One of the top items to have on your person for personal protection is a knife. Whether that is a folding knife or fixed blade, carry one. After some training and trial & error I personally prefer to carry a concealable fixed blade.
The SOG Gambit is first and foremost a fixed blade. The blade design is a hybrid sheeps foot and karambit style. I’ve carried karambit knives in the past, but they never lended themselves to everyday tasks well due to the extreme curve/profile of the blade. The SOG Gambit was purposely designed to have multiple uses; not just personal protection. The sheeps foot profile allows the SOG Gambit to be used for personal protection, daily utility tasks and in the outdoors.
You can obviously see the karambit design infused into the SOG Gambit which make it ideal for personal protection. The Karambit is designed as a close quarters weapon and is easily concealable. Due to the method of deployment in a reverse grip, this is very difficult to see in the hands of the person carrying it, giving you the element of surprise. The threat should feel the knife before they see the knife. The karambit design also allows you to retain the distance of your striking arm since the blade is held within your clenched fist; just imagine boxing with this blade in your hand. The results would be devastating.
Common targets on the human body (using a karambit) include the eyes, testicles, carotid artery, chest, biceps, forearms and wrists. Strike any one of these target points with the karambit and you’ll shut down the threat quickly creating a space for you to escape.
Let’s take a closer look at the SOG Gambit:
The overall length of the Gambit truly makes this an ideal sized edged weapon to conceal. The thin profile of the blade really makes this knife disappear under your shirt whether your carrying inside the waistband or around your neck as a neck knife.
The combination of the length of the grip and the karambit ring give you an extremely secure grip during use. It’s comfortable in either the standard forward grip or the reverse grip. I prefer the reverse grip since I carry inside the waistband.
Again the blade is a bit on the smaller side being only 2.58”. Because of that, this blade is not conducive to lethal stabbing or thrusting strikes. What I really like about this blade is the fact that it doesn’t have that extreme curve that traditional karambit blades have. The SOG Gambit blade is easy to maintain and use for many daily tasks. Because of this simple blade design I’m able to carry only this knife since I can use it for both EDC tasks and personal defense. This allows me to streamline what I carry on a daily basis and “remain in the shadows“.
Specifications:
- Overall length – 7.28”
- Blade length – 2.58”
- Blade steel – 7Cr17MoV
- Finish – Satin Polished
- Handle material – GRN (Glass Reinforced Nylon)
- MSRP – $39.00
