Knife Fighting, Knife Fighting Lies

[Whirlibird]

What about a knife on a stick, aka a spear?

Different style. And hard to carry down a tight hallway.

[Joe ex PNG]

I'm thinking some other items might also be a good thing to have at a knife fight- an ASP baton, the nearest chair or barstool, a handy length of chain, a can of brake cleaner, a crowbar, tire iron, or even a cinder block- whatever is nearby and could hurt someone else.

[chrisb]

For some reason a guy with a gnarly looking knife, scares me more than a guy with a gun.

[Aaron]

Having actually fought with a knife on one occasion, I now carry an ASP baton with me all the time. Even though I'd had limited training in fighting with a knife it didn't help at all because I learned on the K-bar and was instead using a little folder with a two inch blade. In that particular fight, I lost my knife because after the ER prized it out from between his scapular and clavicle, they gave it the cops. He continued to fight for quite some time afterward, too.

If I need to hurt someone for some reason and can't use a gun, I'm going for the baton. I keep a little 'assisted-opening' Kershaw (just swapped out Ole' Reliable for it) clipped to my pocket largely for use as a tool and as a last ditch weapon if being grappled, which is where folders like that really come into their own, I think. I used to keep a Bear Claw clipped to the belt side of my holster when I wore a sidearm for Uncle Sam for the same purpose.

I'm also thinking about getting a straight edged knife to wear on my other ankle, where the BUG isn't for similar reasons, but I'm a little doubtful of the utility and very doubtful of the legality.

[Lokidude]

I just picked up a butterfly, more for the fact that I like knives, didn't own one, and could own one where I live than for any consideration of it as a real weapon. I'm learning that it's faster than my traditional folder, though, and it carries lightly and easily.

[Factfind]

Be afraid, be very afraid. Anyone who knows what they are doing with a knife (not your average punk) will gill & gut you before you know what's happened. You will not survive a close-in fight with a trained knife fighter unless you shoot him well and properly first.

[Combat Controller]

Some of you may recall my rants on this very subject a few years ago.

The Knife is the assassins weapon, and there is no such thing as a knif fight. You will get cut, etc.

He says it very well, I won't go into it again. Unless someone really wants to know how I feel about "tactical" knives...

[g-man]

I carry one of the small Ka-bars strapped to my thigh holster, in front of my M9. It's there as an "I need to cut the retaining straps on the sun cover and get the hell out of this turret" implement instead of a fighting one. If I ever 'needed' it, it'd mean I'd have an empty M240B, empty M4, empty M9, and at least ten compatriots in similar situations... suffice it to say we'd collectively already be screwed. Knives are yet another reason I carry a gun in the civilian world, as I tend to fall in that "fight my way past you" category mentioned above. Priority there is to get me and mine safely out of the AO, post f'ing haste.

I did manage to pick up a sweet Benchmade auto-folder since I got here to the suck, but that mostly cuts MREs, care packages, and 550 cord...

[toad]

I'm with the take a gun to a knife fight, a knife to a fist fight, but go with a gun every chance you get. In other words try to have the edge over the other guy.

As for bayonets, I haven't found any primary sources, but I've ran into secondary sources, and etc. That say for a bayonet, you want one that's dull or has no edge.
1. The dull bayonet causes more immediate pain when thrust in and when you slash with it, it digs a nice bloody and painful trench. It's the weight of the rifle and the users body leverage it through flesh that makes it such a nasty weapon.
2. If you hit the ribs, cartilage, or get into the backbone, the dull blade tends push things aside and there is less chance of it getting stuck. I've seen a move for the upper body in which the wielder twists the rifle 90 degrees to present the blade horizontally.

The dull bayonet seems to be a Russian and other European countries approach.
Of course another theory is that conscript troops are less likely to hurt themselves playing with their dull bayonets.......I kind of doubt that one 'cause conscript troops have been know to hurt themselves with dull pencils.

[Windy Wilson]

My experience in this subject parallels Cyberludite's exactly.
From my position of ignorance I concur with Chris Byrne completely, except that 36" seems kind of short. I'd go with a M-N 91/30 with a bayonet if I actually found I had a choice in the event.