Thinking about carrying a Karambit

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  • Cet2survivor

    Plinker
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    Nov 14, 2015
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    North Carolina
    Hello, as the title implies, I am thinking about carrying a Karambit as my EDC knife. What are peoples opinions on them. Anyone have any brands they would recommend? I am kind of leaning toward the Emerson Karambit.
     

    M67

    Grandmaster
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    Jan 15, 2011
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    Southernish Indiana
    IMO, they're limited. As a user wouldn't make the best EDC for cutting and using as a tool. As a self defense knife, they would be a very mean knife on soft tissue. If I were to carry a folding karambit, it would either be an Emerson or a Spyderco Karahawk. The wave feature on both would come in handy. Every now and then I'll carry an Emerson La Griffe as a backup knife, or a Spyderco Swick 3. Lately though I've been wearing a Matriarch II in a spare pocket.

    Anyway, a karambit for a self defense knife, yes. As an EDC user, there's much better options IMO.
     

    Cet2survivor

    Plinker
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    Nov 14, 2015
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    North Carolina
    IMO, they're limited. As a user wouldn't make the best EDC for cutting and using as a tool. As a self defense knife, they would be a very mean knife on soft tissue. If I were to carry a folding karambit, it would either be an Emerson or a Spyderco Karahawk. The wave feature on both would come in handy. Every now and then I'll carry an Emerson La Griffe as a backup knife, or a Spyderco Swick 3. Lately though I've been wearing a Matriarch II in a spare pocket.

    Anyway, a karambit for a self defense knife, yes. As an EDC user, there's much better options IMO.

    Hello, thank you for the quick reply. Yes specifically, I am looking for a self defense knife. I am looking for something that I can quickly deploy should the need arise. Due to my job and some of the places I go on a daily basis, I would like to have some sort of protection. With the world we live in these days, we are "soft targets" and it's well known. We have had some minor incidences of co-workers getting attacked. Crime rates are rising in my area, there is an increase in shootings , etc...

    Thanks for your other recommendations, I'll give those a look.
     

    Dean C.

    Master
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    Aug 25, 2013
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    Westfield
    Hello, thank you for the quick reply. Yes specifically, I am looking for a self defense knife. I am looking for something that I can quickly deploy should the need arise. Due to my job and some of the places I go on a daily basis, I would like to have some sort of protection. With the world we live in these days, we are "soft targets" and it's well known. We have had some minor incidences of co-workers getting attacked. Crime rates are rising in my area, there is an increase in shootings , etc...

    Thanks for your other recommendations, I'll give those a look.

    Strictly a self defense knife then I would recommend the Spyderco Civilian, Spyderco Matriarch 2 with the Wave or the Emerson Super Karambit.
    https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=60
    https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=809
    Super Karambit

    If you ever had to get into a knife fight (BAD idea just FYI) these are the knives to do it with.
    [video=youtube;AvXXe1EBL90]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvXXe1EBL90[/video]
    The knife used in the video was a Matriarch 2 with the emerson wave opener.
     

    MohawkSlim

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    Mar 11, 2015
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    15th Street, Bedford
    I almost started carrying one a few weeks ago.

    I ended up carrying a double-sided dagger instead for no other reason than I had the dagger laying around. (The karambit I would've had to buy.) The karambit is a mean little knife but it's only one-sided and it takes a little more skill to run than your average "pointy thingy." As such, it would be a lot like a carry gun in that its one specific purpose has to line up with the reason it's being used. You're not doing as much stabbing and poking with it because of the curve. If you're attacked from an odd angle there's the possibility it won't line up with the attacker. With something that's sharp on all sides, you're much more likely to connect from any angle.

    If the time and effort is put in to learn a little on the tiger claw, I'd say it would be a very effective knife to EDC for defensive purposes. I just don't really see it as a "beginner's knife." Without that skill and training it's more or less a last ditch cutter. With that training it's a monster!
     

    Bradsknives

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    Mar 1, 2010
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    Greenfield, IN.
    Hands down, the best bang for the buck staying with a quality karambit is the FOX 478 and 479 folding karambit models. Made in Italy with a life time warranty, these models use N690Co steel for the blades, and incorporate the Emerson wave system. :twocents:
     

    Cet2survivor

    Plinker
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    0   0   0
    Nov 14, 2015
    56
    6
    North Carolina
    Strictly a self defense knife then I would recommend the Spyderco Civilian, Spyderco Matriarch 2 with the Wave or the Emerson Super Karambit.
    https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=60
    https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=809
    Super Karambit

    If you ever had to get into a knife fight (BAD idea just FYI) these are the knives to do it with.
    [video=youtube;AvXXe1EBL90]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvXXe1EBL90[/video]
    The knife used in the video was a Matriarch 2 with the emerson wave opener.
    Wow, that knife in the video looks bad @$*. Thank you for the Links, I definitely have some homeowner ahead of me. Thank you
     

    Cet2survivor

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Nov 14, 2015
    56
    6
    North Carolina
    Hands down, the best bang for the buck staying with a quality karambit is the FOX 478 and 479 folding karambit models. Made in Italy with a life time warranty, these models use N690Co steel for the blades, and incorporate the Emerson wave system. :twocents:
    Thank you for your recommendations, I will give those 2 models a look as well . Thank you
     

    M67

    Grandmaster
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    Jan 15, 2011
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    Southernish Indiana
    Wow, that knife in the video looks bad @$*. Thank you for the Links, I definitely have some homeowner ahead of me. Thank you

    The Matriarch II is mean. First night I had mine I cut myself with it (poked I guess, went to close it and the serrations fell right into my finger, I was drinking....). It's super fast deploy with the wave feature plus Spyderco knows how to do serrations that cut/slice very well.
     

    rhino

    Grandmaster
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    Mar 18, 2008
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    Indiana
    My opinion:

    Karambits actually make pretty good tools for some tasks. If you have to cut a lot of rope, cord, hoses, carpeting, etc. they work better than most other designs because of the geometry. There are hawkbill carpet and linoleum knives for a reason. Now, for other tasks, maybe not so great.

    As a weapon, it would behoove someone to gain a fundamental knowledge of how to use it effectively as well as human anatomy before carrying.
     

    flatlander

    Master
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    18   0   0
    May 30, 2009
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    Noblesville
    Going to start carrying one also. Had one years ago and stopped carrying it for some stupid reason. I'm reasonably good with my hands, from work, so the karambit will be an extension of what I use everyday. Nothing fancy but effective.

    Bob
     

    Mike Elzinga

    Expert
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    Mar 22, 2008
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    NWI
    As usual, Brad is right on the money. I have a Fox Karambit and have been carrying it pretty regular for a couple years now. It seems to be a bit thinner than some others, easy to grab and deploy and when I got mine is was about half the price of the Emerson. If you decide to go this route, call Brad and order one and you won't be disappointed.
     

    tradertator

    Grandmaster
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    Jul 1, 2008
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    Greene County
    I am a karambit nut, so I'm a bit biased. But with that said, they are incredibly handy knives. They were originally designed for agricultural task in mind and later adopted as weapons, and are awesome at any cutting task I've thrown at mine. I learned to respect them the hard way, and have a big scar from opening up my wrist due to goofing around with a Emerson Super Karambit, and would strongly recommend a trainer. The model that Brad listed is definitely the best bang for buck (plus a trainer is available), but my current favorite is my Tracker Dan Honey Badger (it hasn't left my IWB since I bought it). If you want to learn how to use it defensively in the most effective manner, I would look into any of the Fillipino / Indonesian Martial Arts (Arnis, Kali, Escrima, Silat, etc....). That said, they are pretty natural to deploy, just think of it as a claw on a cat.
     
    Last edited:

    tradertator

    Grandmaster
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    128   0   0
    Jul 1, 2008
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    Greene County
    Strictly a self defense knife then I would recommend the Spyderco Civilian, Spyderco Matriarch 2 with the Wave or the Emerson Super Karambit.
    https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=60
    https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=809
    Super Karambit

    If you ever had to get into a knife fight (BAD idea just FYI) these are the knives to do it with.

    The knife used in the video was a Matriarch 2 with the emerson wave opener.

    I've had both of those knives, and found that I really missed one of the most important features of a karambit: the ring. Incredibly useful as an impact / less lethal weapon, but even more importantly, retention. Once deployed, it's almost difficult to loose a karambit even under stress. Not to mention, one can have it deployed in hand and still use a sidearm.

    To the OP, if your not nuts about the curved nature of the blade, you might take a look at the FOX Dart, Emerson Bullnose Karambit, or Tracker Dan Punch Dagger.
     

    M67

    Grandmaster
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    Jan 15, 2011
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    Southernish Indiana
    As long as it's not a Chinese throwing star I'd imagine you'd be okay. What would be the difference if you carried an "exotic" style firearm for self defense?
     

    Nam1911

    Sharpshooter
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    Feb 8, 2015
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    A karambit sounds cool if you are someone who is trained in knife fighting. Me, I am not and I don't have time to go take knife fighting classes. If it comes down to my last resort defensive knife it is going to be my 5.5" Cold Steel Voyager XL Tanto. If I am down to hand to hand combat I want the most reach I can get short of a sword. A karambit is just a super up close and personal knife. Now I wouldn't mind having one IWB up front next to my AIWB gun just because.

    But with my Cold Steel XL being 12 inches overall I gain much in reach. With a rear hold I have the blade hanging out 8-9 inches out in front of my hand. Slashing with that big thing is much more effective than a Karambit. I have my EDC knife for everyday tasks. But for SD I want the most reach I can get that will fit in my pocket.
     
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