Good duty knife for LE?

[rockyraider]

What knife do you guys carry while on duty? I'm looking for suggestions for a good knife to carry while on duty. I've been looking at Kershaw's Ken Onion series, Benchmade, Spyderco, etc. Do ya'll carry autos or manual opening knives? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[CanineCop]

I have a Benchmade but have had really good experiences with Spyderco. If I needed to replace my Benchmade I would probabley go back to Spyderco. I would go with a knife you can open with one hand but wouldn't go with an auto opener. The "switch blade" has a social stigma attached to it, I try not to use any equipment that is in any way over the top. I heard that in the last year or two the wise legislators of Kalifornia removed the law enforcement exemption and made posession of an auto opening knife illegal for every one.

[nclawdawg2001]

I carry a Coldsteel on/off duty

[nsedet]

Do a search through this forum. This topic has been addressed more than once, and you will find some pretty good suggestions in those earlier threads.

[zz25]

I carry an Emerson mini-Commander on/off duty. I've been extremely happy with it. They actually custom made it into a lefty version for me before they had made a production model (no extra charge!). Their customer service is excellent.-------------ZZ

[universible]

I second and third (possible fourth) Emersons....the Ontario PD actually issues a PSARK (or SARK, can't remember which one it is) to all its officers, and does training with the knife (I'm not with OPD). Good thing with Emerson (besides their excellent knives, and their great customer service), they also offer fully functional trainers for their knives. They're actually the same knives, but without edges or pointy parts.

Ted

[gaboy]

Smith and Wesson makes a real nice knife. It's their SWAT tactical. It has a tanto blade which has a combo serrated edge, pocket clip, and its just a real nice product without the price. I think they retail for about 50.00

I wil add a disclaimer that I still hate their semi-autos.

[SARDOG]

I use a Benchmade ATS-34.

[universible]

ATS-34 is the steel used to make the knife blade.

If you're looking for a folder that acts like a fixed blade...check out the Strider AR...also the Strider DB is a great smaller fixed blade.

Ted

[dano1427]

There's never been a Law Enforcement exception in California (with a C) for an auto knife.

Duty-wise, just about any name brand knife will do. A lot of guys carry a Buck 110, while some carry a cheap Chinese made knock-off. I would suggest a good name brand, like Spyderco or Benchmade (I don't like anything from Emerson...poor QC, single edge grinds, poor liner locks).

I also like Microtech and Masters of Defense, but these tend to be a bit pricey...

--dan

[universible]

Dan,

I would totally disagree with the QC on Emerson's knives. I know they had a run of bad product a while back, but have since come back better than ever. As for single edge grinds, depends on what model you get. If you get a CQC7, it'll be a chisel edge grind, so yeah, one side is sharpened. I've beat the tar out of my Emersons and never had a liner lock fail. Along those lines, some of the more popular brands don't even have 2 liners :idea: , just a locking liner....if you've got an Emerson at the moment (that has those QC issues), give the shop a call. They make it more than right.

Ted

[nclawdawg2001]

I'm 5 minutes from the maker of Master Of Defense Knifes.

[dano1427]

Maybe I've had bad luck with Emerson stuff...Two Commanders, both with bad locks (I could press on the blade spine, and watch the lock collapse). One SARK where the liners were so warped that the blade, when closing, would hit the handles on one side of the knife, and just recently I had one of the new CQC-8's that also had a bad liner, and the blade rubbed against the liner. Maybe it's personal preference, but that one sided, chisel grind does nothing for the functionality of the blade (in fact, it probably cuts down on production time--making a cheaper knife).

A few years back, I also had a really bad run of Benchmades...I think I have bad karma ;)
--dan

[CanineCop]

I had the liner locks fail on two different Benchmade Mini-AFCKs (the second replaced the first) when the second one failed I cut myself badly enough to hit an artery and nerve. Benchmade sent me a different knife after that, I think the model 720 with a different lock.

[dmclark]

I've had a Benchmade Elishewitz Auto for years. Holds a terrrific edge and is a great working knife. dmc

[SARDOG]

OOPS! The benchmade was a gift. I never checked into what model it was. I pulled up the website and found out it was a stryker. I didn't know ATS-34 was the steel.

[ssween2]

In a previous thread I posted about how much I love my Spyderco. I still do but now I have a new favorite. For Christmas my old man got me a Kershaw Ken Onion in black with the thumb open.......man I LOVE IT!!! It opens very fast, has some serration, and looks really cool. Big fan! I think nsedet and Bosox have one as well.

[nyfo]

I'm not sure how much of a LE knife this is but I carry for rescue. It's folding double edged teeth, sharp as hell. Locking, spring loaded window punch. On the tip of the blade you can see it's got a little pry actions going. It's called the First Response by Smith and Wesson and goes for about $40-50. Good stuff

[gbcop]

I just bought a Benchmade 9130SBT Ares Stryker Auto. Helluva knife. The only thing I dislike about it is the "Safety". Just my opinon, but if you need a safety on a particular weapon, you shouldn't be carrying it all the time.

Just my $0.02.


David