Survival and Emergency Preparedness

Please notice - I did not indicate edc. I also restricted it to home defense.

The situation was as follows. I was widowed with a little one. It was not wise to leave a loaded firearm around the house. Moreover, I knew that when my little one got to a certain age, neighborhood kids would come in and steal, which happened as expected. I also did not know who might stop by for a visit and wanted to avoid making a mistake.

So, the challenge was to have a weapon available that would probably be overlooked by a thief. I put aside a discussion of hatchets/metal escrima sticks and swords. I was trained in fighting with them. Most people are not.

This what I decided. Every bedroom door has a coat hook on the back. If I could find a knife sheath that could be hung upside down on the hook, then I could remove the secure knife with a natural, downwards movement.

I looked at what I owned. There were two Barry Dawson knives in cordura sheaths with a single snap on the sheath. On the bottom was a metal ring. Hung them up and tested them. Then I designed a two handed tanto blade. Barry said it wouldn't work. when he made it, he called up exclaiming that I was right, it worked. That unit hangs on a coat hook on the back of my personal bedroom door.

It is now over 35 years later and the knives are still there and ready.

Although not as big as it once was, I have a rather large knife collection. But most are stored away. It don't have any particular knife assigned for a HD role specifically. I do have the Gerber LMF II in the back that is available as well as kitchen knives and my EDC Hawkbill in a drawer. I have a few knives in the vehicles as well as other defensive tools.

I am well versed in knife fighting however as it was part of the martial art I taught.

As I've said in our EDC threads, I don't consider knives defensive tools. My pocket knife is for cutting tape or opening envelopes. I can't think of a single situation where I need a weapon and would choose a knife. No matter how well trained you are at knife fighting, an intruder with a gun has every advantage.

I have a couple of knife projects coming up. Where is the right place to post???

Oh yeah...my most likely HD knife is a Chinese straight sword. But that isn't what you were looking for, so it is whatever I would grab out of the gun closet. Not sure why I would do that. But, most likely would be a dull Romainian bayonet.

My hunting Bowie would be the likely best choice for that though.

8" Old Hickory Chef's knife, or something similar, if you want something effective yet likely to be ignored by a thief.

Bob wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 10:21 am I have a couple of knife projects coming up. Where is the right place to post???

There is a 'Blade' forum up in the 'Top Gear' section.

I only use my knives/edged tools for utility purposes as there are better options for self defense, but in much of the third world just about everyone has a cheap razor sharp machete that they know how to use to protect themselves with if need be.

I don't have one but, I think something like a Assegai spear (Cold Steel sells them) might be good for defense if nothing better is an option....probably could set it up as part of a display or hide it behind a door or some other place where it is out of sight but easy to access.

xxo wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 3:35 pm ...but in much of the third world just about everyone has a cheap razor sharp machete that they know how to use to protect themselves with if need be.

There are towns in the Middle East (and elsewhere) where it's a sign of manhood to carry a large knife. So it's not unusual to see every adult male walking around with a very large curved blade.

My Cold Steel Machete is not readily accessible for SD/HD. But it would count as a Chinese broadsword.