military Knives, Swords, Blades

Designed by William Fairbairn and Eric Sykes just prior to WWII, the Fairbairn-Sykes combat dagger was first produced for the British Army in 1940. Built to the specifications of these two veterans of the Shanghai Municipal Police, the dagger design first produced by Wilkinson Sword became the most popular Allied ...

First produced by Ka-Bar in 2005, the Desert Fighting Knife came about because many military personnel serving in the Gulf region wrote the company to request a desert version of the famous Ka-Bar fighting knife. Ka-Bar's Desert Fighting Knife incorporates handle material and sheath in desert tan.

A combo cutting ...

The triple-bladed British Army Knife would make more sense in a sailor's pocket, but anyone who works with rope will find it handy. Knives with marlinspikes are found more often on boats. If you've ever struggled with a stubborn knot in camp, you've found the reason for the spike ...

This Ontario Knife Company design issued to pilots during the Vietnam War and now offered by Rothco would make a dependable survival knife for anyone. Designed to aid pilots in escaping wreckage as well as surviving jungle and combat, the Army & Air Force Issue Survival Knife isn't fancy. ...

Built to exceed Russian Spetsnaz specifications, this tactical combat shovel from Cold Steel makes a great camp tool for the hunter, fisherman, and canoeist. With about a pound and a half of medium carbon tool steel and a durable hardwood handle, the Cold Steel tactical shovel is a ...

The Landesknechte Flamberge Sword should whet the curiosity of anyone interested in battlefield lore, since the weapons which inspired this replica fell out of favor so long ago that even experts aren't sure of all the reasons behind this unusual design.

At 51-1/2 inches in overall length, this replica flamberge is still a ...

The Rothco version of this official U.S. Army Aviator's knife became standard issue for Army flight crews when introduced by the Ontario Knife Company in 2003. A good choice for traditional field uses by hunters and farmers as well as an excellent emergency knife for civilian pilots, the military ...

Although you might think this light cavalry saber was stripped down by Cold Steel to simplify an older design, the streamlining of the 1796 Light Cavalry Sword took place during the Napoleonic Wars. Cold Steel created a modern version using 1055 high carbon spring steel but stayed with the ...

Cold Steel's Naval Dirk duplicates the character of one of the most common naval sidearms of the sailing era without exactly copying any particular authentic blade. During their heyday, no exact form of the dirk became standard. This modern Naval Dirk follows that trend of individuality but is unmistakeably ...

This replica sword is a faithfully detailed copy of the sabre carried by USMC officers since the late 1800's. The major differences between this sword and genuine mamelukes costing several hundred dollars are the materials and production tolerances.

The replica Mameluke's highly polished blade of 440 high carbon stainless steel carries ...

This SK-5 high carbon steel fixed blade from Boker of Germany matches one of my favorite survival knife designs. Recreating a style commissioned by General Curtis Lemay of the Strategic Air Command, this knife competed successfully against models from Randall's Tree brand and for years was the standard pilot's ...

The Gerber Prodigy scales down the design of Jeff Freeman's tactical fixed blade, the LMF II. Still a large knife by civilian standards, the 9-3/4-inch Prodigy provides more than 4-3/4 inches of strong Sandvik 12C27 high carbon stainless steel. The combo edge serves well for quick cutting of straps and ...

Smith & Wesson's Military Police Magic Assisted Tanto shows good quality in an American-sponsored imported design. The Taiwanese makers of the Military Police Tanto put together good features and good materials. Tactical users may be tempted and anyone who needs a good urban survival knife should take ...

Sadly, this small fully automatic tactical knife is only for law enforcement, military personnel, and a very few other special groups. An automatic knife would always be in my pocket if that were not so -- the difference between an automatic and a fixed blade is something like ...

Thanks to a reader here I now know the history behind this combination Scottish Regimental Dirk and mess kit. This replica dirk isn't of the best quality, with fittings of cheap pressed metal and faux cairngorn of real colored glass. The matching knife and fork tuck into small pockets ...

First produced by Ka-Bar in 2006, the U.S. Army version of the Vietnam Commemorative Knife is the real thing, with a little added decoration. The 7-inch bowie style blade and stacked leather handle match the well known Ka-Bar fighting knife pattern that has been standard issue for American military since ...

Smith & Wesson's updated version of the Ontario Knife Company M9 Bayonet, the SW3G Special Ops M-9 includes the essential features that survival knives in a technological age should have. Similar to the knives issued to military helicopter pilots in Vietnam, the M9's sawtoothed spine can cut through ...

A replica sword of special interest to collectors and Civil War buffs, this cavalry saber recreates the sword carried by Confederate Colonel Jo Shelby on Shelby's Raid through the union state of Missouri after the Confederate victory at Wilson's Creek. This same model of cavalry saber saw action after the Civil ...

Boker designed the original Automat Kalashnikov knife to resemble the clean engineering of the namesake Russian military rifle. This new version keeps to the same specs but replaces the textured handle grips with inlaid strips of cocobolo hardwood. Black anodizing of the blade and 6061-T6 aircraft aluminum handle gives this new ...

With a heavy brass ring pommel and brass handguard, this high carbon combat steel Pudao weighs in at ten pounds, enough to handle and cut like the real thing. Today weapons of this class are used for strength training, in combination with genuine combat movements from the old kung fu systems. In other ...

The Pudao or Horse Cutter Sword was designed for heavy work. Carried by Chinese infantrymen, this long weapon formed the footsoldier's primary defense against cavalry. Originally, the blade of this chopping broadsword and staff combination was heavy enough to take out the legs of a charging horse.

Toned down several levels to ...

This knife was developed just a little too late for WWI and never actually saw action during that particular confict. The 1918 combat knife became the American military standard for decades after WWI -- even to the early years of the Vietnam war. The 1918 WWI Trench Dagger recreated here embeds ...

Though it's not quite bullet-proof, the Gerber Mini-Covert in black fiberglass filled nylon and low-glare coated stainless steel is a knife that has a very respectable and well proven background. Two OSS agents -- Applegate and Fairbairn -- developed the basic pattern of this knife through logic and ...

Based on an old trench knife design, this cleaned up version represents the spirit of the worst of times, the trench war of WWI that inspired many of the Geneva Protocols commonly known as Rules of Warfare. Even with the slight civilized changes of this model, it's a knife that ...

This 31 1/2" replica sword with a highly polished 25 1/2" high carbon steel blade recreates the familiar sidearm of U.S. Marines, Naval officers, and Cavalry, last seeing extensive use in the American Civil War. A brass full hand guard, wire wrapped handle, and polished brass fittings on hilt ...

With the Tacticos Corto, Boker of Solingen, Germany, brings a tactical design into the world where the rest of us live. Many modern special ops blades have features that limit their use in the private sector, but this practical military model will fit the needs of civilians as well as ...

The Amazon, a side opening automatic knife from Piranha Knives, shows a little of the company namesake's influence in the shape of the striking black on white handle. The slender fish shape and scale pattern give this knife a solid grip and a unique look.

The Amazon releases 3.45" of ...

An upgrade of the stiletto switchblades made famous by the gangster movies of the 1950's, the knives of the Protech Godfather series, including this beautiful version with black elder burlwood inlay, are a refined evolution of a battlefield mainstay. Dating back to Renaissance battles against fully armoured knights, the stiletto design ...

Inspired by the Italian made blades of wiseguys and "made men," the American engineered Protech Godson brings the practical beauty of this efficient European classic to American pockets. If the laws governing the use of automatic knives were relaxed, they'd overwhelm the marketplace; as it is, only a select few ...

At first it seems a little like a souvenir, reminding me a bit of the fake pistols that turn out to be cigarette lighters when you pull the trigger--but there's nothing fake about this tactical folder from Lone Wolf Knives. In fact, it makes good sense to build ...

One of the best military quality folding knives available, the Microtech SOCOM Elite offers details others ignore. The 4" tanto style blade, ground with a wide but strong bevel, is forged from high carbon stainless steel chosen for its edge holding abilities rather than corrosion resistance alone. The ...

Nice to see that someone out there hasn't completely shifted over to stainless steel, and it doesn't surprise me to find that among the last to resist that impulse is Microtech, producer of high quality military blades. The D2 tool steel Microtech favors is corrosion resistant, needing a minimum of ...

Darrel Ralph designed this tactical switchblade for law enforcement and military use, so if you're a civilian don't expect to own one yourself (unless you qualify due to disability--switchblades are legal for one armed users to carry). There are other great Meyerco tactical knives available to the general public, though, so ...

Ernest Emerson, martial artist and knifemaker, eventually came to regard the tomahawk as one of the essential survival tools for modern times. Creating high quality combat knives favored by such respected groups as the Navy SEALS, his reputation for practicality and simplicity, expressed by modern craftsmanship, extends to this well known personal ...

In Vietnam, American Special Forces soldiers soon learned a lesson their ancestors knew very well--a tomahawk is better than a knife for close combat. In spite of its popularity, my own opinion of the Vietnam tomahawk has always been that it's a wimpy little ax, with a head that's too ...

Some fairly nice design features enhance the quality of this 32 1/2" German Eagle sword, but at the low end of the price range for replica weapons you have to be forgiving of faults.

The 25" stainless steel blade lacks a high polish or even a decorative grind, but details in the ...

This classic Ka-Bar military design has been only slightly modified from the original version, the mainstay fixed blade instrument of American military forces since WWII. The partially serrated blade makes rope cutting efficient and less dependent upon the sharpening skills of the user. That can be a bit of ...

Designed for law enforcement use and with obvious features of interest to military personnel as well, civilians may do well to think of this as a collector's item. This scaled down version of Ka-Bar's popular TDI "last resort" knife is small enough to be worn at the ankle. A ...

This 36" overall length flat ground stainless steel replica more closely matches the weapon a naval officer might have carried than it does the shorter, heavier seaman's cutlass that was the official sidearm of the enlisted riffraff of the day. Officers of the day were trained in fencing techniques. ...

Special alloy CPM-S30V knife steel promises to give the 4" blade of Spyderco's tactical knife the edge holding capability of traditional high carbon alloy plus the corrosion resistance and low maintenance of high carbon stainless. Many quality stainless steels originally were designed for special purposes in aerospace or industrial applications and ...

This classic fighting knife from Ka-Bar, first manufactured at the onset of WWII, has survived more than fifty years of industry changes unscathed. Look around you for other items with that longevity and you'll find only a few. Hammers, wrenches, and Ka-Bar knives head the list.

Ka-Bar makes several ...

If you're a serious collector of fixed blade knives, certainly you've heard of the Gerber Mark II. First produced in 1966, the MK II was designed by retired Army Captain Bud Holzman, who used the pattern of Gladiator swords for his inspiration. And there could be no greater ...

The Military Black Blade came about when someone asked Spyderco's owner Sal Glesser, "If your son were going into the military, what knife would you send him with?" And thus the newest addition to Spyderco's Save and Serve line was born - knives designed with EMTs, LEOs, and Military Personnel in ...

Everything you'd want from a tactical folder, plus a hilt! Columbia River has been around for fifteen years, manufacturing knives from space age materials and with a space age look. Gradually that avant garde outlook shifts around to what we we already knew, a tanto blade for superior ...

During the U.S. Civil War, swords and sabers were the standard issue weapons of choice for both the Union and the Confederate armies. If you're a history buff or a Civil War re-enactment specialist, then this sword will definitely be of interest to you.

The majority of the sabers used in ...

Machetes were originally designed to be farm and trail tools--that's an application few of us will need these days unless we cut sugar cane for a living or wander about in Tarzan quality jungles. This machete is the standard Army issue, which says a lot about it (the Army buys ...

If I think of German engineering, I think of efficiency, utility, and horrifically creative design. I see some of that in this knife. I'm sorry if it sounds weird, but I think German engineers just can't help it.

Smaller than the Ka-Bar version of the Gurkha military knife, the ...

There's no way we could ever recommend this trench knife for everyday, functional use... unless you need something cheap for a Halloween costume or a stage production. If that's the case, it's a great deal.

You might even be able to tell just by looking at it, but the edges are a little askew ...

Here's another quality, heavy-duty knife to consider if you're employed in the fields of emergency or military service: the Trident by SOG.

The 3.75-inch blade is made from hardened AUS 8 stainless steel, and coated in a black TiNi finish. Since it features a lengthy drop point and a tanto-style cut, you'll ...

The Daggert 2 is one heck of a military knife. Every little detail is thought out for maximum utility and durability. SOG really hit the jackpot!

First of all, let's take a peek at this rugged-looking blade. It's partially serrated, comes to a sharp spear point at the tip, ...