Does this knife make my butt look big? From salami to seat belts, the tactical folder earns it keys

Suzi Huntington

From salami to seat tactical folder earns its keep.

There's been an explosion of interest in tactical folding knives for a reason--they work. In the real world of daily "cut the string, open the box, sharpen the pencil," and even the periodic "cut the seat belt in the burning car" situation, a sharp friend in your pocket can be awfully handy. And, unlike the "old" days of folders buried deep in a too-tight pocket, the invention of the pocket-clip, one-handed folder by Spyderco, did indeed, revolutionize the genre.

Before I became a police officer over 18 years ago, I would have to say my exposure to knives was, at best, limited as in to the kitchen limited. I was clueless as to how much a part of my life carrying a knife would become. At the time I got into law enforcement, knives--and I mean "tactical knives" --were not new. But they were on the verge of major changes.

I remember an academy classmate who was very much a weapon nut. He seemed to know everything imaginable about guns and knives. He carried a Buck 110 folder on his heir. While be was quite proud of it, I was a little intimidated by it all.

At 5 feet 9 inches and only 115 pounds, my belt space was very limited. Skinny is a good word fix it. The thought of taking up two or three inches of my gun belt with a knife was not a good idea, heck, it wasn't even an option! Carrying a knife. 1 rationalized, was not something I needed to do anyway. I figured I wouldn't have much use for one.

Reality Sets In

It didn't take long after graduation for me to realize how much I needed a knife. It's nothing like on television, and most cops don't gel into knife fights--we bring guns to those kinds of fights. The need fur a knife was in a much more mundane sort of way. I found I needed a knife for things like scraping a registration tag from a license plate or to help gain entry through a locked door or window. Cutting any number of things like fingerprint tape, gauze and medical bandages and clothes off of accident victims, makes carrying a knife an essential not just a luxury.

The knives of today have evolved in many ways from their earlier predecessors. Spyderco was on the forefront of technology specifically aimed at the "tactical" market--before we even knew what "tactical" was. The knife I slip onto the pocket of my uniform pants today is a far cry from that first Spyderco. Indeed. it seems today I change knives often, both as technology changes, and to meet new demands.

Today's Differences

Over the years I've tried everything from smooth blade to serrated blade (and even a few knives with a combination of both), metal, plastic and lightweight polymer handled, and an array of different blade points. I've tried knives big and small, but the common thread in all of my knives is they have all been high quality.

No cheap, swap meet knock-off in my pocket--I wouldn't carry a $5 gun, so why would I carry a $5 knife? Quality is very important because as sure as that $5 is missing from your pocket, the knife is going to fail you. It will inevitably break and always (did I say always?) at the wrong time.

Many manufacturers offer models to fit the needs of a tactical/utility knife. I have used A1Mar, Benchmade, Kershaw, Lone Wolf, SOG, Spyderco, Strider and William Henry knives personally. And, each design was often unique to their own company. Most of these knives are "tactical" in they are easy to open with one hand--a timely feature when up to your eyeballs in alligators. They're lightweight, easy to carry and extremely versatile.

Part of a knife's versatility is the ability to carry it in a variety of places. I often carry mine clipped to my pants pocket--the best method for me considering my size. These knives can be clipped to a waistband, an inside coat pocket, an equipment bag, a boot and in the case of a really small folder, even to the collar of a uniform shirt.

How Many?

First of all, let me just say a girl can't have too many "knives, but as my friend Clint Smith says, "One is none and two is one." The lesson there is one knife may not be enough. Just as most officers carry a back-up gun, the idea of a pair of folders might make sense. I have had such occasions when the knife clipped to my pocket was not of sufficient size or strength to manage the task at hand. Good thing I keep a variety of different sized knives in my gear bag. Of course, I learned this after breaking the tip of a couple of favorites.

Your World

While I've given you insight into a cop's need for a knife, don't be surprised how useful a knife is in every-day living. For instance, in the last few days I've used my off-duty knife (my favorite William Henry given to me for my birthday) to open the mail. open a package, cut an errant thread, scrape a label from a ceramic pot and to cut a piece of fruit. I was able to do all this because I bad my knife at hand, I didn't have to rummage through a drawer looking for a pair of scissors. I was also able to address each issue when it arose.

Oh yeah, and then there are the countless times my friends and work-mates have asked to use my knife--because they know I always have one!

I've given many of my friends their first knife and they invariably come to me later and say something along the lines of, "You know, I just don't know how I ever got along without a knife before." Maybe there's a lesson there?

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COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group