Self Defense Knives - How to Choose

If you are trying to decide what kind of knife to use and have spent any time looking around on the internet you have probably found a lot of people just telling you that "it depends."  While that is true, today I am going to help put a finer point on exactly what you should be looking for when choosing from the wide variety of self defense knives on the market.

The first thing you want to consider is how you intend to carry the knife.  If you will be carrying it in a sheath you can use a fixed blade knife, which is generally slightly faster drawing and slightly more reliable than user assisted blades.  If you are comfortable having the sheath on your belt, that is great, but this doesn't work for everyone.  If this doesn’t work for you then you want a knife that folds away into its handle.

The next thing to consider is knife size.  You could use a very small knife, but it's not likely to put fear into the heart of your assailant, so I wouldn't suggest anything shorter than 3 inches.  You might be thinking, bigger is better, and while nothing is as shocking as you carrying around a machete, it's obviously not practical.  On the upper end of the spectrum I recommend a blade of not longer than 5 inches.  

Now let's consider the type of blade, there are serrated, straight, or combination straight/serrated.  Simply put, straight is the best option here.  If your assailant isn't scared away when they see the knife and you actually find you have to use it in combat you are going to be making slashing motions, which is what a straight blade was designed for.  Serrated blades are for sawing various materials and don't serve a useful purpose here.  If you find a blade that's combination straight/serrated that meets all of our other criteria, then go ahead and get it.

Whatever you choose, please check the laws where you live to make sure you are in compliance.  I don't want any of you going to prison for carrying a knife that you shouldn't be.

To recap:

1.      Choose fixed or folding

2.      The blade length should be between 3” and 5”

3.      Straight (or straight/serrated combo if necessary)

I will be posting routinely, so please check back.  If you have a question please leave it in the comments.