Tactical Combat Knives

Notebook: earthyflavorance's notebook

Created: 24-04-2011 02:48 Updated: 27-04-2011 01:48
Author: Gurpreet Singh
Tags: combat knives, tactical knives
URL: file:///C:/Users/hortishoppe/AppData/Local/Temp/WindowsLiveWriter-429641856/C5B90926B656/index.htm

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A combat knife (also commonly called a fighting knife, or tactical knife) is a knife designed for military use,
specifically for close combat. Since the end of trench warfare, however, most military knives have been
primarily designed for utility/tool use (clearing foliage, chopping branches for cover, opening ammunition
crates, etc.) rather than for effectiveness in hand-to-hand combat.
The English may have been the first to combine utility with defense when they introduced the "kidney
dagger" in 1350. French and Italian daggers of the 14th century were the first to introduce the tapered
and double edge point as a response to improvements made in armour design and the need for
penetration.
The rise in use of firearms led to the decline in combat daggers, until 1827 with the introduction of Jim
Bowie's Bowie Knife. The Bowie knife proved to be a capable design, replacing tools and weapons such as
the tomahawk and in some instances a sidearm (as firearms were not 100% reliable) on the American
Frontier. In the early 1900s the large Bowie Knives were made in smaller sizes as knives became
regarded as tools, more than as weapons.
Modern combat knives come in many shapes and sizes with most military forces today standardizing the
types of combat knives issued to soldiers. The Chilean Commando forces, for instance, are trained in the
use of the Corvo knife, a traditional Chilean military weapon. The Gurkha regiments favor the Kukri, a
broad-bladed curved weapon that more closely resembles a machete or Filipino Bolo than a knife. In the
United States Marine Corps, the standard issue combat knife since World War II has been the KA-BAR
knife.
During World War II a knife designed specifically for combat was the British Fairbairn-Sykes, which has a
double-edged design primarily for stabbing an enemy, through heavy clothing if necessary. It was
designed by William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes, famous combatives teachers of the era, for fighting
instead of for field/utility use.[1] The Fairbairn-Sykes knife inspired several similar knives of the era such
as the V-42 Stiletto designed by Lt. Colonel Robert T. Frederick who commanded the joint US and
Canadian First Special Service Force and the United States Marine Raider Stiletto designed by Lieutenant
Colonel Clifford H. Shuey.
In the United States, Knifemaker Bo Randall began production of the "All Purpose Fighting Knife" giving it
the designation of "Number 1" in his catalog. Between 1942 and 1945, Randall Made Knives produced
4,000 of these knives for US Troops in the war, with approximately 1,058 subcontracted out to another
firm to meet the demand. In the 1950s Randall would return to the pattern of the Bowie knife for several
of his combat knife designs
One of Randall's designs which became a popular fighting knife for troops was the Number 14 "Attack"
Model. During Vietnam, Randall received feedback from a Combat Surgeon in the US Army's 94th Medical
Detachment named Captain George Ingraham. Ingraham's request was for serrations on the spine to
cut through the fuselage of downed aircraft to rescue trapped personnel and a hollow handle to allow
storage of survival gear.
During the Vietnam War, one blade which emerged as a combat knife was the Gerber Mark II designed
by US Army Captain Bud Holzman and Al Mar which was based on the pattern of a Roman Mainz
Gladius. In the 1970s and 80's a student and protoge of Fairbairn, Colonel Rex Applegate worked with
knife designer Bill Harsey, Jr. to design the Applegate-Fairbairn, so named because it was designed as an
improvemnt on the Fairbairn-Sykes based upon discussions Applegate and Fairbairn had during World War
II to eliminate the weaknesses of the F-S knife (e.g., weak blade point, inability to determine orientation
of blade merely by grip). The first of these knives were made by Al Mar Knives, based on Harsey's
designs.
In the 1980s a Ventura, California based firm known as Cold Steel began offering combat knives for sale
in the US. The firm was initially known for its push-daggers, but became known for popularizing what
would be called "The American Tanto".
Bill Harsey later teamed up with Chris Reeve to design the Yarborough Knife presented to each graduate
of the United States Army Special Forces Qualification Course. In the latest step of this evolution, Bill
Harsey and Chris Reeve have collaborated with the father of the Modern Army Combatives Program,
Matt Larsen to design the LHR Combat knife.
In the 1990s, a firm known as Strider Knives began producing combat knives. Early designs were tanto
and bowie style blades ground from ATS-34 steel with a proprietary heat treat by Paul Bos. After 2003,
the company began manufacturing blades primarily of S30V steel. Early models featured paracord
wrapped handles similar to those made by Ek Knives.
CPM S30V is a martensitic powder-made wear and corrosion resistant stainless steel developed by Dick
Barber of Crucible Materials Corporation in collaboration with knifemaker Chris Reeve. Its chemistry
promotes the formation and even distribution of vanadium carbides, which are harder and more effective
at cutting than chromium carbides. These vanadium carbides give the steel a very refined grain, further
improving the sharpness and toughness of its edge. Knifemakers use CPM S30V because its composition
makes it easy to consistently heat treat as well as easier to grind although the carbides wear down the
grinder belts.[4] Its composition is as follows: Carbon 1.45%, Chromium 14.00%, Vanadium 4.00%,
Molybdenum 2.00%. Barber received feedback from a number of other knife users and knifemakers
such as Sal Glesser, Ernest Emerson, Tony Marfione, Phil Wilson, William Harsey Jr., Tom Mayo, Jerry
Hossom, and Paul Bos in the development of CPM S30V.
Buck Knives' lockback knife was originally marketed as a "folding hunting knife" and while it became
popular with sportsmen, it saw use with military personnel as it could perform a variety of tasks. Custom
knife makers began making similar knives, in particular was Guatemalan-born knifemaker Bob Terzuola.
Terzuola is credited with coining the phrase "Tactical Folder".[10]
In the 1990s in the United States, as a response to restrictive gun laws, tactical folding knives became
popular. The trend began with custom knifemakers such as Bob Terzuola, Michael Walker, Mel Pardue,
Ernest Emerson, Ken Onion, Chris Reeve, Rick Hinderer, Warren Thomas, and Warren Osbourne. These
knives were most commonly built as linerlocks, although Osbourne introduced the Axis lock. Blade lengths
varied from 3 inches to as long as 12 inches, but the most typical models never exceeded 4 inches in
blade length for legal reasons in most US Jurisdictions.
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