How would reinforcing this "guard" protect the Res C from batoning? I make sure the handles of my knives don't rub on whatever I'm batoning, nor do I hit the handles of my knives. Even without the guard, it seems any Res C would be just as likely to get damaged when batoning. That leaves knife duels as the reason for a reinforced guard. In my extremely limited knowledge of knife fighting (as heard from a martial arts friend of mine), it seems dueling with knives isn't very important. He showed me a few moves that mostly consisted of slapping away your opponent's arm/hand to avoid being slashed with a knife. I for one, would do my best to stay away from an enemy's blade. That means no blocking his knife with my knife. Anyway, those are some more thoughts of mine.
