Officer Friendly wrote:


Everything Mao said about edged weapons is correct.
People hate being cut.
Actually people usually hate cutting, usually preferring a blunt instrument to an edged one.
You only need about 3.5 inches of sharp metal to end a threat.
Less if you are willing to do shit you are not willing to do.
Trust me.

That article wrote:

The knife, while enjoying a reputation in literature and history, is particularly undesirable as a defensive weapon. It has all the negative aspects of a firearm (potential lethality, vast unintelligable legal restrictions) without the positive aspect of ranged defense. A knife requires the defender to engage the aggressor(s) at close range, allowing similarly armed opponent an equal opportunity to wound the defender. Using a knife well also requires significant training which is not widely available. A knife that is really suitable for combat has a fixed blade of no less than 6" in blade length, like the Applegate-Fairbarn; one will find that legal and social restrictions on carrying such a knife in public are often greater than those on firearms. The smaller folding knives that can be opened with one hand, like the Spyderco and Benchmade brands can be used for defense but all knives work as stabbing or slashing weapons that cau se bleeding. Unless the wounds frighten an attacker away, gradual blood loss leading to unconsciousness is the knife's only ability, and this is not instantaneous, despite the depiction of knife attacks in the movies. The knife's real-world effect is to slow an opponent down rather than stopping him with one or two forceful hits. Using a knife for defense is really a desperate situation; if you have a choice, select a better weapon.