Mouse Knives by Lynn C. Thompson

The legendary Jeff Cooper, Gunsite Instructor and the Father of modern tactical handgun shoot-ing once remarked that he would rather carry a hatchet than a Mouse Gun for self defense. Coo-pers pioneering research and training changed the way we study modern pistolcraft. When it came to guns, he knew what he was talking about.

The phrase Mouse Gun has become almost a term of endearment for small pocket pistols over the years. I myself often use the term to describe smaller firearms in my collection. But its origins stem from dedicated research on the part of Jeff Cooper into the role of a handgun for personal protection. Cooper knew that when examining your self defense options with honesty you must evaluate the limitations as well as the potential of every tool in your arsenal, and a lightweight, low caliber pistol is severely limited in its uses for self defense!

This brings me to the concept of Mouse Knives. Its a phrase Ive been using more and more over the last 5-6 years as Ive watched so called self defense gurus in the media extolling the virtue of their small tactical folders for per-sonal protection.

It has become commonplace to see 2-3" fold-ing knives in the hands of tactical experts in magazines, being sold as the ideal self defense tool but, like Cooper, we must research the true potential of these weapons and tools. We must be intellectually honest and look at the genuine merits and failings of these modern day Mouse Knives. For the purpose of this article, I will define a Mouse Knife as a blade under 4" that is being used for self defense.

Cold SteelsMouse Folders

From Top:Mini Tuff Lite

Tuff LiteMed. Voyager Tanto

Med. Voyager Clip PointRajah III

Hold Out IIICounter Point II

Medium G-10 EspadaMedium Espada

Photos by Mike Barroca

Advantages First and foremost in this list of advantages when discussing small

knives is the law. In many states and countries this blade size is the only legal option. A small knife is politically correct. It is unassum-ing and non-threatening. Its not going to scare people. This isnt always a good thing, but Ill get to that...

They are lightweight. You can comfortably carry a Mouse Knife ev-ery day, even when wearing light summer clothes or a suit. Theres no excuse to not have one by your side. We all know that there is no point in buying something for self defense if it stays in the house. Its with you, and thats a huge plus.

They are easily concealable. The small profile of a Mouse Knife makes it ideal for concealed carry. Its better than fingernails! Any knife is better than no knife at all. When your life is on the line, any advantage, no matter how small, is worth taking!

In a self defense situation they are harder to disarm. A small, light, fast knife is a very difficult thing to see, let alone disarm. Or is it? Ill explore that further in the disadvantages....

Disadvantages Mouse Knives lack punch. They lack the surface volume to make

big, penetrative cuts and thrusts. You simply may not get enough edge on an aggressor wearing heavy clothes to do any significant damage. In that fearful life or death struggle, a scratch may not be enough.

The Mouse Knife has no intimidation factor. They arent scary, no matter how many sexy curves designers add to make them look frightening and those curves, well, many of those curves are often for aesthetics. They dont aid performance. In many cases they actu-ally limit the knifes capabilities.

Limited Grip is also a problem. Its hard to get a strong four finger grip on these little knives. This limited grip is going to cause disarms. This is the flip side to that adage that is commonly shared amongst advocates of small knives for self defense that those quick little knives are impossible to disarm. We have found that when dealing with a smaller knife its easier to get around the steel and to reach, parry, or control the opponents arm. You do not have the comfort of 7 inches of steel between you and the aggressor. Weve also found in our studies and research that while the aggres-sor might have a harder time locking in on your blade, you may possibly disarm yourself - Without a solid grip on that knife with all four fingers you may well lose that blade if you over-swing, mis-judge distance or clash with your opponent. It happens more often than you would believe. Its hard to keep a good hold on a small knife in the mad scramble that is a self defense situation.

Its better than fingernails!

Cold SteelsMouse Folders

From Top:Mini Lawman

Mini AK-47Mini Recon 1

with Spear Point,Clip Point, and

Tanto PointBlade Styles

Lack of range and reach. You are going to struggle to fight and leave unscathed. Again, its an ugly truth, but its the truth. Your blade is too short to equally oppose longer weapons, and its too short to stop people from closing on you. Once they have got control of your knife hand its a whole different game! There are answers to this but you will need a much broader skillset in order to survive that type of encounter unharmed

You cannot adequately block, parry or deflect an opposing weapon with a small knife unless you are exceptionally skilled. Its not enough knife for the job!

Strength. Many thin, lightweight knives on the mar-ket today are simply not strong enough. Their tiny little blades not only have minimal cutting power, but they are supported by weak little locks. As a Kali practitioner I train to de-fang the snake whenever possible. I attempt to cut the aggressors arm or hand in order to disarm him or dissuade him from press-ing the attack. Its a very valid technique that is functional for self defense. In our extensive sparring sessions we found that the shock of impact upon some knives was simply too much for their locks. The lock was actually failing when the blade was hit! This is not acceptable! Its a sad truth, but many of the knives out

there that are being promoted and marketed as tacti-cal tools are not the best self defense option! Again, I implore you to be intellectually honest when it comes to choosing a knife to defend yourselves and your loved ones! If you choose to carry a Mouse Knife for self defense then you must accept that -at best you are MINIMALLY ARMED

Now I can hear many of you saying But Lynn, you MAKE small knives! This is true. I also carry small knives as part of my EDC. Partly this is due to the fact I have studied and trained extensively with smaller knives and I know their limitations and ideal uses. I have trained hard to find the best ways of making them work. And primarily, of course, they are COLD STEEL knives!

Cold Steel and Mouse Knives Anyone who knows me well knows that I have

a passion for Mini Revolvers and Pocket Pistols. In my DVD series Never Unarmed I explore not only their advantages and disadvantages in great depth but I also discuss potential ways to use these firearms for self defense. I always strive for that intellectual hon-

esty and try to explore the pros and cons of every self defense option, and pocket pistols have their place within my personal self defense ethos.

The same can be said for Mouse Knives. I often carry a small folding knife in my shirt breast pocket or attached to my keyring. But it is not the only knife I carry. Depending on where I am going, who I am with and what I am wearing I have been known to carry up to 9 knives at a time. I also regularly carry a large fixed blade (usually a Natchez or Laredo Bowie). You could say that when it comes to EDC and SD carry, I have lots of options and one of them is a Mouse Knife. ___________________

Cold Steel is an international company with friends, fans and customers worldwide. Attitudes and laws in regards to self defense and the use of edged weapons differ the world over. I count amongst my friends individuals who carry spears and machetes as part of their daily EDC. A small folding knife to them is a tool first and rarely considered as a self defense implement. I also have friends and customers who are extremely restricted in their choice of tools for person-al protection, either by law, or personal choice. I make my Mouse Knives for them.

When it comes to designing Cold Steels Mouse Knives I try to overcome as many of the smaller knives natural disadvantages as I can. Whenever possible I try to design my smaller fold-

ing knives in such a way that the user can retain a strong, four finger grip on the handle. I invest a lot of time and research into handle ergonomics while exploring as many grips (ways of holding the knife) as possible. The curves in my knives arent put there for aesthetics, they are for grip. Form always fol-lows function.

Even my smallest knives feature our Tri-Ad Lock. It would be remiss of me to create the sharpest knives without making the strongest ones too. I love my customers fingers! Ive seen too many flashy little pocket knives that make woeful self defense tools but lovely little cigar cutters for your precious digits! The Tri-Ad lock is designed to not only lock up like a bank vault, but to survive the rigours of combat. This is the true purpose of all those spine whacks and over-strike tests. If Im fighting for my life I will try and cut and rake and stab with that knife at every crazy angle I can. Ill hit with the pommel. Ill do anything I can to survive. In that frantic melee the last thing you want is for your knife to collapse and cut your fingers!

I try to make our small Cold Steel knives with blades that are as wide as possible. They not only have the structural strength to survive, but they also have as much surface area as possible to facilitate a deep cut. Look at our knives and compare them to those of my competitors. See the dif-ference in thickness and width? This is why!

With a wide shallow V cross sec-tion or a really high hollow grind the blade can slide in much deeper before it wedges. It has much greater shear-ing potential and it cuts much deeper than a narrow blade. A good example of this is our Mini Tuff Lite. Its re-ally wide with a great hollow grind.

Its a fine example of a lot of cutting potential packed into a small Mouse Knife!

Whenever possible I try to include a serrated option for our small knives. Cold Steels serration pattern is de-signed specifically to grip and rip. Its also one of the few serrations on the market that you can snap cut with. Our serrations bite deep. If youve only got a small knife to save your life, serrations will be a blessing.The 3" Hold Out is my personal favor-

ite Mouse Knife. It has a very wide, flat grind, a beautifully tapered continuous-ly curved cutting edge and a very acute, needle sharp point. It has the incredibly strong Tri-Ad Lock. The handle allows great traction and strong four fingered grip in a variety of hand positions. Plus, its easily concealed and light enough to be carried all day. To me, it may well be the ultimate self defense Mouse Knife

Bigger is BetterAnyone who has seen my Warriors

Edge DVD knows I am a fan of big knives. I have been training to use large fixed blades for many, many years. With a Bowie knife in my hand I feel there is very little in this world to fear.

Cold SteelsFixed BladeMouse Knives

From Top:Mini PalSuper EdgeUrban PalMini Tac SkinnerMini Tac TantoCounter Tac IISafe Maker IISecret EdgeSafe Keeper IIIDouble Agent IDouble Agent II

Not everyone is willing or able to carry a Bowie Knife every day. Not everyone enjoys the freedom I possess to openly carry a large fixed blade knife. This to me is a great shame. The world would be a very different place if every hard working, God fearing soul had a Laredo Bowie on their belt!

I also carry several large folding knives, often XL serrated Vaqueros or Hold Outs. Theres a very simple reason why I love big knives so much and why I pro-mote them so heavily they work! Big knives get the job done! We see it all the time in the world of mixed Martial Arts: Height, weight, strength and reach are all huge advantages. Translated to blades, we see length, weight, strength, sharp-ness and reach. All of which give you the tactical edge. Big knives are scary. They have the fear factor. I know sev-eral people who have stopped a fight by simply pulling an XL Espada from their pocket. The resounding clack of that Tri-Ad Lock and the glint of light along that wicked 7.5" blade will make even the bravest of bad guys think twice before stepping up to cause you harm. Theres a comfort in that.

Big knives do more damage. A well designed, large Cold Steel knife has more cutting edge, more weight and more surface area to inflict massive damage. For example - If you carry an XL Vaquero Voyager (one of my personal favorite folding knives) the width, thickness and length of that knife is potentially three times that of the average EDC. Add to that the extend-ed reach that our Voyagers specially designed grip affords and you are a power!

Im a firm advocate of large knives for self defense. Look at our Spartan series, our XL Voyagers, Our Hold Out I (another personal favorite), the Rajah II and our Espadas. All big, strong, sharp dependable knives that can easily be carried and concealed, yet they have the decisive edge in a true self defense situation.

With a Bowie knife in my hand I feel there is very little in this

world to fearCold SteelsXL Espada

Cold Steels Laredo Bowie

Photo of Mouse Guns

Mouse Guns

Mouse Knife Tactics

There is always a place for Mouse Guns, and Mouse Knives as long as you appreciate and compensate for their limitations. Once again - be honest with yourself! Examine your choice for self defense critically and if you are not willing to use a larger knife then at least invest some time and thought into how to make that small knife work best for you.

Seek out instruction. If at all possible, this is your best op-tion. Find a good instructor and train. Studying Martial Arts is a worthwhile and life changing endeavour. Its always a good thing. It enriches your life and makes you stronger.

If at all possible I suggest training with Guro Ron Balicki (in my opinion hes one of the worlds best!) or any of his M.A.R.S instructors worldwide. I also recommend my War-riors Edge DVD series.

Make a foam training knife (PVC pipe wrapped in furnace foam and duct taped) the same size as the knife you use. Put on some eye protection and find a training partner. Get your partner to feed angles at you. Move around. Try things. Use this safe time to test things out. Learn your strengths and limi-tations as a fighter just as you are learning the strengths and limitations of your knife.

Here are some basic techniques to think about, to try and to explore. This is barely scratching the surface of the possibili-ties that are available to you, but its a great place to start:

Pressure Cuts

Here I enter into Rons cutting attack and momentarily controls Rons knife arm while countering with a pressure cut to the bicep. The

goal here is to sever the bicep and brachial artery. For best results present your edge at an angle to the target and press it in hard and slice down to the bone while being sure to draw your entire edge through the target thereby maximizing the depth and length of the cut. Its gruesome stuff, but we are training for true life or death self defense.

If you must carry a .25 ACP caliber pistol, do not load it. For if you load it, you might use it. And if you shoot somebody with it, and they find out about it, theyre likely to be very upset with you.

Jeff Cooper

Counter Cut Defense

Here I step into Rons slashing attack and counter cut the fingers holding the knife. Then I immediately re-engage Rons knife hand

with my empty hand to pass it to a safer position while I close to get better control and deliver a second disabling cut. Then, if neces-sary I can finish the encounter with a deep thrust to the throat.

Counter Thrusting to Forearm

Here, Ron attempts a cutting attack but I stop-hit the attack with a deep thrust to the forearm followed by a vertical whip to Rons

fingers causing him to lose control of his knife.Stop-hitting with a thrust requires excellent angle recognition and point control. Drilling both of these things with a patient training

partner is a great place to start. Wear some arm protection, use a blunt padded training knife (a foam trainer is ideal) and feed those angles! Slowly and carefully increase speed and intensity. Its a tough technique to master but lightning fast in its simplicity and direct-ness!

Alive Hand Defense #1

I can also augment my short blade with the judicious use of my non-knife hand. Using the edge of the hand to viciously cut into the

wrist or forearm can shock the knife arm momentarily and stop its progress long enough to deliver a counter attack - like this thrust to Rons throat.

Alive Hand Defense #2

Rons thrust to the lower body is intercepted by my palm strike, which pins Rons knife against his hip just long enough for me to

counter with my shorter blade with a thrust under the arm.

Alive Hand Defense #3

When youre armed with a much shorter blade than your opponent you must be prepared to use every tool at your disposal for attack

and defense! Using the bottom of your knife hand as a hammer can put a lot of shock on an attacking limb and disable it long enough for you to close with your opponent and land a telling thrust.

Counter Punching with Alive Hand

If you are well versed in the gunting techniques found in Filipino Martial Arts youll find you are frequently able to use your alive hand to punch an incoming knife hand off line long enough for you to land a counter cut with your shorter blade. For best results practice hitting with both sets of knuckles and with a straight or bent wrist.

Counter Thrusting

If you insist on carrying a knife with a short blade it had better have a substantial handle that you can hang on to, and a dangerously

sharp stabbing point because a counter-thrust against opponents armed with longer weapons will often be your only viable choice.Here, Ron attempts to slash at me. I take a short step forward and to the side and counter thrust with my 3" Hold Out to Rons fin-

gers. The goal is pin one or more fingers against the enemys knife handle and shear them off - thereby substantially weakening his grip. Hopefully doing enough damage (both to his fingers and his courage!) to disarm him.

Pressure Cutting

For maximum effect always try to control your opponents attacking limb while countering with a pressure cut. The goal is to immo-

bilize him for a fraction of a second so that you can press your blade deep into his flesh and draw the entire edge through the target.

Many thanks to Ron Balicki for his assistance.

Food for Thought...One of my aims here at Cold Steel was to

make tough knives that can stand up to any task. If you only had one knife to depend upon, itd be one of ours.

Our Recon 1 series is a prime example of this. A tough, reliable work horse with a multitude of uses. But, if you are also relying on your knife to protect yourself and your loved ones you need to consider how you use it on a daily basis.

EDC (Every Day Carry) and SD (Self De-fense) need not be one and the same. If you only have one knife for every task you need to try and keep it sharp. If you are cutting cardboard and packing material all day in a warehouse or factory then your knife isnt going to be in prime condition to back you up when you need it. Remember, if you only have one knife Keep it sharp!

I believe in the principal of a DEDICATED SELF DEFENSE KNIFE. Many of my employ-ees carry two knives. The Mouse Knife is there for the EDC chores. A secondary knife is there for Self Defense. This is a good option if you are worried about offending or scaring people with a large politically incorrect knife. A big knife can still easily be concealed. Use the small knife in public and keep your self defense knife concealed. You wont scare or intimidate anyone but the bad guy.

The great thing about Mouse Knives (as we ex-plored earlier) is they are small, lightweight and easy to carry. If you are only comfortable carry-ing a small knife or if the law restricts you from carrying anything larger, why not carry two? A knife in each hand is also a big advantage. If you carry two, why not carry three? Use one for those everyday cutting chores and keep two with their factory edge for those what if moments?

In conclusion. Take time to assess your choices for self defense carry. Be intellectually honest Explore whats best for you and what you are comfortable carrying. Go to a local dealer or drop into our showroom in Ventura and try a large Cold Steel folding knife. You may be sur-prised at how easily it carries and how comfort-able (and comforting!) it feels. If you do decide to carry a Mouse Knife. Think honestly about how you could use it when the metal meets the meat. Train hard and stay safe.

Alternatives to Mouse Blades:(From The Top)Counter Point II5 1/2" Paradox4 & 6" Ti LitesHold Out I & IIKobunCounter Tac IRecon IsXL Voyagers Large EspadaSpartan