# DART Knife



## KPM (Feb 17, 2017)

Just got one of these!

FOX DART XT Tanto Black G10 Fighting Knife Emerson Wave (Size: M - XL)


I like it!  Combination of a short Tanto Blade with a Ring hilt from a Karambit is exactly what I've been looking for!  I cut my teeth on Jim Keating's reverse grip "Drawpoint" method a couple of decades ago and updated it with Mike Janich's material a few years later.  IMHO, this is the perfect knife for that method!  The one thing I haven't particularly liked about Karambits was that they are not very good for thrusts and the hook can actually catch on thicker clothing and prevent you from flowing through a cut.  What I did like was the ring!  So for me, this is exactly what I was looking for, and there is also a training version available!

I like Doug Marcaida.  I'm a big fan of his on the "Forged in Fire" show.  I got the DVD and it is "ok."  If I didn't have the training background I have it might have impressed me more.   His "clock method" is simply a way to look at the angles typically taught in FMAs.  You picture a clockface in front of you and practice slashes or thrusts from 3 o'clock thru center, 11 o'clock thru center, etc.


----------



## drop bear (Feb 18, 2017)

is the liner dodgy like on the fox karambit?


----------



## KPM (Feb 18, 2017)

drop bear said:


> is the liner dodgy like on the fox karambit?



I never had the Fox karambit, but the Dart is made by the same people.  However, it seems to lock up nice and secure when opened to me.  What the website doesn't seem to show is that they have added a manual locking system as well.  There is a button at the back of the handle near the blade junction that falls right at your thumb when holding the knife in a forward grip.  So you can easily press it forward and it locks the blade in an open position.

I will say....I have a Karambit trainer that is a Chinese knock-off of the Fox Karambit.  Now I wouldn't use it to compare construction quality  with the Dart since it is a Chinese knock off.  But, assuming the knock off is a faithful reproduction of the dimensions and shape of the Fox Karambit......the handle is too long and does not fit my hand well.  If you have finger through the ring the whole thing indexes wrong for the size of my hand.  And I would say I'm probably "average" size.  Its like the thing was designed for someone with hands the size of an NFL linebacker!   This is NOT true of the Dart.  It is smaller and fits my hand perfectly!


----------



## Brian R. VanCise (Feb 18, 2017)

Hey drop bear the liner is dodgy just like the fox kerambit...

The big issue is the retainer clip is made so cheaply mine wore out in a month.


----------



## KPM (Feb 18, 2017)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> Hey drop bear the liner is dodgy just like the fox kerambit...
> 
> The big issue is the retainer clip is made so cheaply mine wore out in a month.



Sorry to hear that!  Is there a fix for it?


----------



## drop bear (Feb 18, 2017)

KPM said:


> Sorry to hear that!  Is there a fix for it?



I dont do defensive knives. But at one point there I looked into them as a mental exercise. Because of the whole martial arts training. Rather than ever carrying a knife for self defence.

To fix the Karambit they put a secondary lock on the thing. But then it just becomes more complicated to use.

The fix is you buy a spyderco or something. I dont know where you go if you are desperate for the handle ring. (Acustom would not be outrageous.) I dont envisage doing anything other than high volume stabbing or slashing with a defensive knife. And plenty of knives do that well for stuff all money.
CRKT M16





Or a Tie lite which is just an outright murder weapon of death killing.






I mean $49 aparently. probably $80 over this side. comes with a pointy stab point. The blade sits in the body fairly flush so you can beat heads easily with it closed. Opens fast. Closes fast. Sits in the pocket without a big ring sticking out. And the one I had I couldn't break the liner without going nuts.

Reasonably made liners will hold up Ok ish. you can get stronger locks. It just depends what you plan on doing with it.






Now my issue with a lock on a defensive blade is quite simply I dont want it to close mid furious shanking.


----------



## Brian R. VanCise (Feb 18, 2017)

What I did was to transfer a good clip made out of quality steel from another knife onto it.


----------



## KPM (Dec 16, 2018)

Just wanted to give an update.   Been carrying my DART knife daily for a year and a half now with no problems at all.  Whatever problem they may have had in the past was obviously fixed long ago!


----------

