Soft rubber training knives are the only knives I advocate for active sparring (with the exception of No Lie marking blades, which are specifically designed for this purpose).  Proper knife sparring requires a degree of energy and speed that makes rigid knives unsafe for this activity.  While soft knives lack the rigidity necessary for realistic disarm practice and do not possess enough weight to simulate the feel of real blades, they are very necessary where practice against a noncompliant training partner is concerned.

Recently, Darren Bogner of Bogner Drill Blades contacted me to see if I would be interested in the Sparring Blade that is his company's most popular model.  Shaped like a guardless Bowie knife with a prominent clip point, the little foam-rubber sparring tool produces a curiously pleasant tactile sensation in the hand.

The "knife" is almost three quarters of an inch thick and about nine and half inches long.  It is quite flexible and will bend in half, taking a slight "set" that can be undone by bending it in the opposite direction.  I bent it back and forth repeatedly at the junction of the "blade" and "handle," producing small crease lines in the foam rubber but doing little in the way of damage.  I also "stabbed" myself repeatedly with the Sparring Blade, producing no noticeable discomfort.  Darren's website suggests using washable paint to mark the "knife" for use in sparring.

The contours of the Sparring Blade fit my large hands well, though the squared "butt" often got in the way of my little finger.  Those with smaller hands will not have this problem.  Even with my somewhat knobby ham-fists, I found the tool quite comfortable.  I think this is attributable to the Sparring Blade's thickness, as much as to any other factor.  That thickness makes the knife safe for thrusts while also (I imagine) lending the foam rubber enough rigidity for firm, perceivable strikes.

I spent some time mulling over the coloring of the Sparring Blade.  It is an attractive and subdued black, which at first glance seems quite desirable.  On further reflection I wondered if a red or orange "training knife" color might not make more sense, but of course one could counter that this is even less realistic and could make the "knife" easier for an opponent to see (as opposed to even a mirror-polished steel knife).

This is a simple tool that need not be any more complicated than it is.  Developing the mechanics of knife fighting is a worthwhile endeavor made easier with proper equipment.