As far as phenomenal folding knives for self-defense that will probably outlast their owner, Benchmade would be the place to go.  They are a little costly, but for a good, long lasting knife, they are hard to beat.  Even Mr. Mills, the founder of the American Kenpo Karate International organization highly suggested one of their combat folders.  Several of the members of Dragon Tales have Benchmade knives, and can't say enough about them.  Plus, if you are into fixed blade, and butterfly knives, they also manufacture those.  Benchmade knives are also pretty pricey, but from what we have seen and experienced first-hand, they are well worth the money.

        Atlanta Cutlery is a supply company many of us at Dragon Tales have ordered from that not only has a huge edged weapon inventory, but a variety of other self-defense and everyday products.  A few that we would recommend would be the Zatoichi Cane sword, any of the Highlander Samurai swords, and many of the self-defense folding knifes.  We like the Zatoichi Cane sword because it is an almost exact replica of the sword used in the Japanese "Blind Swordsman" series.  It is a straight sword, but it conceals very well within the scabbard to look like a walking stick, and it is light enough for quick movements.  We are fond of the Highlander Samurai swords because, well... most of us are Highlander fans.  And for ceremonial purposes they don't have many equals.  For self-defense, well that is another story.  Let's just say they are good showcase swords.  They have a huge selection of folding knives, anywhere from the Douglas/Fairbain folder, to the Gerber E-Z Out.  Our suggestion would be to try to stick with designs you are used to.  If you like liner-lock knives (which some of them we recommend), stay with those.  If you like spine-locks (although it is rare, we have recommended some of them), then you should stick with those.  Atlanta Cutlery also, in the past, carried Benchmade knives and almost all of the Gil Hibben Collection.  As a suggestion, now their are 2 Kenpo Knives by Mr. Gill Hibben, and we agreed that both of them are very fine self-defense tools.

        And there is no way we could officially give out any sort of consultation on edged tool selection without mentioning the AKKI website and the knives they have available.  Almost everyone at Dragon Tales has been saving up their pennies to get their hands on one of them.  If you would like to check them out, take the link to the website and go to merchandise.  There are tons of graphics and statistical information on the knives that are available.  They will help answer a lot of questions about size, steel used, and functionality.  All of the knives were designed by Mr. Mills, the founder of the AKKI to be first and foremost, effective.  They are fairly costly, but they truly are some of the finest knives we have seen.  We are sure they are well worth the money.

        This, as well as all of the other editorial sections, will be changing a lot.  Whenever we get new information or want to suggest a product, we will make a reference here.  We will keep anything we change posted and up-to-date.  We would love to hear from anyone reading this section.  Any findings or knowledge anyone would like to share would be greatly appreciated.  Feel free to drop us an e-mail or leave a message in the guestbook/forum now that they are available.