The Tactical Knife: A Comprehensive Guide to Designs, Techniques, and Uses

I have had a passion for all kinds of combat weapons for more than 60 years. I have trained and studied all kinds of edged weapons (Katana, Wakizashi, Tanto, Bowie, machete, neck knives, tactical folders, and numerous other knives) and knife fighting systems (Japanese, Filipino, American Indian, American large knife and other systems). I am always seeking material on the combat arts including anything to do with tactical knives. I recently purchased this large size 255 page soft cover (The Tactical Knife: A comprehensive guide to designs, techniques, and uses by James Morgan Ayres) book on Amazon for a bargain price. The author is clearly an expert when it comes to blades and covers in detail the many factors involved in the use and making of tactical knives. He lists the companies most known for their quality knives and he explains the finer points of each knife. This book is filled with clear color photographs of numerous knifes.This very interesting an informative volume is organized into five parts with twenty two chapters. Part one covers the history of the tactical knife providing a look at early tactical folders, the Bowie knife, war time knives and other material. Part two explains the modern development of the tactical knife. Part three focuses on choosing a tactical knife and what you should consider when choosing a personal blade. Part four covers the basic use of your tactical knife and shows some basic skills and a few self-defense techniques. The final part is a must read if you are interested in field reviews of many of the current tactical knives and comments on some of the companies producing tactical knives. A few of the long list of knife makers include: Al Mar knives, Benchmade, Boker, Browning, Cold Steel, and Columbia River, Emerson knives, Gerber, Ka-Bar knives, Spyderco and numerous other companies. If you are a fan of tactical knives this is a book you need to check out.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Tanto-Jutsu: A Bushi Satori Ryu Basic guide manual)

Greetings,As I have it on Kindle, why do you keep that book on my list?Regards,Frédérick Turgeon

This is a pretty good book for someone who has more than a general interest in military knives.It goes into very deep histories of modern combat knives. If you are not a collector or military history buff you may find this level of detail a little dry.The book is well written and the author really knows his stuff.Throughout the book there are photos of soldiers carrying or using the various knives described in the book. Almost all of the pictures are so blurry it's almost impossible to actually see any of the knives' details.Conclusion: This is a good history book for tactical knife lovers.

An interesting if limited book, some nice pictures and a little section on sharpening blades, which is always useful. It is very American and only touches briefly on the rest of the worlds 'tactical' knives, which is a shame as I think it would put the American blade designs into perspective.Still, as an introduction to practical knife use (as opposed to fighting) its not bad. I think the author knows his subject and clearly knows how to use and maintain his knives, there are quite a few folders reviewed and used which I have never been a great fan of but that probably says more about me as a user than the knife itself. Overall a good introduction to knife use in the field.

The Tactical Knife is a beautiful book. Reading it reminds me of why I own and carrya folding knife; not because I need the book/knife to save my bacon or supply desperatelyneeded information, but because it fills an area that would otherwise be blank. And doesso in a cool and stylish way. If there were ten books like this I would own all ten, butthere arent. Buy and enjoy this book. Theres a lot to like and theres not a lot out therethat does what this book does.