One of the biggest problems we all face on a day to day basis is living in a world that does not, under any circumstances, support our approach to life. By that I mean that we live in a world that considers being prepared for… well anything to be some kind of manifestation of “paranoia” — something to be mocked and ridiculed. These are the same people who are capable of being defeated by a package of potato chips, of course; they’re the ones who ask to borrow your knife and then express their outrage at how large it is or how “tactical” it looks.
Frustrating though it can be to make your way through a world of “sheeple” who gasp and dive for their fainting couches when they see a common pocket knife, there are times when it’s better not to antagonize them. You need, in other words, a “tactical” knife that can be carried for situations in which it might be seen by “mixed company.” You need a knife that can fly “under the radar” and not upset people while serving you in both a utility capacity and for (possible) self-defense.
In my opinion, one of those knives is the Victorinox “Sentinel.”
The Sentinel can be hard to find; there are other, similar version of the knife that now incorporate an oval opening hole, allowing for true one-hand opening. That’s probably preferably from a purely defensive standpoint, but in terms of “under the radar” appearance, it’s hard to beat the version of the Sentinel that just has the nail nick in its blade. It just looks like a utility knife, not a scary “tactical knife” and, more importantly, it locks open.
I don’t need to tell you how inadvisable it is to use a slipjoint knife for self-defense. People can and have been hurt with non-locking blades, certainly, but it’s a very bad idea from the user’s standpoint to try and defend yourself with a blade that will not stay open. In fact, if the only tool you have for self-defense is a slipjoint Swiss Army Knife, you’re better off using the screwdriver or even the awl between your fingers as kind of a makeshift punch-dagger style weapon, simply because this allows you to brace the “poking tool” between your fingers.
The locking blade on the Sentinel, therefore, is very important to being able to use it as a tactical knife. Remember, too, that “tactical knife” is a term that goes back quite a number of years. While knifemakers like Spyderco helped popularize the concept with their one-hand-opening folders, the original concept for “tactical knife” was for a folding pocketknife that was useful for utility and that could also be pressed into use as a self-defense tool. In other words, it’s a day-to-day knife pressed into service for use as a tactical implement… and doesn’t necessarily have to look like something that just fell off the back of a military transport hauling crates of machineguns.
An advantage, of course, is the “don’t scare the horses” principle. We’ve all had incidents in which a knife flicked open too fast scared someone, or known someone who had such an incident. Years ago when I was working in an office, I carried a Gerber EZ-Out that I once flicked open, one-handed, to open the plastic strap on a crate of officer paper. I was filling the office photocopier at the time. Little did I know that someone else in the office (whose identity was never revealed to me) saw me open the knife and was “uncomfortable.” Non-knife people, non-copers (as Colonel Jeff Cooper called them) are frequently made uncomfortable by even the most innocuous of tools… but the fact is that the flashier one-hand knife that was my Gerber was probably a bit much for the mixed company of the office.
Now, knives were not as-such forbidden in the office. Weapons were a no-go, but a utility pocketknife should have been okay. On reflection, had the knife I was carrying looked more like the Sentinel in these photos, I’d probably had a lot less trouble. But things didn’t get bad until a second time I used my knife (again, I don’t know when these incidents were), because the same person complained to my manager again.
My manager was apologetic and said that she should have told me about it before, but didn’t because she thought it was stupid. If this employee was going to keep complaining, however, it might move its way up the chain and make trouble for me, so it would be best if I were more discreet when using pocketknives around the office. I took her advice to heart… and started carrying something different after that. Years later my go-to covert carry blade would become the Sentinel.
Obviously, it’s ridiculous that we should have to walk around on eggshells just because some people don’t understand the basic realities of preparedness, self-defense, or just utility. There was a time when no self-respecting man would leave the house without at least a pocketknife. These days we face a much less receptive landscape. If you want to preserve your ability to effectively carry and use a blade, therefore, you might consider one of these stylish, less obvious choices.
The added benefit, of course, is that Victorinox is a respected utility brand closely associated with Swiss Army knives, which enjoy a very positive, non-tactical image. In fact, if you make a point of referring to your blade as your Swiss Army Knife (if you have to refer to it at all, you’ll be managing the “image” of the blade whenever you’re surrounded by non-prepared, non-tactical people. That will do you a world of good.
There are other choices out there too, remember. If this particular knife is not your thing, consider some of the other locking but “harmless” looking utility blades on the market. Always be smarter than the sheeple, the critics, and the gun-grabbers. They have different triggers but the attitude that drives them all is pretty much the same. Trying to not scare them when in mixed company (like in an office) is not giving in or giving up; it’s being smarter and more clever than they are.