My nephew has been in ROTC and will be graduating college soon. He's already spent his summer training at Fort Knox instead of regular basic training. I want to buy him a combat fixed blade fighting knife for graduation. I need some suggestions for a knife that will survive combat if he ever has to go. Like to keep the price under $400 but can/will spend more if you convince me. If there is a folding knife that you think has more merit let me know.
Thanks for the help

dmtsc

To be honest, while not custom, I really like these: Gerber Strongarm or these.. BTW, if you know someone that has BX access they're about 50% less in clothing sales.

They're well made and don't cost and arm and a leg. In other words he'll use it.  99.99% of the time a knife for a warfighter is for opening shit, cutting shit, prying shit, etc.. killing people with knives is extremely rare. I know of guys who've done it...Somalia, in the house to house fighting, had some knife kills but it's rare. Get him a good tool for daily use and not too heavy. A 1lb knife could be another 30 rd mag.

If you're heart's set on a custom knife I can sell you my Brend #2 for $3k...

I'd look into a Carter Cutlery FS-1, or a Carothers Combat Shiv (not produced in any great numbers).

Can never go wrong with a Busse.

^This

Swamp Rat (Busse's sister company) makes great knives as well if you want something a little more affordable

ESEE - Great carbon steel knives with a lifetime warranty (no questions asked)

Randall - if you want something that is a classy, but still very functional.  My father and I had a custom randall made for my brother-in-law before his first Iraq deployment in 2006/7.

Why a fighting knife and not a utility knife?

I'd go with several not super expensive knives so he can lose or trade them periodically. CRKT or Kershaw or something. Check Woot for sales. I think ESEEs have been going cheap on Amazon lately.

You can get a Chris Reeve Pacific for $325, that would make a very nice and fitting gift. Take a look at them at Blade HQ or a few other places.

Bark River Bravo1

Esee Junglas for $160.

Esee 4 for $110.

Spyderco PM II in S110v for $140.

He's got his bases covered for just about any situation, save for cutting cord wood.

Chris

Thanks for the help guys.

Check out Half Face Blades.  The guys a retired SEAL and his knives are some of the best looking knives I've ever seen IMO.

It's also a long waitlist I just received my notification they're ready, 10mos later.

Or Chris Reeve Green Beret

Ek.

Their website is live now, and they have knives from time to time. Was yours a custom order?

Yes sir, getting a 'Crow Scout Jr'

Said it should be about a month once paid before knife is in hand.

I have a black esee 4 with a sharpened spine that is in great shape. It is an excellent knife, and would fill a defensive/ fighting role beautifully.

The warranty is second to none. I carry mine occasionally when I am drinking and therefore cannot legally carry a gun.

Or look at ScrapYard Knives for a little more savings.  

Wait time for any Busskin knive can be long.  Aftermarket  will be faster but more expensive

Esee will replace it no questions asked. Doesn't matter if he snaps the blade trying to pry something, etc.

TOPS US Combat Knife




Edit-new forum seems to be harder to post pics from phone?  Great.

Your intent is wonderful and I appreciate the reason behind the gift.

The knife, however, won't be carried in the field or used. Very few in the Armed Forces do. The reality is that loaded out with 85 pounds of gear, a battle rifle, possibly an auto pistol, communications gear, etc etc, the addition of another 16 oz of war material gets intense scrutiny.

I did that - carried either a Glock "trench" knife or a Gerber Mk II in Officer Basic, there were maybe a dozen others in our class of 100, and for the most part they were useless. If we needed a weapon we were already lugging around an M16 and plenty of ammo which weighed us down. If we needed a big blade we had the e-tool which is sharpened on one edge. I was in Infantry, in discussion with others who weren't combat arms, they spent as little as two days in the field. Mine was 85% in the field. Depending on the Branch he accepts he may be overdressed with a 4" lockback.

A "combat knife" for graduation is a largely ceremonial gift with little current application to the actual needs of a field soldier - and most do not actually live in the "field." They run things in a "green zone" behind wire with their weapons racked at their work area. It's the combat arms guys who go into unfriendly territory and for the most part if that is his job he will be assisting the platoon sergeant in directing troops to engage the enemy while communicating on the radio.

I pretty much sold off my Gerbers, Randalls, Swamp Rats, and other "commie killer" knives over the last ten years simply because they didn't do anything except appreciate in value - because they were largely unused and the popularity immensely exceeds their value as a combat weapon. I now rely on more utilitarian blades for the most part, simple clipped locking liner knives in the $50-100 price range which I can afford to misplace and replace where ever decent knives are sold. Losing a $400 knife would be intense - i misplaced my Strider SnG for a month and vowed never again to buy another expensive knife. They are nice - but a $250 knife is not 5 times better than a $50 knife in any respect other than resale.

Better a six blade Swiss Army with scissors and woodsaw, a quality multiplier from Leatherman, and a 4" clipped liner lock. You get a lot more usefulness from that triple threat combination. And these days, none of them are even needed to open up an MRE. Tools are much more rarely required for a soldiers personal upkeep.

Except those scissors. They come in really handy and you are not likely to give yourself a 5 stitch injury with permanent nerve damage. Don't ask how I know.

busse badger attack

busse team gemini light brigade mini

my top 2 choices for 5 - 6 inch blades

badger can be had for around 400, TGLB-M is a little more but worth it imo.

or the son of badger SOB for around $350.

another good option is the swamp rat ratmandu for $180 ish

I would say go with a fixed blade but nothing large. We had a safety brief from our Battalion XO coming into Afghanistan and he said "big ass knives are a no-go"! I tend to agree.

Having carried all sorts and sizes of knives overseas and at home I find a fixed blade of around 7 1/2" - 8 1/2" in total length with a 3-4" blade and thickness of 3/16" is just about right.

If he needs something to pry doors open then someone in his Platoon should be carrying a sledge or a halligan tool. Enlisted men pry doors open, not the officers.

Get him two spydercos or benchmades. He will beat them to death and probably lose one. Utility knives will get much more daily use than a fixed blade.

Whatever you get him he will appreciate it.

This.

A mid sized multi tool and either assisted or auto knife is all he'll really use. I've lost so many knives it makes you want to cry, so kept extras in my locker.

That said, the ESSE 4 or Benchmade Infidel would be nice gifts.

Have carried all kinds of knives in the field, and used them for a variety of knifey tasks, and have finally settled on the following combo pack:

ESEE-4
SOG PowerPlier
Victorinox Swiss Army Tinker

With these three knives, I can do literally everything I need to do in the field except shanking commies, but I have a squad of machinegunners for that, anyhow.

EDIT: All of the above being said, a Chris Reeve Green Beret or Pacific would be an awesome gift for any military guy, even if all it ever did was sit in a case.

Whatever you decide, I am sure he will appreciate it!