I had been following Maury Abreu – founder and Chief Instructor of Omega Protective Concepts for awhile hoping to train combatives with him as he is a fellow New Jersey guy. Maury is a former Marine, Federal Corrections Officer, and contractor for the government. Last year Maury announced that he was offering his own combat knife design for preorder so I ordered one right away. A couple months later the knife was delivered but I was out on the road so didn’t get my hands on it to work with it until I returned from a security contract in Puerto Rico after the hurricane. The B-1 is made in America, one-at-a-time. The first thing you notice when you get the B-1 in your hand is the feeling that it’s built like a tank. It has a strong, stout feel to it that many other combative blades do not have. The B-1 is primarily a combat knife but can easily serve as a utility blade for field tasks too. It is has a full tang and is comfortable in the hand in either standard or ice pick grip. The B-1 comes with a revolutionary, custom sheath, which offers a multitude of carry options. My favorite is appendix carry. The blade is long enough for all tasks but carries comfortably and unnoticed. All in all, I think this is a great multipurpose easy to carry knife. Specs on the B-1 are as follows from the Omega Protective Concepts website:
Each knife is made by hand, one-at-a-time, and made in the U.S.A.
- Overall length – 8″ full tang knife
- D2 semi-stainless tool steel
- Heat treated and tested to 60-61 RC
We’ve collaborated with Jamie Lowe of Titan Concealment Holster Company to bring you a highly customized sheath. This sheath offers a level of modularity that DOES NOT exist in any other knife sheath! The B-1 Sheath comes with a belt clip which features a cloth-grabber (for garments that don’t accept belts). You can adjust the height of carry, the angle of weapon cant, and is adjustable to allow you to carry your blade either in standard or ice pick grips.
Also, 10% of all proceeds go directly towards annihilating modern-day slavery as we’ve partnered with King’s Ransom Foundation to free young girls from the sex-slave industry. The price is $389.00 and each knife comes with two sheaths and a trainer. The B-1 can be ordered HERE.
A final word about Maury: Due to schedule conflicts, business travel, and some ongoing injury issues on my part we hadn’t been able to connect face-to-face, but had been corresponding. This past January I attended Dynamis Alliance Situational Combatives course at Mission MMA in Haddonfield NJ where Maury was a Guest Instructor. Maury is a true professional, gifted instructor, and down to earth guy. I’m looking forward to training with him again and highly recommend that if you’re looking for combatives training check him out.
Author – Art Dorst is the owner of A. Dorst Consulting & Training Services and is a Senior Consultant for LaSorsa & Associates. He served in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserves and eventually retired as an NCO from The Army National Guard. He is also a retired municipal Police Officer, a Certified EMT, NRA Instructor, and is currently a security provider/trainer.
