The Best Karambit Knife to Carry
Author: Pendekar Hussein, Founder of TUS & Pencak Silat Sharaf
Pendekar Colin Pau working on a Pencak Silat Sharaf Karambit knife form in Taiwan. If you want to carry this weapon you better learn how to use it correctly, otherwise carry a regular knife.
So if you’ve managed to escape the mind-numbing Karambit vs knife debate that seems to be on every newbie’s lips when they enter the realm of Southeast Asian Martial Arts, then you know, the Karambit knife always wins. Why? Because we know how to use it very efficiently. And if you have no clue what a Karambit knife is or you want to go neck-deep into this weapon, then you can find our other article here about the history of this awesome weapon.
If you carry a Karambit simply for the purpose of carrying a Karambit after watching John Wick on Netflix...I strongly suggest you choose something else. Any weapon you carry should be one you can trust your life on and the lives of your family. If you can’t make that promise to yourself then you’re basically heading into a nightmare of Jupiteresque proportions the day you ever need to use thy sacred dagger for even the most trivial task. So, now that we have that beast out of the way, let’s get to the business we’re here for my dear readers: choosing the best Karambit Knife to carry. When you look for a weapon to carry as a daily driver there are three key components you must lockdown in order to proceed with a purchase, failing these three keys, misery awaits around the corner...or maybe just regret. But either way, you’ll be as comfortable as Justin Bieber out for lunch with Vladimir Putin. The three keys are Deployment, Handling, Quality.
The “Karambit CSGO”. This could possibly be my worst nightmare. The cord will snap, the sheath is garbage, and the blade will probably fall out if you need to run. This is a horror movie you don’t want to watch.
Deployment: There is no use carrying a weapon if you can’t deploy it effectively to handle the threat that’s in front of you. I prefer a $2 Chingbao CLASSIC A1 pocket knife over a $400 Custom Strider Karambit knife any day if the cheap blade has a better deployment system. I’ve trained hundreds of people all over the world and I can tell you with a straight face, the main factor people forget about when it comes to real combat is actually being able to fight. They’ll spend $100 on a knife that has a faulty deployment system simply because it comes from a famous company or it looks dope. Then argue with me, “In the moment I’m sure I can rig it to work, Pendekar.” Well, I’m sure they can’t because I sure as hell couldn’t and I’m basically Rambo compared to their sorry asses. Choose a good deployment system first and leave the rest to God Almighty.
Handling: If you have a poor experience handling the weapon, the grip is funky, the sheath doesn’t fit properly, or the blade is just too big/small for you, it’s a no go. The weapon you hold must feel comfortable in your hand and have a solid grip that you easily manipulate regardless of weather conditions or blood being on it.
Quality: I said I’d take the $2 Chingbao CLASSIC A1 pocket knife, but realistically, I’d avoid it if at all possible simply because a blade at that price is probably going to be of lower quality than I want to bet my life on. Choose the best quality knife you can pay for without getting into a fight with your wife when you get home. I said pay for, not afford, there’s a huge difference. I can only afford a $50 knife according to the last fight I had with my wife about it, but I can pay for a $75 knife according to the last bouquet of flowers I got for her. Buy the best you can get your hands on in terms of quality because you must be able to promise yourself that that weapon can protect you, your family, and others in times of need. The last thing you want is for your weapon or your deployment system to fail you when some gorilla is on top of you thinking of an endgame. Now on to the weapon selection.
Tedy Kardin: Probably one of the best bespoke knife makers in Indonesia and certainly our top choice for the ultra-bespoke Karambit knife. This is D2 steel in the traditional style of Minangkabau, Sumatra, the ancestral homeland of the Karambit.
Pak Tedy in his office in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
The custom or bespoke Karambit knife: If you want a really great fitting suit, go to a tailor. A really great pair of shoes, go to a shoemaker. If you want an incredible Karambit that will probably outlast you and be a Pusaka (heirloom) you can hand down to your children and they can hand down to their children, go to a master knife maker. There is nothing that can possibly compare to a bespoke product that is designed and tailored to fit you by a master craftsman. One of my favorite masters is Tedy Kardin. He is a bespoke and custom knife craftsman who runs a workshop out of Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. His custom works are some of the most impressive and combat-worthy Pencak Silat weapons I have ever had the pleasure of seeing in my life. His bespoke knife making, on the other hand, is crafted entirely for you, the customer, and is fitted to your body so the end result is a weapon that really is an extension of your hand. Pak Tedy is also a former Kopassus commando with years of real combat experience which is clearly transferred into his stunning creations. So going bespoke is to go to another level regardless of what you buy. The best karambit knife to carry is and always will be the bespoke one that is designed precisely for your dimensions, attire, and deployment scenarios. Finding a master who you like to work with and who creates knives that you want to carry is basically the only limit in the bespoke knife world. Another master I can recommend is my knife Sifu, Chen Yuan Fan. He is not a martial artist but he is a master craftsman that creates combat-ready weapons you can consider a Pusaka. I apprenticed knife making with him in Taiwan several years ago and he taught me everything I know about steel, deployment systems, and edges.
Derespina Karambit. This is an awesome choice at the price point and extremely reliable.
The Karambit fixed blade: I chose the Karambit fixed blade to be in second place simply because I value dependability over style any day of the week. Like I mentioned earlier, if I can’t assure my daughter that daddy can protect her using this thing, I’ll never carry it. Hence, a Karambit fixed blade instead of a folder. That doesn’t mean that a folder is bad, it simply means that I believe in physics, not witchcraft, and a folding blade can never be safer than a fixed blade no matter how hard it tries. The company logo on the folder or the craftsman does have a huge part to play in dependability, but again, physics gentlemen, take the fixed blade Karambit over a folder all the time if you have a choice. Probably the most popular fixed blade Karambit I’ve seen guys carry is the Cold Steel Tiger, aka the Karambit CSGO. That blade is relatively cheap and of good quality, the main problem I have with it is the atrocious deployment system that I’m certain Cold Steel designed to get everyone killed with, quickly. I have nothing against Cold Steel as a company, they just happened to have made a shit product this time around. The best thing to do if you want to carry a fancy karambit is to save your money and buy a good quality one. I recommend Bastinelli Creations, Strider Knives, or another reputable company. You’ll get an exceptional quality knife and a highly-functional deployment system you can bet the bank on.
The Bastinelli Pika is our pick for 2021 when it comes to gentlemen’s neck wear. It’s classy and versatile: belt or neck, your choice.
The Karambit neck knife: Yes, you heard that correctly, I said the Karambit neck knife. There are many situations where carrying a large, fixed blade Karambit is not practical, or if you, like me, prefer a sleeker GQ silhouette over the rawhide cowboy look, then a Karambit neck knife is definitely the way to go. I carried these as a backup weapon in Africa for several years and they were comfortable enough to wear with traditional clothing or formal Western clothing. I alternated between a Karambit neck knife and a push dagger neck knife as a backup to my traditional Sudanese sleeve dagger. I also wore a Karambit neck knife when traveling to shadier areas of Tokyo where Yakuza often lurk. That being said, Japan is one of the safest places I’ve ever lived and Yakuza are professional gangsters, not street thugs. They usually never bother anyone unless they have some business with them, but I’m one for insurance policies that have high payouts. The last thing I want is that 0.01% chance to happen and I’m the only duck at the party without feathers. Hence, the Karambit neck knife. Several companies produce these but they are very impractical in my opinion. These cheap karambit options usually have handle and finger rings that are much too small, so you end up grabbing the entire ring in order to deploy the weapon, therefore screwing up your grip. It’s not entirely unusable this way, but it should be a last-ditch thing. A boxer wouldn’t go into a ring with gloves that don’t fit, you’re a professional too, so don’t settle for less than the best unless you have to. I’d recommend the Bastinelli Cerakote or the Havoc Tanto Karambit neck knife.
The Emerson Wave Super Karambit knife. Can’t go wrong with this one.
The Karambit Folding Knife: As I said above, physics wins over witchcraft, but if you want to go for a folding karambit then there are a few to look out for that will certainly not leave you feeling cheated. When it comes to a folding Karambit, the key three things to look out for are the finger rings, the belt clips, and the locking mechanisms. Good quality folding Karambits will have smooth finger rings that are easily twirled around the finger and won’t shave the skin off your fingers with each turn. The metal must be smooth and the hole large enough for you to comfortably enter with your finger. The reason is practice. In traditional Pencak Silat training, we work with real knives. The knife I carry is the one I will train with on a daily basis so I’m extremely familiar with my weapon and I know its strong and weak points. Having a weapon that will tear up my fingers is definitely not my idea of a good time. The second thing is the belt clip. It must fit snugly into the pocket of your pants or belt depending on how you carry and must be effectively deployed from that position with minimal hassle. If the belt clip is too tight you’ll slip and end up deploying a sore finger instead of your knife. If it’s too loose it might fall out when you’re jumped and need it in a fight. It must sit snugly and be deployable before or during an engagement. The last and most important issue is the locking mechanism...physics again. It cannot fold and leave you high and dry. The locking mechanism must be of such a great quality that you can stab through a car door comfortably and it won’t break. High quality folding Karambits can do this. Those made of stronger materials like D2 steel can absolutely do this, the only problem with D2 though is the difficulty in sharpening it. You’ll need to take it back to a professional or risk messing up a very expensive knife. The locking mechanism is critical and for that reason, I’m going to recommend a folder from a company I dislike but of a quality I can honestly say is worth the money: The Emerson Karambit. This Karambit has a good lock, a good clip, and a smooth finger ring. It is also the chosen edged weapon of the Canadian Joint Task Force 2, Canada’s Navy Seals. So needless to say you can probably rest assured it’ll work for your needs as well. The Fox Knives Karambit is another worthy mention and probably one that I’d go for if I had to choose a folder for daily carry needs.
No mechanisms. The belt fits in the hole and that’s that. There is zero versatility in this rig but it’ll get the job done for you at a very low price.
The Ultra Cheap Karambit: If you’re really strapped for cash and will probably eat sand if you get one of the Karambit knives I mentioned above, then opt for a cheap Karambit, but pay attention to the guidelines I’m giving you before you buy one. Guideline one: get a Karambit fixed blade. The worst risk you can take is getting yourself a dirt cheap karambit knife, or any knife for that matter, that folds. Especially if you want to rely on it as a service tool for self-defense purposes. Get a fixed blade Karambit that is comfortable for you to hold, of reasonably good quality steel, and has a decent deployment system. One that comes to my mind immediately is the CRKT Bearclaw or the Mtech Karambit of which they have a plethora to choose from. These cheap Karambit alternatives are not the best investment and they are certainly not heirlooms for your kids, but they’ll get the job done just as good and because they are fixed blades there is just a lot less that can go wrong under stress.
If you’re going for a cheap Karambit you can’t go wrong with this Mtech cheapo for less than $20. The important thing to know when getting a cheap Karambit is to stay away from mechanisms and find fixed blades with reasonably good sheaths like this one, not the Karambit CSGO crap featured above.
The Benchmade SOCP has an identical twin trainer, absolute heaven for a Silat man.
It’s dirt cheap and nasty looking but at $5 this Taiwanese trainer on Amazon is a steal. You can destroy it for years and it’ll still be functional.
The Training Karambit: last but not least the fixed blade Karambit trainer and the folding Karambit trainer are essential for anyone who wants to carry this weapon. I’ll say it again, carrying a weapon that you know and feel comfortable using is far better than carrying something cooler and exotic. If you carry a Karambit you better train with the blade and understand the uniqueness of this weapon as well as its strong and weak points. No weapon system is perfect like no person is perfect, so understanding what the Karambit has to offer and its limitations will give you the heads up if you ever need to use it in real life. If you want to learn how to use the Karambit knife properly check this out. Now, for training purposes, the best again is a bespoke Karambit that is crafted with that intent for you and a perfect duplicate of your daily carry. Failing that, the next best thing is to look for a reasonably priced approximation of what you carry from a reputable company. The reason for this is you might even be able to find a matching set of Karambit knife and training knife that is exactly identical so you are learning to use the weapon you carry daily, building that positive muscle memory.
In this video we take a look at Gun and Karambit Trapping and how the Karambit can be a great backup to your firearm. Full video in TUS library.