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billc
410
Jan 9, 2019
I don’t think the word tactical has any meaning for knives. There are military fighting knives, whether issued or not (the category includes bayonets). Almost all true fighting knives are fixed blade. There are first responder tools that include such things as strap cutters and glass breakers. These kinds of “knives” fall more into the multi-tool category. And there are heavier-duty utility knives, folding or fixed, that are used for anything and everything and carried as EDCs by all kinds of people from civilians to firefighters to police to military. So what’s “tactical” in a knife? Rapidly deployable? That’s a function of means of carry more than the knife itself.
(Edited)
Omniseed
1972
May 18, 2019
billc
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'Tactical' as it relates to folding knives (let's consider 'tactical' fixed blades to always be a marketing term) used to have a meaning, but it has been eclipsed by the march of time and the inevitable adoption of the features that used to render a folding knife 'tactical'. It was a term Terzuola originated to refer to what we would consider a hard-use EDC knife today. The defining features were a pocket clip to facilitate the now-standard practice of carrying your knife close to hand in your hip pocket, a reasonably strong lock so in case of emergency the user doesn't have to be careful with their tool, and a decent one-handed opening method. These days basically any knife is going to feature all of those attributes, unless it is a traditional or modern traditional. The term isn't meaningless, but it has matured into more of a simple marketing term than it used to be. It used to be relevant in a market where a ubiquitous pocketknife would be either a Buck 110/112 or a traditional pattern slipjoint. I think Terzuola and Sal Glesser were introducing these features at around the same time, with Glesser's approach having more of a focus on designing working knives and also doing knives to sell to grunts with a gear fixation. In my mind, today 'tactical' is basically synonymous with 'standard modern knife designed for use in adverse environments', knives that are perfectly reasonable to use as work knives but maybe on the larger end of that spectrum. I think a knife like the Kizer GTi 2.5" vs the 3.5" is a great example. The 2.5" has a full grip and is to me an ideal work knife. The 3.5" version would be a perfectly satisfactory work knife, except it has much more blade than most work environments require, and it is significantly heavier. That additional weight and length is a positive for someone whose 'work environment' includes a slim chance of being set upon by attackers, but does nothing for a person who uses their work knife in a warehouse or job site setting. Both versions of that design are well-designed for gritty, dirty, unpleasant environments, but one is specialized to be a 'tactical' or hunting folder and the other is a consummate modern work knife. The only difference is the mass and length.
(Edited)
billc
410
May 18, 2019
OmniseedA thoughtful and informative response. Thank you. I still think it’s mostly marketing, though, even in its origin. A knife used by someone like a police officer or even a military operator is a weapon of last resort - even desperation. Close quarters, main weapon(s) lost, empty, or disabled, etc. The knife that best meets these needs is a fixed-blade fighter. All opinion only, of course, and I’m neither police nor military.
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