Combat Knives? - AR15.COM

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Posted: 10/22/2004 10:56:48 AM EDT

Hey all. Quick question. I know the Marines get issued a field knife and the army does not. What are the regs on a field knife for an 11B to carry? I'm prior service, just not Army so i have no idea. Thanks.

Posted: 10/22/2004 11:05:00 AM EDT

[#1]

In my limited experience (3 years in the 101st), there is the official regs, and what the Infantry allows. Soldiers are not allowed to have any blades longer than 4 inches long in the barracks, but for the most part that is not enforced. In the field, you can see anything from 300 dollar Cold Steel knives to 20 dollar Rambo blades. But whatever else, Infantrymen love knives.

I think it is kind of a way to distinguish us from pogues, as they never carried knives. In Iraq, had a small (6 inch blade) Cold Steel utility knife. Compared to other knives some of the guys carried, it was pretty damn small.

Posted: 10/22/2004 11:07:53 AM EDT

[#2]

Yea. I love Cold Steel personally. I was looking at one of these:

Recon Folder

of one of these:

Recon Scout

Posted: 10/22/2004 11:16:52 AM EDT

[#3]

The recon folders are sweet. Got the spearpoint & I'm thinking about ordering the tanto blade for my next folder.

Posted: 10/22/2004 11:44:55 AM EDT

[#4]

I carried a custom 9 inch bowie knife when I was on active duty.

Posted: 10/22/2004 12:01:08 PM EDT

[#5]

Haha. Folders don't count. They have to be big, fixed blade knives you can strap on your gear. We had one guy who was nuttier than a bag of peanuts, but a good, aggressive soldier (it goes hand in hand). Always had a big-ass blade (at least 9 inches). One day we were waiting for some HMMWVs on the bayonet course. So he and his buddy got board and started throwing their knives at shit (trees, bayonet dummies). Well he threw his knife hard at one of the bayonet dummies and it bounced back and almost hit him. He immediately got pissed and charged the dummy and punched the shit out of it, nearly broke his hand.

Anyway, you had to be there. I laughed my ass off.

Posted: 10/22/2004 1:13:33 PM EDT

[#6]

I keep a Cold Steel Safe-Keeper 3 push dagger clipped to the inside of my IBA. Nobody knows it's there but me, and it's easy to get to. I use a push dagger cause they're hard to drop when you have to use them. They just kinda dangle there between the fingers in the middle of yer hand.

Posted: 10/22/2004 2:19:17 PM EDT

[#7]

I always carried a K-BAR or my Jungle King II with a boot knife as a backup.

Semper Fi

Posted: 10/22/2004 2:35:18 PM EDT

[#8]

Ka-Bar's are nice. I'm really liking that Recon Scout by Cold Steel as well. All i want is a knife that i can depend on in the event i have to depend on it.

Posted: 10/23/2004 7:30:19 PM EDT

[#9]

If your thinking about a folder you can bet your life on I'd recommend an Emereson. Saved my ass when I was in the Navy once. Emerson
I had a Spec War B until someone stole it from me. That's the one that saved me. I carry one similar to the Spec-war B except it has some modifications to it that give it a better grip and such. By the way, your name B-O-A-T-S, is that as in Bos'n mate?

Posted: 10/24/2004 3:32:15 AM EDT

[#10]

I'm in a deployed infantry unit and it runs the gamut of what you see guys carrying. I heard horror stories of guys not being able to bring fixed blade knives or having to surrender them to the amnesty box. With that in mind I brought multiple folders instead thankfully the amnesty thing never happened in our unit. To be honest they issue the m9 bayonet and it will work for rough stuff and my favorite benchmade folders get the fine work done, so the idea of bringing another piece of gear I have to wear on my body armor with all the other stuff did not appeal to me.

Posted: 10/24/2004 4:48:07 AM EDT

[#11]

Dang, did you guys just make me feel old for in my days everyong got issued a bayonet.

Anyway, I really like the Kbars for a general purpose knife and my pref in a bayonet is a Buck M9, both of these knives are excellent however heavy.

For a light fixed blade general purpose, I lean to this:store.knifecenter.com/pgi-ProductSpec?BU102 or this if you want a slightly longer blade: store.knifecenter.com/pgi-ProductSpec?BU105

In my day though it was the M7 which I can't recommend for shit.

Tj

Posted: 10/24/2004 5:29:23 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
By the way, your name B-O-A-T-S, is that as in Bos'n mate?

Yes it is. I was in the Navy from '99 to '02 and served on the USS SIDES FFG-14 out of SD.

I appreciate all the input. I'm still trying to get a straight asnwer from SFC on the issue. I've handled quite alot of folders and have some that i definately put my life on. In the Navy all we could carry was a folder, so i carried alot of SOG's and CRKT's.

But i think if i'm gonna have to carry a folder over there, then it'll be good size folder. lol.

Posted: 10/24/2004 8:15:05 AM EDT

[#13]

in My experience...the best knife I ever carried was a Multitool (of Your Choice) and a good folder. the big pig stickers just are not that handy nor convienient. Loose a $300 knife in the field and you'll only do it one time. you ever notice ya rarely see the E-6/E7's carrrying a big ass knife. cause they learrned thru experience. but you don't see a E-1-E-4 without some big ass knife strapped somewhere on their gear. Kids....

If ya just gotta have one I would recommend any of the Cold steel's. for the $ your getting a good solid tool that if you loose it, you won't feel that bad. And if your a Marine....well.. I think you KNOW what knife you need to be carrying.

Posted: 10/24/2004 8:27:28 AM EDT

[#14]

Well boats, The Emerson I mentioned is just over 8 inches open. There is a bigger version that's made just for a local shop here in Norfolk. If I had the money I'd buy it. It's expensive as hell. I've used the Emereson for everything from opening ammo crates and as a pry bar to cutting myself free from the P-n-D line when I was about to get pulled over board once. The only other large folder I'd like is the Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn Combat folder. A-F Combat

I'm not sure what else is out there but these are the ones I've used and like as far as folders. If you want a fixed blade go with a Kabar. They've been around for years for a reason. I've got a Ontarion knife works Spec-plus that I've had for about 10 years and has taken every bit of abuse I've thrown at it. Cheap and reliable.

Posted: 10/24/2004 9:03:10 AM EDT

[#15]

I love big "mean looking" well made (meaning expensive) knives. The Phrobis (M9 bayonet) was a shity utility knife. I usually left it attached to the side of my ruck. I carried a variety of expensive blades while I was a grunt. I lost a EK dagger on the DMZ and that put and end to that. I switched to a variety of different Camilus or Ontario utility blades. My favorite was the Navy Mk 3 Mod O but it had a crappy scabbard. I actually ended up modifying the EK's sheath for it. Now days there are a varety of good designs well built for a reasonable price ($50-100) look through the online shops for Becker, SOG, Ontario and Camilus. I would stick to blades between 5-7 inches. I would also get a drop leg sheath for field use. I currently carry a SOG Seal Pup for field use and a multi tool. A good heavy folder is a good choice as well.

Isn't this in the arong forum??

Posted: 10/24/2004 10:04:36 AM EDT

[#16]

Thanks for the input. I put this topic in this forum specifically because i wanted input from other military individuals, not say perhaps some of the done it all before they were 20 yrs old crowd.

That Gerber folder also looks nice... man all the choices. I've even see na few Ka-Bar's that didn't look like standard issue USMC knives that looked promising. Either way i go i guess i'd be all right. I'm not one to worry about price as long as the quality is good. Thanks for the input.

D2 Impact Combat

Posted: 10/24/2004 10:35:30 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
I'm not sure what else is out there but these are the ones I've used and like as far as folders. If you want a fixed blade go with a Kabar. They've been around for years for a reason. I've got a Ontarion knife works Spec-plus that I've had for about 10 years and has taken every bit of abuse I've thrown at it. Cheap and reliable.

The Kabars are one tough knife. The steel is 1095 carbon steel, which is a type of spring steel. It's used in road grader blades, springs etc. But the real magic in knives is not the material, but the hardening process, which is a real trade secret. Real tough stuff.

From other threads, some people perfer the Ontario RtAK knives because of the better balance.

Posted: 10/24/2004 1:30:31 PM EDT

[#18]

What kinda knife does USMC Infantry get issued?

Posted: 10/24/2004 3:23:06 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
What kinda knife does USMC Infantry get issued?

Only knife I was ever issued was an M-7 bayonet.

Posted: 10/24/2004 3:32:23 PM EDT

[#20]

The new USMC bayonet is nice:

Posted: 10/24/2004 4:30:29 PM EDT

[#21]

Oh sweet. I'm even more happy that I'm going Marines now.

Posted: 10/25/2004 4:48:52 AM EDT

[#22]

I believe it still depends on the unit. I carried at one time or another a Gerber BMF, Gerber Aussie Bowie, a kukri, Ka-bar, Buck 119 (6" Bowie), M-9.....I wound up carrying a machete, the Ka-bar, a folding pruning saw, and a Swiss Army Knife (SAK).
I also carried a Gerber boot knife in the small of my back clipped to my belt, never knew it was there and it was surprisingly secure.

I wasn't really in love with the M-9, it was hard to sharpen and has an uncomfortable handle. I really love my Cold Steel ODA, it's not so expensive that you would cry if you lost it (like a Randall, for instance).

At the worst buy the knife of your choice and have it mailed to you after you arrive in theatre.

The biggest risk is your chain of command, as not many people from outside your unit will approach you while you are armed to the hilt with your personal weapon, 15 loaded mags, a few grenades and an AT-4 over your shoulder sitting behing an M-240 and tell you that your knife is too big....

Posted: 10/25/2004 4:59:21 AM EDT

[#23]

M-9's suck period. They will not sharpen well in the field, the handle is to small in diameter, and is very slippery when wet. The balance on that knife is very bad all the weight is up front so it makes it very bad for most tasks. The Army has never took blades very serious and the M9 proves that.

Yes the military does not focus much on edge weapons training and that is a key reason you will not see senior ranking NCO's with large blades. How many people have broke there E-tools in the field because they were chopping some thing with it. That is a task that a large well made blade can do easily.

If you don't want to lose your blade tie it off to your gear! Most people don't carry big blades for the simple reason they don't know how to use it in the first place.

Posted: 10/25/2004 5:03:25 AM EDT

[#24]

My buddy (came back from Iraq in April) carried a CRKT SF-14 (pretty sure that was it) dual hilt folding tanto bladed knife.
It is VERY quick to open.

What you need is one of these....Randall Knife model 1 fighting knife.

Posted: 10/27/2004 2:24:09 PM EDT

[#25]

WhenI was in Iraq, in 1991, In the Infantry, I carried a little Swiss Army knife, for MRE's, paracord, and such, the issued M-9, which sucked, a Camillus K-bar knock-off, and a USAF survival knife.

In my unit, we had everything from Cold steel tantos and SRK's to Randalls and even a couple of Kukris.

Our only restriction was that it had to fit on our LBE.

Posted: 10/28/2004 5:18:47 PM EDT

[#26]

where can u buy the marine bayo?

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