Anybody carry a knife for self-defense?

[13blades]

This is pretty interesting and funny to read.
Cant carry anything in my fair country. My edc is a lil bone handled sheffield slip joint that I inherited from a relative and its great. I'd never use it as a self defense weapon. I like the cane idea. I shall look forward to that one when I'm a lil older maybe. My defense weapon of choice may seem strange though. A ball point pen. Goes in my right front pocket. (And no its not for drawing silly pictures on the baddies) I can get it out real fast, its light, its pointy, and its legal. But I am 24 years old and have never had a public fight and have only been in one aggressive confrontation that ended quite well (they walked away). I have broken a couple of fights up. Its not that I cant fight but I'm much more of the don't bother anyone else and they wont bother me sort. Did a few years of martial arts a long time ago. I met an Aikido sensei once from hawaii who said the best defense was a good pair of legs to run away on. I'm the non offensive sort. With any luck I will never be in any public fight. But i'm still waiting for the day.........

[tr4252]

One of the smartest guys I ever knew once said "If you have to resort to violence, you've already lost".

Tom

[BTB0923]

One of the smartest guys I ever knew once said "If you have to resort to violence, you've already lost".

Tom

Well said!

[blademan]

I carry a Due Buoi classic sometimes..razorsharp and strong good to use as a utility knife only the mechanism to deploy isn't working well..8 of 10 times it wont open correctly.
I use it as a utility knife or to slice my apple..or for defending oneself if attacked by a animal.

[Dpaul]

i always carry my cold steel knife wherever i go for my protection.and I like using cold steel knife.

[Vagrant]

I maintain a knife is a TOOL [or collectable]
As a weapon it is only really useful offensively and NONE of us are criminally inclined
Against a .45 [or even a .22] it is a total joke
Against a CANE it is a piece of junk lying on the pavement [but your broken bones stay attatched so they don't add to the pavement litter]
It is really time for reality to become part of the thought process
If a knife is all you have, it beats a roll of quarters, but not by much. [by the time you get a knife deployed, someone with a roll of quarters has "tagged you" twice"]
Only politicians and the intellectually challenged, think of a knife as a "weapon".
And in my state, even the politicians know better, and in May legalised ALL knives - no size or type resrictions at all. If you wish to carry a 15" Stiletto, you may do so, but it is too big for comfort

[Tom19176]

I tend to agree with Al on most of what he said, but having grown up in a really bad part of NYC and then being in law enforcement there, I can tell you I have seen a knife used many times successfully in self defense situations. In most of these cases, the person defending himself had a good sense that he was soon to become a victim, and had a knife ready for use. Many people walked home from a subway to their house with a hand on their knife ready to defend them selves. A gun is always the best, and a cane will beat a knife when a knife is displayed before use. The people who suceesfully used a knife for self defense understand it only has value as a weapon when used quickly and in a deadly manner. In my law enforcement days, most of the victims of a stabbing thought they were punched because they never even saw the knife, and this included robbery suspects who were stabbed by their victims. A knife is a tool, but can be an effective weapon when used correctly, but it should never be used to display as a weapon with the hopes of chasing off the bad guy.

Of course avoiding a fight is always best, but when you are jumped walking home on pay day by two or more people who also think it is fun to beat you even if you give up your money, then you have to fight. I also did the martial arts thing for seven years in college and beyond, and used what I learned several times in law enfocement work, mostly to quickly restrain a suspect. Running is great when you can do it, but when you're the guy that has to go after the bad guy, running doesn't work well. The bad thing I find is that I still good after the bad guy when I see something go down, and that is not always the smart thing, but it has become a part of my make up at this point.....

[blademan]

A gun might be right for self defense if someone else opens fire at you from a distance, but what if a bullet misses target and hit's something 300 ft. further..
a big responsibilty when you pull the trigger.
someone in my neighborhood was recently attacked by a mad dog and he used his butterfly knife to kill the dog by one stab in the head.
That might sound cruel but it was him or the dog.

[Viking45]

As many of us here I have carried a knife most of my life and feel incomplete without one.
Having a knife on me is a built-in instinct. I don't think to myself- Hey I better have a knife when I leave the house in case I am attacked. I carry one at all times.
If I am dressed,I have a knife in my pocket.

Having a gun for self defense is not an option for many of us.
I have a Sig Sauer P220 in 45 ACP loaded with Winchester Personal Protection rounds that are 230 gr hollow points and have the white brass case.
However this gun stays in the house and only leaves when I take it out to shoot for fun or if I travel which is very rare.

As far as a knife for self defense I have chosen a knife that can withstand rugged use in the woods,cut a rope and if needed it could be used to defend myself.
A fixed blade is always better than a folder but unless it is at an easy reach and not in your boot then a folder will do.

If a person chooses to carry a knife with the idea of using it in a self defense situation one should be very familiar with it. It should be comfortable and know it's function inside and out.
Learn a few self defense moves from military training guides or study and practice moves from self defense guides/books/videos.

I would prefer a hickory pick handle over a knife but walking the streets with a 3 ft club is not a good idea
I do like the ASP baton,seems like a much more practical way to defend yourself.
If the mugger,rapist or meth freak has a gun just give him what he wants,nothing in your pocket is worth dying over.
Better your pride is hurt than a bullet through a lung.

One final note- Just like "Defensive Driving" can prevent a car wreck being aware of your surroundings is the key to staying out of harms way.
Avoid unfamiliar alleys,roads etc. You see some thugs on the street turn around and go the other way. Act as if you forgot something by looking at your watch but don't show any signs of fear.
I was with a guy I really didn't know well back in the 80's and this idiot pulls up to a house to buy some weed. (I had no idea what he was doing at the time)
We go inside and these two guys were acting very strange and for good reason,they didn't know me and they didn't know this idiot I was with very well.
The first thing I did was look around and saw a huge glass ash tray on a table.
If sh*t went down I was going to feed one of the freaks that ash tray on my way out the door.
The knife in my pocket was at least option two or three.
Many things can become a weapon. I am a hillbilly,since childhood I was always proficient with a rock.

[blademan]

I know these tactics when you want to avoid certain individuals in the streets..especially when they turn op behind you..enough nutcases in the streets who attack complete stranger in the back, when i notice that someone behaves strange behind me, i cross the street even if i dont really want to.

[TRYKER]

i always carry a knife, i just feel naked with out one, but i also carry this canemaster cane, thats 1 1/4'' pieace of hickory also hal blue eyes and black epoxy finish



http://www.canemasters.com/dtnc-walking-cane-p-305.html

[Vagrant]

That is a CANE !!!
I carry a Deercane -
http://www.talkblade.info/viewtopic.php ... t=deercane
I managed to save one

[robcelani]

This is a great thread and been fun to follow and read. I see a lot of different views and ideas of self defense. I guess that is where most of my confusion is from. When I think about self defense I'm imaging a scenario where I've been jumped, didn't see it coming and the guy (or multiple attackers) is on top of me. If I could get the advantage by fighting I would. If not I think I would use my knife. Since the above scenario has never happened I don't know for sure I would actually use it but I feel confident based on physical and mental training I've practiced. I'm a good fighter with no weapon. I get paid to fight and teach other people how so I'm comfortable with combat and even violence in that way.

The scenario I see others describing (I think) is when you can see something progressively becoming violent. Of course a gun, cane, baton would be very valuable in that situation. However in those situations where I've been involved in escalating tension like I'm describing I've always had the choice to de-escalate the situation and walk or run away (except of course in high school when I was a stupid kid).

As far as a knife being a weapon. A few days ago after reading some of these posts I got online to check out information some of the police officers that trained with me talked about. There's something called a 21 foot rule. A person with a knife within 21 feet of the offIcer can justify the use of deadly force if the person attempts to attack. Hopefully I'm explaining this enough to make the point that law enforcement consider knives deadly weapons. I watched some videos showing police officers attacked by knives and it was pretty gruesome looking wounds. I'm not a leo so if I'm not explaining this right I apologize.

[Vagrant]

The 21 foot rule, the average somewhat, overweight, out of shape, male, can cover 21 feet in 1 1/2 seconds That is very little time to analize, and act
It is a good reason to practise avoidence. Crossing the street etc, may avoid trouble, or make a suspected assailant commit to a detectable [and defensable] course of action.

[Tom19176]

Yes in law enforcement training there is a part in the use of deadly force that hepls you to determine at what point you are clearly engaged in a deadly situation to which you can respond with deadly force. Different department teach differently based on their state law. I would not want to shoot a suspect with a knife at 20 feet away, as that will be hard to justify in front of a review board. There is a real danger, but every part of your action will be reviewed under a microscope, and the public will not like what they hear on that one. Today's officer's training is based on an extreme "what if" based training in which the officer is taught how to protect himself, and how to prevent harm to the general public when responding to a deadly situation. The one thing you must remember always is liablity containment rules in training in law enforcement. A officer maybe trained to realize the distant danger a knife maybe to his safety, so there is no liabilty he can raise in his training against a knife attack, however that is often all that is.