"Plastic" Knives?

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In digging through Cold Steel's blade lineup, I came across the "Nightshade" series of knives which are all synthetic blades. The advertised advantage to this is the lightness of the weapon, and fact that it will not rust or otherwise weather like steel would. My question is, are these worth it, even as inexpensive as they are? Are they able to be sharpened by conventional means? Does the light weight help or hurt in terms of combat when it comes to striking power and also retention?

There is one other potential use I'm seeing... Are they easy to dull so I could turn one into an inexpensive trainer, at the very least?
 
@Roninsensei would probably be the one to ask about that. He's well versed on all things Cold Steel and all things bladed for that matter.

I would imagine that it would make an inexpensive trainer, as you mentioned(I thought they were only for training). As far as an actual weapon goes, it's still plastic. I guess it works on guns(Polymer is indeed a plastic), but to what extent?

I have a karambit made out of fiberglass. I know that's different, but it's got limitations, of course. The maker swears they're as good or better than steel, but it doesn't take an edge as well as steel. You sharpen this with an actual emory board. It works for some cutting, and I imagine it will cut flesh if needed. As far as stabbing, it will definitely puncture, albeit not very deep as a limit of the blade length more than it's inherent ability. I imagine that you'll find some of the same limitations on the plastic CS knives. In fact, if you look at the CS demo videos for the FGX knives, and compare them to the steel counterparts, you can see some of the differences immediately.

Truthfully, I keep guns and knives for self defense, and in that job, I'm not really willing to sacrifice much. My fiberglass karambit sits on a shelf now since I've run into it's limitations.
 
Pretty much what alabaster said!! lol

They work mainly as a stabbing tool and can be sharpened but don't stay sharp long. We use them as trainers all the time just be extra sure to dull them. They are loved for their ability to beat metal detectors. They have the same limitations as fiberglass they are a glass reinforced polymer.

 
I carried a CIA Letter opener for years before they were prohibited and my wife had the CIA hair brush with concealed spike, we used them in our travel kits in our 94 trip the the US Midwest, they are improvised defence tools not designed for resharpening.
 
Cool, thanks guys. From the looks of the video they are indeed not really that sharp edge-wise... Pretty slow box opening, I wouldn't have even included those clips if I were them. However that karambit and the tanto would make excellent trainers. The tanto in particular looks roughly the same size as the Cold Steel GI Tanto that I keep on my bug-out belt rig. I'm looking at getting into karambit work but as I don't currently use the reverse grip, I'd need to practice up and be sure it's something I'd be interested in.
 
Have you guys considered ceramic knives?

I have seen plenty of ceramic knives lately in Wal Mart and elsewhere, and just had to pick one up.

A kitchen knife may, by design, seem a poor choice as a survival blade, but it is razor sharp, light, durable, and doesn't show up with a metal detection device. It also doesn't rust, which seems to lend itself to a marine/tropical environment.

I belive it has a niche in the prepper's stockpile.

Any comments on this idea?

Thank you for considering my post.
 
We have some ceramic kitchen knives (paring and chef's knife). I'm afraid to use them since the blades are pretty thin. (I have broken an expensive stainless steel chef's knife by dropping it on the floor) I suppose a thick enough blade would be durable, but the blades we have probably will not stand any abuse.

I am making a chef's knife out of O1 tool steel, and the blade has been sent off for heat treating. The only thing ceramic has over properly tempered O1 is corrosion resistance. Other than that, the O1 is MUCH tougher, and just as hard. But with periodic Froglube treatments, the O1 should stay rust free.
 
Most ceramic blades for kitchen use have a piece of metal in the handle to make them detector compliant. They really aren't that great outside of the kitchen. There are plenty of plastic knifes out there that will actually beat a metal detector. If the subject is survival then stick to good steel...
 
I had a ceramic knife at one time,now others here may like them but to me unless you are trying to beat a metal detector they are a desperation tool and I would not trade a 100 of them for my Gerber Freeman
 
Just carry a real knife, anything else is suspect under the law and just doesn't work as well.
 

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