There are plenty of uses for a knife. But, what’s the difference between your average knife from the market and a knife specifically created for survival or combat?
Today, we explore this subject in detail as a part of our Point Blank Life Review!
Point Blank Life is an online tactical enthusiast store looking to sell tactical knives that go above and beyond the quality of regular knives.
As for what that means, continue reading to learn more:
What is a tactical knife?
First, let’s define tactical knives!
The word tactical has very close ties to the military. It implies that a large amount of planning and development went into creating something.
In the case of tactical knives, it means that their specs were carefully considered in order to increase efficiency in combat and survival.
The Anatomy of a Knife:
There are many parts to a given knife. And, depending on the material used, the size, the weight, etc. many variations of knives can exist.
Here are some of the more prominent knife anatomy parts:
- Point: This is the tip of the knife and it’s actually a lot more important than most think! As, depending on the point, one can adjust the use that certain types of knives have (i.e., from combat knives, to survival knives, to folding knives, to chef knives, to utility knives, etc.)
- Blade: The blade is the main body of the knife and it makes up several parts (including the knife tip, the knife-edge, knife spine, and knife heel).
- Edge: The edge of the blade is the thinnest and sharpest part of the knife.
- Heel: This is the ‘bottom’ of the blade and is the widest part of the edge.
- Spine: The opposite of the edge, this is the thickest part of the blade and runs the entire length of a knife.
- Bolsters: The part of the blade that stabilizes the knife and acts as the counter-balance between the blade and handle.
- Handle: Fairly self-explanatory, but the handle is the part of the knife that you hold in your hand. There’s a large variety of handle types and materials. You’ll find that most tactical knives, survival knives, and combat knives experiment a lot with finger grooves, rivets, quillions, etc. in order to improve combat ability and general efficiency.
What Makes a Knife a Tactical Knife?
Now it’s time to start tackling the main question of this article. That is, what makes a tactical knife a tactical knife??? And, how is it better than your average knife?
What Does a Tactical Knife Look Like?
When talking about tactical knives, there’s a certain look that people probably expect. However, tactical knives actually come in many varieties!
Depending on the variations in material and make, a tactical knife can be a combat knife, a folding knife, a utility knife, a survival knife, a hunting knife, etc.
Of course, that’s not to say that a tactical knife categorized as a ‘survival knife’ is to be used only for survival reasons or that a combat knife is reserved for combat only.
The distinction lies in what knife is capable of performing the best in a given situation based on its shape, weight, material, etc.
General Characteristics of a Tactical Knife
For now, let’s talk about the most common type of tactical knives that people think about. That is, the combat knife!
How is a given knife more suited for combat than another? Well, there are actually a lot of things to consider. Some questions that you might ask include the following:
Is the blade balanced for long-term use? How is the grip? Does it feel comfortable to hold? How about the blade material is it long-lasting? There’s a definite difference between a stainless steel blade and a carbon steel blade! There’s also blade length to consider! Blade length significantly affects how the knife performs — and, in turn, can affect your own performance.
These kinds of questions will vary between blade styles. But you can probably understand the gist of it already — there are many things to take into account in order to create a good tactical knife.
Survival Knives & Combat Knives vs Regular Knives!
Now that the general details have been established, hopefully, it has become easier to understand the difference between a generic knife and a knife made for a specific use.
This difference may not necessarily be crucial to you at the moment. And some may think that everyday carry of such high-spec a knife is pointless. However, the distinction remains.
Tactical gear will always be able to let you perform better. Whether you’re talking about knife fighting, self-defense, or using it as a utility tool in the wild, tactical knives that were designed with maximum efficiency in mind will always win! There’s no contest.
Should You Get a Tactical Knife?
The most basic answer to this is: it depends on you.
The aforementioned online store, Point Blank Life, decided to open its doors to provide customers with high-quality tactical knives, not only to cater to enthusiasts who enjoy collecting or using high-efficiency tools but also to embolden others to be more prepared — to start their own collection of survival gear for future occasions where a self-defense weapon or a utility tool for surviving may be required.
Keeping this in mind, what do you think? Are you convinced enough to go shopping for a good blade for your own at Point Blank Life’s shop? Personally, we are definitely excited for this newest addition to the tactical gear industry, and are excited as to what they have in store in the future!
