Well, I’ve said it before; and I’ll say it again: ‘I’ve played knife games all my life.’ My passion for blades has only been exceeded by my fondness for guns. I wish I could remember the names of some of those European knifefighting and assassination books I mentioned in an earlier post; but I’m, just, getting too old and senile.
I will say this, however: THE BEST USE OF A KNIFE IN COMBAT IS AS A SURPRISE WEAPON. I’d rather start a fight by grappling, any day, and, then, produce the knife than I would by, first, pulling the blade and going into a low crouch. (I don’t care if your weapon hand is forward or backward; or if your style is Echanis, or Styers.) The other guy can’t stop what he doesn’t see coming - period.
Here’s two, ‘red flags’: (1) If, during a face-to-face altercation, a protagonist suddenly steps forward (even halfway) WATCH OUT! A knifer needs to get in close. (2) If a protagonist suddenly turns EITHER shoulder toward you during a confrontation WATCH OUT because you’re, now, lined up for an effective attack. Of all the different methods of blade presentation, the very fastest is to pull from the sleeve. Personally, I’d rather have 4” of steel up my sleeve than 8” of steel on my belt – anytime!
Most gunmen know not to let anyone stand near their gun hand; what I’m saying, here, is that you have to watch your other side, too. At, ‘arm’s length’ is always a good rule, and being able to immediately recognize that your personal danger level has, just, increased whenever a protagonist suddenly stops facing you, SQUARELY AND AT ARM’S LENGTH, is another key survival habit.
I have long believed that the most dangerous, ‘fighting knife’ in the Randall Catalog is their ubiquitous, 5”, ‘Saltwater Fisherman’, utility knife. This is a short, flat knife with a nice stiff spine and index finger indentation for a hard, ‘hammer grip’. Wrap this blade in paper, slip it up your sleeve under an ACE bandage; and, in many circumstances, you’ve got a better weapon than a gun.