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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

    Pocketknives/Kitchen Knives/Fixed Blades

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    • MattM
      Matt
      見習いボス
      Joined:

      Obviously you’re right.  But if we were taking about practicality, we’d not be talking about $400 automatic knives.  I say go with the biggest, stupidest double edged son of a bitch you can get your hand on.  Maybe something forged by Orcs on Mt Doom.

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      • Bfd70B
        Bfd70
        Raw and Unwashed
        Joined:

        I have an 85 and think its great. I was trying to source a 70 for quite a while. When i finally found one i was pretty disappointed. It’s really more of a toy than a tool. Open envelopes maybe. Just didn’t feel sturdy at all. Sent it back. Too much money for something with such limited application. My super tiny kershaw was $12 and is a handy box opener.

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        • AnesthetistA
          Anesthetist
          見習いボス
          Joined:

          The 70 is definitely a toy, but TBH I think all OTFs are. I wouldn’t use any of them hard. That and a touch of pocket lint or fuzz and they go off track and become useless. Still, I like em and they open letters like a son of a bitch [emoji23]

          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

          IG: bluehandsslim

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          • EisenherzE
            Eisenherz
            Iron Heart Deity
            Joined:

            My pick of the litter
            Böker Leo Damast III
            65-67 HRC
            By Markus Belbach


            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • JDelageJ
              JDelage
              啓蒙家
              Joined:

              OTF's are great as self defense tools, not much anything else IMHO. I am lusting after some of those Microtechs I have to say…

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              • mclaincauseyM
                mclaincausey
                見習いボス
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                Are they? I can't think of a practical use for one. They are cool toys though.

                Think it, be it.

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                • DougNgD
                  DougNg
                  Joined:

                  @JDelage

                  I'm kind of curious how you qualify that they are "great" as self defense tools.
                  I've been training in knife based martial arts for almost two decades and there is some crossover with the defensive firearms world, and I've never had an instructor advocate the use of an auto.
                  I've had Microtech Ultratechs and Halos, and they are not nearly reliable enough for me to depend my life to.

                  I know violence is not the answer, I got it wrong on purpose

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                  • AnesthetistA
                    Anesthetist
                    見習いボス
                    Joined:

                    That’s been the common consensus from what I’ve read. Most ppl prefer a small fixed blade or more simple/robust folder with a heavy rated lock.

                    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                    IG: bluehandsslim

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                    • mclaincauseyM
                      mclaincausey
                      見習いボス
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                      I don't know that there's a lock on the planet I'd trust for a self defense knife, but I'm certainly no expert.

                      The one thing about an automatic perhaps that could help in a SD situation is intimidation and deterrent effect if people are frightened away by the "scary" blade deployment, but that's certainly not something to bet your life on.

                      Think it, be it.

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                      • AnesthetistA
                        Anesthetist
                        見習いボス
                        Joined:

                        I think Spyderco’s compression lock, REKAT’s old Rolling lock, and a Chris Reeve framelock are plenty solid and strong for SD.

                        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                        IG: bluehandsslim

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                        • JDelageJ
                          JDelage
                          啓蒙家
                          Joined:

                          Sorry - I should have said: "they're only potentially useful as SD tools." I do think they are a good compromise in terms of discretion & ease / speed of deployment but like others I would rather have a fixed blade if it's an option.

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                          • mclaincauseyM
                            mclaincausey
                            見習いボス
                            Joined:

                            Yeah, any lock, no matter how robust, is a potential point of failure relative to a fixed blade, so when your life is on the line you're gonna want a fixed blade in my uninformed opinion.

                            I don't think anyone here aside from maybe DougNg is looking to purchase a knife as a SD tool though. If, in a dire circmstance, that duty falls to a blade, so be it. I need the lock to work on the tasks I use it for, cutting, chopping, carving, slicing, piercing, and levering, and hopefully none of those on human flesh. Stabbing and slashing, gimme a fixie every time.

                            Think it, be it.

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                            • mikebarhootM
                              mikebarhoot
                              Iron Heart Deity
                              Joined:

                              Rollin with a Burch…

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                              • mikebarhootM
                                mikebarhoot
                                Iron Heart Deity
                                Joined:

                                ^^any knife is better than no knife and moot if not deployed at the right time.

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                                • mikebarhootM
                                  mikebarhoot
                                  Iron Heart Deity
                                  Joined:

                                  From a SD perspective.

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                                  • mclaincauseyM
                                    mclaincausey
                                    見習いボス
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                                    a) Unless it's turned against you and/or
                                    b) escalates a fistfight into one or more sides attempting murder.
                                    c) I personally might be better off without one in a scrap since I don't know how to fight with one in the first place. 😃

                                    I was saying if you're getting a knife with SD as a use case, if possible I would avoid unnecessary points of failure like locks (no matter how robust) and for that matter deploying a blade versus just grabbing a handle under stress. That's a different question than whatever's in your pocket becoming a SD tool by necessity. This is just my version of common sense since I have no experience to draw from.

                                    A firearm has a slightly different calculus for me since I know how to use one and it is a greater equalizer than a knife, though CC logic dictates that you walk away from any potential fight you can because of b).

                                    TL;DR Get a Ka-bar if you need a fighting knife  😉

                                    Think it, be it.

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                                    • GilesG
                                      Giles
                                      IHUK Crew
                                      Joined:

                                      I'm so glad that the need for discussions like the above is virtually non-existent in my world.  Even if it were legal where I live, I'd never dream of carrying a knife or a firearm for self-defense.  I have a knife for opening shit and stuff like that, it's actually illegal in the UK because it locks, but 9 times out of 10 I forget to pop it in my pocket….

                                      "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

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                                      • mclaincauseyM
                                        mclaincausey
                                        見習いボス
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                                        Haha! I mean even if you're worried about getting stabbed by a chav in London I'm not certain carrying a knife is your best defense. Using the terms knife and self-defense in the same sentence is a bit daft in the first place.

                                        Think it, be it.

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                                        • JDelageJ
                                          JDelage
                                          啓蒙家
                                          Joined:

                                          What is daft is to say that knives have no role in self defense. Of course it is always better to walk away or run away from a fight (or even better, to not go where fights are more likely to start). It is also true that to pull out a knife during a 1-on-1 fistfight will get you into legal hell. However, in the unlikely case that a fight does involve you, you cannot escape it, and your life is at risk, a knife definitely can change things. For starters, it might just stop the fight from occurring.

                                          Now, the decision not to carry (be it a knife or a handgun) because the risk / reward is simply not worth it is perfectly legit. In the US I don't carry a handgun because the risk / reward is simply not worth it to me given my lifestyle.

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                                          • SeulS
                                            Seul
                                            Joined:

                                            I always carry one with a spare in my backpack - have never pulled it. It's also illegal to carry one here, but it's contextual… I can carry one at work, but not to work…

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