The American Edge

Looking for a new knife? A new spin on an iconic design? You can fight your way out of the woods, field dress some game, Bug-Out — or just fight your way through your shift at work. But you’ll need a good edge to do any of them, so tune in for the next few. And just maybe, you can support a great cause while you do it so check out CRKT’s Forged By War series. And in this go-around, we’re “extending” what might qualify as an Every Day Carry option too. Can you say sword cane? Read on …

The Spyderco Para 3 is the revamp of the iconic Para 2. The Para 3’s blade is 3″ of precision machined from premium CPM S30V stainless steel. It has a 4-position hourglass clip too, for any carry you prefer. This compact all-purpose tool is ready to tackle any job. The Para 3 will be in the Spyderco family and yours, for years to com

Also from Spyderco, the Slysz Bowie Folder (R) and the tidy Techno Titanium (both designed by Marcin Slysz) rest easily in your pocket while not weighing you down. The titanium scales and adjustable pocket clip make them a neat pair to draw to. The 2.55″ blade of the Techno and the 3.42″ blade of the Bowie (both of a powdered steel with elements of stainless and the performance of D2) cover just about any cutting job at-hand. There’s much more, but suffice to say they are handsome high performers!

The Onrush is a new tactical folder in the Steel Will lineup. Measuring 5.24″ folded and 8.86″ locked out, this liner lock version features a 3.62″ serrated blade. The 3D milled handle provides excellent grip texture. The Onrush 632S weighs in at only 6.58 oz. but is heavy enough to meet almost any challenge. Sometimes a little more “brawn” — and some brains — is a good thing.

A.G. Russell’s Folding Gents Hunter II is, simply put, an elegant true gentleman’s knife, but muscular enough to get serious work done in an emergency. The 35/8″ is hardened to 58-60 RC so can hold an edge well. The tapered scales make it comfy in the hand and the abbreviated thumb notch still allows one-handed opening. This is an amazingly smooth opening knife, having a lock-back blade lock, likely the toughest way to secure an open blade. At only 3.2 ounces it’s light, and scales can be had in carbon fiber (shown), Cocobolo or green micarta.

Ka-Bar’s 7507 is the latest offering from custom knife maker Jesse Jarosz. The 7507 Choppa has a fixed blade length of 9.87″ and measures 15″ overall — a monster of a chopper! It also comes with a MOLLE-compatible polyester sheath for soldiers or to attach to your Bug-Out-Bag. This one-pound cutter is ready for any situation from urban warfare to wilderness survival. Another stellar design by custom knife maker Jesse Jarosz!

The Browning Wihongi Kukri is a fusion of the traditional Ghurka warrior blade but decorated with Maori tribal patterns. The Kukri is designed as a utility/survival tool and as a close-quarters combat weapon. Its flat-ground blade is made of stainless steel. The handle provides a positive grip, with G10 scales attached to a full tang. This warrior blade is ready for your survival challenge — or just chopping some kindling in your camp!

The Tecpatl is part of the CRKT Forged by War program. The battle-inspired Tecpatl is a 3.37″ push blade knife with a sugar skull handle shape. The Tecpatl weighs 5.6 oz. and is made of blackened stainless steel. The ergonomics of this design make for a seamless transition from the hand to the blade. Don’t let the sugar skull design fool you, the Tecpatl is a serious blade and just happens to be cool looking too. Think of it as an ultimate fist.

The Heavy Duty Sword Cane from Cold Steel certainly qualifies as an “Every Day Carry” knife at some level — just make sure it’s legal where you live. His Editorship uses one of these just about every day since his, um, “back incident” about two years ago. He says, “I like it because it’s a ‘real’ sword, a high quality stainless blade, sharpened well enough to cut paper cleanly, which is not the case for most sword cane blades. They tend toward mediocre to poor in quality, at best.” The sheath is hardened aluminum, with a rugged heavy duty nylon handle. A great, low-key backup to your carry gun and sure to be a big surprise to a bad guy. Plus, it looks cool and can keep you from falling down too. Try that with a polymer pistol!

CRKT’s 0C3 has a large 6″ dual-edge blade in SK5 high carbon steel at 54-56 RC so it’s sharp but tough. The black powder coat keeps things low-key and keeps rust away, while the blasted Micarta handles keep it stuck to your hand if things get sweaty or worse. It measures 107/8″ overall and ships with a MOLLE compatible sheath/gear clip. Sometimes there’s nothing like a big fixed blade. Sorta’ like those times when you’re happy you have your all-steel 1911 with you.

The Ruger-branded (but made by CRKT) 2-Stage and 2-Stage Compact models are first-rate survival/EDC folders, rugged enough to abuse but comfortable enough to carry for daily use. The 4″ blade (5.47″ closed) of the 2-Stage also has the combination serration blade (shown), black stonewash finish and hard anodized aluminum and stainless handles (for both models) helps to keep the rugged theme going. The Stage-2 blade is 3.58″ but its 5″ closed length makes it a bit handier. Perfect knives to pair with your Ruger collection!

A.G. Russell’s Lockback Folding Hunter brings old-school America (think: cowboy carry) into your pocket and I couldn’t leave it out. Not in any way a “tactical” folder, it nonetheless could handle any job thrown its way. Sometimes needing two hands to open a knife gives you time to think about what you’re about to do. This one has a bone handle and 35/8″ flat ground stainless blade. It has Teflon washers and opens oh-so-smoothly. The clever striker pin prevents the blade edge from striking the back spring if you close it hard. At an RC of 57-59 the blade is the right amount of “hard” but still allows easy sharpening. Available with yellow Delrin and Brown Jigged Bone too.

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