Fighting knives come in all sizes. You got the classics like the Bowie knife and the Ka-Bar. They are characterized by their size and ability to both hack and slash. You travel in the opposite direction of that spectrum, and you find something like the Ka-Bar TDI Investigator. While it’s small, it’s still lethal as all get out. Some knives are made for trench warfare, and others are made for concealed carry. The TDI Investigator is the latter.
A 2.71-inch blade doesn’t seem like much until it’s stuck inside you. The overall length is only 5 inches. The TDI Investigator is one of an entire series of TDI knives. TDI stands for Tactical Defense Institute, and their lead instructor and John Benner, designed the knife. John Benner served 33 years as a police officer and retired and now teaches cops, civilians, and anyone else who wants to learn to defend themselves.
TDI Investigator – Made For Carry
The Investigator variant is the smaller model and is designed for concealed carry. Larger variants exist with longer handles and blades, but concealing those bad boys isn’t easy.
The blade is made of AUS 8A Stainless steel. Stainless steel isn’t a bad choice for this knife. As a concealed carry blade, it’s tucked tight to the body and will be exposed to sweat quite often. Stainless resists corrosion rather well. It’s also very hard steel that’s resistant to breaking and chipping.
That’s perfect for a fighting knife. You don’t want it to break, bend, or fail in a fight. The downside to stainless steel is that it’s tough to sharpen and won’t hold a good edge for long. That would be a problem with an EDC knife, but as a self-defense knife, you won’t be using it to open your bag of chips. The TDI Investigator won’t be used unless you’re in a fight, so it’s not going to dull sitting in a sheath.
This is not a big knife at all, but it conceals as if it was a 3-inch knife. The reason being is the TDI knives have a curve to them that helps hide the blade rather easily. That curve is there for a reason beyond concealment too.
Punch, Stab, Get Away
Knife fighting is a rather specialized martial art that very few have time or even access to training to master. The TDI Investigator is designed to simplify that issue. The curve of the blade and handle makes it easier and more natural to grip and strike with. The curve also allows law enforcement to position the knife for an easy draw and to allow them to fend off gun grabs.
From a fighting perspective, you grip the knife almost exactly as if you are making a fist. This allows you to stab and strike with a punching motion. Slashes are accomplished by just raking your fist downwards. There isn’t much skill or fancy techniques needed to put the Ka-Bar TDI Investigator into action.
If things get close and in wrestling range, the TDI investigator is still effective. Hack, slash and stab until the bad guy goes limp. Gripping the TDI Investigator in your fist makes it easy to retain and near impossible to lose in a fight.
The TDI Investigator was designed with police officers in mind, but it is a perfect option for civilian concealed carry. From a civilian perspective, the TDI Investigator is perfect for fighting back, drawing blood, creating distance, and escaping. It’s short, light, easy to carry, and the sheath is perfectly suitable for belt-born carry.
Oh, and did I mention it’s affordable? Compared to most ‘fighting’ knives, the TDI Investigator is downright cheap. The TDI Investigator is perfect for carrying with or without a gun and gives an additional edge. No pun intended.
