the LMF2 haunts me. i passed one up recently, $65 used.

i figured i have a dumpster mutt, no point. still, i had an fbm, and i bought another.

Luftwaffe gravity knife!!

One of my fav knives of WW2 also dig the Kuckle duster.

I really like that OSS kit; a great piece for your collection.

I wish that was all my stuff! The only piece there that I own is the second pattern FS dagger. I do have quite a few other military knives mostly bayonets with a couple more on the way though. Any excuse to post knife porn.

Interesting stuff guys. HD especially, thanks for those pic. I imagine that even though we like to think that Busse's are "combat knives",I suspect that what most soldiers need in a knife is a multitool and something heavy that you can dig/pry with (not a cutting tool). Just look at the M9 bayonets: they have no edge, but they're cheap tools that can be destroyed and easily replaced.

My math teacher was an operator for SEAL team six back in its early days, and he basically broke it down for me like this (i'll paraphrase): In the teams, the idea of using a knife for combat is basically a joke; its a practice popularized by Hollywood. If we needed to kill someone quietly, we used silenced pistols. If you've ever gotten yourself into a situation where only thing you have to defend yourself is a knife, then you've got serious issues and you should consider a career change

I doubt that everyone shares that opinion, but I figure that if you're gonna trust somebody on combat knives, you might as well trust an ex-SEAL member

As for LMF-II, i would say this: a DMCG is about 100,000% times better, and that's putting it lightly. I had all kinds of trouble making it sharp, it can't slice, and the handle is very weak. It is about 3/4 tang and made up of three parts: the steel tang, a ABS-style plastic handle, and a Santoprene overmold. all fine, unless the hard pastic part cracks (as mine did) and then you've got a loose handle. In other words, I've started thinking of my DMDC as a "LMF-III". Oh, and the sticky rubber handle gives blisters like none other.

To be fair, there are a few good things about the LMF: the serrations are quite sharp, the glass-breaker/hammer is fairly effective, and the tip is VERY strong (but little/no penetrating power)

A Green Beret I served with had his base overrun. It got down to hand to hand fighting. His favorite weapon for that was the entrenching tool. My personal favorite weapon was the radio. Call in some napalm!

I agree with Horn Dog on this one. Most of the Vets I have known had an incredibly high opinion of the entrenching tool as a CQC weapon. The odds-on favorite seems to be the WW2-Korean version, with the wooden handle and a sharpened edge.

I like my CS spade which I believe was even part of a group deal and now several other members have them. According to a guy who has a real soviet entrenching tool the CS version is better.

While your teacher was in combat knives were an anachronism but now with combat being fought with much smaller units at much closer ranges.
Now knives and bayonets and even in some cases swords (Check out who the AK Ruck
was originally made for)are used both in F.I.S.H style fighting(fighting in someone's house)and bayonets are especially useful for transporting prisoners and keeping civilians at a safe distance.

Also a good knife should be a tool 99 times out of a hundred so it has to have an edge capable of slicing and a point that can dig out splinters without breaking off in hard use. My Sar 5 would make an excellent choice other than the weight is a bit heavy. The YKCG and DMLE or DMDC would make excellent military knives.

I have one too and really like it. I also have 2 US tri-folds, and the older US wooden handle ones.

I have one of the US wood handled entrenching tools behind the driver's seat in each of our vehicles, to help us 'dig' our way out of trouble.
My Wife also has a Chinese army entrenching tool, that she beats the hell out of.

unsub: you bring up excellent points. Since so much of the fighting is now done house-to-house, i can see why tomahawks have come back into fashion. I can really see the need for a company like SY to make a military run of bayonets: something with more quality than the M9. You made an allusion to the original design parameters of the AK, where can I find more info on that?

In the Army the popular folders are the Buck Strider, Gerbers (cause they are sold through the PX), and Benchmades.

The fixed blades are Benchmades, Cold Steel, and SOG (especially the Seal Pup).
You'll still find the USMC fighting knife (kabar) and pilot survival knife (my kit knife for years).

Any knife with an NSN is going to be more popular than one without. A lot of my soldiers carry the ApplegateFairbain folder because they get them as a re-enlistment bonus. Ontario RAT-7's have an NSN but I haven't seen anyone carry them. I've seen a couple BM Nimravus around.

The sad truth is that there just aren't enough Busse kin knives in existence to be a significant portion of the carry blades for the armed forces. The Army alone is over a million strong (including our Reserve and NG members).

I just bought my first Scrapyard knife, a YardGuard from ebay. It's a heckuva blade, now it just needs a MOLLE compatible sheath.

Jimro