The Cutting Edge

How to fight effectively with a tactical knife

October 10, 2011 / Tim / 0 Comments

The post is part of our Rambo Knife promotion, in which we’re giving away a limited edition Rambo knife and more. Check out our kick off post for details.

Knife fighting is a primal, dangerous and beneficial skill to have. Not only does it help you connect with your tactical knife in new ways, but it also gives you some respect. In this post, we’ll be looking at some of the very basics of tactical knife fighting. With our usual warning, we urge you to be safe and don’t try any of this around another person. So, if you’re interested in fighting effectively with a tactical knife, here are some of the basic elements.

1. Get to know your knife

The first step before you do anything should be to become familiar with your knife. Learn its weight, shape and texture before engaging in any training. By knowing your knife’s quirks and intricacies, it will never surprise you in a real fighting situation.

2. Learn the grips

How you hold your knife is probably the most important thing to know when learning knife fighting because without a firm grip, you could drop the knife and find yourself in deep trouble. Unfortunately, there is no one universal way you’re supposed to hold your knife, so that’s why it’s important to get to know your knife. Some knives feel more natural in certain grip positions.

The grips can be separated into three broad categories: forward grip, reverse grip and unusual knife grips. Within each of these categories are a number of variations, including the hammer, saber and Filipino grips. According to a booklet on U.S. Marine Corps knife fighting tactics, the hammer grip is preferred over all others because it enables a variety of tactics. For a detailed description of each grip, check out Jay Fisher’s site.

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The Evolution of the Iconic, Badass Rambo Knife

October 7, 2011 / Tim / 4 Comments

This post is part of of our Rambo look-alike promotion. Learn how you can win a limited-edition Rambo signature survival knife, here.

While Sylvester Stallone has access to a seemingly endless supply of high-power gunnery in the Rambo series, it is his knives that have become icons. Each of the four movies has its own blade, which Rambo keeps for the entirety of the film. But at the blades don’t make the jump from one movie to the next. The Rambo knife undergoes a dramatic evolution throughout the series, growing from a relatively small survival knife to a machete.

First Blood

In First Blood, we meet John Rambo, a mentally unstable Vietnam vet trying to pass through Sheriff Will Teasle’s small town. With his stone-cold demeanor and no-nonsense blank stares, it probably should’ve been easy for viewers to deduce that a bizarre arrest for vagrancy would end with Rambo waging a one-man war on a Teasle and his town. With the best survival skills in the country and a badass blade as a sidekick, Rambo single-handedly beats the cops and the National Guard, until Colonel Sam Trautman, the man who trained him, convinces him to turn himself in.

Jimmy Lile designed the knife that showed the world what a badass knife was meant to be. Lile wanted it to contain everything a person would need to survive in the wilderness, and so he came up with what is truly a survival knife. The 9” long steel blade was sharp enough to cleanly cut through paper, so it obviously had no problem dealing with anything else Rambo needed to see sliced. In case he needed to chop down a tree rather than threaten Sheriff Teasle’s life, the knife’s spine had 14 saw teeth. The cross guard featured both a Philips and slotted screwdriver. In the rare situation that Rambo got hurt, all he needed to do was open the airtight handle and get out his first aid kit. The pommel also featured a compass so Rambo could navigate through the wilderness around Teasle’s town.

First Blood Part II

In First Blood Part II, Rambo has been sentenced to a labor prison camp because of the events of the first movie. Colonel Trautman visits him in camp and offers him release and full clemency. The catch? Rambo must return to Vietnam and search for American POWs. He is told to only take pictures of the POWs, but, of course, Rambo tries to rescue them. Marshal Murdock, the corrupt bureaucrat in charge of the mission, abandons him in Vietnam, and the North Vietnamese capture Rambo. Rambo escapes and then returns to rescue all the remaining POWs. Once he succeeds, Rambo leads them towards the American camp in Thailand, where he threatens Murdock with his knife and tells him to rescue other POWs from Vietnam.

The First Blood Part II knife was nearly identical to the original Rambo knife. The difference, of course, was the size. To raise Rambo’s badass aura, the knife grew to 15” in overall length, with the blade measuring in at 10”.

Rambo III

In Rambo III we learn that Rambo stayed in Thailand after his last mission and became a Buddhist. Colonel Trautman asks Rambo to join him on a mission to deliver weapons to the Mujahedeen rebels of Aghanistan who are battling the Soviets in the Soviet-Afghan War. Dedicated to his new peaceful faith, Rambo refuses to help. Trautman goes without his trainee and is captured and imprisoned by Soviets. Not one to see his friends in danger, Rambo sets out to save the Colonel. He does, of course, save Trautman and other prisoners. Together with the rebels, the American duo defeats the Soviets and kills the evil Soviet commander.

Enter to win a signature edition Rambo knife

October 6, 2011 / Tim / 3 Comments

Do you look like Rambo?

Whether you are a splitting image of a young Sylvester Stallone or simply a First Blood fan, you can enter to win a signature edition Sylvester Stallone Rambo knife. Second place wins a pocket knife with real scorpions trapped in Asia encased in the blade.

How do you win?

It’s easy. All you have to do is upload a picture of yourself in Rambo gear to our Facebook page before October 12. So grab your bandannas, dig your tank tops out of the attic and snap a photo of yourself and friends.

Need some inspiration? Check out our Rambo look-alike video below.

Good luck.

Knives Save Lives: A knife or death situation

October 1, 2011 / Tim / 1 Comment

It’s remarkably rare when someone is put into a situation where they need to make a life or death decision, when their life is literally in their own hands. It’s noble for someone to think they’d react rationally and calmly in a situation like that, but it’s always much easier to say something than do it.

Donald Wyman was one of the unfortunate few who was face-to-face with death. Amazingly, he did not buckle or back down.

To get the full scope of Wyman’s story, you have to start at the beginning. In 1993, when Wyman was 37 years old, the humble Pennsylvanian was working nights and weekends to build a house with his bare hands for his wife and son. According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he had already built the first floor from foundation stone he’d acquired from razing barns.

His sister-in-law described him as a fighter, optimist and survivor. He apparently grew up with three brothers who knew what to do in any situation. However, his attitude and ruggedness was truly put to the test on July 20, 1993, when his life would change forever.

That day he had just cleared some trees from the mouth of a strip mine and wanted to get some lumber for the house he was building. According to People, it was around 4 p.m. when he started cutting into a huge oak resting on a hillside. Here’s how Pam Lambert from the magazine described what happened next:

Suddenly the trunk snapped back at him and fell, pinning his leg underneath. Because the top of the tree had been wedged between others it was slightly bowed; the cut released the tension like an enormous spring. “As many trees as I’ve cut, I should have known better,” Wyman says. “It drove me right into the ground. I didn’t, know what had hit me.” Seconds later, he knew. The trunk had rolled over his left shin about seven inches below” the knee, cutting flesh, shattering bone and burying his lower leg under an immovable weight of oak.

2011 Blade Show ‘American-Made Knife of the Year’

September 25, 2011 / Tim / 2 Comments

Back in June, BLADE Magazine held their 30th annual BLADE Show in Atlanta and there was a lot of action to report.

One of the traditions of the show is to give out awards to the best knives, knifemakers and more. While a lot of focus was on the “Overall Knife of the Year,” which was a very beautiful Zero Tolerance 0777, another notable award is the “American-Made Knife of the Year.”

This year, none other than the Spyderco Native 5 (Fluted Titanium) won the honors. As you can see from the prototype above, the Spyderco Native features an amazing design on its fluted titanium handle. Although I’ve never held this knife, someone from the Spyderco Collector noted that the pattern didn’t seem too sharp and had a great grip.

The weight of this knife compared to the previous models of the Native is similar, but the blade is made from CPM-S35VN steel. It also has a lockback locking system, a thumb hole in the blade and a 4 position clip.

It’s hard to find much fault with this knife and probably one of the best aspects is that it’s made in the U.S.A.

Here are some more pictures from the Spyderco Collector.

Which one of these new Coleman knives do you prefer?

September 20, 2011 / Tim / 2 Comments

Coleman products have always been synonymous with high quality and we’re excited to announce that we’re carrying a handful of new Coleman knives, all of which uphold the rich Coleman tradition.

Founded by W.C. Coleman around the turn of the century, the Coleman company originally sold lanterns, bringing illumination to thousands of Americans. The company soon expanded to carrying a variety of outdoor products, establishing itself as a staple brand for campers, picnickers, hunters and anyone who enjoys spending time in the wild.

Without further delay, here are three of our new Coleman models. Check them out and let us know which one you like the most.

Coleman Campfire Fixed Blade

The Coleman Campfire Blade combines cutting power with a genuine wood handle with natural beauty. The knife measures a total of 4.5 inches and also contains a hidden sparker for emergency fire starting capability and a great-looking nylon sheath.

Coleman Trekker Lockback

The Coleman Trekker II is a great carrying option if you’re looking for something sleek and light for a camping or fishing trip. This 2-inch blade has a nail notch for easy opening and a lockback mechanism that provides ultimate strength. Its nickel silver bolsters give it an elegant finish while the rosewood handle provides a classy touch. At only two ounces, this knife won’t weigh you down.

Coleman Hiker Swiss Army Knife

Carrying the Coleman Hiker Swiss Army Knife is like having an entire toolbox in your pocket. This 3.7 oz knife has a number of handy components such as: a full-size knife, saw, scissors, screw driver, bottle opener, can opener, fish scaler and degorger. All of these implements are stainless-steel, making them rust proof. This Coleman knife also features aluminum handle slabs and a spring lock mechanism, which make opening and closing it safe and easy.

So, what’s your verdict? Which one of these three Coleman knives would you prefer? Let us know in the comment section below and check out more of our selection of Coleman knives here.

Boston considering blanket restrictions on the sale of pocket knives

September 19, 2011 / Tim / 3 Comments

In events reminiscent of the gun control hearings of the 90s, council members in Boston are considering putting more restrictions on the sale of pocket knives to fight the high rates of knife crime in the city.

According to Knife Rights, which sent a representative to speak at the hearings, Boston lawmakers are thinking about licensing the sale of knives because there have been more than 1,300 knife attacks over the past two years. Instead of going after the criminals, the logic here is to go after the “weapon” and make it harder for people to get.

Here’s an excerpt of what Knife Rights representative and Executive Director of Gun Owners’ Action League Jim Wallace said at the hearing:

“I urge the City Council to review what it is about to do and reflect on the failures of gun control,” said Wallace. “Over a decade ago I had to testify before committees in the state house with grieving families in the background. Now I sit before you a decade later with grieving families behind me again. If you proceed down this path and get it wrong again, ten years from now we will likely repeat this scene yet again.”

Talking survival knives with survival expert Leon Pantenburg

September 17, 2011 / Tim / 6 Comments

The Cutting Edge recently spoke with Leon Pantenburg, who runs the fantastic site Survival Common Sense and teaches survival courses, on what makes a good survival knife. To learn more indispensable survival skills, check out his site.

1. What are the traits of a good survival knife?

It depends on the person and where you are. In the wilderness I would want a non-folder, fixed-blade knife with a good sheath and want the blade to be between 4 to 6 inches long. I don’t want a serrated edge, I don’t want a gut hook, and I don’t want a handle that’s going to be slippery because this knife will be called upon to do a myriad of things.

Also, it’s critical that it’s lightweight and compact because otherwise it won’t be carried. It doesn’t matter how good of a piece of equipment it is. If it’s back in the car because it’s too heavy, then it does you no good.

2. Do you think a straight edge, serrated or partially serrated blade is best?

I don’t like serrated for a number of reasons. One, their value is limited. They’re good for sawing ropes and that’s pretty much it. Two, once they get dull, most people can’t sharpen them without special equipment. Three, the serrated edge takes away a good chunk of your knife’s usefulness because you can’t really slice with a serrated edge. Generally, I don’t see any value that warrants taking an inch or two from your blade to have serrations on it. I must point out that most of these survival knives are designed by people who work in cubicles and don’t use the equipment.

3. For those who might not know, is there a difference between a survival knife and a combat or tactical knife?

This whole tactical thing is a joke. They take a knife, blacken the blade and call it a tactical knife. In reality, a tactical knife with a blackened blade is only useful if you’re sneaking up behind someone in the dark or some fantastic situation that’ll never happen. If you look at World War II knives that were actually tactical, they weren’t all camoed up. If you look at a Marine KA-BAR knife, which was a standard tactical or combat knife, it looked like a normal knife. I never heard of anyone getting shot because someone saw their knife.

The Bizarre Design of Ergo Chef Knives

September 14, 2011 / Tim / 0 Comments

This morning, Dana Cowin, the editor-in-chief of Food and Wine magazine, tweeted about the Ergo Chef’s bread knife: “4 any1 w/wrist injuries, #fwtestkitchen ‘s Marcia swears by Ergo Chef bread knife. Gr8 w8 + balance.” For you non-tweeters out there, this means that Marcia, who is apparently a cook in in F&W’s test kitchen, reports that the Ergo Chef bread knife has great balance and is a comfortable weight, making it good for anyone who has had wrist injuries.

If you’re like me, your immediate question is…why? I did a bit of research this morning to figure that out. The Ergo Chef knives have bizarre looking designs. The knives actually look like they were put together improperly or damaged before being put on the market (check out the curve of that handle!). However, the angle is designed to ease any discomfort you may get in the wrist while chopping; it also allows for greater precision and faster cutting. Plus, each blade is forged from a single piece of high-carbon German stainless steel, meaning these knives can cut longer without needing to be sharpened.

Has anyone tried these knives? Could you tell a difference between the Ergo Chef knives and regular kitchen knives?

World’s Largest Pocket Knife

September 12, 2011 / Tim / 11 Comments

World's Largest Pocket Knife There has always existed the mantra that bigger is always better. For example, you have giant SUVs, massive airplanes and huge orders of french fries.

In our latest next installment of weird knives, one man took this mantra to the extreme by creating the world’s largest pocket knife.

I’ve heard a lot of people say they must own one of the world’s biggest pocket knives because they can barely get it into their pocket, but those people have obviously never seen this humungous knife, which is an astounding 12 ft. 8 in. when opened. This 268.9 lb definitely takes the cake (which is good because this knife could cut any sized cake).

The knife was designed by a Portuguese artist Telmo Cadavez and handmade by Virgílio, Raúl and Manuel Pires in 2003. It also holds a special place in the Guinness World Records.

Despite its impressive size, this kind of defeats the whole purpose of the pocket knife. If you can’t get it into your pocket (let alone a door frame), is it really a pocket knife?

I know this knife is probably only for artistic purposes and was never created for practical use (unless the designer was expecting Paul Bunyon to make a triumphant return), but the massive pocket knife is still pretty cool.