Suggest a knife for self-defence please

[bluesun999]

Guys Am A New Commer .. What i Do is Go on Adventures or say normally Bike Rides to places all around india .. at times it's risky as at times even my gf travels with me .. So plzz tell me where can i pick up a decent Knife just to carry it in the bag .. nothing much fancy n too costly ..

Regards

Kushal

[goodboy_mentor]

Hi Bluesun999,

Welcome to IFG. Knifes are available "everywhere" in India(thankfully not covered by the Arms Act except for some laws related to length and thickness of the blade, which you should take care of). Personally I am not a fan of costly branded knifes. Any knife made of thick strong iron with a good non slip handle will serve the purpose of self defense. If I would have been in need of knife for self defense I would go to any local iron-smith manufacturing kitchen knifes/butcher's choppers etc. and get one made from automobile wheel leaf spring(as leaf springs can withstand lot of use/abuse and do not break easily), as per my requirements(of course within the limits of law).
Personally I would prefer Katar over a knife. Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katara_%28sword%29 ....popular elsewhere for swift and quick attacks. .....Typically, kataras were used in close range hand-to-hand combat....Because of the nature of the weapon, attacks were mainly direct thrusts that would easily pierce the enemies' armor with a single but strong blow, possible because of the light weight and amazing attack speeds that could be achieved.

[Vikram]

Welcome to IFG. For legal aspects of carrying a knife,please go through this thread.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=149

As far as carrying a knife for self-defence goes,apart from the knife it self, how good are you at using it?Are you trained? Best form of defence is to avoid trouble or tricky situations. Have you considered learning to use firearms like a pistol/revolver,shotgun or a rifle? Then you can apply for a license and carry one legally.It would still involve learning to use a firearm in a self-defence situation.Mere carrying of a weapon is not an insurance against threats.

Best-
Vikram

[nagarifle]

best form of self defense is laughter. you tell a joke so funny while they are craking up you ride away on your bike.

some things in life can not be avoided and some can so best learn to avoid those things which can be avoided.

take a base ball bat, it has many uses, with it you can teach a new game or two as baseball bats are not well known in this country. and no licence is needed for it. just take along some balls as well.

[Vikram]

Someone has been hitting the juice bottle hard,eh?

[Subal das]

this issue, regarding if running away can be considered as viable defense option was rosed here already few times, lately I heard Ron Balicki opinion on that matter, here is what he said in my words - Running is a good option if you are attacked, but cant be used if woman and children under your protection and if you are on duty.

as Kushal traveling with his GF running may be not an option for him.

to Kushal, choice of knife may be not so simple, if you only want to carry it outside city limits then consider to buy Meula, any of those knives great and not costly and easy to get in India, no need importing. http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=7782

3 and half inch blade length is limit for carry in city limits. very good knife for self defense with short blade is moran, recently posted by Sanjiv.
http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic ... 638#p86099

another important thing is to learn some real life based techniques for use of knife.
The choice of system may be not an easy one, I can recommend to try to see some DVDs of Rick Hernandez or Jim Wagner.

[winnie_the_pooh]

Whatever you get,a stick or a knife,learn to use it.Importantly,prepare yourself mentally and physically to use what ever that you get.I would suggest that you convince your girl friend to take some classes on self defence as well.A couple of cans of pepper spray is something that you can consider as an alternative.

[nagarifle]

gents we tend to forget such items as agriculture implements. which are not knives, such a NE doa, great for chopping tree (which really annoys the green people) hacking pigs, and other animals(soory if you are vegi) making shelter and looks scary, as well comes in large and heavy size makes a good traveling companion. My father gave me one for my vehicle and it stay there.

hence not being a knife thus outside the arms act.(i think)

[tingriman]

gents we tend to forget such items as agriculture implements. which are not knives, such a NE doa, great for chopping tree

I Second that, these doa, or dhah as called in northern part of india, are very effective multipurpose tools, I have one at my house, made of truck's wheel leaf spring (called Kamaani locally), most of the iron smiths of northern part of India, like J&K, Himachal, Haryana and Punjab are well versed in this art..

cheers,
tingriman

[goodboy_mentor]

gents we tend to forget such items as agriculture implements. which are not knives, such a NE doa, great for chopping tree

I have heard a lot about Doa/Dhah, can anyone post the picture of Doa/Dhah.

Yes to be precise wheel leaf springs of trucks are used by most iron-smiths in India to make sharp edged instruments like Doa/Dhah, butcher's knives/choppers etc. as wheel leaf springs have high tensile strength and do not break easily.

[nagarifle]

gents we tend to forget such items as agriculture implements. which are not knives, such a NE doa, great for chopping tree

I have heard a lot about Doa/Dhah, can anyone post the picture of Doa/Dhah.

Yes to be precise wheel leaf springs of trucks are used by most iron-smiths in India to make sharp edged instruments like Doa/Dhah, butcher's knives/choppers etc. as wheel leaf springs have high tensile strength and do not break easily.

here is a link of the Dao, bear in mind that this is only one design but all have similar style.


http://www.eriksedge.com/AS110.html

[professor]

Bluesun 999,
though running away is not a good option always, I don't think using knife for self defence is better than that. First of all u must be trained & mentally prepared to use it ,as using a knife may lead to the diificult situation also......baseball bat will be a good option ofcourse....well said Nagarifle, Subal....

[goodboy_mentor]

though running away is not a good option always, I don't think using knife for self defence is better than that. First of all u must be trained & mentally prepared to use it ,as using a knife may lead to the diificult situation also......baseball bat will be a good option ofcourse....well said Nagarifle, Subal....

Since you go on bike rides with your girlfriend, avoidance of trouble is the best option. Avoid going to isolated, lonely places. Avoid traveling after dark etc. Educate your girlfriend to avoid wearing cloths that highlight female parts of body/figure that can be a source of unwanted male attention/attraction. Remember, if you are confronted by more than 1 person, the odds are very heavily against you. You can never win by getting into scuffle/grappling/wresting etc. Speed and surprise are your best friends in this situation.

1)If possible speeding out along with your GF out of the territory of the bad guys is not a bad option. Since most of the thugs have well defined "territory" of their "operations"(with full support from "powers that matter" in that "territory")

2)If you are out of luck and only and only option is to confront, then do confront with complete speed, surprise and viciousness, leaving no room for any quarter. Finish the job like lightening(your opponents should not be given time to realize/think/react to your actions, if your GF can chip in to help the job done quicker, nothing like it) and again speed out of their territory as quickly as possible along-with your GF and NEVER ever visit that place again. Remember thugs always hunt in groups and usually do have local supporters/sympathizers/"powers that matter", who can create unimaginable problems.

[Vikram]

Subal, very informative videos.Thank you.

Naga, when I was doing an Army Attachment camp with the 4Assam Regiment, I was gifted a Mukti Dhao.I still have it.Interesting tool.

BTW, lest anyone misinterpret this running away thing, it is not the only thing one can do.Avoiding trouble is better.But, if you must fight it out,do so without hesitation or ruth. Meanwhile,train well.

Best-
Vikram

[MoA]

Distance is a good form of self defense... especially between you and trouble.

That being said... get a arms license, buy and IOF handgun and be proficient with it. Much better than a knife.