Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!bu.edu!att!cbnews!cbnews!military
From: rja@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Side arms for Fly boys.
Message-ID: <1990Oct25.151035.1396@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 25 Oct 90 15:10:35 GMT
References: <1990Oct15.033827.12908@cbnews.att.com> <1990Oct18.021255.6938@cbnews.att.com> <1990Oct19.032923.13501@cbnews.att.com> <1990Oct24.150719.15552@cbnews.att.com>
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From: rja@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)

In article <1990Oct24.150719.15552@cbnews.att.com> ntaib@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Nur Iskandar Taib) writes:
+
+I remember reading somewhere that the sawteeth on the back of
+"Rambo" knives started out as a feature meant for hacking one's 
+way out of a crashed aircraft. The cheaper knife manufacturers 
+copied it but now promote them as saws for tree liimbs and such. 
+Wonder why you don't simply use the front edge of the knife to
+do the same thing in a fraction of the time.

	The first survival knife with saw teeth on the back was the
	Randall Model 18.  This was also the first hollow handled survival
	knife.  It was specifically designed for a Vietnam medic.  The
	sawteeth were designed to rip open doors in the side of helicopters.
	While a sharp knife could be used to open such a hole, the ripping
	effect of sawteeth on the soft aluminum skin is probably faster.
	Compare cutting a soda can in half with a knife with a straight
	edge and a sawteeth edge.

	As noted, sawteeth on knives are essentially useless for use on
	wood, since a good knife can chop through wood faster than these
	sawteeth (some of which don't work on wood at all, others of which
	work only bareley).
--
    Robert Allen, rja@sun.com		DISCLAIMER: I disclaim everything.

    "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
     by those who have not got it." -- George Bernard Shaw