Guy with a combat knife vs guy with a baseball bat

I'm going to have to go with the baseball bat just because I wouldn't use such a shitty knife on principle.

but may I present an alternative option...

This should be street legal everywhere, It won't attract any undue attention and it's basically a medieval mace.

Knives has the advantage that once in range, you cant effectively block the attack. It's too small and fast. I know there are people who promote techniques for knife fighting where you can block/parry knife attacks and all that, but honestly that's a bunch of b.s.

Also, each attack does basically the same damage, while with a bat the first attack does a lot of damage (if the guy winds up and does a full swing), but subsequent attacks will have much less power unless he has the time to do another wind-up. If you rush and get inside his bat's range, then he cant really do that much damage and he'll probably just have to drop the bat to be able to fully use his hand for grappling or punching.

Ok

But @heroup2112 has more practical experience with this type of thing, so I'll defer to him on whether everything I said is always true in practice. I'm just saying that if I was in that fight and I had the knife, I'd rush the guy hopefully right away before he can wind up, or after he finishes a first swing. And if I happened to be the guy with the bat, I'd be very afraid.

It seems to me that there is little room for error for either side and there is a good chance of a double KO. I'm honestly really on the fence for this one.

@wut, @jagernutt,

In the interest of fairness and transparency...I asked my best friend (we live pretty far apart but still both in Texas) who is a former Marine (of the ten feet tall and bullet proof variety lol), former corrections officer (he talked me into applying...I still think it was payback for me introducing him to his...now, not at the time...ex-wife), and all around badass, and someone who's opinion I HIGHLY respect in hand to hand and melee combat.

He didn't have long to talk but he was definitely on the side of bat.

Take our opinions for what they're worth. :)

EDIT: I forgot...he's also a Desert Storm combat veteran.

+1

Out of curiosity, when you talked to him, did you ask him which weapon he personally would choose, or which would be best in general for opponents with equal skill?

I facebook messaged him and asked which he'd choose in a fight, baseball bat or combat knife. He must have been busy because all he messaged back was "bat". If I think he's not busy I'll message him another time.

Ok, yeah. Of course those are two different questions. If someone is already familiar with a bat-type weapon and has skill or just comfort with it, then going with that makes sense. Also, a bat benefits from the wielder being big/strong, because he can swing it harder and faster. For a smaller person, you dont get much power from a bat unless you really wind up and do a full swing. So for that person, the combat knife would be clearly superior, IMO.

All else being equil, I would take the bat.

Bat strengths.

• The range advantage is amazing. With proper use, the bat can help you create a lot of space between you and the opponent. If you just swing it rapidly, the enemy may not land a single hit on you, while you can, with some luck.
• A good hit from a bat to the head will kill you instantly, more indirect hits can still do a lot of damage, break bones and what not.
• While knife slashes may not really hinder the functions of the places they hit, a bat swing to the arm = the arm is useless, a swing to the leg = you cannot walk.
• Bat is much more intuitive to use - just swing it with all of your strength. Slicing with a knife can be a little tricky, choosing the right time and angle is a hard task, and the footwork must be on point, plus picking the right place to slice to do lethal damage is required. Otherwise, the target may get some cuts and that is all.
• Finally, the strongest argument for the bat is forgotten - the knife can simply get stuck in it. One wrong, not the most precise slice is required, and your enemy loses his knife and has no weapon. Additionally, you get an extra tool at your disposal.
• People tend to underestimate the speed that a bat can be swung with, so they may not see the first hit coming so soon.
• More of a downside of a knife, but a bat can never get stuck inside you, while a knife can, if your opponent slashes the more bulky and meaty part of your body.
• Knife is a bloody weapon, some people really hate blood all over the place, including themselves, the bat is much more forgiving in this regard.

Knife strengths.

• A knife is faster to attack with than a bat, so with the right skill, you can probably dish more damage out.
• Knife can be used as a great thrown weapon, not many people can react to it, or expect this action. If you have good accuracy, the enemy may die to a knife to the head. The drawback of this tactic is that if the enemy dodges the knife, or you missed him, then you lose your weapon until you pick it up, which may never happen, due to you throwing it too far, or the enemy picking it up and using it against you.
• A knife fits much better into your fighting style, if you know one. The knife attacks fast, and a combination of some rapid slashes, punches and kicks never left anyone unimpressed.
• Knife wounds are much deadlier in the long term. From all of the slashes you will be bleeding a LOT, and if the knife wielder runs away and prolongs the fight, he can easily get an auto win. But this would take an hour, or slighly less, it depends on the ammoun and severity of cuts and slashes you inflicted.
• While most knife slashes do not compare in lethality to a good bat swing, slicing the throat or head of your opponent is an instant kill.
• A knife is much more of a stealthy weapon, you may hide it in your sleeve, and, when the enemy thinks you have no weapon, you go for a quick slash to the throat. A surprise attack is a risky, but a rewarding action.
• Using a knife requires you to use one hand, the other hand is free to do other actions, some for offense, like punching, grappling and tearing.
• If you get to fight close quarters style, then the bat wielder has not as many options of dealing with you, as you have to deal with him. Of course, to get to this point, you have to bypass the range advantage of the enemy.

Gonna go with the bat. All advantages of the knife I brought up only really work if you know how to properly wield the weapon, while most bat qualities can be used even by non/skilled humans.

Baseball bat only if it is metal. Wooden bats break on baseballs, wouldn’t want that.

@cable_extreme: Like a knife is gonna break it...

@tenguswordsman: if it breaks when hitting someone’s arm or something... you have no weapon. Look more into statements.

I would take the knife and smash it to pieces with the bat and then get a shard of the knife and hold it over my opponents heart. Then I would Smash her over the head with the bat.

Bat 10/10

Knife. The moment he's about to hit me with the bat, I just block it with the knife, splitting the bat in half. Then I just stab him effortlessly.

I bet that's what @abstractraze would do as well!

@jucaslucasa: Lol.

And you are not gonna slash much harder than that, and the wood of the bat is more refined and slighlty more durable, and the bat is much THICKER.

@tenguswordsman: That could be a good point, but you're forgetting something important: he's the one attacking. It's obvious that someone swinging a bat would be able to put a lot more force in the attack than someone stabbing wood with a knife.

I'm going to use all that strength against him. I just have to manage to keep the knife still while the bat cuts itself in half while hitting it.

When people doubt the effectiveness of a large caliber man swinging a baseball bat, show them these pictures:

If gta has taught me anything, always bet on the guy with the longest reach.

I beat a guy with combat knife with bat before. But, in this case, I would say the guy with a knife.

It looks like you've watched way too many movies, lol.

There are so many reasons that wouldn't work.

@bruceveidt: Then explain those reasons, Ben.

Why Ben?

Anyhow. You're not keeping a knife still in the air against a full force swing of the bat, unless you're MUCH much stronger than the opponent, and even then, you'd have to hold the knife by the blade and not the handle, which would result in your fingers getting severely injured.

The bat would still not break as shown by Tenguswordsman.

@bruceveidt:Mike, then?

I don't really need that much strength, the force of the blow alone will be its own downfall. The bat will be hitting so hard that it'll just cut itself in half, all I need to do is hold the knife still and most of the force of the blow will keep going with the bat as it passes through the knife. Then I just stab the dude.

Why Mike?

And no, the blow would push both your arms back and you'd just hit yourself.

It's a combat knife, not a Hattori Hanzo katana, lol.

There is no way anyone could hold a knife still as someone hits it with a baseball bat. The knife would want to rotate and would most likely fly out of your hand while also injuring your wrist with the sharp rotation. Not only that but knives are horrible at chopping wood, swing a combat knife at full swing on a stationary bat and you would likely do more damage to your wrist than to the actual bat. Especially since both of the guys are untrained.

The best way to do it is to dodge or try to use your arms to block the bat from hitting vital areas. The bat could break on its own after hitting someones arm, but there is no way to cut through it with a combat knife unless you spend 3-5 minutes chopping it.