The HiTS knife, a collaboration between Joe Watson Knives and Darryle Bolke of Hardwired Tactical Shooting, has been a run away success. It will be a tough act to follow but they are going to try with the “Stealth”.
The Stealth is a fairly versatile design that accommodates a number of techniques. It is basically a double edged American tanto shaped blade. The handle is finished with Joe’s excellent epoxy soaked cord wrap and features a deep finger groove for retention and indexing. By sharpening the straight spine of the tanto Joe and Darryle have created a knife that adapts quickly to edge in or edge out techniques – so much so that, at a glance, it is a dead ringer for a typical pikal knife.
The Stealth will be available soon. Check out Joe Watson Knives.
It’s a double edged p’kal, not a double edged tanto. You’d think the people at jerkingthetrigger, and especially BladeBomb, would know this.
You may be right. In this case, is there a functional difference? Are you familiar with Darryl’s two previous well known knife designs and their blade shapes?
Yes I’m familiar with the other two HiTS knives, the ones you wouldn’t actually call a tanto in your other posts without finger quotes. I’m sorry I just don’t think this can be called a tanto. The blade is also almost exactly the same as the double edged p’kal I have by someone else. It’s just a tad longer but other than that and the G-10 on its handle, it’s the same knife.
And the functional difference would be a completely different fighting style. There’s even more of a FUNCTIONAL difference than there is a physical one. Just my opinion I guess.
Also, the point of the tanto design is to have blade that is particular strong at the tip for piercing hard materials. I suppose that would be another functional difference. You wouldn’t have that additional benefit with the shape of this knife.
Awesome looking knife though.
Like I said, you may be right.
I went with “American Tanto” because of the characteristic dual cutting edges set opposing angles and based on DB’s previous well-known work which are both American Tantos (HiTS and the DB). The compound grind at the tip of the Stealth would render a stout tip that would be fine for thrusting – though you are correct in that it would be MORE stout without the intersecting straight edge.
Regarding the functionality of a knife like this, it would seem one of the goals was to make a knife that was adaptable to edge in and edge out techniques. No matter how you index the knife, it will be useable.
Thanks for keeping me sharp. Stop in any time.
“Thanks for keeping me sharp” Lol that’s punny 🙂