A few thoughts….
I had a guy try to mug me once with a knife. It was mostly my fault that it went that far. I was in Arlington VA at the time and had just finished 12 hours at work and got off the metro to get cash at an ATM and then make it to the AT&T store before it closed in about 5 minutes to swap out my non functioning phone.
I got $300 from the ATM and failed to notice someone watching watching from across the street. It was dark, raining and the streets were virtually deserted. I proceeded at a very fast walk in the direction of the store, but turned a block too early. About 10 ft past the corner I realized my mistake and turned around - rings into a guy with a hoodie with one arm coming up for my neck and the other coming out of his pocket with a knife. I’d turned to the left, so I was leading with my left foot and had my right foot back in a very stable position for a palm strike with my left hand to his chest followed by a large step forward driving him back. He’d been startled by my sudden turn and had checked his momentum putting him off balance. The palm to the chest and the step into him pushed him further off balance while I bladed my body and started lifting my jacket to draw. At that point he got both feet under himself again and turned and ran.
Horrible SA let him get close enough to be a threat. I got lucky in terms of turning to the left as it let me engage him and put him off balance with my left hand, creating time and space to draw with my right. I would not have been able to maintain the momentum and still draw if I had turned to the right.
I also got lucky as he was a “smart” criminal who wasn’t interested in potentially getting shot.
I’m not sure a knife would have had the same effect in that situation as he may have seen it was more or less even odds.
That said, none of this was anything other than a conditioned, aggressive, gain the momentum, response to a sudden threat. That doesn’t usually happen naturally unless someone has had a fair amount of training in defensive techniques. The assailant clearly wasn’t expecting that response. I think that had more of an effect on the outcome than any particular type of weapons.
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There’s also a psychological advantage in a gun that isn’t present with a knife. Attacking someone with a knife, even in self defense, is a much more personal action and most people are much more tentative in a defensive situation with a knife than they are with a gun.
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That higher psychological barrier in using a knife is also something the anti gun crowd plays on in banning guns, thinking a knife is both less lethal and less likely to be used.
They extend that logic to assault weapons as well, even though about 3 times as many people are beaten to death with hands and feet each year than are killed by all types of rifles combined.
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However, because of this incident I did change my every day carry knife to a fixed blade Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter knife in an Armatus Carry sheath that fits in a front pocket.
It can be drawn and employed one handed with no requirement for any fine motor skills. It also arguably has more psychological impact on an assailant as a fixed blade knife.