by Kevin Michalowski, Editor

Mall ninjas and various other know-it-alls like to toss around the oft-quoted axiom, “Never take a knife to a gunfight.” But knowledgeable police officers understand that sometimes a knife might be the tool you need. And so it is with Ka-Bar’s TDI Knife. Sometimes.

“I want to point out that this knife will not solve every problem and if you ignore the other elements of your training, you will end up losing your gun,” said John Benner as he began his most recent training exercise.

Benner, the founder of the Tactical Defense Institute and designer of the TDI Law Enforcement Knife, was in Wisconsin at the end of February to train members of the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Department Reserve Unit and the Waupaca County SWAT Team in the defensive use of his knife.

The Basic Ka-Bar TDI Knife Weight: 0.18 lbs. Overall length: 55/8” Blade length: 25/16” Grind: Hollow Edge Angle: 15 Degrees Shape: Drop Point Steel: AUS 8A Stainless Steel HRC: 57-59 CR Handle Material: Zytel

Tactical Gear Magazine sponsored the training and worked with Ka-Bar to provide each officer a TDI knife following the training. “Let me stress again, I’m not trying to take anything away from your other training. This knife is simply another tool in your toolbox and we’ll show you how to use it,” said Benner.

The TDI knife is a unique fixed-blade knife designed for extreme close-quarters defense, specifically in a weapon-retention situation. Designed to be worn on the “off” side of the duty belt and drawn like a pistol, the TDI Knife is one of the fastest and easiest knives to bring into action. Weighing in at less than a quarter pound, the basic knife (there are several models) is just 5-5/8 inches long with a drop-point blade of 2-5/16 inches.

Right from the factory the hollow-ground blade is razor-sharp with a 15-degree edge and Rockwell hardness reading of 57-59 CR. The Zytel handle is nearly indestructible, but provides a great grip. “The key element of the design was for comfort and concealablility,” said Benner. “The handle was originally set on the angle it is to make sure an officer could wear the knife all day comfortably. To be honest, we found out all the other benefits of the angle after we created it.”

Those other benefits include outstanding ergonomics, speed and power. Grabbing and drawing the TDI knife is very similar to grabbing a pistol or Taser. Once the knife is in hand, the blade is aligned with bones of the lower arm, giving outstanding thrusting power. The design also makes it virtually impossible for the hand to slip free and overrun the blade.

The Basic Cuts

Using training knives, the officers learned the basics of “blade orientation” through eight basic cuts. The idea was not so much to teach a pattern but to instill the idea that with a single-edged knife, like the TDI, the blade must be oriented properly.

“It’s pretty simple,” said Benner. “Apply sharp edge to opponent and repeat as necessary.”

The location of the cuts fall into two categories: Blood cuts and mechanical cuts. With a blood cut, it takes time for blood loss to stop a violent attacker, especially a determined one. With the mechanical cut, the violent activity is stopped quickly because the muscle simply no long works.

“I’m also a big believer in the point-oriented attack,” said Benner noting that a point-first thrust has a better chance of cutting a violent subject than does a slash. “You would be surprised how common clothing can stand up to a slash; especially something like a down coat.”

It became clear early on to the officers in the training that defending oneself with a knife is nothing like the “knife-fighting” made popular in Hollywood.

The TDI knife slips behind the inner belt and nearly disappears on a standard duty belt. It is easy to carry and comfortable.

“The goal here is stop the threat and give you a chance to escape an extremely dangerous situation at extreme close quarters,” Benner said. “This is for when you are losing the fight. If you could control the subject with your empty hands, you wouldn’t need the knife and if you are in control, you are not authorized to use it.”

To that end, the class was really about tactical anatomy, showing the officers where and how to cut an opponent to stop the fight as quickly as possible.

“Ending a fight quickly is always our goal and is court defensible,” said Benner. A simple thrust to the chest or even a slash across the throat will still allow a motivated adversary plenty of time to inflict more damage. But a slash across the top of the forearm, or better yet, a thrust and run, where the knife is driven into the arm and pulled deeply across the muscles and tendons, instantly impedes the subject’s ability to grasp and pull, giving the officer a chance to escape.

“We had a report of an officer who used the TDI knife during a struggle for his gun,” said Benner. “The officer said, ‘I shoved the blade into his forearm and twisted it. It turned out that guy didn’t really want my gun so bad after all.’”

Cuts to the forearms limit a violent subject’s ability to grasp, pull and grapple. Cuts to the legs put the subject off balance and often immobilize the subject giving the officer time to disengage and regain the advantage. Benner pointed out that each movement he was teaching was “a moment in time.”

In training the officers moved slowly for form and stopped often to assess locations and options in defending the attacks, but Benner stressed that such would not be the case in a real fight. “This is dynamic and fast. You protect yourself, cut where you can and regain the advantage,” he said.

Wound Enhancement Techniques

A cut is a cut, but with a little work any basic cut can be enhanced to inflict more damage and stop aggressive activity more quickly. And in some cases, just the discussion of these wound enhancement techniques made a few of the officers cringe.

Coring: Basically this is twisting the blade after a thrust. Doing so damages more tissue and causes more pain in an effort to stop the fight sooner. If the officer is dealing with limited movement or his or her arms are pinned, coring can be a very effective technique. Pumping: Also used if mobility is limited, pumping is just like it sounds. Once the blade is thrust into the subject, the handle is pumped up and down. This technique also helps to drive the blade through tough material like heavy coats.

Using a training knife, a Waupaca County SWAT officer, “cuts” the upper arm of his attacker and  prepares to disengage from a frontal attack.

Thrust and Run: This creates a long and deep cut by thrusting the blade down into the tissue and “running” the sharp edge to create a long cut to stop the aggressive behavior quickly. Depending on the location a deep thrust and run can almost immediately incapacitate the area that’s cut.

Filleting: This is the technique that made several officers cringe. As described by Benner: Cut down to the bone, turn the blade, then run it. This causes a huge wound. Making an arm or leg useless in a fight.

What About Liability?

The wound enhancement techniques immediately brought questions about excessive force and liability concerns. Benner addressed those succinctly. “The use of this knife means you are involved in a deadly force incident. If you need to defend yourself in court or an inquest, remember, you could have shot the subject, but you decided to use restraint and used the knife instead,” Benner said.

Benner also offered to supply the department with a draft knife policy that will help to define the role of the knife and help out with liability and use of force questions. “I must stress again that this knife is just another tool,” Benner reminded the officers. “It is not designed to replace any other tools or training, but rather to augment them and give officers another option. You must use it in conjunction with your defensive and weapon-retention techniques. It does not replace that training.”

For more information on the Ka-Bar TDI, visit www.ka-bar.com

For more information on the Tactical Defense Institute, visit www.tdiohio.com/index.html