Posted: 1/6/2002 4:45:27 PM EDT
| does anyone know the current issue knife for the Navy Seals, and the Special Forces? My friend is interested in buying one because he wants to have the civilian versions of the military's sniper rifles, Special Forces AR15, and the AR10 which he hears is now seeing limited military use. |
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GUNNER 1 With any of the teams there really is almost such thing as "standard issue" and don't let anybody tell you otherwise. Especially on the issue of blades which is an issue near and dear to any opperator's heart. Probably the most popular line is those made by Strider. There is generally a 1 year wait on their knives. They are unbelievably made and have a price tag to show it (normally in the $300 plus range which is a good deal for a Strider). Their site is [url]www.striderknives.com[/url] I recently was finally set up as the Midwest dealer for Strider Knives and should have my first shippment in soon. You'll notice on their site there is about 5 dealers in the country. Ryan [url]www.bluelinegear.com[/url] P.S. If you meet a SEAL and tell him you have a SOG SEAL 2000 you will get laughed out of the bar. |
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"As used by Navy SEALs" means the manufacture gave some to a SEAL team once. It rarely means that the SEALs actually use them in operations. I'd bet that 50% or more use the tough but cheap Ontario marine knife (basically a black KA-BAR), which they can get issued to them. Others will buy their own knives, or may be lucky enough to get the Navy to pay for one they want. These will be from a number of top *custom* knifemakers, not from any of the mass-production companies. Don't get me wrong; for the things that most of us use a knife for, there's nothing wrong with production knives. But when you need a knife that has to take an incredible amount of ABUSE and survive (not necessarily unscathed), you need a tough, strong knife. And for the most part, that means a custom knife. Strider, TOPS, Mad Dog, and Randall are a few of the companies that make these knives. -Troy |
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From what I've gathered (talking to a few former guys) they carry pretty much whatever they want in every department as long as it fits in with the team's needs, and it depends on the mission. I also think that "knife" is pretty low on their list of items to specialize...as long as it cuts and doesn't rust that easily, they have more important things to worry about. |