Gear Review – Toor Knives

I own a lot of knives. I mean, A LOT of knives. As a martial artist, I’m interested in knives. As a United States Marine (Once a Marine…you know, the thing), I’m VERY interested in knife combat. In the fantastic “Gray Man” book series, Courtland Gentry frequently remarks “If I have a knife, I can always get a gun”, and he’s not wrong.

In fact, as I’m writing TW-04 Scouting and Patrolling, I wrote into it the need for lead scouts to have a quality COMBAT knife. Not a camp knife that is used improperly for combat, a real COMBAT knife. This is a problem that has plagued military forces for decades.

The Fairbairn-Sykes knife was the first attempt to create a dedicated combat knife that wasn’t either a field/camp knife or a bayonet. It was small, concealable, and lightweight. It was a good knife, but not perfect.

Connor Toor, also a United States Marine, felt the same way. The USMC Bayonet, by Ontario knife (see below), is a fine bayonet and a good combat knife, but it isn’t purpose built for knife fighting. What was needed were small, lightweight blades with the sole purpose of being a combat knife. This is where Connor created Toor knives.

When he sent me the Anaconda, I loved the presentation box and the knife was absolutely gorgeous in the box. However, I can’t tell you how many knives I’ve taken out of the pretty box and found to be absolutely junk or “fair” at best. The first indication was the tube of “Froglube” with the knife. It meant that the knife builder knew it was a precision tool that needed to be taken care of. I was impressed, but not sold yet.

The knife comes with a Kydex sheath, but without a belt clip. To me, this is a feature, not a bug. This means I can decide how and where to mount it. Any time you talk about carrying knives, you need to understand your local laws. The Anaconda has a 3.75″ blade, so in Michigan, that means it can’t be concealed; it has to be open-carried, or plainly visible.

The simple solution for me was to mount it on the left shoulder strap of my “Get Home Bag”. This kept it handy, but also assured that I wouldn’t accidentally violate any laws by covering it up with a jacket. The knife, while feeling very substantial in your hand, doesn’t add any significant weight to my backpack. Purely for research purposes, because I’m 100% a law & order guy (wink-wink), I did also mount it on my belt and see how concealable it was. The knife melts into your cover clothing and disappears.

The large ring on the handle end allows you to draw quickly from concealment or the shoulder strap mount quickly and is big enough to fit a finger wearing gloves, which I like. The minute a WROL/SHTF situation begins, I’ll be wearing gloves the majority of the time.

It also mounted seamlessly to my War-Belt and my Ex Umbris Designs (https://exumbrisdesigns.com/) belts.

I spent a few days training in knife combat with it and that’s where this knife excels. It is indeed a true COMBAT knife, custom designed to fit in your hand securely while you are twisting and whipping it around. You can transition grips quickly and its balance means that combination strikes flow with it. If you’ve never truly done any knife training, you might not know what I mean there, but true warriors get it. It flows.

I have a confession to make here. I’m somewhat of an action movie junkie, so I love to try unrealistic things with my knives. Yes, that one. I threw the knife. A LOT. Yep, it’s unrealistic as heck. I admit it. But this knife, 9 times out of 10, hit the target tip first and sunk deeply. I know, Toor is never going to send me another knife when he finds out the dumb abuse I subjected it to, right?

Being pragmatic, I also tested the knife on survival uses, because every knife you carry in your gear may have to be pressed into service for survival. Although it is good at survival tasks if it is pressed into service, this isn’t really meant to be a survival or camp knife. The thick blade and quality steel make it a workhorse.

I also tested its ability to…how shall I put it…”slice meat”? Yeah, that’s it. Using some meat, I slashed with it and it opened deep cuts in the meat. Great for BBQ’s, I guess.

Straight out of the box, the Anaconda is razor sharp.

It’s a pricey knife at $275, but what’s your life worth? It’s not a camp knife, it’s a COMBAT knife and is just as important as that handgun and rifle you don’t hesitate to drop cash on at a moment’s notice. If you’ve been following my writing at all, you’ll know I’m not a “gucci gear” guy, so trust me when I say that this knife is worth every penny.

For the record, even Jesus says you need a knife, which is our Tactical Wisdom today:

…if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.

Luke 22:36b

Check out the selection of Toor Knives at: https://toorknives.com/

If you like our content and would like to support our work, please make a donation below.