THE SWISS CONTACT BREAKER KNIFE

On our most recent trip to Georgia Shane showed us  two new knives; the CRKT Obake and a little Swiss Fruit knife, which he was carrying daily in a custom Kydex sheath.


[Shane's knife in a custom kydex sheath]

I must admit I was more interested in the Obake, and tried to pick one up while in Georgia. However, as part of our CQB seminar Shane had organized for a whole range of knives to be tested on freshly slaughtered hogs, and the results opened my eyes. That little knife was scary; especially since a $200 tactical knife broke during this test. By the way, the TDI/Ka-bar, a favourite of mine, also performed impressively, and reinforced my view of it as the ideal weapon-retention knife.


[the VPK opened up the throat of the hog]

Back home I bought the Obake and wrote a forum article here. I then purchased Victorinox Paring Knife [VPK]  from Amazon. on return. though impressed with the sharpness I didn't really think about it, until Slacky alerted me to Ed Calderon who had come up with the concept of carrying and deploying the VPK.  I decided to try the techniques, but the first problem was finding a sheath. There are a couple of US manufacturers, who were either out of stock, or, didn't ship overseas. Nick Engelen very helpfully reached out to his contacts, and in a few days a package arrived with a knife, Kydex sheath, and some other goodies, from the illustrious Fred Perrin.


[The sheath from Fred Perrin]

Here are a few thoughts on the utility of this concept.

SITUATION
Many criminal attacks involve seizing and holding the victim. Whether to grab with one hand while pummelling with the other,or, to drag the victim to a secondary crime scene, such as a vehicle, building or alley. The VPK allows you to break contact, then either escape, or, continue the fight. In this type of contact attack you may need to "fight to your gun" and the little knife allows this.

ACCESS
The sheath should be positioned forward of either hip. If you are carrying a pistol I'd suggest placing the knife on the opposite side. Although the blade is short, the handle is long enough to provide a full initial grip, affording a smooth draw. Depending on preference, you can position for either a forward-grip, or, reverse-grip.






LIMITATIONS AND ADVANTAGES
Not necessarily our preferred type of knife, for example no deep thrust into the body cavity, but what it does it does very well, and that is to slice through flesh, blood vessels and tendons. Blade length is a ambiguous factor. On our courses we ask "how long a slash can you make with a 1" blade? The answer, obviously, is "as long as you want" Whether that slash is to the neck and throat, disrupting blood and air supply, or, causing haemorrhage to the major vessels inside the limbs [brachial/femoral arteries] the VPK can perform the function of turning your attacker defensive.
In South Africa I was alerted to a rapid Reverse grip "Blitz" attack, popular with street criminals. That "hammering" attack, targeting the head, neck and subclavian, is ideal for the VPK. Whether the orientation is edge-out, or in the  P'Kal method popularised by Craig SouthNarc Douglas, the VPK can be accessed from the sheath to the reverse-grip, then into a blur of multiple strikes.







Snap cuts have their place, mainly for maintaining an "exclusion zone" For breaking contact we teach "contour cuts" placing the knife on target, then slicing long, deep and continuously.

STABBING
[Although the VPK does not penetrate deeply into the torso, we can still use the point. Craig has widely taught a fast draw to a jab, targetting the face/neck, in a strike analogous the the Iai of the Samurai.
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[View of the Jab]

Other stabs include inserting the point behind the trachea and ripping forward, in what James Keating has termed a "trake take" Also, stabbing under the jaw, penetrating up into the soft palate can be a devastating strike.
If you are in  some kind of headlock, then Lowline counters to the  femoral, groin, bladder, or from the rear, hamstrings or perineum.

Although the original thought behind the concept was for discreet carriage in none-permissive environments [NPE], I have a more general view. To me it's a simple, sharp and inexpensive self-protection tool. Whether it is carried as your backup weapon, or, your sole protection, it can be effective. That rapid "hammerfist" cycling action is simple to learn, and the sheath system allows regular deployment training, which is essential. Training with a live, resisting assailant is important, and requires a safe training weapon.



Because the VPK is so inexpensive you can purchase several and have them discreetly positioned near your front door, within your vehicles etc.

CUTTING TESTS
Although I'd seen the impressive results on the hogs, I decided to conduct a few tests on the ability of the Swiss blade to cut through barrier clothing. After all, we don't all spend our time in the Tropics, and the likelihood is that an attacker could be heavily clothed.


[Terry holds the live cutting target on a course several years ago]

Several years ago I constructed a target for live-blade training on our courses.
I tried to make the target realistic by having a sleeve from an old security bomber-jacket as an outer covering. Next was a rubber lattice [representing skin], then the sole of an old flip-flop, [to simulate muscle]. By the way, the bomber jacket itself is a tough barrier, consisting of several laminations, from the nylon outer layer, then a filling of synthetic insulating fibres, on top of the final orange inner shell.


[The VPK cut through numerous layers]

The VPK performed very well, slicing through the jacket, rubber "skin" down into the "muscle"
To simulate low-line attacks, I added the leg of an old denim trouser, and once again the VPK sliced right through, and would certainly open up the Femoral.



Finally, I stabbed the point into the target, and, given soft muscle tissue, the blade easily penetrates to the hilt.




Close-quarter combat is 90% attitude. If you have the right attitude, the determination to do whatever it takes, the this little Swiss knife can help you win the fight.





LINKS

Victorinox paring knife

Fred Perrin knives