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The Small Tanto & EDC Bowie
Aluminum Training Knives
By FighterBlades.Com
I was recently sent the EDC Cary Bowie and tanto
aluminum trainers for review by Dennis Eisenhauer and Joel Huncarl.
Dennis is the "main man" in the workshop behind FighterBlades.Com
and Joel is the designer of the EDC Bowie trainer, which I am
told will soon be made as a real carry knife. Together, these two men
are producing a small but growing line of high quality aluminum
training blades for the martial artist.
The first piece they offer, the tanto, is designed
after a "well known" neck-knife pattern (the old Columbia River Knife
and Tool "Stiff KISS" for those of you out of the cutlery loop). The
execution is magnificent, and the grind lines on this little trainer
are clean and true. It is slightly thicker than the original for
safety, but in every other respect is a perfect reproduction of this
knife. If you carry one of these for real, this is the trainer you
want, hands down.
Like the original, their tanto has holes drilled to allow for easy
attachment of a cord to wrap the handle, if so desired. For a few
dollars more, they will wrap it for you, or you can do it your
favorite way. Perhaps the only thing missing is the plastic quick
draw sheath that made the original KISS knife so handy. I made an
improvised neck-sheath out of some folded cardboard, electrical tape,
and a short piece of rope to remedy this, and it has been working
just fine for training.
The EDC Bowie (that's Every Day Cary Bowie for the
acronymically challenged) is a smart little design that uses the best
part of the Bowie knife (the clip point) and puts it in a small, easy
to carry package. I asked Joel what inspired this knife, and he said
that after carrying James Keating's Chinook knife for some time, he
wanted a knife like that but with a sharpened clip-point (which of
course would be impossible for a folder). Starting from that idea
(the clip point) and working backwards with what he describes as
"caveman design strategy", Joel came up with the EDC Bowie.
The trainer is very nicely made out of 1/4" aluminum, and finished
with a paracord handle wrap. At about six inches in length, it is
small enough to be considered legal almost anywhere that allows the
carry of fixed blades in public. As strange as it may sound, I think
this little Bowie knife shines when it comes to use with the Comtech
Drawpoint methodology. It allows for forward cutting and backward
ripping actions as well as thrusting and prying applications in the
reverse grip with almost no chance of your hand slipping down onto
the blade (always a danger with little hide-out knives) because of
the design.
For general utility, I feel the EDC Bowie would be quite good,
which is not something you can say of all martial knives. The broad
blade allows a very short foil grip with the thumb on the flat of the
blade allowing subtle point manipulation, fine cutting, or any kind
of scraping application. In a saber grip, the entire belly of the
knife can exert pressure to cut, and again I feel this would be quite
useful for utilitarian purposes when you would be cutting something
that was immobile. The blade is wide enough that cutting something on
a table would be very comfortable - no mashing your fingers like when
you try to cut with a very straight knife. In an inverted or
"Mediterranean" grip (forward, edge up) the clip point can be
utilized like a can-opener and the true edge can deliver very
powerful pulling cuts. It seems like this will be a VERY versatile
little knife in the field!
Overall, I like this trainer the best of the bunch and can't wait to
see them produce some "live" versions of this knife, hopefully with a
nice Drawpoint sheath such as the superb ones made by Mike Sastre of
RiverCitySheaths.Com
Like all aluminum training knives, these both have
the possibility of doing some real damage to your body during
training. Metal knives have no "give" to them on a thrust, and both
these trainers still have relatively sharp points on them (especially
the EDC). In some ways it is like training with a screwdriver where
although there is no edge to worry about, the point will still get
you.
Be aware and train safe! Control and good judgment are your friends
here.