up to patrol right now I would probably have a benchmade Bailout with partial serrations, and a bradford Guardian 3.5 in my kit.
 
sabre cat said:
Just a quick question. I may be wrong but, you strike me as a big Strider Knives fan. Am I right?
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No. Back when they were first introduced, I bought a couple of Strider folders that I liked the looks of. I was quite pleased with their strength and construction, but I did not like their ergonomics and felt that they were overpriced. Later I purchased a fixed blade that I really enjoyed (but still thought was overpriced).

That was all pre-outing. Once Dwyer and Burger were exposed as frauds, I refused to buy any more of their products. I don't support valor thieves or liars.

That said, I found the whole situation sad because I believe both men to be innovative and talented knife makers. If only they had stood on their own merits and not fabricated fantasy backgrounds, who knows what they might have become.


sabre cat said:
What about Cold Steel and SOG?
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I like SOG knives well enough. I think the company has had some beautiful designs over the years, particularly in the early days. In recent years, I've purchased a few newer Seki-made SOG folders that are excellent and find their way into my EDC rotation. Now that Spencer Frazer has retired, I'm not sure that I'll discover much I like in the SOG Knives catalog.

I'm an unabashed Cold Steel fan and have been since the company's founding. I carry and use its knives routinely, and the brand is always at or near the top of my list when people ask me for carry recommendations.


Silent H said:
1) Yes, many in the Military carry folders. So do many civilians. I'd say the manufacturers have geared a significant portion of offerings to the tacticool military wannabe demographic, since that's bigger than the actual military demographic.
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Roughly one million actively serving in the U.S. military, which leaves roughly 329 million American civilians. I'd say the knife companies know which side their bread is buttered on. But that doesn't mean that the military influence doesn't dominate the industry.

As an aside: "Tacticool military wannabe" demographic? I've never quite understood this animus. As a military member, don't you want to be admired and venerated? Weren't there service members who inspired your desire to join? Where are the high-speed guys of tomorrow supposed to come from if there aren't teenage boys and young men dreaming about filling those roles today? If someone wants to carry a knife because the members of a unit he admires do, I don't see why that should bother anyone.


Silent H said:
2) The biggest advancements in modern folder construction have been the liner and frame locks. As far as I know, neither of those were specifically military driven. As for materials, I guess the military has driven that in an indirect way. Titanium, G10, and Carbon Fiber are very prevalent in the aerospace industry, and innovation in the aerospace industry has typically been tied to government and military projects.
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I consider locking mechanisms to be design features. I was speaking more about construction methods. Socket head cap screws, CNC machining, advancements in high-tech heat treating--all of these received their impetus for widespread use from military need. The adoption of aerospace-derived materials that you mentioned was exactly what I was referring to.


N4SIR said:
most of my nypd and fl cop friends carry microtech socoms or ultratechs
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Now those are some high-end choices! Are they knife guys, or did the departments get deals?


-Steve
 
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The Whip said:
No. Back when they were first introduced, I bought a couple of Strider folders that I liked the looks of. I was quite pleased with their strength and construction, but I did not like their ergonomics and felt that they were overpriced. Later I purchased a fixed blade that I really enjoyed (but still thought was overpriced)...

-Steve
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I am surprised. You come across very passionate about all three brands.

I considered Strider’s SJ-75 but finally decided against one because of the price and the backside smooth titanium scale.

As for SOG, I have owned a few but have zero plans to own any more. I am down to one,
a Flash 2. Best folding steak knife I’ve ever had.

Cold Steel just is not my cup of tea. I am intrigued by the American Lawman though.
 
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Hard for me to believe that infantry or Specops would not be issued some sort of very large fixed blade
Knife. I would imagine there is a good chance of CQB.
 
Pinemoon said:
I had to Google that one
Interesting to hear that you are actually issued this.

30210_HoudiniProBlack by Pine
Moon, on Flickr
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yup, that’s the one. I’ve used it a few times and it works great.

The jail issues this one. They’ve cut down multiple people trying to hang themselves.
D9MvmKa.jpg
 
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sabre cat said:
I am surprised. You come across very passionate about all three brands.


I considered Strider’s SJ-75 but finally decided against one because of the price and the backside smooth titanium scale.


As for SOG, I have owned a few but have zero plans to own any more. I am down to one,

a Flash 2. Best folding steak knife I’ve ever had.


Cold Steel just is not my cup of tea. I am intrigued by the American Lawman though.
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Perhaps it was my zeal for the combat knife topic that you were seeing. As I mentioned earlier, it's a subject I've been pursuing most of my life. I think that's why I got so frustrated by some of the posts in the early stages of this thread. Here was another opportunity to discuss one of my favorite forum topics, and a few people who always seem to speak even when they have nothing to say were chiming in again to derail it.

The funny thing is that the folks who seemed the most riled by my initial post (yourself included) weren't the objects of my ire! I don't like singling out posters to chastise them (we're all adults, that's a moderator's job, and it only leads to ugly, pointless confrontations that waste everybody's time), but I guess when you send a warning shot with a shotgun instead of a rifle, everybody in the room thinks you're shooting at him.

Anyway, the SJ-75 seems like a fine knife. I've always liked its looks. But for the reasons I've stated, I'm done with Strider.


So that this post doesn't take the thread off-topic, I'll finish with pictures (not mine) of what I believe to be one of the coolest knives ever procured for the modern military, the Microtech QD Scarab modified for issue to SEALs.

IMG-7118.jpg


IMG-7115.jpg


IMG-7119.jpg


IMG-7116.jpg


IMG-7117.jpg


According to a Microtech rep I spoke to at a knife show, the fluting in the blade and the holes in the base of the handle were necessary to permit the knife to function underwater, an obvious requirement for members of NSW.

Now that's a knife I'd love to be issued!


-Steve
 
Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with one of Napa Country’s Finest about the concept of issuing a duty knife to LEOs.

The deputy stated that the idea was a topic of discussion within his department but no decision had been made. He was very quick to add that training was also a consideration.
 
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It’s funny how military or Police spec stuff is often raised on a pedestal.
The reality is, the majority of issue stuff is bought in mass to a tight budget.
I know I had to get my own boots and Bergen because the issue stuff was hopeless.

We fare better in HM Coastguard with good Petzl and Keela stuff as well as decent Haix boots but the issue head and hand torches are utterly useless as are the gloves; we all buy our own.

We don’t even get issued a pocket knife which gets used all the time; only our rope harnesses have a strap cutter.
 
Polzeyboy said:
It’s funny how military or Police spec stuff is often raised on a pedestal.
The reality is, the majority of issue stuff is bought in mass to a tight budget.
I know I had to get my own boots and Bergen because the issue stuff was hopeless.

We fare better in HM Coastguard with good Petzl and Keela stuff as well as decent Haix boots but the issue head and hand torches are utterly useless as are the gloves; we all buy our own.

We don’t even get issued a pocket knife which gets used all the time; only our rope harnesses have a strap cutter.
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Petzl I have heard of.

What’s Keela?
 
Velitrius said:
Hmmm. I have no idea how many innovations trickled down from the battlefield to Joe Sixpack's EDC. Fun research project though.
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Saw this video last night.
It gives some support to military knife innovation trickling down to common knife nuts like us.
It has an Army Ranger commenting, but his knife knowledge appears to be low on the pole.
The guy from Blade HQ has the interesting comments.
What'ya all think? Is what he's saying credible?

At 4:45 the Emerson Rangemaster Sheepdog, designed for SEAL Team 6

At 18:50 Spyderco Autonomy built for the Coast Guard ( P Polzeyboy )

At 39:00 ZT brand was founded for hard use military and law enforcement

At 40:40 Knife designs come from direct feedback from military


 
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I’m a cop in a large midwestern city. Most guys carry crappy “tactical gas station” knives. Partially serrated with the glass breaker.

I’ve seen a few guys with ultratechs, ZTs or Spyderco, but the average officer isn’t a knife connoisseur.
 
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