Benchmade SOCP Review and Tips
Rob PincusDescription
The Benchmade SOCP is a defensive dagger-type knife. It can be used in a downward motion if you’re in close quarters. It can also be drawn in a more traditional grip and used as a forward point coming up into a close-quarters attack while in contact, or driving out, or even slashing and cutting.
SOCP as Backup to a Firearm Carried Centerline
The Benchmade SOCP also makes a great backup defensive tool to a firearm. You can transition from the SOCP to a firearm when you have the opportunity without dropping or resheathing the knife. This video shows how to do that, first with a handgun carried centerline (appendix carry) and the knife in a side or back pocket on the strong side. If an attacker grabs you around the middle and prevents you from accessing your handgun, draw the SOCP and affect him from the outside. With this method of knife defense, by stabbing or slashing the attacker in the midsection, arm or underarm, the goals are to make him release his grip and create space between you.
If the attacker still presents a lethal threat, without dropping the Benchmade SOCP, you can transition to the handgun, either in a contact position or driving out into a shooting position, if there is enough distance.
Firearm Carried Strong-Side Hip
If you carry this way, the Benchmade SOCP will most likely be carried on your weak side. If your dominant hand is encumbered, draw the SOCP with your weak hand and affect the bad guy with it, again in order to create space.
The SOCP is available in a training version so you can do these moves without risk of injury during self-defense training and practice. Ingrain these moves so you’ll be ready to deploy the Benchmade SOCP if you need it.
You may know that I'm a fan of the Benchmade SOCP as a defensive knife. This is a defensive dagger type knife that can be used either in a dagger type downward motion. If you're in close quarters coming in towards your body or down into a threat that is right in front of you or it can also be drawn in a more traditional kind of grip and used as a forward point coming up into a close quarters attack while in contact or driving out or even slashing and cutting. Well, this knife also makes a great backup or a complimentary defensive tool to a firearm. And one of the nice things about it is that you can actually transition from the knife to the firearm. When you have the opportunity without dropping the knife or needing to put it back into a chip let's take a look at how that might work. I normally carry center line. So I've got a gun here inside the waistband center line, appendix carry. If someone were to come in and clinch me grab me around the middle and keep me from being able to get to my center line, carry defensive gun. What I might be able to do is come down draw my SOCP and affect the bad guy from the outside. So if you picture someone here hugging me around the waist, keeping me from getting to this firearm. And I would be able to use this, to affect them into the midsection, affect them up into their arm maybe into the underarm area and create some space. If they still presented a lethal threat at this point without having to get rid of the knife, I could transition to the firearm either in a contact position or driving out into a shooting position. If there was enough distance maybe there was a second threat. Maybe that threat then went to a knife, went to a gun. There was some other reason why I needed to escalate from the blade or from unarmed defense to the firearm. You can see that I can do that with the knife in my hand. Now, if you don't carry center line, you may find yourself in a situation where if we switched the training model of both the SOCP and this training firearm that I have if we have a traditional setup where you're carrying on your strong side, maybe on your hip somewhere around a four o'clock or five o'clock and you carry your defensive knife on the weak side. Now you're in a situation where if this hand becomes encumbered, this hand is maybe holding off a knife attack or some other type of lethal attack maybe controlling a gun. Maybe someone has reached around your waist and grabbed your gun and you're actually pinning your gun into your holster or wherever you're carrying it. At this point, while pinning that hand if someone was trying to take this firearm from me pinning the hand, putting the gun down into my holster use my weakened to come down, use my defensive backup tool. In this case the SOCP to affect them either in downward motion. If I had drawn this way in an upward motion create enough distance and space get them off of my defensive firearm and then transitioned to the firearm. Obviously, at this point this knife could be discarded or I could go to a two handed shooting position. If I had created enough space to go to extension and not have to get rid of the defensive knife that I've drawn. That's one of the advantages of the way the SOCP dagger works with the ring that allows you to hook either your pinky finger or your index finger depending on how you drew it, where you grabbed it. Now, carrying the SOCP center line also is a great idea. Cause it's just going to at that point, be redundant if you're also carrying your firearm center line. So what you wanna do is separate the SOCP and the firearm. If you're thinking about using it as a backup tool that you could then transition with to the firearm, if the situation dictated.
I seem to agree that a regular sheaf knife could do everything the SOCP can do with the exception of perhaps the retaining (finger loop) feature. But that loop is what bothers me. I can imagine scenarios where an attacker could manipulate my hand or the knife to break a finger or at least create enough pain to cause a problem.
I carry a knife with me always, except for a very few places such as on planes or the court house. Concealed carry is forbidden at my job, so I come home with just my knife. I still carry my knife, regardless of concealed carry. Now you have shown a specific manner in which it maybe used. But it seems like any assisted knife could be used, as long as one has practiced retrieving it rapidly and effectively.
I like the idea of carrying centerline, but when I sit down a knife or firearm jams uncomfortably into my belly. Is this possible for you, because clearly you don't have much of a belly overhang? It still seems like it would push into anyones belly? Do you remove it when sitting? Please advise. Regards, Eric