Concealed Carry Corner: Carry Knives, Fixed Vs Folding
Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we took a look at some of the easiest gifts for people who concealed carry. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I want to look at the idea of having different knives when it comes to self-defense. There are a few different ways of thinking when it comes to knives and concealed handguns.
Tool Vs Self Defense
Whether it's for cutting open boxes at work or using a blade in everyday life, having a small knife just makes life easier and there's absolutely a reason to carry a small knife for everyday use. Where things start to get questionable is when you carry a firearm as well as a knife strictly for self-defense. It's easy to start taking more and more items to carry concealed because you think they are necessary. I will be the first to admit I have carried a knife to cut boxes open and use every day, as well as a self-defense knife and a firearm. It only lasted about two weeks before I dropped back down to one knife. I've heard the argument that you want to keep your knife as sharp as possible if you need to use it, but that argument doesn't make a ton of sense to me if you have a firearm on your person as well.
Personally, I tend to carry a knife I can use as a tool, which is a folding knife in most cases. In addition to my knife, I will carry my Glock 48 with a Trijicon RMRcc as well as a spare Shield Arms 15-round magazine. If you have a carry gun with a spare magazine, you don't need two knives along with everything else that you could potentially carry. Now the next debate is whether or not to carry a fixed blade in a Kydex sheath.
Fixed Blades
In recent years, the idea of carrying a fixed blade knife in a Kydex sheath has become more popular with improved machining and options to comfortably conceal. In the past, I have been against these types of knives since I thought they weren't as comfortable of an option to carry until I started carrying the EDC knife from Cape Fear Knife Works. I’ve been carrying this knife for the last few weeks and I've been using it as an alternative to a folding knife and I think these are fantastic options for people who want a comfortable knife that is easy to use but doesn't take up pocket space.
While these do take a little getting used to initially, they are really comfortable and keep everything on your belt line, which is a huge plus compared to cluttering up your pocket space. Modern jeans keep having smaller and smaller pockets, so the ability to comfortably move my knife to the belt line is truly a big plus for me. Having a quality knife with a finger loop, as well as a custom-made sheath and claw attachment, makes it a win in my book. Before this knife, I was strictly a folding knife guy, but now I’ve been carrying this way more than my folding knives lately. Don't get me wrong, though, folding knives certainly have their perks.
Folding Knives
There's no denying that folding knives are convenient as well as practical. Being able to clip a knife into your pocket and go on with your day makes it one of the easiest tools to keep on your person at all times. You can find every blade length under the sun, as well as manual locks, auto knives and everything in between. The vast majority of us have some sort of knife that we carry on a daily basis. While there are certain situations that may benefit from carrying a defensive knife, they are extremely limited, where you could reach your firearm and would need to go with your knife instead. Although these situations are plausible, I suppose, if you look at the actual data, this doesn't really happen in self-defense situations.
I look at my Glock 48 as my main defensive option, where my knife is more of an everyday tool. The key to being consistent is finding the least amount you need in daily life and then carrying that every day. Having multiple options of knives, flashlights and having extra magazines for your carry gun only begins to weigh you down and fatigue you over time. Keeping it simple and having one option for defense and one knife as a tool makes life simpler as well as streamlined, so you don't begin to carry excessive weight that will begin to wear you down throughout the day.
Overall Thoughts
When it comes to the debate about fixed blade vs folding knives, they both offer benefits in their own way. For me, it's easier to throw on a folding knife and go on with my day, but after trying out the EDC fixed blade knife, I am definitely a fan and will carry both depending on what I have on and what the occasion is. Both are easy to carry and have their advantages. If I had to pick one option right now, I would still go with folding knives, but fixed blade knives are growing in my collection as well.
Let me know if you have a preference between folding and fixed blade knives. If you have a question about concealment or firearms, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.
TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner is brought to you by GLOCK
I'm an avid shooter and love educating whether it's at my job or in the shooting community. I'm an average joe that really loves talking with other people about firearms and other passions.I'm active on Instagram on @fridgeoperator.
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If you're already carrying a pistol, plus maybe OC spray, and you need a knife to finish a fight, you live or work in a lot scarier neighborhood than I ever have. Plus, prosecutors and juries look on knives as repugnant weapons that only lowlifes like Jack the Ripper use, so it won't be a good look in court. A prosecutor or jury might cut you some slack if the knife was a battlefield pickup you used as a last resort, but they may take a dimmer view if you actually had it on you when the unpleasantness began. Also, there's the fact that that there's no legal difference between a knife and a gun; deadly force is deadly force, and the manner of its delivery is immaterial. If you think it looks better to use a knife if your assailant has a knife, that's not legally true, plus there's the rule of thumb of knife fights to think about: The loser dies in the street, the winner dies in the ambulance.
I'm not anti-knife. I've carried a knife every day for more than 50 years, and I use it almost every day. But I've never used it on any living thing.
Carrying a knife for self-defense is a dumb idea (especially such a small toothpicks as portrayed in article). It's a everyday convenient tool nowadays, not a weapon. Fixed blade for edc became obsolete with arrival of one-handed folders with strong locks, which removed its disadvantages with all added bonuses (safe and convenient carrying method, compact size, no additional sheath, easy to put away) .