Does any one know why the top of the blade that is in front of the hilt is concaved? oldguy. Jerry

I have seen in writing where the concave area was called a "Thumb Ramp" but that was not on a double hilt Model #1 type knife.

Dirty Water obviously would know the answer, as would others here, so awaiting the correct answer.

Tom Vaught

On a combat "reverse grip" your forefinger holds better in the cutout.
Best, Capt. Chris

I'm sure the good Captain is correct ... Hold the knife, edge up, forefinger over the hilt, thumb under the hilt. It affords the user a more solid grip, whether pushing or pulling.

Captain, Wally.

Why is the edge held up in combat? To protect the edge when parrying, under the assumption you'd be piercing on the attack or what?

Chad

I think that causing your enemy to "bleed out" as quickly as possible is the goal of knife fighting. The easiest targets, like the femural arteries, the belly, where many organs can be reached, even the underside of the chin and the inside of the arms above the elbow are all prime targets that are best attacked from a low stance with an upward diagonal slashing or stabbing motion. Having a positive grip will ensure ones ability to inflict repeated stabs, perhaps into the abdomen, in order to cause as much damage as possible as quickly as possible, to end the knife fight that you don't want to be in to start with. Just my two cents...

...makes TOTAL sense to me!

knife most be long enough to push the knife in the body and nail it to the wall. Then you run and get the axe fast and finish it :-) Old word legends from Finland :-)

Hey Wally. Agree. I've read enough about knife fighting to know that it's better to knife fight with an axe or a firearm And to get it done right quick if it comes to that. Thankfully, I've never had to find out first hand.

That said, I guess I was wondering why the blade or guard itself hasn't been redesigned over the years vs. just hanging onto the thing backwards. Although I suppose with the top edge sharpened back a few inches you'd still have slashing ability with the back edge of the blade anyway... Having that index finger right out there in the open ... Oh nevermind, it's all too dang risky no matter what!

Thanks for the reply.
Chad

Add to this information base what Ole' North Carolina Country Boy
ROTC Sergeant "C", who was in WW II and Korean 'Police Action' suggested
in 1956 from his personal experience: "Use 8" Randall #2.
Example, target subclavian artery, no sound, no external bleeding over you. "

"What is a Randall??"

"Next week I'll bring it in and show."

I still have the gift of his copy of M 21-150,
"Hand-To-Hand Combat", June 1954. [Ref Chapter 4 pictures].

Hmm. Wonder if that influenced my first Randall purchase in 1959???

God bless his soul.

RKS # 5384
SHAG #14