What kind of knife do you carry everyday? My appointment for CPL is in Feb but in the mean time, I would like to have on me a EDC knife of some sort so that wife and I won't be completely unarmed if we encounter a hostile situation.

Also, if you own and carry a Taser, what would you recommend?

I had a potentially hostile encounter last night at the parking lot of a restaurant where wife and I went for dinner. I noticed a black guy peering into my car from the driver's side window so I advanced on him and yelled at him. Thankfully he was startled and decided to leave instead of escalating, he was a full head taller than I am and bigger in size. I don't think I will do well if it escalated into a physical fight.

I'd go peppery spray over taser. In WA, especially in winter, it'll be tough to penetrate somebody's jacket with the taser prongs. Plus, if you are not trained on how to use it, when to use it and how to provide aid after use, you are setting yourself up for a world of hurt. The X2 is the most common .civ owned taser, and costs about $1,600!

Knife is what you are comfortable with to carry. I keep a small Kershaw auto or folder in my pocket. I don't look at it as a defensive weapon though, it's a tool that has many purposes.

This!
BTW, to my knowledge some territorial entities, like Seattle, have 3-1/2" blade length limit for folding knives and you can't conceal fixed-blade knives there.

This is my EDC: Kershaw Junkyard Dog II with titanium handle and Sandvik 14C28N blade spine with D2 edge.

Please take some time to learn some combatives, Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, Muay Thai ect. Hand to hand and Melee combat is not something that is solvable by an amazon purchase, and the investment means that you are at very least never completely disarmed in any situation in any place, as well as staving off statistically the most likely forms of your death which is heart disease.

As for a direct answer to your question, My suggestions is something within legal limits 3.5-3 inches depending on which city you are in WA. While Seattle is 3.5, neighboring city redmond is under 3 inches for any place selling alcohol.

I'm a Spyderco person since they tend to make the same knife in different blade lengths so you can stay relatively consistent throughout.

The Delica, Endela, and Endura knives are the Glock's of the knife world. Affordable, reliable, made in japan, high quality, and lightweight in various sizes in flavors but like Glock, some would call it "ugly."

Each can be had on sale on occassion at DACK Outdoors for about $60, which is cheap enough that when you lose it (you will) you won't cry about it.

If you don't care about "made in china" then you can go with their "tenacious" line which is similar, just using Chinese Steel and lower quality handle materials but can be had for about half the price.

On the opposite end if you want "made in America" you can go with their "military" line which includes the Para 3, Paramilitary, and Military which are 3 inch 3.5 and 4 inch models respectively which can be had for twice the price of the Delica, Endela, and Endura line.

As for tasers, I have no experience under. But you should really consider that the failure rate of them to incapacitate is around 50% and drive stun is incredibly overrated especially if you lack any form of combative experience.


Moral of the story, learn to fight. You wouldn't suggest someone to solve their defensive security problems to just own a gun, you ask them to train with it often and with purpose.

Don't know the whole situation you were in but wouldn't have advanced on the person regardless of your weapon or fighting ability. Yelled from a distance and retreated to restaurant if need be. I always carry a knife but don't want to be close enough to need it in a fight. Paper spray is a great idea if you need to fight someone off. Avoiding a fight is key in today's pc society

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Yep. Stay low and save yourself for THE battle.

Many thanks for the various recommendations, and appreciate the pictures showing various type of knives. Good call on the pepper spray, it didn't occur to me this might be something to consider.

This is absolutely the safest way to deal with the situation and thanks for pointing this out, I should have done this and I don't want other readers of this thread thinking going gung-ho on a bluff is a cool thing to do. It was something I reacted to, and like you said, in today's PC society that might land me in lawsuits.

Yep, passed on a confrontation this am AND i cARRY all THE TIME.


Guy doing the fleet services on the trucks of a wharehouse I frequent was playing Fk Bitches Rap music loud when I got there and I commented...he ignored me.

When I left he was playing a Rap song that included the phrase Allah needs a break...multiple times.


O-Pissed me the fuk off.....

Was gonna confront but thought better of it...came here and called the owner of the warehouse and told him it doesnt bode well for a business to play that shit where customers cone in.....fuk that guy.

These days I carry POM pepperspray, a folder on my right (changes every couple of months) and a fixed blade ESEE Izula that I abuse as a work knife in my left pocket behind my wallet. Occasionally a DeSantis "City Slicker" coin purse in my back pocket, it's got about 12oz in change in it and would prolly break someone's jaw if I gave it a try.

I can tell you from personal experience you'll be unimpressed with stabbing someone. They wont notice they've been stabbed repeatedly and are bleeding to death unless you show them the knife. Stabbing the other guy in the neck is a show stopper however.

So my advice is de-escalate > pepperspray > blunt force > knives. You're going to jail for the night at the very least if the other guy is seriously injured or dead in a confrontation in a public place. BTDT

Spoken as sage knowledge. I hope whatever you went through does not haunt you further.

I carry POM oc spray as well. Coupled to an ever present pair of knipex pliers and a ZT 0566. Where my travels take me rarely notice the Buck knife however when venturing to the big city it sits out for logistical reasons to things more covert.

If you’d like a more rigorous discussion of EDC knives, check out EDC Forum.

They have a ton of info on all things EDC...warning, it’s easy to go down rabbit holes over there


https://www.edcforums.com/

Coming up on 7 years in a few months, I only think about it when these sorts of questions come up. The cops kept my ZT350, I didnt read the property form very well and relinquished my claim to anything they held in evidence when I was released the following day.
I've seen some plumber/pipefitter types in Seattle that EDC a large set of pliers or channel locks on their commute to and from work via public transit. I've always suspected it was more of an improvised impact weapon than a tool they would need constantly off work.

I think of your thread often. That was some scary shit.

When I was lot younger I worked with an old biker who used to bounce at his club bars and he showed me a few things. One of the things I took away from him was that knives and tazers are expensive and are the first things cops take off of you if stopped. He carried a butter knife, cheap, long enough to do most jobs and sharp enough to do a lot of damage and cops usually let you go with it if stopped especially if you're in a restaurant or bar. I'm not really comfortable carrying one in my back pocket like he did, but they are cheap and everywhere and people don't think its a weapon at first, but they do a lot of damage. I got a carry permit now and I usually have a kershaw or buck knife in my pocket but the knife is a tool first not a weapon and most folders don't hold up when it's time to get frisky. But other people feel differently.