Hi All,

As the title said. My daughter needs to carry a knife for self defenseand I know little about sharp edged weapons. She is working towards her concealed carry but that is months away as I need to spend much more time with her before she is prepared.

I've heard Kershaw and Benchmade. Looking for something quality maybe $100-$300 price range. Automatic?

A knife is better than nothing but without combat knife training, I would not endorse this idea.

OC spray and a little bit of training.

I've taken multiple knife fighting courses and the first words out of the instructors mouth is that no one wins a knife fight.

I would get a spray or taser before relying on my edc for defense and that is with the courses and occasional retraining.

Having said that, I would still get her a knife, but not with self defense as the pretense, instead as a utilitarian tool for daily use.

Some reliable production knife brands are spyderco, benchmade, al mar, emerson and zt There are others but these seem to be the current frequently listed brands some others might be lower/higher scale. They each sell knife models that are value driven with cheaper materials as well as models with more expensive steels and handle materials, they also make knives that are more display and collector orientated with finer materials. You should be able to find many options in the 130-180 range that will be rock solid, with quality steel and materials for daily abuse.

If auto's are legal in her area/school then Microtech and benchmade make some reliable production auto's.

Like all things, you can get reliable or presentation type auto's which raise the price drastically. Expect to pay slightly more then your budget for the otf auto. It's my opinion that they are not as reliable as a folding lock knife but in truth I've never managed to break any of mine so it may just be in my head.

I would suggest a mini griptillian or paramilitary 2 for her first knife. They are affordable and quality. They will last a lifetime and are easy to carry in a pocket. I'm pretty sure they fall with in legal guidelines anywhere that allows knife carry. I've never had a problem with the pm2 even when surrendering it to security/police at some government locations in ct that do not allow carry on premise.

If she takes to it, she can then seek out a knife that speaks to her aesthetically as well as in use.

I sent my “little” girl off to college with one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Spyderc...s=spyderco+matriarch

Not so much to knife fight, but to have “something” in her hand / pocket on a dark night. She’s 6’2” and a black belt helped too.

This one is more practical: https://www.amazon.com/Spyderc...pyderco+delica+knife

I more important than knife or pepper spray is awareness and attitude. Although he is anti-gun, this book was useful: https://www.amazon.com/Other-S...ds=gift+of+fear+book

Thanks for the suggestions. I agree with most of what has been said. For starters, she has been trained in pepper spray use and has carried that for the past 4 years. She has also taken several self defense courses for weaponless hand to hand combat. I have tried to drill situational awareness into her over the past few years and she is starting to get it as she has seen some shady shit go down off campus. She would like to have confidence knowing she has something lethal if necessary and I have no doubt she would use it in a life threatening situation. Within a year she will EDC pretty much everywhere she goes.

Thank you Nickelsig229! I ordered 2 mini griptillian's for my 2 daughters. We'll see how it goes from there.

My daughter has a leatherman in her glove compartment she uses it fairly often,and won’t let her husband touch it. I’ve heard her tell him “ dad told me to not let other people touch it,because I’ll never see it again”!

A fingernail friendly locking folder, girls grow nails and spend a lotta money on them. Think loose threads, letters, tape, boxes, apples. Perhaps one of the Opinals, inoccious enough but very capable.

Or a box cutter. All the Walmart staff are armed with box cutters. Who encounters more crazy on an hourly basis than a Walmart worker?

I’ve been carrying a Benchmade Mini-Barrage lately and I really like it. It is an assisted opening folder, and very fast. www.knifeworks.com usually has decent Benchmade prices.

anything with a wave feature, they are far faster than automatics to open. I like spyderco and carry the larger endura with the wave feature on duty.

be careful about carrying a knife on any school. I don't know her location but in NC the statute reads educational property and encompasses colleges and universities. So she might be violating the law by carrying in those locations.

My favorite EDC lately is the Spyderco PM2. The handle shape makes for a very secure grip both blade up and blade down. G10 scales for improved grip, and compression lock that keeps her hand away from the closing blade. Lots of blade length, belly, and pointiness for a rather thin package.

The Benchmade 808 Loco is what I carry when I can't carry a gun. The blade is thicker, and the geometry gives me a stronger tip--at the expense of everyday slicey-ness. The curved shape gives a good lock in the hand. The Axis lock is really beefy too. Despite being a big and heavy knife, it conceals very well because the handle tapers down to a really deep carrying clip.

For a fixed blade, the Bark River Donnybrook is high up on my list. I have the JX4 Bushbat, which is similar but more oriented towards camping tasks, and I like the the feel of a karambit style ring retention.

Maybe one of these. I post a picture, but it’s too large.

Blade length: 2.5″ (5.5 cm)
Total length: 6.25″ (15 cm)
Widgth: 1″ (2.5 cm)
Thickness: .125″ (3 mm)

Comes with a IWB kydex sheath that clips to jeans or belt. I have one I carry daily. It’s very comfortable at my 4-5 o’clock position. Very likely invisible even on a young lady with tighter clothes than I tend to wear.