Even against a handgun knives are far better than most people realize. As long as you are closer than 20 feet from your enemy the knife has the advantage.
That is not actually correct. The general thinking is, that if someone is within 20 feet of you with a knife, you will have a hard time drawing a pistol and taking a shot before you get cut. The knife is not at an advantage. Thus the way you put it, you would be attacking someone with a holstered weapon by charging them with a knife.
it depends on many factors, too numerous to get into here. However, I will offer my own anecdote. I took a tactical pistol class one time and the subject came up, so we deomonstrated, or more to the point were demonstrated on.
There was a fellow there who was able to draw his weapon and fire it accurately very, very, very fast. The knife attacker didn't stand a chance. When it came my turn I had about a 50% success rate. And there was another fellow there who died by knife each time.
Speed, reaction time, reflexes, adrenaline, etc... all play their roles in the gun vs. knife scenario. Personally, it's something I'd rather avoid, but given the choice between my Sig or a knife, I'll choose Sig.
Peace
Jerry
