Been Un-Sheeple since it was created, so I guess as long as anyone has been.

As for the Spyderco Forum and knife fighting. Spyderco has always had a bit more of presence in the whole world of the martial use of the blade. They have made some very purpose driven designs (Civilian, Chinook, Gunting, Pikal, et al) and at one time retained Micheal Janich to head up MBC (Martial Blade Craft). He has since moved on to head up Blackhawk Blades and his curriculum is still "MBC" but now Martial Blade Concepts. Spyderco owns the Martial Blade Craft name.

In short, it is just a corporate direction. Benchmade has not chosen to emphasize that aspect of knife use for civilians. So in turn, Spyderco's user base is much more comfortable talking about these things.

I agree with GPmike. Your best option is to carry the largest knife that you are comfortable with and hope you never need to use it. That said, there are plenty of occurances of bad things happening to good people and I understand the desire to be prepared. I also gotta believe as a student of BJJ and a former wrestler that you don't present the softest target and anyone, let alone 4 people approaching you had to have bad intentions. Your awareness was probally your best self defense. If you choose to adhere to the local law perhaps you need to look into the 210 as suggested and perhaps a Surefire.

quote:

Originally posted by Mark G.:
Been Un-Sheeple since it was created, so I guess as long as anyone has been.

As for the Spyderco Forum and knife fighting. Spyderco has always had a bit more of presence in the whole world of the martial use of the blade. They have made some very purpose driven designs (Civilian, Chinook, Gunting, Pikal, et al) and at one time retained Micheal Janich to head up MBC (Martial Blade Craft). He has since moved on to head up Blackhawk Blades and his curriculum is still "MBC" but now Martial Blade Concepts. Spyderco owns the Martial Blade Craft name.

In short, it is just a corporate direction. Benchmade has not chosen to emphasize that aspect of knife use for civilians. So in turn, Spyderco's user base is much more comfortable talking about these things.

Thanks for that clarification on why the Spyderco forum seemed more "self defense" issue friendly Mark. I think I saw some posts made by you on the Spyderco forum in some of those self defense topics too.

The reason I carry a Benchmade is because I know that their models are some of the most solid knives out there. I know that I can rely on any model in my small collection to do whatever I need it to accomplish. Mostly that adheres to cutting tasks. I try not to think of my Benchmade as a defensive weapon but, instead, a tool. I do know, however, that if I did use my Benchmade for a defensive purpose it would hold up better than whatever knife an attacker would try to use against me....unless he had a Benchmade too .

The difference between a smart man and a wise man is that a wise man does not get into situations
a smart man has to out smart. With that bieng said there is a difference between a life threating situation and a life or death situation, every time you get into your car to get to work in my opinion it is a life threating situation and yet we all (i hope) act responsibly. Lets all be honest, we all want to be "the man" in in a threatfull situation but
god forbid you so much as scratch someone with a knife or pull a gun, the court system will tear you apart especially bieng a gun and knife efficiando, you will be the perfect candidate
for the "unstable psycho" profile. Today i am closing 50 years old and i spent a good part of it in the military as a combatant, today i am
a volunteer policeman in my community and life has taught me a few things, as a stratgey be wise, cool and put the ego aside. In a tactical(life or death) situation be smart, economical, (conserve
your resources)and fight like your life depends
on it (and it may) and may god be with you because in the end you may need his help.

ive been looking into getting a surefire. all my family members that are police officers have them and always give me crap about my inova t5. My friends also tell me that they (surefires) are practically unbreakable and alot of forum members recommend them. im gunna get one this weekend, n e recommendations? i know theyre expensive but seem to be a worthy investment and i could def use a great flashlight at work and in the car.
as for spyderco forums, thanks for the advice.
--adam--

is spyderco based out of japan or golden colorado, EARTH lol?

The tool doesn't matter all that much. Anyone who poses a certain model or style as "the best", is probably trying to sell you something, or doesn't know what they are talking about. My only recommendation would be to carry something with a handle that you feel you can hold on to securely. Not dropping your knife is really THE biggest thing.

After a lot of training, you may develop a certain set of techniques that seem to work for you, and you may find that certain knives are better suited to those techniques, but until that happens, just get yourself something you can hold on to really well. A Skirmish certainly falls into that category, and seems to have been effective so far.

Be very cautious about brandishing a knife when the situation doesn't yet call for using it. If one of the scum bags had a gun, things could have escalated very quickly. A person with a knife is not necessarily at a disadvantage in such a situation, but it is not a situation for the faint of heart, and a lot of physical and mental preparation is called for.

More wise words from Steve Harvey.

quote:

Originally posted by Korzs30v:
ive been looking into getting a surefire. all my family members that are police officers have them and always give me crap about my inova t5. My friends also tell me that they (surefires) are practically unbreakable and alot of forum members recommend them. im gunna get one this weekend, n e recommendations? i know theyre expensive but seem to be a worthy investment and i could def use a great flashlight at work and in the car.
as for spyderco forums, thanks for the advice.
--adam--

I wasn't trying to push you onto the Spyderco forums. I was just merely stating that it seems that more people seem to like to share their opinions of the perfect self defense model over there. Besides, a majority of the people on that forum seem to be totally devoted to Spydercos only. While I think that Spyderco produces excellent knives, I don't care much for their lockbacks or liner locks; however, I think that I'm just spoiled by the Axis lock performance.

I have a Surefire 6P and 9P. I used to carry my 6P with me, but it bulked up my pockets too much so now it sits in the glove compartment of my car. The models that I have are old technology though. The Surefire that I would recommend for you is one of the LEDs that they've been coming out with. The 6PL is brighter than my 6P and is more conservative when it comes to the life of the batteries. If you want something that could be considered a self defense light as well, the new E2D LED Defender has an output of 120 lumens on high and 5 lumens on low for the smaller tasks. The Defender also has a strike bezel on it.

To answer your question of where Spyderco is located, it is Golden, Colorado. I believe they just import a majority of their blades from Japan.

Im liking the idea of the E2D LED Defender. its seems strong and very capable of being carried. Actually i like it so much i think im going to go to my local cutlery shop and get one tommarrow first think since i have the day off. Thx for the recommendation Chang. As for sydercos, i share your opinion and i bet alot of other do too. I love my Benchies.

Good pick the e2d is my fav,match it with a l4 head ...