The Emerson Knives PUK has proven to be a capable little concealed carry knife. I mentioned in my first look I felt it would be a solid compromise between the convenience of carrying a folding knife, and the strength of a fixed blade. While Police Utility Knife points out an obvious customer base that doesn’t need to conceal a knife, I’m not a cop. Do I think this knife would be a good carry knife for a cop? I do, there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be. It does lend itself to a variety of different users with different goals.
The Emerson PUK and You
The knife is aimed at a police base, but it’s a solid fit for the troops and civilian users. Most soldiers, Marines, and other badasses carry some form of knife. Some go big, and some go small. Most, in my experience, prefer a fixed blade for heavy work. However, weight is always a major concern and the PUK solves this by being quite light and thin. It’s also tough as hell and strong enough to really work with.
I mentioned there is an adapter to convert the sheath to a MOLLE attachment. While that does exist it’s actually not needed. The Blade-Tech sheath and clip that is included it already MOLLE compatible. It doesn’t give you all the options a MOLLE mount does, but it works. It works best hanging vertically in a downward position. One of our astute readers pointed out that the Emerson Knives PUK was the knife of choice for Bruce Willis in Tears of the Sun in a downward configuration.
As a civilian who conceal carries this knife would certainly give you a viable weapon. I’m certainly more of a gun guy, but there’s no rule that says I can’t carry both. I always carry a knife, typically a folder, and I always seem to need a knife for general utility. Carrying a fixed knife is an interesting change, but the Emerson Knives PUK is lightweight and very thin. The sheath and clip combo allow it to ride high and it conceals under my T-shirt pretty easily. Even my tiny wife can conceal this bad boy.
Getting a Grip
The only issue concealing the knife is the heavily textured grip is rough. This is great for gripping and using the knife, but it can rub the skin and be irritable. This aggressive scalloped grip does give you a nice sure grip. It’s even easy to grip when wearing gloves.
The grip is just long enough to fill my extra large hands. They don’t extend beyond my hand so there is some compactness to the grip.
Versatility
The knife is a full tang and is available in a variety of finishes. The blade itself it actually very thick and is strong enough to be used as a pry bar in a pinch. There is two lanyard holes in the very bottom of the grip to secure the weapon to the user. There is just a hair of the hand sticking outwards that can be used to break glass in a pinch.
Also, the knife has been pretty tight to my body the last few weeks and I live in Florida. This means I sweat. With that in mind, the knife hasn’t rusted in any way. I also live on the Gulf coast so salt is always in the air. It still, after a few weeks of carry and use, looks new.
The Emerson PUK is certainly a well-built and well-designed knife. It’s simple, dependable, and easy to carry concealed. Regardless of if you’re a soldier, a cop, or a civilian the PUK has something for you.
