I make knives. I could go on and on about the different types of knives and which ones are good for what and why, and I have before in other things I have written, so I will attempt to briefly address the key points before discussing some of my favored knife types and why.
Not all blades of a given type are created equal. First off, consider your steel. Remember that steel is NOT a naturally occurring metal, it is an iron alloy, that means iron with other stuff. Stainless is fine for kitchen knives or anything that is going to stay wet or be exposed to salt water, but, other than that, leave it alone. Stainless usually has a high chromium content. It is shiny, but soft, meaning it dulls very quickly and will not take a keen edge. Medium to high carbon steels are best. 5160 is a nice middle ground suitable for most purposes. D2 is another favorite, and it is rust-resistant.
Secondly, consider your grind. If a seller cannot tell you what kind of grind a knife has, they have no business selling knives. Hollow grind is the sharpest, it's what you find on straight razors. Also called "clam shell grind" because of the shape of its cross-section. This is also the thinnest grind, so it makes for the weakest blade. Hollow ground knives will break or dull quickly, and wear away to nothing with repeated sharpening. Avoid in all but the smallest blades. Flat grind is next in terms of sharpness, therefore next-to-last in terms of strength. This is good for a basic utility style pocket knife. The Scandinavian grind is best for survival type knives. They are rugged, and will take plenty of abuse. Chopping wood is fine, but they are not so great at fine carving, just rough shaping. Scandinavian grinds do well on larger, fixed blade knives. Chisel grind gives you a balance of strength and sharpness at the cost of ambidexterity. An Emerson grind is basically a finer chisel grind. The Moran grind is a personal favorite. Also called an "apple seed grind" for the shape of its cross-section, this grind gives you the sharpness of a flat grind with strength almost as great as a Scandinavian. Sharpen this grind with circular motions, as you would in honing an axe (most of which have convex grinds, which the Moran is a finer version of).
Laws about knives vary drastically from state to state, and jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For instance, many of the knives I can carry at home, in the county, are not legal to carry in the city, even though I am still in the same state. For this reason, I cannot really comment on the legality of knives like I have the other weapons in this series. Best just to check your own state and local laws and find ways to adapt accordingly. Personally, I would like to see all weapons made legal, with a licensing system instated that requires legitimate training for each class of weapon- stick, flexible, small blade, large blade, sword, pole arm, long gun, hand gun. It's not that I think it would be a good idea for people to run around with swords. I mean, most people would have sense enough not to. I am just saying, that's freedom, and if a person really wants to, let them as long as they aren't hurting anyone who hasn't tried to hurt them, and who is going to pick a fight with someone crazy enough to carry a sword? Especially when the law requires that person actually train with the sword and apply for the license to carry it! Bottom line, I don't think the standard handgun safety course is enough for any weapon, least of all firearms. Training should be more like what we see in martial arts, not some slap-dash weekend crash course ... but I digress... Without further ado- knives;
*a word on styles- bladed weapons of all types basically fall into two main style categories; cut-and-thrust or hack-and-slash. These go back to the early days of blade warfare with weapons like the long sword and saber. This, again, goes back to the basic martial arts principles of linear and circular styles. If you are heavily geared toward soft, generally circular styles, you may want to consider curved, slashing style blades, whereas straight blades work better with linear movement. In the end, just use whatever you have available, and train with whatever you are comfortable with, but if you are considering exploring a new weapon or style, it may help to consider these factors jointly.
Pocket Knife- The common folding knife comes in practically every configuration imaginable. These are probably considered the least threatening and, therefore, less likely to get you in trouble with the law just for having it. If you carry a pocket knife regularly, a few things can make it better for use as a defensive tool should the unfortunate need ever arise. First, look for one with a hole in the handle for a lanyard. Having something to wrap around your hand (I like the thumb-catch-over-the-fist method as seen with the Dan Bong) can really help you retain control of the small handled folding knife. You also want something with a strong locking mechanism. The friction-locking types are likely to collapse onto your fingers in the thick of it, which is likely to get you killed, and, at the very least, you will be badly injured. The size of the tang (the part connecting the blade to the handle) and strength of the rivets should also be considered. This is always going to be the weak point of a folding knife, but it may as well be the strongest weak point you can get. Finally, you basically want to carry the largest folding knife you can legally get away with. Most pocket knives are straight "cut-and-thrust" style, and small blades just don't reach vital organs. Curved blades can do massive slashing damage even if they are not very long, but straight blades can only cut so much. Either one is just a superficial wound, but a substantial enough superficial wound may be enough to send the bad guy running to the hospital rather than staying around to give you trouble. For this reason, wide bladed "skinner" type knives make good EDC (every day carry) pocket knives because they give you a fair balance between cutting and slashing.
Balisong- The pocket knife of the Philippines, and likely the oldest type of folding knife there is. In many areas balisongs, colloquially known as "butterfly knives" due to the wing-like action of their two pivoting handles, are legal to buy and own, but illegal to carry, which is dreadfully unfair because they are literally no more dangerous or threatening than any other folding knife. The biggest difference is that this design makes for a much stronger and safer locking blade than the standard western varieties. Yes, people do a lot of fancy tricks with them, making their balisong look almost like a tiny pair of "nunchucks", and all this fancy movement is about as useful as what you see with nunchaku as well, which is to say- pointless. At most you can use the closed knife as a fistload, which you could do with a regular pocket knife, or even a loose battery, or maybe use the handles to pinch someone, which you can't do with a regular folding knife, but why would you want to pinch someone you should be stabbing? If I am coming off as bitter, it's because I am profoundly annoyed by ignorant weapons laws passed on such utterly illogical grounds as "it looks scary" ...anyway... the balisong usually comes with a straight, single edge and clip point design, with a blade more or less the length of the palm. Practicing opening the knife quickly, with one hand, from various positions, is the hardest thing about training with this knife. Other than that, it is the ideal folding knife design in terms of strength and utility. This is a cut-and-thrust weapon.
Karambit- A small, curved knife which may have an single or double edge, inspired by a tiger's claw and used in the Indonesian martial science of silat. A characteristic of the karambit is the finger ring located at the end of the handle.This is used primarily for retaining the grip, but is sometimes used for extending strikes.These cause only superficial wounds, and put the user at risk of having the handle grabbed and their finger broken, but it is used mostly for distraction and surprise attack. The karambit is my favorite small knife because it serves admirably in a utilitarian capacity (I use one daily) and can be effectively used in defense, even with the gross motor skills of an untrained person. With knowledge and training, however, this becomes a brutal hidden weapon that is nearly impossible to disarm... or to see coming. If single edged, it is always sharp on the forward curve for hook-like strikes that sever arteries, tendons, and reach behind bones and joints to break them. If double edged, the convex back curve delivers wide slashes on the back-draw. I use mine for skinning game, cleaning fish, and cutting rope and zip ties mostly, but I take comfort in knowing that if I ever were forced to use it on a human being, I could do so with quick and devastating effectiveness.
Stiletto- The "switch blade" is the most well known knife to sport a stiletto style blade, but not all stilettos are spring operated. Originally a fixed blade, stilettos can now be found with standard type folding and locking blades, legal to carry in many jurisdictions. It is a very narrow cut-and-thrust blade, especially adept and piercing deep into tissue and getting between bones. Usually single edged with a clip or spear type point, the thin shape and small tang of the folding types make them very fragile.
Sgean Dubh- Scots Gaelic for "black knife" the sgean dubh (pronounced like "shane do") is a miniature dirk made to be carried in the sock or garter of the Scotsman's full dress kilt. A dirk is a spear-pointed knife which may be single, double, or one and a half (sharp from tip to handle on one side, and only half way down the other, with a thick spine running the rest of the way to the handle) edged. Dirks and sgean dubh have no guard, only a swelled handle to keep from slipping. It is a last ditch cut and thrust weapon, easy to change grips with and difficult to see coming owing to its small size. The blade of a sgean dubh may be 1-3 inches, but rarely more, and the handle only just big enough to fit in the hand. In the old days, this was a Scotsman's basic utility and whittling knife.
Tanto- A single edged fixed blade with a distinctively square (well, parallelogram, actually) shaped point, usually no more than one foot in overall length (blade and handle). Part of standard samurai equipment, this cut-and-thrust style dagger is superior at breaking through hard materials without chipping its point.
Combat Knife- I didn't want to list it as "Ka-Bar" which is a brand name that receives far too much press, but that is the name commonly associated with a particular type of fixed blade, clip point, single-edged knife with a half-guard and, usually, stacked leather handle with metal butt cap. This knife superseded the old trench knife from WWII, which was a longer, narrower blade with a set of brass knuckles for a handle. The Ka-Bar company supplied the armed forces with a fine combat knife, but, in my opinion, they let the popularity go to their head and production quality has severely diminished over the years. The design itself is pretty basic for a cut-and-thrust fighting knife. Strong, high carbon steel, usually a flat or scandi grind. The guard and butt cap both help keep the hand from slipping. Reverse (point opposite side of the hand as thumb) and forward grips are used. Practice switching between grips helps to improve skill.
Machete- Long, thin (cross-section), wide-bodied blades primarily used for utility, agriculture and domestic purposes. Believe it or not, a variety of machetes are considered standard kitchen equipment in some parts of the world. I use mine for chopping meat, cutting melons, and hulling coconuts often enough. Machetes come in a wide variety of shapes, each more suited to different purposes. The "Latin" style is most common, having a long, straight blade which gets wider toward the tip as it curves broadly up to a straight spine. The "sugar cane" machete is probably next in terms of familiarity. These are very broad and square-shaped, almost like a comically sized meat cleaver, sometimes with a small bill hook on the back tip. Other styles include the leaf-shaped barong, the curving panga, the rectangular golok and tapanga, all have their uses. Generally speaking, machetes are all hack-and-slash style weapons.
Bowie and Toothpick- The classic American frontier combo. The well known Bowie may have been quite different from the large, rectangular, single edged, clip-pointed blade we know it as now back when Jim first commissioned it. The little known "Arkansas Toothpick" is a large, double edged dagger meant to accompany it. The story goes that Jim asked the smith (named Smith, as is natural) to make him a knife to suit all his needs. He asked that it be heavy enough to chop wood, sharp enough to shave with, and wide enough to use for a boat paddle. At least, that's how the legend goes. Contemporary descriptions of the original used the word "bill hook" and spoke of a sharpened top edge on the upper third, implying that it may have had a more sweeping point and incorporated a secondary, sickle-like back blade. In any case, the bowie has a long, straight edge extending from the handle with a wide curving point, creating both cutting and slashing edges to work with. The old frontiersmen were a lot more civilized and classically trained than people realize. The bowie and toothpick fighting style was actually based on classic fencing. The bowie was meant to be used like a saber or cutlass and the toothpick took the place of the main gauch or parrying dagger. The shorter length of the bowie made it more practical to carry than a saber, while the weight gave it about the same heft and chopping power. The toothpick is more of a cut-and-thrust style weapon, though its design is still quite broad. Both blades are usually about a foot long, with the bowie being about as wide as the palm and the base of the toothpick only a little less, the later coming to a fine, triangular point.
Kukri- My favorite large blade. It is single edged and somewhat "boomerang" shaped which is much wider at the forward portion than it is near the handle. The ergonomics of the design cause it to begin cutting before the arm even begins to exert force upon the target. Heavy chopping with the upper portion does not dull the lower portion, due to the wide "belly" of the upper, meaning it remains very sharp for cutting at close range, targeting areas such as the wrist or neck. Stabbing is also possible, contrary to popular belief. Though the point is off-center from the palm, making it difficult to aim, it is anatomically more stable because the fist is held in line with the ulna and radius, rather than bending the wrist down as you must do with a straight blade (making you more prone to injuries such as sprained or broken wrist due to a glancing blow). Personally, I find it to be a very functional blade, using it much like someone else might a hatchet or bowie knife. I have chopped down trees, cut fire wood, cut back overgrown hedges and overhanging tree limbs, and quartered animals for meat using my kukri many times.
Cinquedea- A transitional weapon that lost out to fashion. It came in the days between when men carried broadswords and when they became more "civilized" preferring the more "gentlemanly" rapier. The cinquedea allegedly takes its name from "five-fingers" which was supposed to refer to its width at the base. It is a short sword/large dagger meant to deliver the force of a broadsword in a more compact package. In a way, it is much like the "Arkansas Toothpick" which is almost a slightly more modern reincarnation of it. The cinquedea used to incorporate multiple fullers (more commonly known as "blood grooves" albeit mistakenly) to help reduce the weight. Thrusting with such a wide blade and giving it a twist as you pull it out does MASSIVE tissue damage and leaves a gaping, bleeding wound. Believe it or not, this would actually do more damage than a gunshot.
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