Most guys I know (and a few women) carry a folding knife on them everyday. This knife is not only their utility knife, but also their self-defense weapon if the time comes. If you’re looking for a folding knife to be effective as a self-defense weapon then you need to take a look at the P’Kal design; specifically the Spyderco P’Kal.
Being that the Spyderco P’Kal is considered a ‘reverse edge’ weapon due to the design of the sharpened edge of the blade facing the user make it extremely efficient at its job.
Some background on P’Kal from the Spyderco website.
Meaning “to rip” in the Philippines’ Visayan dialect, “pikal” is a devastatingly effective system of Filipino martial arts tactics. It is also the inspiration for the Spyderco P’Kal folding knife, which was designed in collaboration with noted self-defense expert Craig Douglas, aka “Southnarc.”
Watch: P’Kal Application Overview
Here are my initial impressions of the knife:
One of the firsts things I noticed when I held the knife was the weight. The P’Kal is a lightweight knife making it more comfortable to carry in the pocket. Lets face it if a knife is too heavy and bulky it doesn’t get carried.
The handle scales are made from G-10 material. The slabs of material Spyderco is using is not too rough on the hands or pockets, yet provides adequate retention of the knife when in use.
The pocket clip looks like they used a section of wire and shaped it into the form of a pocket clip. So far I’ve had no issues with it. One advantage that this design offers is less drag when deploying the knife from your pocket.
The P’Kal also features a removable post-style Emerson Opening wave. The post if removable by unscrewing it from the spine of the knife. Spyderco tapped the spine of the blade in order to give the user the option of removing the wave feature. I honestly don’t know why you would want to remove it as that is a key feature to getting the blade into play fast during a violent confrontation.
The blade profile of the P’Kal is very similar to a sheepsfoot blade except that it has a slight recurve. The steel is a very high quality CPM S30V giving you longer edge retention. The opposite side of the blade has the Shivworks logo laser etched into the steel.
If you’re looking for a folding knife that can hold its own in a close quarters self-defense situation, then I highly recommend you take a look at the Spyderco P’Kal. With all the violent attacks that are happening in society these days, it really does pay to have some type of tool on you for self-defense, especially if you’re not carry concealed.
I plan on using the Spyderco P’Kal and the associated trainer for an edged weapon curriculum I’m going to go through here in the next few weeks. More on that later….
The Spyderco P’Kal MSRP is $299.95, but can be found online for around $180.
