Carl Levitian
member
I like knives as much as the next guy, I guess. Maybe even a bit more since I'm a knife knut. I've collected knives in the past, had some nice customs as well. But now I'm a bit more pragmatic in my taste. I sold off my collection, and now keep only true edc users. It's a pretty mundane handfull.
I don't think of a knife as a good defensive weapon, but I do realize that as a totally last ditch, back against the wall kind of thing, they may have their place. Maybe. Even with my huge personal bias toward sticks in all manner, I do relaize there may be a time that a piece of sharp steel is a good thing. Since Maryland is not a CCw state, and nevr will be, my stick is my main edc weapon, and I maybe some day may need a little something to back it up.
But how much is needed?
Most street guys I know carry a pretty poor collection of cutlery. Odds are, you are not going to be running inot a nice sharp Spyderco or Benchmade in the hands of a street punk mugger. More likely a kitchen paring knife stollen from a local store or his grandmothers kitchen. Maybe a cheap semi dull made in China thing. Most likely a 3 inch blade, give or take a inch. They don't really care about eh knife either. Unlike some of the people on the knife forums, they don't obsess about sharpness, and hone thier pocket pets on things like sharpmakers and ceramic stones. A sidewalk edge may do for them. And they can kill you with it.
In a defense situation, your motor skills are going to be shot to heck, and its going to be a slash event. Under a lot of conditions, there may be alot to be said for the humble box cutter. It's flat and small enough, that it can be palmed if things look a bit dicy. All it takes to get it into action is a bump on the bottom end. With a razor blade in decent conditon, its going to cut well, especialy with a good vigorous swing behind it. And in street culture, it's got respect.
In the mid 1970's, we were a young married couple with two small children, and I would come home from work and my wife would go out to her part time job working for the county parks and recreation department. She was a arobics and exercise instructor at a local county rec center in the evenings. This one night, it was her night to be leading a jazzercise class. What can I say, it was the 70's, and Jane Fonda exercise tapes were the vogue.
This one night, it was a warm summer night, and the wife comes out to get in her car. As she's walking to the car at the edge of the lot, some guy comes out from between two cars and grabs her and starts dragging her into the patch of woods right there by the parking lot. Now Karen is all of 5' 2" and maybe 115 pounds, but she's a Texican. Born and raised in Harlingen Texas, her daddy was a blond haired blue eyed good old cracker boy from Georga ( I don't mean that in any derogotory way, Billy Thomas was the best father in law a guy could have, and I miss him.), and mommy was a raven haired Mexican gal from what they call "The Valley". Harlingen is in a valley where citris is the big money maker, and Karen's family on her mothers side were well aquainted with sharp harvesting tools. The Uncle made sure the girls also knew how to defend themselves. Karen grew up with a Stanley Utility knife in her purse, and knowing how to use it.
This one night, the guy grabs her, one hand/arm over her mouth around her head, the other around her waist, and drags her over toward the woods. Since Karen had already been going to the car, she had been gropping in her purse for her keys. With her hand in her purse, she grabs her Stanley and slides out the blade and openes up the guys arm from wrist to elbow. He wasn't a hard man to find, he was guy at the ER claiming he was mugged, but that story didn't hold too well, and he got sent off to a place in Jessup Mayland where theres a lot of bars on the doors.
But the Stanley has what, a 1 inch blade when fully open? Karen admits that in the heat of the moment, she dosen't know if she got it open all the way or partly. But it didn't really matter in the end because it cut deep enough that blood was all over the place, and some motor tendons got cut as well, and the lowlife that wanted some fun with my wife lost some of the use of his right arm. That thin little blade of the utility knife did some heavy damage.
To this day, Karen still carries a sliding blade utility knife in her purse, or if we're out walking, in her pocket. In light summer clothing, she carries a box cutter. I'd hate to have her mad at me.
So how big does a self defense knife have to be? Do you need something big enough that you can disembowel Conan the barbarian, or just disable and stun an attacker enough to get the heck out of there? Or even maybe give them a second thoght if they want to mess with you bad enough? Even a wolf with back off from a porcupine.
I guess my view of a self defense knife is a little different than most. I want small and flat, easy to carry. I want cheap and easy to get. I want it sharp.
Now since I carry a pocket knife, usualy my sak bantam or a Case peanut for the utility side of things, I don't feel like lugging around much knife. Either in size or cost. I guess thats why I like a box cutter. Plus when I fly someplace, the first CVS drugstore, Home Depot, Lowes, or Walmart, will supply me with a cheap and effective cutter that I don't feel bad about tossing when it comes time to fly home. If something happens, I have one of my blackthorn or hornbeam sticks with me anyway, so they have to make it past that. And the 'ol lady. She's the one with the box cutter watching my back.
I don't think of a knife as a good defensive weapon, but I do realize that as a totally last ditch, back against the wall kind of thing, they may have their place. Maybe. Even with my huge personal bias toward sticks in all manner, I do relaize there may be a time that a piece of sharp steel is a good thing. Since Maryland is not a CCw state, and nevr will be, my stick is my main edc weapon, and I maybe some day may need a little something to back it up.
But how much is needed?
Most street guys I know carry a pretty poor collection of cutlery. Odds are, you are not going to be running inot a nice sharp Spyderco or Benchmade in the hands of a street punk mugger. More likely a kitchen paring knife stollen from a local store or his grandmothers kitchen. Maybe a cheap semi dull made in China thing. Most likely a 3 inch blade, give or take a inch. They don't really care about eh knife either. Unlike some of the people on the knife forums, they don't obsess about sharpness, and hone thier pocket pets on things like sharpmakers and ceramic stones. A sidewalk edge may do for them. And they can kill you with it.
In a defense situation, your motor skills are going to be shot to heck, and its going to be a slash event. Under a lot of conditions, there may be alot to be said for the humble box cutter. It's flat and small enough, that it can be palmed if things look a bit dicy. All it takes to get it into action is a bump on the bottom end. With a razor blade in decent conditon, its going to cut well, especialy with a good vigorous swing behind it. And in street culture, it's got respect.
In the mid 1970's, we were a young married couple with two small children, and I would come home from work and my wife would go out to her part time job working for the county parks and recreation department. She was a arobics and exercise instructor at a local county rec center in the evenings. This one night, it was her night to be leading a jazzercise class. What can I say, it was the 70's, and Jane Fonda exercise tapes were the vogue.
This one night, it was a warm summer night, and the wife comes out to get in her car. As she's walking to the car at the edge of the lot, some guy comes out from between two cars and grabs her and starts dragging her into the patch of woods right there by the parking lot. Now Karen is all of 5' 2" and maybe 115 pounds, but she's a Texican. Born and raised in Harlingen Texas, her daddy was a blond haired blue eyed good old cracker boy from Georga ( I don't mean that in any derogotory way, Billy Thomas was the best father in law a guy could have, and I miss him.), and mommy was a raven haired Mexican gal from what they call "The Valley". Harlingen is in a valley where citris is the big money maker, and Karen's family on her mothers side were well aquainted with sharp harvesting tools. The Uncle made sure the girls also knew how to defend themselves. Karen grew up with a Stanley Utility knife in her purse, and knowing how to use it.
This one night, the guy grabs her, one hand/arm over her mouth around her head, the other around her waist, and drags her over toward the woods. Since Karen had already been going to the car, she had been gropping in her purse for her keys. With her hand in her purse, she grabs her Stanley and slides out the blade and openes up the guys arm from wrist to elbow. He wasn't a hard man to find, he was guy at the ER claiming he was mugged, but that story didn't hold too well, and he got sent off to a place in Jessup Mayland where theres a lot of bars on the doors.
But the Stanley has what, a 1 inch blade when fully open? Karen admits that in the heat of the moment, she dosen't know if she got it open all the way or partly. But it didn't really matter in the end because it cut deep enough that blood was all over the place, and some motor tendons got cut as well, and the lowlife that wanted some fun with my wife lost some of the use of his right arm. That thin little blade of the utility knife did some heavy damage.
To this day, Karen still carries a sliding blade utility knife in her purse, or if we're out walking, in her pocket. In light summer clothing, she carries a box cutter. I'd hate to have her mad at me.
So how big does a self defense knife have to be? Do you need something big enough that you can disembowel Conan the barbarian, or just disable and stun an attacker enough to get the heck out of there? Or even maybe give them a second thoght if they want to mess with you bad enough? Even a wolf with back off from a porcupine.
I guess my view of a self defense knife is a little different than most. I want small and flat, easy to carry. I want cheap and easy to get. I want it sharp.
Now since I carry a pocket knife, usualy my sak bantam or a Case peanut for the utility side of things, I don't feel like lugging around much knife. Either in size or cost. I guess thats why I like a box cutter. Plus when I fly someplace, the first CVS drugstore, Home Depot, Lowes, or Walmart, will supply me with a cheap and effective cutter that I don't feel bad about tossing when it comes time to fly home. If something happens, I have one of my blackthorn or hornbeam sticks with me anyway, so they have to make it past that. And the 'ol lady. She's the one with the box cutter watching my back.
