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Tools and Equipment

Fighting Knife

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A fighting knife is a knife whose blade is designed to inflict injury as effectively as possible in a close quarters physical confrontation. Historically it was conceived as a single purpose weapon for hand to hand combat, and the category includes military types such as the combat knife and the trench knife. Since the First World War, military fighting knives have increasingly become dual purpose, serving as combat weapons and as utility tools. The terms fighting knife and tactical knife are now often used interchangeably, though a tactical knife is designed principally as a utility tool rather than a weapon. Well known examples include the KA-BAR and the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Introduced When (Circa)
since Paleolithic times (stone and flint utility knives used in combat); earliest metal fighting knives were Bronze Age daggers of the Beaker period, circa 2500-2000 BC 1
Origin
A Beaker period (circa 2500-2000 BC) copper dagger blade recovered from the Sillees River near Ross Lough, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland in 1984 is among the earliest known metal-bladed fighting knives, a flat triangular blade with an integral tang for a riveted handle. 1
Introduced era (class)
Stone Age 1
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Fighting knife (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Ancient history section, first sentence
    Utility knives with stone or flint blades have been used in personal combat since Paleolithic times.
  • Ancient history section, Sillees River find sentence
    In 1984, a Beaker period (ca. 2500-2000 BC) copper dagger blade was recovered from the Sillees River near Ross Lough, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland that had a remarkably modern appearance.
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