Texas Star
US Veteran
Which knives did you use in the military? I know that many of us are veterans, and I bet that most had at least a pocketknife.
Also, if you were young again and knew what you do now, or were choosintg a knife for a son or other significant loved one who's off to Iraq or Afghanistan, what knives would you provide, if cost wasn't a factor?
I was a cop in the USAF and never saw a war zone. (I applied for Vietnam, and they sent me to Newfoundland.
) I did buy knives that I thought would be good in a battle zone, because I thought I might see duty in Vietnam or Thailand. I got a Model 3 Randall, mainly for a hunting knife, and a Ben-Hibben - later just Gil Hibben- small Bowie, called the Jungle Fighting Knife. It had a seven-inch blade. The Randall had a six-inch blade, and the standard leather handle, all that I found that I could afford.
My pocketknife was at first a Wostenholm I*XL Boy Scout type, later a Swiss Army knife from Victorinox. I bought the I*XL from Randall, who carried that brand then. The Victorinox came from a posh New York outfitter called Hunting World, run by a safari veteran named Robert Lee. I still favor that model of Victorinox (called the Spartan) as a basic pocketknife, although I now have many options.
When my son was headed for Iraq, I gave him a Fallkniven S-1 (www.fallkniven.com ) He declined a Swiss Army knife, preferring a multitool, and he had a lockblade from Pakistan, given to him by a friend. He decided that the black-bladed S-1 was too nice and too expensive for a battle zone, and was afraid that some customs agent or prig officer might confiscate it on some pretext. So, he got a Marine style Ka-Bar, made by Camillus, I think. Those served him well, although all of his killing was done with guns. Now a civilian, he prefers a tanto-pointed Benchmade folder, which saved his life a few months ago when he was attacked in his yard by a feral dog.
My use of the Randall was confined to wearing it when hunting and fishing in Colorado and in Newfoundland. It replaced an old Anton Wingen Bavarian style hunter as my sporting knife. I also used a Buck Pathfinder (Model 105) in that role.
Some disdain a combat knife, saying that it'll never be needed. But it may! One El Salvadoran soldier ran out of ammo and all his platoon were killed, and the insurgents were coming. He drew a lockblade folder (I never saw the brand in the news) and charged the enemy! He inflicted some casualties and they ran! This man received the Salvadoran equivalent of the Medal of Honor. I also have encountered other examples of knives in battle. The late G.W. Stone told me that a Special Forces soldier in Vietnam took off the head of a Viet Cong worthy with one stroke from one of Stone's Model A knives. Randall also has testimonials spanning about four or five wars.
But the military knife usually functions more like a camp knife, a valuable utility tool.
So, what did you carry, epecially if you in a war zone? What would you give someone today?
T-Star
Also, if you were young again and knew what you do now, or were choosintg a knife for a son or other significant loved one who's off to Iraq or Afghanistan, what knives would you provide, if cost wasn't a factor?
I was a cop in the USAF and never saw a war zone. (I applied for Vietnam, and they sent me to Newfoundland.
) I did buy knives that I thought would be good in a battle zone, because I thought I might see duty in Vietnam or Thailand. I got a Model 3 Randall, mainly for a hunting knife, and a Ben-Hibben - later just Gil Hibben- small Bowie, called the Jungle Fighting Knife. It had a seven-inch blade. The Randall had a six-inch blade, and the standard leather handle, all that I found that I could afford.My pocketknife was at first a Wostenholm I*XL Boy Scout type, later a Swiss Army knife from Victorinox. I bought the I*XL from Randall, who carried that brand then. The Victorinox came from a posh New York outfitter called Hunting World, run by a safari veteran named Robert Lee. I still favor that model of Victorinox (called the Spartan) as a basic pocketknife, although I now have many options.
When my son was headed for Iraq, I gave him a Fallkniven S-1 (www.fallkniven.com ) He declined a Swiss Army knife, preferring a multitool, and he had a lockblade from Pakistan, given to him by a friend. He decided that the black-bladed S-1 was too nice and too expensive for a battle zone, and was afraid that some customs agent or prig officer might confiscate it on some pretext. So, he got a Marine style Ka-Bar, made by Camillus, I think. Those served him well, although all of his killing was done with guns. Now a civilian, he prefers a tanto-pointed Benchmade folder, which saved his life a few months ago when he was attacked in his yard by a feral dog.
My use of the Randall was confined to wearing it when hunting and fishing in Colorado and in Newfoundland. It replaced an old Anton Wingen Bavarian style hunter as my sporting knife. I also used a Buck Pathfinder (Model 105) in that role.
Some disdain a combat knife, saying that it'll never be needed. But it may! One El Salvadoran soldier ran out of ammo and all his platoon were killed, and the insurgents were coming. He drew a lockblade folder (I never saw the brand in the news) and charged the enemy! He inflicted some casualties and they ran! This man received the Salvadoran equivalent of the Medal of Honor. I also have encountered other examples of knives in battle. The late G.W. Stone told me that a Special Forces soldier in Vietnam took off the head of a Viet Cong worthy with one stroke from one of Stone's Model A knives. Randall also has testimonials spanning about four or five wars.
But the military knife usually functions more like a camp knife, a valuable utility tool.
So, what did you carry, epecially if you in a war zone? What would you give someone today?
T-Star
Last edited:
It was a Turkish bayonet but it had German marks on the root of the blade.....must have been "recycled" by the Turks. A lot to be said for good German steel, I used to pry open metal doors with it and it never broke. Tried the same thing with a cheap Chinese made knife and snapped the blade right in half. I still have the Turk bayonet.
