Picking Your Knife

Its no big secret that I like fighting knives. My father, the late Col David Decker, bought my first knives when I was in about 5th or 6th grade. Little did he know that he had ignited a life-long fascination I have yet to become bored with fighting knives. My bedroom in particular is slowly being taken over by fighting knives. Almost in a Harry Potter sort of magical state the floor, tops of chest of drawers, book shelves are all becoming covered over in knives.

People often ask me what type or size of knife they should carry. Well so far I have not found the perfect knife and that is what this short blog is about. Knives are like firearms. Sometimes a 22LR will do the job, other times you want that 44 Magnum. Finding the perfect knife hinges on several things, like:
1) what can you afford
2) what is its intended purpose
3) do you know how to use it
4) is it legal

Number one is something you may not have any control over. If a custom, silver mounted, Damascus Bowie is not in your budget, you just have to live without it. Number two is one of the most important questions. Do you want a knife for opening boxes and mail at work? (God forbid you get caught with that cute little pink Spyderco Delica at work!) Perhaps you just want enough knife to chase away bogeymen on the NYC subway or zombies in the Greyhound station bathroom. Number three, sure you’ve watched Steven Segal or Bernicio del Torro use a knife, but do you know how to use one? You’re a blackbelt in karate and learned a lot of complex disarms and self-defense moves in the dojo. Do you know if they will really work or how to use a knife? Probably not.

Legally, number four, even carrying that medium priced, medium sized folder may get you into a heap of trouble. Is it legal? That sometimes depends on number two. To be realistic almost no knife is one hundred percent legal, because if you use it the wrong way some lawyer will make you pay for it for a long time. What about a serious knife carrier, the insane nut-case with a big bowie knife slung under his arm or stuffed down his pants leg? Oops sorry, that would be me! If your job is facility security or executive protection, if you travel in high risk areas or you carry serious valuables, ie. Cash, Bonds, Jewelry, etc, then your knife requirements are probably going to be very different than Mr. Average Guy.

So begin your quest with number one and go straight to number two. Just a warning, there are no cheap, dependable, fighting knives that are worth carrying. Next, hunt around for a reputable edged weapons school (not a karate or TKD school) or contact us for number three, solid knife instruction. That number four, good luck with that one. I have accumulated knives with blades from under two inches to over fourteen inches and each one was bought for a specific need, imagined or otherwise. Depending on where you travel any of them might be illegal. So focus primarily on number two and be honest about what you really need a knife to do. Always buy the best knife you can afford, even if it hurts a little bit. Once you have it, come by and visit with us, we’ll get your training going in the right direction.

We'll look into each of these parameters in greater details in the upcoming blogs.