Aluminum, Plastic, Rubber, Wood?

What type of training knife do I need? This is a pretty common question that we run into all the time. Here’s our take on the subject, take it for what it’s worth…

WOOD
Okay, lets start out with wooden knives. These are probably the first type of training knives you purchased when you began your martial arts training. They’re great, economical, light, some people even like the wood grain look, but they also have a few glaring disadvantages. First off, they don’t feel like a real knife. The look, weight, and balance of wooden training knives is nothing like a real knife so you lose a bit of the realism in your training. The second problem I’ve found with wooden training knives is the fact that they splinter fairly easily with hard training. A splinter or gouge on a wooden training blade can be a safety nightmare, I’ve personally been cut open a number of times from a damaged wooden training knife. I think wood has it’s place though, don’t get me wrong. Rattan training knives are great for a cheap alternative for a sparring knife. As long as you’re wearing protective gear, and the wooden knife is maintained properly (no nicks or splintered edges) a wooden training knife is just great. Wooden knives, economical, unique look, good for drilling or sparring (with equipment).

RUBBER/FOAM
Rubber is the other very common material that has been used in the past for training knives. Like wood, rubber knives are very economical, making them an attractive alternative. The big plus to rubber knives is that they are generally very flexible, making high impact thrusts and slashes much safer. Again, you run into the problem of “feel”, rubber knives just don’t feel like a knife. Have you ever tried to perform a disarm with a rubber knife? It’s a joke! The rubber blade bends, and you stand there staring looking like a complete idiot. Not to say that rubber/foam knives don’t have their place, they’re perfect for hard/fast knife sparring with minimal protective equipment (goggles, light gloves). Rubber knives, economical, durable, safe for heavy thrust and slash work, perfect for hard/fast sparring with little or no equipment.

PLASTIC
Plastic training knives are a nice middle ground combining the rigidity of a wooden knife (although they offer slight flexibility) with the lighter feel of a rubber/foam knife. Durability with a plastic knife is also much greater than either wood or rubber. No splinters, no losing it’s shape, no sharp edges. Injection molded plastic knives are awesome. I prefer to use them for moderate to hard contact drilling with light equipment (goggles, gloves, arm guards), and I think it’s a nice alternative for harder sparring with more solid protective equipment (helmet, body protection, arm protection, gloves).
The only disadvantage I see with plastic knives is feel, again, plastic knives just don’t give you the feel of a real knife. They are a lot closer than wood and rubber, but they lack the balance and weight of a metal blade. Plastic knives, economical, durable, good for hard drilling and sparring (with equipment).

ALUMINUM
Okay, this is our specialty, we admit it. We’re not going to sit here and try to sell you on aluminum, if you’re here reading this you already know that aluminum knives are the closest you can get to the real thing. Why aluminum? Realism is the first thing that comes to mind. If you’re training knife, you want a trainer that looks and feels like a real knife, aluminum training knives do, bottom line. There’s a big difference psychologically between working against a wooden knife and working against an aluminum training blade. You see the glint of light off the blade, and I know that at least for me I’m much more serious and focused than I would be if someone were pointing a piece of wood or rubber at me. The feel of an aluminum knife is as close to a real knife as you’re going to get without being cut. The balance is conducive to flipping and grip changes, even cutting with an aluminum knife feels different. The weight of the blade adding a deeper understanding of the feel of actual cutting (to a point). You’re probably not surprised that we’re big promoters of aluminum training blades, but some people may be surprised to hear where we feel they fit in the scheme of things as far as training is concerned. We generally prefer to use aluminum whenever we’re doing solo work, controlled drilling, moderate knife tapping, etc. We’re the first to admit that they’re NOT designed for sparring! There’s no way I’d want to get hit with a full speed thrust to the body with an aluminum training knife, that’s just plain stupid. With proper protective equipment (goggles, gloves, arm guards) we’d suggest only training up to about 50% speed and power, any more and it starts getting dangerous. Aluminum – light to moderate drilling (with equipment).

Lets bring it all together now. As you can see you’ve got a few options as far as edged weapons training equipment is concerned. We feel that all these training knife materials have their place, it just depends on what you’re doing. Wood is great if you’re looking for a cheap training knife alternative, rubber/foam is good for fast hard sparring, plastic is a great for moderate to hard sparring and drilling with equipment, and aluminum is perfect if you want to get as close to the feel of a real knife without getting cut! Take your pick, we use em’ all!

- Greg Smith (2000)

Visit Greg Smith’s website: www.albanythaiboxing.com