Kabar TDI and Kabar TDI Law Enforcement Knives

Several months ago I had to retire my Gerber knife that a good friend of mine had given to me.  It had seen a lot before it got to my hands, and I cherished it.  It was a standard folder with a serrated and flat blade combo.  It served me well.  But, I decided to move on.  One of the many troubles I had with the Gerber folder was that I always dropped it somewhere.  And though it always found it’s way back to me, the complications of losing a knife is always looming.  So, I decided on a belt-holstered knife.

I searched Amazon, I am quite addicted to it, and scoured it for the best deals and did corresponding reviews and notes from customers and professionals.  I ended up with the Ka-bar TDI.  The original, as seen above on the left, was the smaller of the two.  For under $40, I decided to pull the trigger and buy it.  It came with the belt clip already on it.  I have to say the knife felt great,  With what felt like a very sturdy, solid but LIGHT plastic grip handle, it was easy to pull in and out of it’s sheath.  The small one caught the eye of my fiance and she said she wanted it for self-defense in case her pepper spray didn't work.  She has given me praise for how handy it was.  As a barista, she can process boxes at her work with ease and didn’t have to worry about the knife jumping or slipping and cutting her like standard box cutters.  With her taking my knife, I decided to order another original TDI and a larger one for comparison.  When they got here, I have to say, the larger one was formidable.  It felt more like a combat knife than a self-defense knife.  It was heavier in relation to it’s smaller sibling.  I wore both knives for a total on two weeks a piece through my daily life.

Being that I live in NYC with ridiculous laws about guns, a knife seemed like a good alternative.  The TDI knives were meant to be worn like guns.  Which led to their shape.  I wore both knives, independently, on the back-right of my waist.  The larger one bumped into me a lot and made it look that I was obviously carrying something.  The original TDI was smaller and lent itself for my everyday carry without being bother some.  I ended up relegating the larger knife to my chest rig and promoted the smaller TDI knife as my everyday carry.  The blade is kabar quality with great fit and finish.  Seriously, take a look at them if you are looking for a different fixed blade option.