BORELLI CONSULTING: Tactical Equipment Reviews

Extrema Ratio - Col Moschin Combat Knife
By: Frank Borelli, 8 August 2005

When I first saw the name of this blade, I thought it was "Col." as in the abbreviation for Colonel. Not so. Apparently, "Col" is an Italian term that means "hill" (or something similar). The site, Col Moschin, is historically significant in Italy, much as we Americans look at Iwo Jima or the Beaches at Normandy. They are places where our troops have proven themselves defenders of freedom against the worst odds. Col Moschin holds a similar value to Italian soldiers.

The Col Moschin knife was specifically designed and developed for the 9th Reggimento D'Assalto Paracadutisti, nicknamed the "Col Moschin" unit and considered the elite of the Folgore brigade. What does all that mean in English? As much as I had to look it up (and me with an Italian last name) it's the 9th Parachute Assault Regiment. Now consider this: If someone was asked to design a knife for the 82nd or 101st Airborne, we'd expect it to be one heck of a knife wouldn't we? Well, the Col Moschin is. Let's take a look.

Understand that since Extrema Ratio knives are made in Italy all of the measurements are in metric terms. For the basic information, I'll express everything in metric and then have the Imperial equivalent in parenthesis immediately afterward. For example, the blade length is 160mm (6.3"). Get it? Cool.

So, the blade length is 160mm (6.3") and the handle is 130mm (5.11") giving an overall length of 290mm (11.41"). Total weight is 260 grams (9.17 oz). Blade thickness is 6.3mm (.25") and it's made out of N690 stainless cobalt steel. Extrema Ratio uses N690 in the large majority of its knives because the additional cobalt content adds strength to the blade.

Is the size sufficient for the intended purpose(s)? I believe so. As I said above, the knife was specifically designed to serve an Italian Special Operations group. That means (to me) that the knife would have to serve as a utilitarian cutting tool, but also be suitable for combat. How long does a combat blade have to be? While I had one edged weapons instructor teach me that a two-inch blade was more than sufficient for a fighting knife, I've had other instructors teach me that a blade has to be at least six inches long. What's the difference? The intended attack method.

The instructor who taught the two-inch blade exclusively taught folding lockblade knives. From his point of view, a two-inch blade was as useful as a four or five inch blade. His reasoning was simple: his attacks targeted the brain through the eye-socket, the abdominal floor through the groin, or the spinal cord inbetween the cervical vertebrae. For all of his attacks, the two-inch blade and three to four inch handle made a sufficient weapon.

The instructor who taught the six-inch blade length as a minimum intended to use the knife as a leveraging tool after he'd penetrated the enemy's body with it. For example, if you punch the knife down through the clavicular recess (immediately behind the clavical or collar bone on either side), then you could do two things:

1) You had sufficient blade length to puncture the aortal bubble / pericardial sack causing immediate injury to the heart, and

2) You effectively had a steel bar stuck into the enemy's skeletal structure with which you could push or pull him.

Given the nature of the work this knife was designed to support, I'd say the 6.3" blade is justified. The blade shape itself is also designed to support such (necessarily) violent work. The modified drop point is exactly at the end of the full-thickness blade. Though the blade itself is beveled both top and bottom (almost forming a spear point shape), the spine is not sharpened. The result of this design, however, is that the blade retains its full thickness to within 1/2" of the tip. That retained thickness means added strength closer to the fighting tip where breaks most often occur.

Further, the blade shape is what I'd like to refer to as "a soft Tanto". It doesn't have the sharp angle on it like a Tanto blade does, but neither does it have a radiused curve like a Bowie blade. It's like a Tanto blade that just has the angle softened some. It's very effective for thrusting, and the full hilt secures the hand on the grips to prevent slippage during such an action. The grips are Kraton (rubber) and secured to the tang by Allen head screws. A lanyard loop hole is provided.

The sheath is constructed of rigid ABS polymer and provides three types of retention:

1) The sheath itself fits the knife blade very well. Plain friction with a fully sheathed knife will keep this knife from falling out during normal activities.

2) On the back of the sheath, directly above the mouth, is a nub that protrudes. This nub locks into the grip recesses when the knife is fully sheathed. This security feature is sufficient to keep the knife in the sheath even during vigorous activities or while upside down.

3) The third restraining device is the thumbstrap, referred to by Extrema Ratio as a "Security Lace". It is reversible so that the snaps open in either direction, making it convenient for either right or left handed users.

That's all well and good, right? But how well does it do what it was designed for? Well, I can't say I could test it by thrusting it into an enemy's clavicular recess. However, my typical testing cuts are always available. Out in my backyard I attacked every type of rope, cord, twine, etc that I could find. The Col Moschin had no trouble cutting any of them. Done with that, I punched it into a five-gallon plastic bucket full of mud. Why mud? It was thicker than water and less likely to splash all over me. Further, since it's thicker than water it provides a greater resistance to the back surface being punctured. With a good thrust I could push about four inches of the blade into the thick plastic wall. Suction made it a little more difficult to pull out, but I managed. What else could I do? Looking around I found a collection of branches that my sons had piled up in one corner of the yard waiting for me to take them away. The knife wasn't designed necessarily for chopping, but it worked pretty well anyway.

As a final test, thanks to a writer / mentor / friend of mine, I used the abused knife to cut a tomato. I really wasn't expecting it to cut that tomato cleanly given what I'd just put it through - but it did okay. Certainly a sharp thin-bladed kitchen knife would have done better. But given what I'd just subjected the Col Moschin to, I thought it did well cutting the tomato at all.

So, designed for Special Forces use in combat, the knife is also about the perfect size for camping, hunting or general utility. The sheath provides excellent safety and retention. All around, an excellent blade. To purchase yours (if you're anywhere in North America), visit http://www.italianblade.com. Remember that you get what you pay for - because they aren't cheap. But if your mission or your life depend on the strength of your knife... this is one you can count on.

Be safe!

Also, don't forget to read the new Recreational Equipment Evaluations:

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Check out this week's Highlighted Training Article about The Next Evolution of Active Shooter Training.

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