Knives, although to some they would seem archaic; have been on the battlefield in almost every century of warfare. They have been used by kings, slaves, serfs, conscripts, mercenaries, and general infantry; Why? Because In any form of conflict it is inevitable that the fight will eventually get up close and personal. Yes you can have the latest greatest Tactical shotgun/carbine/pistol on the market. You might even have the skills to backup the use of all that gear but  sometimes things just get too close for comfort. This is where the combat knife is at home. While I won’t get into the details of brands and specific designers I will give a bit of information on where we draw our knife philosophy. (granted I am not an expert)

Knives tend to serve multiple purposes on the battlefield, they can be used as crude tools to accomplish many tasks. (food preparation, wire cutting, medical, ect.) where opinions tend to go rampant is on the size/design of certain knives. Be it folding, fixed, long, short; all have their purposes and should be treated as a specific tool for a Job rather than an invincible blade. For Example your Longer Fixed blades may be Ideal for chopping, and as a bayonet; but it may be less portable and may require much more follow through in order to deal a decent blow. At the same time smaller folding knives maybe Ideal for a quick stab and go hit; but they lack the quick draw time, and strength that A fixed blade has. As I think is wise for most unless you have spent time learning a knife discipline I would look for something that fits a happy medium of these traits. As well as pick up a few of each and see which you like better.

The Apache scouts were known in the American Southwest for several things, one of these being their skill in a knife fight. Apaches at a young age were taught how to knife fight and often time practiced amongst themselves to hone their skills in spars with REAL knives.  You can almost say to a degree that the Apaches were the Spartans of the Southwest. It was not uncommon to find a typical Apache Scout with multiple 4-6 inch (10.14-15.24cm) blades. This was due to the fact that If a scout were attacked from another angle mid stab he could simply draw another blade rather than fight the one he already used out of his former opponent.  Apaches did not like to get into long drawn out gunfights so when raiding stuck to the safety of stealth hit and run attacks. With this in mind I have somewhat drawn my philosophy on the knives I personally carry on my person with my B.O.B. (Bug Out Bag) hikes.

I currently Carry a PRI or jungle Style Nepalanese Khukuri 15.5 Inches (39.37cm) 

and a Small Gerber/Emerson Tactical knife (auto open w/ safety)

The Khukuri is my Utility knife, It will be used more for wood chopping, brush clearing, food prep, ect. While on the other hand because of its size the Gerber will be my fight knife. The auto action on this folder makes it a smoother draw and will allow me to make use of what I will consider an effective combat knife for very close encounters. Granted If someone was using a longer Knife against me I would use the Khukuri for its added length which would keep someone back long enough for me to find an opening for a strike.

Could these same tools be useful against animals such as coyotes, or bobcats? I think so, in that Case again I would rather have my Khukuri as I would want to make wider movements. At this point in time I have also looked into some alternative training to apply some skills with these knives. The Khukuri is a longer blade so skills from Baito-jutsu (the art of the drawn sword) apply. There are many different Knife combat styles and I would suggest that if you experiment and see what you like.  As for me, I like to run basic Baito exercises for my knife fencing.  This has been just a brief explanation of what I am running and I hope to see some of what you guys think in the comments. Lates