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Like a lot of other discussions that pop up once in a while (.45 vs 9mm, OWB vs IWB, AR vs AK, etc., etc.), there have been a fair number of knife discussions on this forum over the years.

If you guys are smart, you'll listen to Skiprr. I don't know him very well and only met him once, but I did attend a seminar he taught on shooting from retention, and I was really impressed with his grasp of close-in fighting. I completely agree with him that just as a pistol is for fighting your way back to the rifle you should have never put down, a knife is for fighting your way to your pistol.

Do I carry a knife? Yes. Always. Over the years of collecting knives........well.....not really collecting.....but buying a knife here and there that I liked....I've devolved to two knives, one of which is my main EDC, the other is my EDC on the days when the first knife just doesn't work from a clothing/social perspective. The primary one is a CRKT M21-14SFG (MSRP $99.99). The secondary one is a Kershaw Tanto Blur (MSRP $109.5). I did not pay MSRP for either knife. I paid about $75-$80 for the CRKT at Cabelas several years ago (they are currently on sale for $74.99), and I paid about $50 for the Kershaw at Walmart about 5-6 years ago (they are currently priced on the Walmart website at $72.08)......so almost nobody has to pay MSRP for a quality knife unless you're buying a custom made one-off. The CRKT is the larger of the two. I carry the Kershaw when I need to be less obvious about having a knife about my person. Admittedly, I have structured my life such that I rarely ever have to go to the Kershaw.

I agree that a fixed blade knife is faster to deploy than a folder. The primary reason I EDC a folder instead of a fixed blade is the same reason I don't EDC an AR15 pistol under a trench coat: practical concealment. I try not to advertise the fact that I am carrying a weapon. (This, incidentally is why I would still probably carry concealed even if we had Open Carry.) The reason for not wanting to advertise it is that the social negatives of doing so have as many or more drawbacks in everyday social interactions than concealment does. The real world in which I live is populated by far more people who are freaked out by the idea of openly carried guns and knives than by people who are perfectly comfortable around them......so why bring trouble on myself?

So for me, the folder is simply the compromise I make in order to get by with the least amount of ruckus in the circles I frequent. Both the CRKT and the Kershaw have reasonably thick blades for their sizes. Both have good sharp blades that seem to hold an edge. Both have serrations that readily saw through things. Both can be deployed very quickly for a folder. Of the two, I actually prefer the unassisted "flipper" system the CRKT employs. It is very fast.

All of that said, I come at this from more than one perspective, one of which is the product of age and infirmity, and which becomes increasingly a determinant of what I can do, or am willing to do. I am not really able to go "mano a mano" with anyone anymore. I would if I had to, but I can assure you that even if I prevailed (not likely), I'd be a lot more scuffed up than someone younger and fitter than I am. I am far more attentive nowadays to not letting people encroach on my space than I used to be. It's not a perfect answer, but it is one of the building blocks to better situational awareness and safer (and longer) living. I don't go to places where trouble may develop where I can't bring my gun........such as bars. I've never been much of a bar-goer most of my life anyway, so that one is easy for me. I hate being in the middle of large urban areas.....so I don't go to them unless it is unavoidable, and that eliminates a lot of potential encounters. I'm not so foolish as to imagine that I can completely eliminate all threats from my life, but I know for a certain fact that omitting certain activities from your life will reduce the odds that you'll need to use a weapon........including the need to use a knife. And when in parking lots, my head is on a swivel. My wife's too, and we are often together when we're out and about. 4 eyes are better than two.

I am of the opinion that I would rather deploy my gun unnecessarily and have to explain it to a cop, than to wait until it is too late to do something about it. I acknowledge, as Skiprr said, that even living in Condition Yellow, we let dozens of people every day get within easy striking distance of us, based on nothing more than unearned trust, simply because life leaves us few alternatives..........and you can't draw down on everyone who gets within 5 feet of you. But if I'm in the Walmart parking lot (unavoidable if I'm going to go to Walmart) then I simply do not ignore anyone, and I am scanning for the ones that look the more obvious threat than soccer mom with three kids, trying to herd her kids and push a grocery cart. I make the decision in advance to only give such people a cursory look because they are a drain on my "attention budget," and to proactively look for the single males, the hoodies (yes, I profile), the hidden faces, the aimless movements, the ones who appear to have no purpose for being in the parking lot, etc. If that person comes my way with a purpose that obviously includes me, then I begin to consider my SD alternatives.....which will depend a lot on other circumstances (i.e., and I between two cars, behind my car, walking toward my car, etc., etc.).

One thing I have memorized is the external length of my own vehicle, which is 15.5 feet, because that is a good way for me to gauge someone's distance from me. If he's 2 "car-lengths" away from me, that is about 31 feet. It's a visual cue. If I'm loading groceries into the back of my SUV and someone appears at the front of my SUV, he's 15.5 feet away. If a suspicious looking guy gets to within 15 feet away from me, he's going to get told to stop right there in no uncertain terms, and I am going to make sure that my body language broadcasts to him that I have something unpleasant for him if he keeps coming. A hand going to near the gun sends a powerful signal. If he bum-rushes me, I'm still prepared to try and shoot from retention. But if we go to ground before I can draw the gun, then I will use the knife........if for no other reason that I'm a little afraid of shooting myself accidentally at that point.

But the main thing is that these are only things I would do if I had no other alternative, and I try to live my life in such a way as to give myself a LOT of alternatives. In self defense, carrying a knife is an alternative. But my primary tactic is to avoid needing to use one in the first place.

There is one thing that Skiprr said that I have not considered until now is carrying the knife on the off-side. That makes a lot of sense, but I'm going to have to retrain myself in its use because I am VERY left-handed.