Wired Magazine's Danger Room review of the Warrior

[iwolf81]

This link is worth checking out for a laugh. The entire SHOT Show article is an interesting read as well.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/01 ... -tasers/8/

Regards,
Ira

[MCM]

"A sales representative told us that the serrations on the inner edge are designed for beheading people."

This made me chuckle......... :rolleyes:

[StangBang]

"A sales representative told us that the serrations on the inner edge are designed for beheading people."


lmao no kidding! That's great :p

[tonydahose]

it must have been Kristi, she has been beheading people. what do you think happens to the people she bans, nobody ever hears from them again. I told her to be quiet about it but she doesn't listen. :p :p

[iwolf81]

I knew you guys would pick up on that quote! :cool:

Sal/Kristi - Who really made that quote???

I just love it when people mess with reporters. :D

Ira

[mark greenman]

The Warrior's going to sell like hotcakes. I was at SHOT, and everyone was drooling over it. :D

[VashHash]

I need a warrior. I just might be joining the military soon.

[Michael Janich]

I knew you guys would pick up on that quote! :cool:

Sal/Kristi - Who really made that quote???

I just love it when people mess with reporters. :D

Ira

It was actually Kristi, but, predictably the reporter got it wrong. Kristi actually explained that the serrations were for cutting the throat of a sentry from behind. I know for a fact that she hasn't actually beheaded anyone in weeks...

Stay safe,

Mike

[Dagon]

It was actually Kristi, but, predictably the reporter got it wrong. Kristi actually explained that the serrations were for cutting the throat of a sentry from behind. I know for a fact that she hasn't actually beheaded anyone in weeks...

I admit that I know zero about this kind of tactical usage, nor am I eager to become proficient in it, but this comment made me wonder: would the plain edge side be any less satisfactory for this particular usage?
From looking at the picture, naive me thought that the serrated side was simply a saw!

[john row]

From a Forensics point of view ... ROFLMAO

It would be a moot point.

john

[defenestrate]

Not only do the serrations tear flesh rather effectively, but the hawkbill shape is quite efficient for this application - as any hawkbill aficionado knows, the blade shape really tends to hold on to what you're cutting. In cases of sentry removal, a blade that really wants to stay on (and tear into) flesh is a clear advantage, especially being that you don't want to have any possibility of having to make a second cut. Could a different blade shape or a plain edge do the job? sure, in many cases, but a serrated hawkbill works here for the same reasons that it is so very effective for cutting ropes on a ship or small branches in gardening. That's my understanding at least - please correct my if I'm wrong or missing something, Mr. Janich.

Very funny interpretation by the folks at Wired - I am picturing all us :spyder: fans running amok like conan the destroyer, chopping off heads and truly making the mall ninjas proud. :D

[RIOT]

regardless of what was written. That knife could do some damage to someone, does anyone have some in hand pics ?

[grunt0331]

the SE is for cutting throats. the PE is for chopping off the head... duh

[iwolf81]

the SE is for cutting throats. the PE is for chopping off the head... duh

HA HA HAH!!!

Thanks for my morning laugh! Spyderco should use this quote when advertising the knife, especially in Stars & Stripes! :D

Ira

[Michael Janich]

To all:

Unfortunately, one of the problems with such quotes is that irresposible journalists, attorneys, and politicians look for chances to use them out of context to our detriment. The fact that "Wired" was more interested in superficial sensationalism that the real story of the Warrior as a potentially life-saving tool for deployed servicemen is a vivid reminder of that. Let's keep it clean and not give the boneheads any ammo to use against us.

Instead, here's a bit of history:

The original Warrior design was the work of Randy Wanner, HwaRangDo instructor to the late Michael Echanis. Randy developed the design as a pure fighter that complemented the knife fighting methods hat he and Echanis had developed and to work with natural human body mechanics. Although the Warrior design has often been associated with Echanis, it was actually Wanner's original concept. Wanner then teamed with Bob Taylor, who provided his own significant design input and the financial and logistical backing to take it beyond the concept stage and put it into production.

The best know expression of the original Warrior was the version produced by Al Mar during the early 1990's; however, Taylor, in coordination with various knifemakers and through his own company REKAT, also produced many full-sized Warriors and his "Hobbit" adaptation of the design.

The only element of design input that Echanis ever provided was to suggest that Wanner add serrations to the back (concave) side of the blade to increase the utility of the knife. Echanis was a huge fan of the Gerber Mark II (an Al Mar design), which included serrations after the early 1970's.

Wanner and Taylor later developed a preference for staggered saw teeth instead of cutting serrations. These saw teeth "grabbed" when the knife was used with reverse-grip trapping motions and produced a more devastating wound channel during thrusts.

The Spyderco version of the Warrior was inspired by the design work of Guy Rafaeli, an Israeli martial artist and instructor to elite units of the Israeli military. When he saw that these units were using poor quality fighting knives, he began working on his own knife design that captured the elements he felt were desirable in a fighting knife. As it began to take shape, he recognized its resemblance to the original Warrior and approached Spyderco with the idea of resurrecting the Warrior design, optimized for his needs and the needs of modern soldiers.

Since Spyderco pioneered the use of serrations on modern knives, it made sense to include a SpyderEdge on the knife. Per Rafaeli's request, the design includes a serrated edge on the back of the blade to support the knife tactics and some of the specialized sentry takedown techniques he teaches. More importantly, however, the serrations maximize the utility of the knife and allow it to power through rope, webbing, and other tough materials with the same power and ease as our hawkbill knives.

Although sentry elimination with a knife looks great in the movies, sensible people understand that the modern solution to this problem--especially for special operations personnel--is a suppressed firearm. As such, even though the serrations were included to provide a degree of specific combative capability, their presence is much more utility oriented.

If you enjoyed this bit of history, you should know that it is just the tip of the iceberg. Given the rich history--and the many myths--surrounding the Warrior design, Sal thought it would be a good idea to include an informational booklet with every knife. Since I have some writing ability and a fair amount of background knowledge, I had the honor of researching and writing it. What started as a "booklet" quickly evolved into a real book that traces Echanis' history, every step in the design and evolution of the original Warrior, Bob Taylor's REKAT era, and the evolution of Guy Rafaeli's Spyderco Warrior.

All Warriors that have been sold to date have included a "coupon" for a copy of the book. Future sales will have the books included in the box with the knife. If there is sufficient interest, it may also be available for sale separately. I am in the final stages of tweaking the text and the photos, so if all goes well, the book should be available around mid March.

With regard to RIOT's request for a pic, how about this one that I shot?



Stay safe,

Mike

[markg]

Thanks Mike.

Reading that makes me ponder.

I often wonder how different the knife world would be if Al Mar had not left us so soon...

[iwolf81]

Unfortunately, one of the problems with such quotes is that irresponsible journalists, attorneys, and politicians look for chances to use them out of context to our detriment...

Michael,

Thank you for reminding us that we do have to be careful about what we say and write. As someone with a background in firearms, I should have been aware of the same necessity for caution with knives.

Thank you for providing background information on the Warrior as well! I'm looking forward to receiving your book(let?) with this knife, once I save up enough money for it. :)

Regards,
Ira

[Halfneck]

While the quote is funny to us, remember someone out there might interpret it very differently. The media is not always your friend - I believe Uncle Sam taught me that.

Regardless, I'm not letting Kristi sneak up on me at BLADE. :D

[Shanklick]

To all:

If you enjoyed this bit of history, you should know that it is just the tip of the iceberg. Given the rich history--and the many myths--surrounding the Warrior design, Sal thought it would be a good idea to include an informational booklet with every knife. Since I have some writing ability and a fair amount of background knowledge, I had the honor of researching and writing it. What started as a "booklet" quickly evolved into a real book that traces Echanis' history, every step in the design and evolution of the original Warrior, Bob Taylor's REKAT era, and the evolution of Guy Rafaeli's Spyderco Warrior.

All Warriors that have been sold to date have included a "coupon" for a copy of the book. Future sales will have the books included in the box with the knife. If there is sufficient interest, it may also be available for sale separately. I am in the final stages of tweaking the text and the photos, so if all goes well, the book should be available around mid March.

I did as much research as I could before buying the Warrior but still had not heard some of the things contained in just your post here. I knew nothing about the historical "booklet" that will eventually come with it until I took the knife out of the box and saw the card to mail in. When I see booklet I don't expect a whole lot but anything extra like this is nice and I mailed the card right away. To hear that it has become more than planned and written by you makes it even more attractive.

Even though I bought it with no knowledge of this being included I think letting customers know about this addition with the with the rest of the sales pitch could only help its potential sales. A line or two of text added seems like very little effort to let a potential customer know about something that in some cases could push them off the fence into the field of purchasing a Warrior. I can also understand you guys wanting to wait until you are sure of the description of what the customer will be getting or wanting to wait until it is officially done and being included with knife but at least at that point it really seems advantageous to make it clear that they will be getting the book as a bonus with their purchase.

In any case, I am even happier about the purchase and am looking forward to getting (what is now) the book even more than I was before. Thanks a lot for the info as always.

[Tonie Nichols]

Mr. Janich,

Thank you so much for sharing the history of the Warrior. I have one of the big black Japanese Warriors and a Hobbit Warrior in green titanium nitride. I'm really looking forward to getting the Spyderco Warrior.