Double Edge vs. Pikal

[Squib]

I'd appreciate it if folks would weigh in on a recent Friday night sundowners discussion. A good friend and I both have a few double edged blades among others. However, while we are both aware of the pikal design we have never paid much attention to them, so it's kinda difficult to compare them.

Is a double edge dagger design (Sting, Guardian, etc.) a somewhat limited design, say mostly self defense? Or more of a general use blade? Or both?
Is a pikal almost wholly a self defense design. Do the two blades require different grips and techniques?

Granted a sharp blade can do lots of things, but if I had a dedicated self defense blade I'd forgo whittling, food prep and starting fires. Thanks.

 

[redpitbull44]

The pikal looks like a knife that is sharpened on the wrong side of the blade. Nothing other than that sets it apart. It may have added spine strength in some profiles, but so do tanto, wharncliffe and sheepsfoot designs. Most of them have the handle biased so if you were using a traditional grip the edge would be facing up instead of down. In a reverse grip, the edge would be facing back towards you. This has advantages while picking, and when used in conjunction with certain joint locks and holds. Otherwise I don't see it advantageous at all. For a straight up no other intended purpose fighting knife I'd rather have it a double edge serrated blade about 8" long and 1.5" wide at the base with a root thickness of .25" and a non biased non slip handle with a finger loop pommel.

 

[grunt soldier]

the pikal is a amazing defensive design. it allows you to use very strong muscles to pull and rip with. It is a great gun grab weapon. you use it much like a singer sewing machine stabbing and stabbing. it's a great defensive weapon but doesn't serve any other purpose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sk7B-XXCJY

 

[TiminMishawaka]

Every couple years some new knife design has to come out and reinvent the wheel. I remember about 4 or so years ago when it was the karambit that was going to revolutionize all knife fighting as we know it. The truth is that ever since a caveman chipped a long arrowhead and figured out a double edge blade goes in easy and cuts vital organs efficiently, the design has worked.