With popularity of firearms, the question is can knives save lives?

As has been demonstrated over and over again, the answer is a definite “yes.” Many people have found themselves in real life situations where a knife proved to be the difference between living and dying, whether it was in a struggle with another person or (more often) in an emergency situation. Thus, knives can be the difference in life or death situations.

One of the most dramatic examples of how knives save lives that happened just this year.

Knives Save Lives: Virginia State Trooper in Life-or-Death Fight

In a recent incident, Virginia State Trooper J.J. Cornelius went out to serve a warrant and found himself, within a few minutes, in a struggle for his life.

A Virginia man was wanted on a warrant for burglary in Indiana. When Cornelius arrived to serve a warrant, the man fled and the trooper pursued. The pair ended up tumbling into a nearby creek, where Cornelius fell and hit his head.

The suspect then held the trooper’s head underwater by grabbing his throat.  Cornelius, struggling to find a weapon, tried to reach for his gun. But in the position he was in, he could not reach the holster, which was pinned beneath him.

Luckily for him, he had a knife he could reach, and used it to stab the other man in the abdomen and chin. The suspect managed to flee, but by driving him away, Cornelius saved his life.

Other Incidents

As dramatic as the incident was involving the state trooper, it is far from the only documented story about a knife saving a life.  Here are few.

  • A driver in Illinois was saved from a burning pick-up truck by a man who used a knife to cut the seatbelt and pull the driver free.
  • A rancher in Colorado was pinned beneath a stack of irrigation pipes. Before being crushed to death, he managed to use his knife to cut the rope holding the pipes in place, freeing himself when the pipes rolled away.
  • After falling into an icy river, an Iowa deer hunter managed to pull himself to safety by using his hunting knife to dig his way up the frozen river bank.
  • A Minnesota native on a canoe trip into Canada with his dog ended up in the powerful current of a river when his dog unexpectedly leapt from the canoe. With the anchor rope wrapped around his ankle, the man was being pulled to his death over a waterfall when he used his knife to cut the rope at the last second.

These are just some of the incidents where a knife proved to be the difference between life and death. While you always hope you don’t end up in that kind of situation, having a knife on you – and knowing how to use it – is insurance against whatever the world might throw at you.