Here's another review for you. This knife is the Kabar TDI, a law enforcement-style fixed blade. Former SWAT member John Benner designed it as a last-ditch weapon for an officer, and it carries the initials of his defensive school (Tactical Defense Institute). The system (knife and sheath) is 3.9 ounces in weight. It's available in plain or serrated edge, different blade lengths, and various finishes. This one is the basic short, black model; 1480. It's made in Taiwan and will cost about $40 on average.
Handle Details: The TDI is a full tang knife, and the tang is fully exposed. Handle length is just over 3-1/2", and the unique curve is quite comfortable. It's designed to draw and point like a pistol. You might think this is good only for thrust attacks (stabbing) but you'd be wrong. The TDI will slash just as easily. The knife is easily gripped in either hammer grip (tip up) or icepick grip (tip down). The handle scales are black hard plastic, and they're lightly textured with a cobblestone pattern. They're secured to the handle tang with six (three on each side) blackened T-6 screws. There is no lanyard hole. There are grooves for your thumb on the ramp right before the blade begins, and at both the front and rear of the butt of the knife. The grip is pretty easy to get into position and hold on to, even with gloves on. This knife will not allow your hand to come forward onto the blade; the design simply won't allow it. It's very comfortable. The handle is thin enough to go unnoticed on a waistband; it's 1/2" thick.
Blade Details: The TDI's blade is made of AUS-8, and has a 2-1/8" long cutting edge. It's flat ground starting at the 3/4 way up, and is 1/8" thick. The entire blade, even the area under the handles, is coated black. The grind line is uncoated, of coarse. The left side of the knife has the TDI logo on the blade and KA-BAR on the tang; the right side has 1480 (the model number) next to TAIWAN on the tang. All markings are lasered on in a light gold color. Mine came out of the box sharp enough to slice paper, and shaved hair after a quick stropping. I like everything about the TDI's blade except that there's no jimping on the spine of the blade; the jimpig ends right when the blade begins. I have larger hands, and more grooves would be welcome. Other than that, it's a typical great Kabar blade.
The Sheath: The TDI comes with a black hard plastic sheath. Retention is great; not too loose and not too tight. It is tight enough that you can turn the sheath upside-down and shake without the knife coming out, yet the blade is easy to deploy. There are no straps or fasteners; it's just friction holding the knife in. There are grooves molded in to the top of the sheath so you can push off to deploy the knife if you wish, and they meet with the grooves on the blade's spine. The entire package, including the clip (more on that below) measures 5-3/4" long and 3/4" thick. It goes unnoticed on most belts, and can be easily hidden under a normal T-shirt. The TDI goes into the sheath only one way, but the sheath is totally ambidextrous. It has four holes in it; two at the bottom and two at the top. You could make this a neck knife or under-the-arm rig easily. Oh yeah, there's a drain hole in the bottom as well.
The clip will vary, depending on if you got the older stock or the newer one. The older stock has a black plastic piece, which is flat. It screws on to the sheath and will facilitate belt carry. It's shown in the photo above. The new stock comes with a metal belt clip (shown below).
In the photo, the clip is polished stainless steel, but every one I've seen in real life had a subdued black finish. The clip can be positioned for either tip up or tip down carry, left or right handed. It cannot be mounted for horizontal carry. It's actually a well-designed clip, in that it won't slide off your belt the way most clip-ons do. This is accomplished with a small tab, bent inwards. Just remember this at first so you don't shred your belt up trying to remove the sheath.
The belt attachments, whether the plastic one or the steel one, both attach the same way. Four T-6 screws are screwed into an opposite bolt. Small O-rings provide cushioning against over-tightening. While removal is easy, the screws are small and easily lost, so I recommend buying two sheaths (one to keep the clip on permanently and one for alternate carry).
Conclusion: The TDI was looked at for its first few months as a "mall ninja" knife by the local law enforcement. After carrying it for a while and seeing how unobtrusive and handy it is, many changed their thoughts. I have no word on anybody who has used one as a weapon against a human (dogs are another matter) but most of the LEOs are still carrying them. Must say something about the knife. For the $40 price tag, it's one nice piece of cutlery.
Handle Details: The TDI is a full tang knife, and the tang is fully exposed. Handle length is just over 3-1/2", and the unique curve is quite comfortable. It's designed to draw and point like a pistol. You might think this is good only for thrust attacks (stabbing) but you'd be wrong. The TDI will slash just as easily. The knife is easily gripped in either hammer grip (tip up) or icepick grip (tip down). The handle scales are black hard plastic, and they're lightly textured with a cobblestone pattern. They're secured to the handle tang with six (three on each side) blackened T-6 screws. There is no lanyard hole. There are grooves for your thumb on the ramp right before the blade begins, and at both the front and rear of the butt of the knife. The grip is pretty easy to get into position and hold on to, even with gloves on. This knife will not allow your hand to come forward onto the blade; the design simply won't allow it. It's very comfortable. The handle is thin enough to go unnoticed on a waistband; it's 1/2" thick.
Blade Details: The TDI's blade is made of AUS-8, and has a 2-1/8" long cutting edge. It's flat ground starting at the 3/4 way up, and is 1/8" thick. The entire blade, even the area under the handles, is coated black. The grind line is uncoated, of coarse. The left side of the knife has the TDI logo on the blade and KA-BAR on the tang; the right side has 1480 (the model number) next to TAIWAN on the tang. All markings are lasered on in a light gold color. Mine came out of the box sharp enough to slice paper, and shaved hair after a quick stropping. I like everything about the TDI's blade except that there's no jimping on the spine of the blade; the jimpig ends right when the blade begins. I have larger hands, and more grooves would be welcome. Other than that, it's a typical great Kabar blade.
The Sheath: The TDI comes with a black hard plastic sheath. Retention is great; not too loose and not too tight. It is tight enough that you can turn the sheath upside-down and shake without the knife coming out, yet the blade is easy to deploy. There are no straps or fasteners; it's just friction holding the knife in. There are grooves molded in to the top of the sheath so you can push off to deploy the knife if you wish, and they meet with the grooves on the blade's spine. The entire package, including the clip (more on that below) measures 5-3/4" long and 3/4" thick. It goes unnoticed on most belts, and can be easily hidden under a normal T-shirt. The TDI goes into the sheath only one way, but the sheath is totally ambidextrous. It has four holes in it; two at the bottom and two at the top. You could make this a neck knife or under-the-arm rig easily. Oh yeah, there's a drain hole in the bottom as well.
The clip will vary, depending on if you got the older stock or the newer one. The older stock has a black plastic piece, which is flat. It screws on to the sheath and will facilitate belt carry. It's shown in the photo above. The new stock comes with a metal belt clip (shown below).
In the photo, the clip is polished stainless steel, but every one I've seen in real life had a subdued black finish. The clip can be positioned for either tip up or tip down carry, left or right handed. It cannot be mounted for horizontal carry. It's actually a well-designed clip, in that it won't slide off your belt the way most clip-ons do. This is accomplished with a small tab, bent inwards. Just remember this at first so you don't shred your belt up trying to remove the sheath.
The belt attachments, whether the plastic one or the steel one, both attach the same way. Four T-6 screws are screwed into an opposite bolt. Small O-rings provide cushioning against over-tightening. While removal is easy, the screws are small and easily lost, so I recommend buying two sheaths (one to keep the clip on permanently and one for alternate carry).
Conclusion: The TDI was looked at for its first few months as a "mall ninja" knife by the local law enforcement. After carrying it for a while and seeing how unobtrusive and handy it is, many changed their thoughts. I have no word on anybody who has used one as a weapon against a human (dogs are another matter) but most of the LEOs are still carrying them. Must say something about the knife. For the $40 price tag, it's one nice piece of cutlery.
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