Get A Grip

The handle on a fine fighting knife does more than provide a means of simply holding on to your knife. Its shape, size, and subtle contours will define the manner in which you manipulate it. In my other writings on the subject I have stated decisively that a knife is primarily controlled through the gripping force exerted by the thumb and first two fingers. This grip provides a delicate balance with the knife pivoting loosely between the thumb and index finger. But, slight differences in the shape of the handle can shift the emphasis clear back to the pinky finger, more like the way a Japanese sword is gripped. What is the difference? The top knife, a Laci Szabo designed Jaws IV, is a perfect example of the thumb and index finger control.

In the bottom knife, a Matt Lamey Bootlegger, we see a very different style handle which is more suited to the thumb-pinky finger grip. These handles are much broader near the pommel. The thumb-pinky method works best for broad, circular movements, ie chopping and cuts. In my opinion the thumb-pinky style also provides a slightly more secure grip, less likely to be knocked from your hand. This is good for a less confident fighter or one with a weak grip.

Which style do I prefer? This really is a personal preference and each student has to decide for themselves. Due to my past training I prefer the handle style of the top knife, thumb-forefinger. How can you determine which one best suits your hand or your style? The cheapest way would be to make one of each out of aluminum and wood. These could be used later for training purposes and will not cost you a lot of money. This is a much cheaper method than buying live blades with different style handles. (But who am I to talk?) I would suggest making these “trainers” with over-sized handles and slowly working them down with a rasp and sandpaper until they perfectly fill your hand and your style. Once you have accomplished this you could find a custom maker and send off your knife to him as a pattern. This is assuming you can find a custom maker who will build a knife to your design. If nothing else, ask him to match the handle size and configuration of your trainer. As a note of warning, I have had to remind one of my favorite makers a couple times when his handles started getting too big for my hands. How important is the handle? While, the blade is the part that does the deadly deeds, the handle is where the human operator interfaces. A properly fitting knife will feel almost weightless, a poorly fitting one, like a club.

The Honeymoon is Over

First Osama Bin Laden, then Hosni Mubarak, then Anwar Al-Awlaki and his son, now Muammar Gaddafi. Hey Hugo you might want to be careful about hanging around with this guy, remember he's from Chicago.

Train Like it Matters

Looking at a marker stained T-shirt from a knife training exercise: “Do you think any of your techniques really work?” I was asked this question by a very skeptical combat veteran as he fingered the brilliant red marker “cuts” on the T-shirt. The T-shirt belonged to the dubious “winner” of the bout and it was obvious she had taken a number of, what would have most likely been, lethal cuts. Many of you may have participated in this type of training exercise.

We have all read the plethora of articles on the effects of adrenaline rush, fight or flight, loss of fine motor skills, auditory exclusion, always expect to get cut, etc. But the question remains, do any of my techniques work? First I have a couple questions for you. Why do people think that training with a knife is any different, more valuable, or less valuable, than training with a gun, a basketball, or a guitar? Do people who play tennis or a cello practice or do they just do it, you know off the cuff? It depends on whether they want to be any good or not. Why does NASCAR have practice sessions and do the drivers have any techniques or do they just push down on the gas pedal and hold on for dear life?

Does every knife technique work every time against all comers? No of course not. When I was asked about the lethality of the simulated cuts on the T-shirt I asked my friend if he had ever trained with air-soft or simmunition firearms. Yes of course he had. And I asked, “Did you drop over dead every time you got hit in a lethal zone or did you continue to shoot back?” “Well,” he said thoughtfully, “I guess I kept shooting back.” Exactly! If the knife duelists had to accept the cuts at face value they probably would have not lasted more than a few seconds, based on the wounds they received. But instead they continued on as if nothing had happened because it was only an ink marker. No matter what type of combat training you do it will always fall far short of the real thing, that is why it’s called training not killing. Given the choice, I would rather train and not need to use what I have learned, than to have never trained and suddenly realize I need it.

There are four major facets to surviving an attack: Awareness, Ability (ie practice, training), Mindset (courage, fear, fortitude, anger) and Luck. (If I could make these letters into a good acronym I could probably market it.) Luck is as important as the other three combined. If you’re having a bad day then your attacker may get in a “lucky” hit. Many of the knife techniques that I learned in my early karate days seemed very “do-able,” after a few years I found many of them were instead dubious. The ones I learned from Cook sensei and Hanshi Juchnik taught me the difference. Set aside what doesn’t work for you and hone what does. Then every once in a while go back and review those techniques you set aside and see if there was something you missed. Train hard, train safe, but for God’s sake train.

Arkansas Toothpick?

The Bowie Knife: Unsheathing an American Legend, at http://www.amazon.com/Bowie-Knife-Unsheathing-American-Legend/dp/193146412X

If you love Bowie Knives or just enjoy American History you ought to have a copy of this book in your library. People still do have home libraries don’t they? Anyway, it is not a cheap book, at Amazon it is $79.99 but it is a great read and the full color photos are terrific. One of the book’s chapters discusses the difference, real or not, between an Arkansas Toothpick versus a Bowie Knife. I was always taught that there was a difference and the toothpick was a double-edged dirk style blade rather than the Bowie which was a clip or spear point style. According to Mr. Flayderman’s extensive research these names have been used interchangeably, or not, throughout history. In the following photo you will see a beautiful Toothpick made by AC Warren and my Big Matt Lamey Bowie. Both knives have twelve inch blades and are very typical of the powerful fighting knives carried in the mid 1800s. Of the two, the Bowie is the more versatile fighting knife. It is quite capable of thrusting but also of creating grievous cuts. The Toothpick has obvious ties to Scottish Dirks of the 1700 & 1800s, or possibly the main gauche of an earlier time. It is primarily a thrusting weapon.
Either one would ruin your day if they were in the hands of an agitated opponent. The Toothpick will require more finesse to be effective but, like the Bowie, it has a big intimidation factor. Kudos to Mr A.C. Warren for creating this beautiful rendition of an Arkansas Toothpick. The handle is ebony and the mounts are brass. The sheath itself is truly a work of art.

Whats your night-time defense?

The question on the forum was: “What do you keep by your bed at night?” The answers varied from shotguns to various handguns. The one answer that stunned me was, “a bokken.” If you don’t know, a bokken is a wooden Japanese training sword. Another man said a katana, (a Japanese sword). A typical bokken or katana is 36-40 inches long. Those who said a small ball bat made more sense.

You have heard me rant about guys who say “If you don’t know how to use a knife don’t get one out during a fight or you will be in worse trouble.” Like somehow using a knife is a magical art, but using a Japanese sword is not? One respondent answered my question concerning the katana: "you don’t need to learn any fancy techniques just swing it." Really, is that all there is to it? I guess I have wasted twenty years training with a sword and knife. Take the word IDIOT and add a few colorful expletives and you get the idea of my mental response. Why is it that every red blooded American on a forum feels they are an expert on Japanese swordsmanship, even if they never held a katana? Baka American.

To begin with, a katana is much too long to use effectively inside most houses. This is why the Japanese traditionally placed their katana in a special rack when they entered a home and wore only their tanto or wakizashi (side sword) inside. After all, the Japanese worked at this for over 500 years they might have an idea or two about home defense. A typical wakizashi has a blade 16 inches or less. Swinging either a bokken or katana inside a darkened room in a semi-awakened state is sure to result in a lot of damaged real estate while your home invader is throwing lead your way from his handgun, not an especially good situation. All of the experts tell you to clear a house by using a firearm technique called cutting-the-pie, or maneuvering your line of sight incrementally around a blind corner. How well do you think that will work with a 40 inch sword? I am not saying a firearm is the ultimate solution either. The negatives of using firearms inside your home are numerous. The muzzle flash will ruin your night vision and the blast will deafen you. Stray bullets become potentially life threatening to other occupants or even passers-by. And last but not least are the legal consequences of killing someone with a firearm.
For years I have kept a legally registered handgun beside my bed. But I have other options as well. For example, a blindingly bright flashlight and a big bladed bowie knife. I also have a set of escrima sticks standing in the corner. They are much more maneuverable inside a bedroom than a bokken. These hardened sticks will easily crack a man’s skull or break his bones. A katana-kake (sword rack) hangs on my bedroom wall holding 5 shinken (live bladed swords). In a time of emergency they would be my weapons of last resort. I could also use my bronze tessen or iron kubutowari, but then what the heck do I know about Japanese weaponry, or home defense? Go ahead and stick to your bokken and play Last Samurai.

Chop Chop!

A few years ago I bought a mid-tech Razel and wrote a report on it. Every since then I have thought that a larger cleaver syle knife would be perfect for a camp knife. There are a few makers that offer these and my prolific bowie maker Matt Lamey is one of them. However this knife is not a Lamey creation. It was made by a maker heretofore unknown to me, one A.C. Richards. http://www.woodchuckforge.com/

I bought the knife secondhand from a forum member in "as new" condition. It only arrived today and I love it. The balance is decidedly to the front, which is as it ought to be for a cleaving knife. The forged W-2 blade is artfully marked with the maker's name and his JS (journeyman smith) stamp. Measuring 11.5 inches by 2.25 (at the widest point) the blade exhibits a billowing, almost choji style, hamon with a nice wrap around at the tip. The black micarta handle and stainless steel mounts are masterfully shaped and expertly fitted. It came with a very high quality black leather sheath. While it is not your typical Bowie, I think you will agree it is a formidible weapon.