Knife for law enforcement officer

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laker199

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Jan 7, 2018
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My son is a LEO and I would like to get him a daily carry knife for on duty. Does anybody have any suggestions on what to buy for him?
 
I have high regards for Spyderco with a part serrated blade. Depending on his hand size, a Paramilitary 2 would suite his hands needs well I would assume.
If you want to go with an automatic & one that he could use strictly 1 handed, a Microtech Ultratech with the double edge, full serrated blade. That way, on 1 side, it's a straight edge & on the other, a full serrated blade. If money isn't a problem, I would hands down go with the Microtech in that configuration. 1 handed, best of both worlds with it. If he needs a beefier blade, go with the Combat Troodon by Microtech. All depends on what your price range is.
 
First, I would suggest finding out what his department will allow him to carry. This varies widely from place to place. After determining that, a couple of general suggestions would be:
1) Something that works one-handed and is ambidextrous
2) A general purpose blade rather than a dedicated fighter
3) A knife that can easily be either repaired or replaced if need be

And, as others have said... be sure to thank him for all of us for what he does.
 
I carry/use on of the following daily:
- Cold Steel American Lawman
- Spyderco Endura
- Spyderco Native Salt SE
- Spyderco Tasman Salt SE

Several Emersons used to be on that list, but they are out..

in addition, I allways carry a LM Surge or Charge TTi.

any of the standard, classic Spyderco-knives will do. I haven’t tried any Benchmades, but they will most likely do the trick. I’m looking at the BM Bailout in cpm M4 myself atm

edit: spyderco police 4 LE in VG10 could be a great gift to, I know I would have loved to get one as a gift!
 
Pr3inar said:
I carry/use on of the following daily:
- Cold Steel American Lawman
- Spyderco Endura
- Spyderco Native Salt SE
- Spyderco Tasman Salt SE

Several Emersons used to be on that list, but they are out..

in addition, I allways carry a LM Surge or Charge TTi.

any of the standard, classic Spyderco-knives will do. I haven’t tried any Benchmades, but they will most likely do the trick. I’m looking at the BM Bailout in cpm M4 myself atm
Click to expand...
How do you like the American Lawman?
 
laker199 said:
How do you like the American Lawman?
Click to expand...

It’s very light, good grip, nice grind.

I like the Spyderco-clips better, the CS clip is to hard. And the action is a bit grittier than my Spydercos.

it doesnt shut closed as hard as I expected, and the detent is weaker than my other backlocks (and SAKs). There is no problem with this, it works perfectly fine and good, I just mention this because I read that the triad lock was supposed to be super hard before I bought it. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have thought about it.

I can just recommend it, it was my first CS, and it hasn’t dissapointed yet!
 
I carry a Benchmade Presidio 5000 Axis Auto on duty. It is a discontinued model, but the newer Presidio II (5700) Axis Auto is a great knife too. The Presidios are somewhat beefy, which makes them easy to hold with or without gloves. They have a drop point blade great for general purpose tasks, but are large enough to be pressed into the defense role. I personally like the Axis Auto mechanism over button operated side openers, because it is ambidextrous. I carry it on my off-hand side if needed for firearm defense, in addition to general utility needs. In a gun defense/high stress situation I can reliably open it using little effort with either hand by pulling back on the Axis bar with my thumb, as opposed to hoping I put enough “oomph” into a manual knife with thumb studs or an opening hole under stress when fine motor function might be impaired.

The Cold Steel American Lawman (and the Recon 1, for that matter) are great knives for utility. I’ve had both, and tried them out on duty some years back, but they do not meet “my” personal criteria for fast opening. The Triad Lock, though insanely strong and reliable, does not lend itself well to fast, natural deployment, particularly with one’s off hand.
 
I would say get him two blades, a smaller, fully serrated sheep's foot or hawkbill from Spyderco.
These come in super handy for cutting synthetic material like seatbelts and the crap crack heads store their junk in.
Next I'd get a Microtech Ultratech or SOCOM Elite. Those wouldn't be bad for self-defense and they're great for general utility.
They would also be a lot of fun to play with if he's gotta sit in the middle of no place for hours waiting on someone to break the speed limit.

I realize these aren't cheap so my final suggestion would be a serrated TDI from Kabar.
This would cover everything a LEO would need and it'd be cheap.
Lots of LEOs I know prefer knives and guns that are somewhat "throwaway" equipment where it's good enough quality to do the job but no big deal if lost, broken, or
confiscated for evidence or court or whatever.

If you get him any quality knife from a quality company it will be leaps and bounds better than most of the military surplus/ gas station crap I see a lot of military and LEO guys and gals carrying.
Spyderco, Microtech, Kabar, Cold Steel, Benchmade, ZT etc. take your pick, you can't go wrong.
Hell, get him a knife every year for Birthday or Christmas, he'll look forward to a new knife every year and then he'll have plenty of options for what to grab when it's time for his shift.

Also, we wish him the best and God bless him every single shift, it's freakin dangerous out there and LEOs are NOT, in my humble enough opinion, paid enough for what they do. I was an EMT/ Firefighter for a little while and decided I'd be better off fixing air conditioners and wiring buildings. For me, it just wasn't worth what you put up with for what you get paid, but God bless those that step up and protect random strangers regardless of the money.
 
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An OTF with a reversible clip like the Hogue Exploit or Compound would be good, it that's in your range and is legal for him to carry.

Also a sheepsfoot serrated Spyderco Caribbean. Rustproof LC200N steel. It also comes in plain edge and a more standard blade shape as well.
 
You will want to get him a knife that doesn't break the bank, especially if he is not a knife knut. But you still want to get quality. I think the best option is the Spyderco Endura full flat grind. You can choose from an array of handle colors, too. Ambidextrous one hand opening and closing, the clip can be set up for right hand/left hand/tip up/tip down carry, whatever is preferred, good steel (VG-10) that is also easy to sharpen for a non-knife knut, and good build quality. If the Endura is too big, the full flat grind Delica is also a good option, essentially a smaller version of the Endura.
 
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