Combat knife

There is more information available on this subject at Combat knife on the English Wikipedia.

This article is about the UNSC weapon. For other uses, see Knife.

Various combat knife types. All manufactured by Misriah Armory.

"A sharp blade never runs out of ammo, doesn't need to recharge, and can't be disabled by EMP. It can be gripped even when mortally wounded and the Mjolnir's power has failed. It can never betray you or be turned by the Flood. And yet, some in the UNSC are surprised by the rapid adoption and popularity of knife-fighting skills among Spartans."

— An observation regarding Spartan combat knife use.^[1]

A combat knife is a knife designed for close-quarters combat. They are primarily used for trench warfare and boarding actions.^[2]

The Covenant use knives as well; the Jiralhanae use their own combat knives as well as a multitude of bayonet-like blades. The Sangheili sometimes use curveblades, which inspired the design of the Type-1 energy sword. The blamite-bladed energy cutlass is an analogous weapon used by the Kig-Yar.^[3]^[4]

Overview

The M1 combat knife.

Design details

One version of the UNSC's multi-purpose combat knife has a 20-centimeter (7.9 in) blade made of high carbon steel, an anti-flash, non-reflective titanium carbide coating, edge coated for corrosion resistance and is 43.3 centimeters (1 ft 5.0 in) long when sheathed. It is also balanced for throwing.^[5] The Spartan-IIIs' standard-issue combat knife features a self-sharpening blade made of a hyperdense material.^[6] Modern UNSC combat knives are made of strong enough material to pierce a Spartan's helmet,^[7] and the hull of a Lich.^[8]

The placement of the combat knife sheath varies depending on the combat uniform and individual loadout, and may be kept, for example, on the shoulder with the handle pointing downward,^[9] sideways on the lower back,^[10] or on the side of the boot.^[11] Some Spartan-IVs keep their knives sheathed in a wrist compartment.^[12]

There are a few different manufacturers of combat knives for the UNSC, including Watershed Division^[13]^[9] and Misriah Armory.^[2]^[14]^[15]^[16] In some cases, the Misriah logo was printed on the knife blade.^[2]

Usage

Some soldiers in service with the UNSC carry a combat knife of their own design or choice. Major Faison had a very large knife that he kept sheathed at his ankle, with the words "Bug-Hunter" engraved on the blade.^[17] Emile-A239 used a large kukri for his weapon of choice.^[18] Roland-B210, a member of the SPARTAN-III program's Headhunters division, also used a custom combat knife.^[19] Frederic-104 possesses particular skill with combat knives, and it can be interpreted that he has a liking for their use.^[20]^[21] During the Battle of Trove, Sergeant John Forge's combat knife "Lucy" was used to seriously wound Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee, allowing Forge to kill 'Moramee with his own energy sword.^[22]

During the Human-Covenant war, the Thornblade would cease production for cost reasons. A small stockpile of them were kept by Team Omega following the Battle for Arcadia.^[9]

During the Battle of Kamchatka, Spartan Jameson Locke uses his combat knife to fight and kill Jul 'Mdama the leader of the reformed Covenant.^[23]

Variants

Large-scale manufacturing and broad leeway with usage means there are hundreds of variations available to UNSC personnel including kukris, ulus, billhooks, and push daggers.^[2]

Lucy: The combat knife in possession of John Forge.^[24]
M1 combat knife: A combat knife used by UNSC personnel during the end of the Human-Covenant War.^[14]
M5 combat knife: The most common knife in service across all UNSC branches. It has an operational history of decades.^[2]
M11 combat knife: A combat knife designed and built for Spartans.^[25]^[13]
MK 88 Ratio: A compact survival and utility knife commonly carried by UNSC and militia forces.^[15]
Model 52 Navy knife: A large knife preferred by UNSC Navy special forces.^[16]
Thornblade: An advanced experimental blade manufactured by Watershed Division that requires a charge, but ceased production during the Human-Covenant War due to cost.^[26]^[9]

An M1 combat knife and its scabbard.
An M11 combat knife.
An MK88 knife.
A TAC/Model 52 Navy knife.
A kukri.
A Thornblade

Non-canon and dubious canon appearances

Fracture: Entrenched

This article contains information from the Entrenched Fractures universe, and is not a part of the established Halo canon. To learn more information about the Entrenched universe, see its article.

Knives are used throughout the Entrenched Fracture. Different types can be seen on the EAGLESTRIKE armors.

A trench knife attached to an Eaglestrike chestpiece.
A combat knife attached to a Grognards shoulder.
2 combat knives part of the Twin Teeth utility.

Fracture: Firewall

This article contains information from the Firewall Fractures universe, and is not a part of the established Halo canon. To learn more information about the Firewall universe, see its article.

The Executors of the Firewall Fracture are sometimes equipped with resonating crysknives, which come in various sizes.

A Flayer Cryknife attached to a Chimera shoulder.
A resonating crysknife utility.

Fracture: Tenrai

This article contains information from the Tenrai Fractures universe, and is not a part of the established Halo canon. To learn more information about the Tenrai universe, see its article.

Knives are used throughout the Tenrai Fracture. Different types can be seen on the Yoroi armors.

Throwing knives on the Yoroi Kunai of the Hidden Hand chestpiece.
Sais on the Twin Dragons chestpiece.

Gameplay

When performing an assassination, any knives placed on armor will not be used. This can be seen in Theater: despite using a knife to assassinate your opponent, it still appears sheathed on your chest.

Gallery

A combat knife holstered on an ODST's shoulder from Halo: Landfall.
An unknown type of knife on the CQB-class Mjolnir chestpiece in Halo 3.
Edward Buck wielding a combat knife as he is about to stab a Jiralhanae Chieftain in the neck, in Halo 3: ODST.
Detail of Edward Buck's combat knife.
Frederic-104 holding a pair of combat knives, his weapons of proficiency, in The Package.
James MacCraw holding his combat knife in The Mona Lisa.
Jonah-B283 wielding his combat knife in Headhunters.
Emile-A239 sharpening his kukri in Halo: Reach.
An in-game screenshot of an M1 combat knife.
John-117 using his combat knife to grapple onto the hull of a Kmiro'sish-pattern Lich.
TJ Murphy equipped with a knife.
Sarah Palmer killing Vladimir Scruggs with a combat knife in Halo: Escalation.
A combat knife holstered on an ODST's back in Halo 2: Anniversary.
A Spartan-IV using a combat knife on an opponent in the HCS season 2 trailer.
Jameson Locke killing Jul 'Mdama with a combat knife in Halo 5: Guardians.
John-117 killing a Sangheili Storm with a combat knife in Halo: Tales from Slipspace.
Douglas-042's combat knife embedded in Atriox's power armor in Halo Wars 2.
Sergeant Kress using a combat knife in a final showdown with Atriox in Halo: Rise of Atriox.
A UNSC Marine wearing a combat knife in Halo Infinite.
Three combat knives on the MJOLNIR Mark VII TAC/Letter Openers chestpiece.
2 Thornblades in a portable charger as part of the TAC/Thornblade Brace shoulder.
Three different knives as part of the Cut To The Quick utility.
A combat knife on the TAC/Crys flatblade shoulder.
A combat knife on the Rakshasa TAC/CMA M-25 chestpiece.
Combat knives on the Brace of Blades utility.
A knife on the OSTEO combat engineering suit Lifeguard Doc chestpiece.
A knife on the MJOLNIR Mark IV TAC/Dueling Gorget chestpiece.
A knife on the IMA/Garita Omega Sykes shoulder.
A knife on the TAC/Garita Omega shoulder.
A knife on the TAC/Best Friend shoulder.
A knife on the TAC/Sykes Delta shoulder.
Jai-006 equipped with a M1 knife.
Mark-G313 with an unknown type of knife.
Knife on the UA/Eloric chest.