Friday, April 24, 2009

Riverwalker’s Gear - Tactical Knife with Tanto Style Blade


Fixed blade knives are highly valued for their strength and reliability. This is an important quality in any knife. The fixed blade extends into the handle which gives a fixed blade knife more stability than it's folding counterpart and because fixed blade knives come in a variety of sizes, shapes, lengths, and materials you will be able to find a knife that can handle almost any purpose for which you have a need.







This particular knife, which is part of my collection of knifes, has a 7 inch blade and 5 inch handle for a total overall length of 12 inches. It came with a hard plastic sheath and elasto-polymer grip on the handle. It is also a full tang model. The black steel blade also has a serrated edge just in front of the blade hilt. The butt end of the handle also has a lanyard hole. The sheath also came with an optional Velcro and snap quick attach and release feature that makes it easy to take on or off or you can use the 2 inch belt loop that is incorporated into the sheath. It also has a leg tie down cord which could also be used as a lanyard. The sheath also has a snap-lock feature that securely holds the knife hilt when sheathed, as well as a rubberized butt loop to further secure the blade when sheathed.








A small pouch was added to the hard plastic sheath (Kydex?) with some black plastic ties and includes a few additional items that packed very neatly into the pouch. These items include a plastic, pea-less whistle, a signal mirror in a vinyl pouch, a lighter with a re-fill, a button compass, a small LED light, a small folding can opener, a small ceramic sharpener, a sewing kit, $20 cash, and several band-aids with ointment and aspirin.


This particular model is no longer available but similar tactical knifes with the hard plastic sheaths can be found at OutdoorPros for less than $60 and even cheaper when they are on sale or clearance priced. If you wish to add a pouch that will have to be done separately. The pouch in the picture is a Jobsmart cell phone pouch purchased from Tractor Supply.
Here is a link to a knife sharpening video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuOlGGl97dI
You may also want to check out some knife sharpening tips:
http://www.worldknives.com/info/knife-sharpening-tips-by-jay-talmadge-24.html

Always check your local laws and regulations concerning knifes.

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

7 comments:

Bitmap said...

River, can you give advice on sharpening the short, angled front edge of a Tanto blade? Pics or a video would be great.

I have a Cold Steel Voyager and have not found a way to hold the knife and stone that I like.

riverwalker said...

To: Bitmap

I generally sharpen it like it was a separate blade. Try to get the main blade edge where you want it and then just hone the front edge with a good knife steel. A ceramic honing rod should work OK also.

Do you have a mount set up to help hold your sharpening stone?

RW

BTW, Sharpening is not one of my better skills.

Bitmap said...

RW,

I usually use a Spyderco Sharpmaker. I used to use a series of handheld Arkansas stones but somewhere along the way I got lazy and went to the fancy angled ceramic triangle shaped rods. They work fine on the main part of the blade but I have a hard time getting a consistent cut on the stone with the short blade at a funny angle a long distance from my hand.

I'll go search youtube for a video. Everything seems to be there.

riverwalker said...

TO: BITMAP

Added a couple of links.

RW

Anonymous said...

You should be careful when in possession of these types of knifes, a seven inch blade is well beyond the legal limit in most of the United States!

riverwalker said...

To: anonymous 12:57

Always check your local laws and regulations concerning knifes.

RW

Anonymous said...

@anon:

If I am carrying my Ka-bar D2, I am not too worried of legalities ;)

Pickdog
III

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