Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades Karambit EDC

I have been looking for a new EDC and I was looking at a Karambit. The one I was looking at is the Spyderco Karahawk.The reason I was looking at this one is because of the short blade. Any thoughts on a Karmbit would be helpful, never owned one.

Thanks
Lefty Lucas

I don't see how to skin with that blade, heck I don't see how one would complete most chores with a karambit. Looks to be a great box opener, but not as good as a regular one.

This type of knife to just for personal protection nothing else. There are a few places that I don't conceal a gun and this type of knife would work well.

I can't think of much you could do 'every day' with a blade shape like that other than personal protection, but there are better knives for that purpose as well.

Agreed. Unless you're a tenth degree ninja, I can't see the point in such specialized blade shapes. A decent sized knife of a more neutral design can handle everyday tasks (the ones you'll actually find yourself facing), while serving OK as a self-defense tool should the need arise some day.

Getting into a "knife fight" is on the short list of last places any sane person wants to find themselves. Elaborate blade shapes seem geared towards guys who don't realize this..............at least that's MY personal take on things.

If the point of the knife is to have a weapon on hand when you can't have a pistol, I don't see the drama of it being a specialized blade style that can't skin and elk and cut the taters for supper. If the point of it is purely self defense it seems logical to me.

Even then, a conventional knife gives the average user more options for deploying it. A martial arts guru may know exactly what to do with a specialized blade design, but the rest of us likely won't.

In a scenario where I absolutely couldn't carry a handgun (or carbine/Shotgun) and had to arm myself only with a knife, I'd take a Bagwell Bowie and several years of dedicated Bowie training. That knife design came from an era when reliable, accurate, repeating handguns hadn't been invented yet.

While I carry a knife or two daily, they're utilitarian and very useful for everyday jobs. And the most probable self-defense scenario where I'd use one is against an aggressive dog that wasn't one of the known fighting breeds.

Anyway to the OP, carry what you want. We all do. But a straight 3" to 4" blade of the clip point or drop point variety will defend you just as well, while also doing a hundred other tasks better than a Karambit............unless you've trained extensively in the use of that specific design.

I picked up a folding karambit recently. I've been kind of interested in the blade as a defensive weapon, and figured might as well get some hands-on time with one.

It's not an all-around field knife, but can handle little blade tasks ok. I'm no martial artist but I've seen how the experts handle a karambit and it is pretty impressive. I can tell you this though, the karambit is not really difficult for a beginner to wield with basic gross motor skills. Punching, hooking, sweeping. It's a nasty little blade. The geometry lets you put a lot of leverage into the blade for aggressive slashing and punching moves. A serious defensive weapon for close in use. It would be hard on anybody that grabbed onto you.

Mine is a Derespina Chiroptera made by Fox knives.

I watched Doug use one on Forged In Fire, he is an expert

I saw the Forged in Fire episode where they made karambits too. That only fueled my interest in the blade.

Doug Marcaida is very impressive with his knowledge and skills, I always enjoy seeing him test the knives.

I would not want that guy pissed off at me and within a lunge or two of me. A motivated bad man with a knife is a scary thing.

I talked with one of the karambit contestents who had a table next to me at the Janesville show.
Quite and interesting story he told about the show and the hosts and the challenge.

Fookin' things are expensive!

The Chiroptera was about $110 on a few knife retail sites. I was eyeballing it for a while, then I saw it on Amazon for $77 shipped, and lost all self control.....grin







https://www.amazon.com/Fox-Knives-C...0&sr=1-1&keywords=fox+chiroptera

That's easy to do. I've been guilty of it myself on more than one occasion.

I have studied close hand to hand knife fighting for several years now, and yes those Karambit knives mean little slashers. Unfortunately check with your local LEO, as a lot of agency's have listed them as "restrictive weapons".