sheath Knives, Swords, Blades

Knife designers Chris Reeves and William W. Harsey Jr. collaborated on the technical details of the Gerber LHR Urban Combat Knife, but Matt Larsen -- an expert in close quarters combat -- also contributed some unusual ideas. Larsen studied hundreds of actual combat encounters before finalizing the LHR concept. ...

If you're looking for a heavy duty camp knife, hunting knife, and survival tool, stop here. Look no farther than the Ka-Bar Adventure Potbelly Knife. The Potbelly's seven-inch, hollow ground blade of 1095 Cro-Van steel has enough reach and enough weight to do the work of a camp axe as ...

One of three Adventure series knives released by Kabar in 2010, the Kabar Adventure Baconmaker satisfies anybody who likes a knife with great style but treats their tools a little rough. This pigsticker can take it.

Adventure series knives developed from a partnership with knife designer Steve Johnson, the field editor of ...

Becker Knife & Tool once produced a wide variety of survival knives built to the specifications of founder Ethan Becker, who had a longstanding interest in big knives. Now produced under the guidance of Ka-Bar, the Becker BK-9 Combat Bowie is one of the best Beckers for the ...

The half-inch-wide oval cross-section honing rod of the collapsible Sportsman Ultra Light Diamond Sharpening Steel will restore the cutting edges of small knives and maintain the edges of larger ones. This tool is more appropriate to the kitchen than the deep woods -- you may want to carry a flat ...

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the movie Predator, a detailed replica of the machete used by Dutch Shaefer (played by Arnold Schwartzennegger) and his commando squad was released in a limited production run of 10,000 pieces. This is not one of them.

Built narrower and lighter than the signature version ...

SOG's Tomcat -- the company's first folding knife -- won Knife of the Year in 1988, with innovations that set the bar for large lockbacks. This updated model called the Tomcat 3.0 Carbon Fiber is a limited edition of 450 knives with the same improved features included in the ...

More than a folding knife and not quite a fixed blade, the SOG Speciality Knives & Tools FX21-N Revolver SEAL shows some of the good features of both. Both knife and saw blades were ground from the same strong bar of 440A high carbon stainless steel.

The basics of the ...

The Becker BK3 Tac Tool, now made by Ka-Bar, resulted from a collaboration between Ethan Becker of Becker Knife and Tool and John Benner of Tactical Defense Institute. The original purpose of the Tac Tool was to provide emergency entry into locked or barricaded rooms. Even though the ...

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 ...

This Extreme Fighting Knife from Ka-Bar works some important improvements into the classic Ka-Bar Marine Corps fighting knife design. If you liked that one, you'll love this one too.

Components show more attention to appearance and are no longer just the most rugged parts possible. The fingerguard isn't a plain ...

The Ka-Bar Becker BK2 Campanion brings back an older survival knife that became a collector's piece after the original manufacturer -- Becker Knife & Tool -- shut down in 2007. Ka-Bar holds true to the original concepts of the Campanion, and the new version still comes close to the ...

The Kershaw Whiplash is certainly an intriguing idea and does have some good things going for it, but it's an unusual concept not everyone will love.

The Kershaw Whiplash is a full tang fixed blade, but your first thought when you see it might be that it folds. In order ...

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 it's a massive hunting and survival knife, the Jungle Master from Trademark Global does have some weak points. In spite of that, it could be a real bargain if you don't require tactical quality.

This imported knife's Bowie-style blade offers 10-1/2 inches of plain hollow ground cutting edge plus a ...

Though it's better known for its many styles of fantasy and replica weapons, United Cutlery also designs knives in a tactical style. Imported from China, the practical offerings from United Cutlery include the M48 Kommando Fighter Knife. With the makers and most of the technical specifications somewhere on the other ...

The fine craftsmanship of this competition broadsword from Dragon Well Forge of Lungchuan, China, makes this wushu weapon an excellent collector's piece. One of the best broadsword choices for training, this sword comes in nine different men's sizes. Check with your teacher for guidelines on fit, since proper length varies with ...

Designed by Alan Folts of Greenville, N.C., the Folts Minimalist neck knife produced by Columbia River Knife and Tool friction-fits in an inverted sheath worn around the neck. Grasp the deep finger chorls of the handle or the braided nylon fob hanging from it and pull the knife free ...

One of the best things I can say about this Dragon Katana is that a katana never look bad. A reproduction of a European battle sword in this same price range might be laughable, but the katana is so simple and efficient that even in its most basic form it ...

Designed by Jim Hammond, the Operator's Model A.B.C. (All Bases Covered) knife adapts Hammond's popular fixed blade diver's knife design to land use. With full-length cutting edges both plain and serrated, this rugged outdoorsman's knife covers every situation.

The four-ounce knife of AUS8 high carbon stainless steel incorporates a modified ...

Cold Steel's Double Agent knives, designed by Zach Whitson, are available in two blade styles. Either the karambit or the clip point version may be safely worn as a last resort neck knife.

Built light and intended for suspension from a dogtag chain, the Double Agent weighs ...

Since I saw this boot knife from Kershaw discussed in a recent issue of Blade Magazine I had to take a look. Apparently, runners and hikers in southern California are carrying the Kershaw Military Boot Knife as defense against mountain lion attacks. Honestly, even though this is a decent ...

The Gerber Freeman Folder drew considerable attention when first produced. Now that the Freeman Folder Gut Hook knife has been around a while, it may be an even better deal. In fact, at today's more reasonable prices, it could be more tempting than it was when it won ...

Familiar to fans of the long-running Japanese anime series Bleach, this heavenly blue katana recreates the personal sword of Love Aikawa. Simpler in appearance than many of the Bleach zanpakuto (or magical tranforming weapons), the Heart Guard sword hid special powers to be released in battle by ...

Looking at a fantasy sword, I always wonder about the real applications of that strange blade. If it makes some logical sense, probably the sword has already accomplished its real purpose. When I saw this pair of fanciful weapons, I wondered how elven warriors would use those graceful ...

Designed for Spyderco by Fred Perrin, a world-ranked martial artist and ex-French commando now making knives in Paris, this small fixed blade incorporates some excellent military ideas but still fits civilian use well. You'll find the sheath equally handy.

With a 3-1/2-inch clip point blade of VG-10 stainless steel and ...

Designed by Bill Moran, one of the founding fathers of the American Bladesmith Society, Spyderco's Bill Moran drop-point, fixed blade knife provides adventurous knife owners with important modern features seldom found in traditional belt knives. Also find Moran's signature etched in the blade.

This 8-1/16-inch-long hunting and survival knife ...

United Cutlery made the Black Ronin Ninja Sword good enough to actually use, though it's an odd blend of jungle machete and wakizashi. Like the Black Ronin Tomahawk, the Ninja Sword looks like a fantasy weapon until you get up close. Then it's surprisingly real.

Made from one bar of ...

The Buck 279BK Folding Alpha Hunter offers the best features of the Alpha Hunter fixed blade in a drop point folder style. If you've dressed out enough game in your life that you don't need a gut hook, skip the Buck 278 and get this one -- the same ...

Suppose you ignored the standard logic about what makes a good hunting knife and started out with fresh ideas -- if you looked at what materials are available today and what the typical hunter's needs really are, you could come up with the Buck 693BK Alpha Hunter Guthook.

This ...

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like Remington went a little ways past the good idea that inspired the Sportsman Series Tectonic CTi. To make a full-sized skinner blade with the lightest materials possible is a reasonable project, but there's a lot about this knife that just seems ...

Buck explains the 183CM Camo Alpha Crosslock (PBS) as a Portable Butcher Shop. Although the small size of this knife also works well for small game, the bone saw blade makes field dressing larger animals like deer possible as well. If you hunt quail, you'll need Buck's regular bird ...

Buck's calls the 192BK Vanguard the company's classic field knife for big game hunters. If the biggest thing you hunt is a deer, the Vanguard works just fine for that, too. Buck combines a 4-1/8-inch-long hunter/skinner hollow ground blade with both traditional and modern materials and comes up with a ...

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 ...

If you need a knife heavy enough for chopping wood, the Ka-Bar 14-1/4-inch Bowie could be a match. The tactical black high carbon 1085 steel blade is flat ground and tempered to Rockwell 55 to 57 -- it's a strong edge that will even hold up to rocks without ...

Ka-Bar's Black Cutlass Machete reaches back to the roots of both designs, coming up with a new approach that works well for modern campers and adventurers. The 16-1/2-inch rat tail tang knife -- with 11 inches of 1085 high carbon steel cutting edge -- chops brush, slashes rope, and in ...

The Kershaw Alaskan Blade Trader System avoids combining all the blades you need for skinning and butchering big game by offering three interchangeable blades which fit to one handle. Instead of a massive hunter style with saw tooth back and gut hook tip, the Kershaw system provides separate blades performing ...

The SOG FS01-N Fusion Spirit Knife combines belt knife and spearhead with options for attaching a full length shaft. Wear it on the belt in the knife-style nylon sheath and use the Spirit as you would any stout belt knife. If you need a long weapon, you have the option of ...

Designed as an LDK or Last Ditch Knife for police, the TDI knife Rig from Ka-Bar comes in two sizes with two slightly different mounting assemblies. The larger knife is for belt wear, and the smaller rig straps discreetly to the ankle.

The unusual design of the TDI knife ...

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 ...

Survival knives usually try to do everything with one tool and wind up not being very good at any of it. The Schrade Extream Survival Knife is a better knife than most all purpose blades but has a few weak points.

The Extream is large (12.5 inches overall length) and heavy ...

The thick bolster makes this light skinner look heavy, but in the Buck Gen-5 Skinner Fixed Blade knife, Al Buck's old ideas have been updated and streamlined. Josh Buck -- the fifth generation of the Buck family to design fine hunting and skinning knives -- included all the ...

The collector's version of the Buck Gen-5 Skinner series designed by Josh Buck, great-grandson of the company founder, the Gen-5 Guitar Skinner with Cocobolo hardwood handle is a limited edition of 1,000 numbered knives. Each purchase includes a Certificate of Authenticity verifying the knife's place in the series.

The basic ...

Two beautiful and rare woods form the handle of this full width, full tang hunting and skinning blade from Boker of Germany. Shaped to match the stainless steel bolster and fingerguard, two small slabs of Brazilian rosewood fill the forward section of the Elk Hunter's bolster. Full ...

Finally, a serious boot/neck knife from Cold Steel -- previous offerings from that renowned self-defense company were not always up to Cold Steel's no-nonsense standards. This tanto-style knife, designed by Barry Dawson, is one of seven blade styles available and probably also the most sensible. The tanto blade was ...

The Buck 103 Skinner's "turned-down" point blade resembles several famous Puma styles of hunting knives. With a forward-weighted blade that puts more cutting edge up front and more steel behind the point, it's a sensible design but very different from American bowie patterns. For more efficient piercing, you may ...

The knives from Puma's Solingen, Germany, factory always look more like weapons than the average factory-made knife, and the Puma Stag Skinner knife holds true to that. The 5-inch blade of the Puma Skinner may be technically a Bowie style, but it has the flair of a European dagger. ...

Let's talk tackle boxes before bringing up the Buck Protege. If you fish, you probably do have a knife tucked away in the bottom compartment where everything gets wet and nasty. Not every knife will hold up to that, and probably you've stashed something cheap under the extra reel ...

This hunter skinner knife from Boker of Germany will need more upkeep than blades with higher grades of steel. Made with 440A, the knife could be an excellent choice for fisherman, especially those who go after saltwater prey. One of the most corrosion resistant stainless steels, this alloy will ...

United Cutlery's Anduril, sword of the hero Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings saga, is no cheap imitation. This blade recreates the legendary weapon forged from the shards of Narsil, the sword shattered during the battle at the end of the Second Age. The two-handed broadsword Anduril ...