A "fighting knife" I feel is no more than an affectation, the realm of wankers.

As a "Utility Knife", I'd say that you would find it very hard to beat the Leatherman range of tools.

I'm not sure which one I would choose though as I feel that a few of the tools are a bit gimmicky rather than being of any real practical use, but over all, I feel that they are very well made and of high quality stainless steel.

I've had a Leatherman Wave for years, its a brilliant bit of kit.

Originally Posted by 84RFK

With respect to the Fairbairn-Sykes, there are certain limits to what use you can make of a stilletto...except of course putting an end to unfriendly individuals.

I only wear one because I got it from my granddad who was a RM Commando in WWII and as a symbol of my status as a Commando. I know of one case where a guy from SBS only had the option to use his knife.

I not an expert on fighting knives, never really had an interest in them,

Don't ask for any "collector's" knives. We get a lot of somthing teen year olds or Motard's with no female attention asking about the various styles of Ninja weapons and Katanas they like to look for, which can be found in surplus at any flea market.

Problem I have with dealing with "collector's", is that I really have no idea what cratfsmanship means.

It's funny to see such a gent walk in and want to buy all the crappiest stuff I have ever seen, steel printed with the names India, China and Pakistan on it, with crappy cardboard hanldles and cheesy patterned cloth wrapped around it.

Or brass knuckle style blades that are spring loaded and won't hold an edge for a year. ( I always ask myself, the hell?)

It's peaves me to re explain to "collector's" why we don't order a huge ammount due to the larger cusomer base who wants a qaulity tool that will do more than decorate their mother's coffee table, (literally most peices are under a dollar or so fresh off the boat from China). And the mark up ridculous.


But occasionally off duty military personel do like to wander to our location looking for bargains due to the fact much of the name brand things on base are riduculously priced.

Hence why I turned to my most valuable asset,

The IMF community.

Originally Posted by 42RM

I only wear one because I got it from my granddad who was a RM Commando in WWII and as a symbol of my status as a Commando. I know of one case where a guy from SBS only had the option to use his knife.

Ah I see, both RM Commando and the Fairbairn Sykes might be considered geneticly in your case then.
And since you lot eat barbed wire and piss napalm, you wouldn't have much need for firewood anyway, suppose you'll do just fine with the Fairbairn Sykes and a Leatherman.

As for us mortals on the other side of the puddle (you know both metric and driving on the right side of the road) the need for a utility tool capable of chopping firewood weighs heavier than the need for silent killing....so SAS-stiletto, Ninja-Tanto, and Rambo-blade will be considered more like a decorative item here.

The reason we stick to the Scandinavian blades is that they're made of laminated steel (3 layers) and it's easy to keep a sharp edge on them.

As for Leatherman, the Wave makes sense, but I'm wearing gloves in almost any conditions, so I've happily been lugging 3 different Leatherman Super Tool around for the last 12-14 years.

Originally Posted by Yossarian

I not an expert on fighting knives, never really had an interest in them,

Don't ask for any "collector's" knives. We get a lot of somthing teen year olds or Motard's with no female attention asking about the various styles of Ninja weapons and Katanas they like to look for, which can be found in surplus at any flea market.

Problem I have with dealing with "collector's", is that I really have no idea what cratfsmanship means.

It's funny to see such a gent walk in and want to buy all the crappiest stuff I have ever seen, steel printed with the names India, China and Pakistan on it, with crappy cardboard hanldles and cheesy patterned cloth wrapped around it.

Or brass knuckle style blades that are spring loaded and won't hold an edge for a year. ( I always ask myself, the hell?)

It's peaves me to re explain to "collector's" why we don't order a huge ammount due to the larger cusomer base who wants a qaulity tool that will do more than decorate their mother's coffee table, (literally most peices are under a dollar or so fresh off the boat from China). And the mark up ridculous.


But occasionally off duty military personel do like to wander to our location looking for bargains due to the fact much of the name brand things on base are riduculously priced.

Hence why I turned to my most valuable asset,

The IMF community.

I had a bloke in the shop wanting to sell a well knackered and rusty 6.35 Baby Browning, he said and I quote, "It's a collectors item." After I stopped laughing, I said there were millions of these made and not worth the paperwork taking it into stock. He wasn't very happy.

It came up missing on a maneuver. It felt like somebody killed my dog when I realized it was missing.

You don't need knife just hit them with your shovel, it will do a far better job and keeps that much further from you.

It's damn easy to parry a stroke with a shovel.

Originally Posted by 42RM

It's damn easy to parry a stroke with a shovel.

Entrenching tools and shovels work well for picking up dog poo of the premisis after the fact as well.

Talk about universal utility.