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Boker Specialist 1 Tanto & Escort with Nealy Carry System

A Product Review by Phil Elmore

The Nealy carry system is perfect for self-defense.

Fixed
blades have certain obvious advantages over folding knives for self-defense
applications. Fast deployment, reliability, and strength are all
benefits of a blade that has no major moving parts. Folders, however,
are more “pocket friendly,” closing to smaller packages that are generally
more accepted as utility tools within society. Many fixed blades would
be too obtrusive or too uncomfortable to tote regularly as working or
“fighting” knives. What, then, is the martialist who desires a daily
carry fixed blade to do?

The answer or one of them is the Nealy
carry system. Designed by Bud Nealy and offered with several knives
(including the Boker
Specialist and Escort pictured in this article), the Nealy system is a flat
Kydex sheath that ships with mounting screws, flanges, a neck chain, and a
belt loop. Using these materials, the owner can modify his or her mode
of carry as needed for changes in apparel and activity.

The sheath also incorporates powerful magnets
that serve as the retention system. There are no outer snaps or
closures. The knife practically leaps into the sheath as it contacts the
magnet (and remains there securely) but also deploys quickly and easily with a
mild but audible rasp.

The two knives with which I’ve used the Nealy
carry system are the Specialist 1 and Escort. My favorite is the
Specialist, while the Escort is a budget-friendly alternative that can be had
for half the cost of its black-coated sibling. Both are slim, guardless
knives ideally suited to comfortable concealed carry.

The
Specialist has a 3.5 inch double hollow ground 440C stainless steel blade
coated in titanium nitride. It is 7.25 inches overall and has a textured
G10 handle (into which holes have been drilled). Grooves are
strategically placed at the forefinger indent, on the spine of the blade (for
the thumb in a forward grip), and on both sides aft on the handle. The
slightly smaller Escort has a 3.25 inch 420 stainless blade (it is 7 inches
overall) and a fiberglass-reinforced Delrin handle bearing circular indents
along its textured length. Neither knife has a guard; both have
subtle indentations for the forefinger in forward grip (though the Escort’s
indent is much shallower than the already shallow indent on the Specialist).

There was a time when I would not buy a knife
that had no guard. I’ve since come to appreciate the concealment options
such a clean design offers, but the tradeoff is the increased chance that my
hand will slide into the sharp edge. If your hands are large enough, you
can mitigate this risk by “feeding” the knife bracing the butt of the handle
in your palm. I have large hands, so I have no problem doing this.
The tackier the handle material, however, the better off you are regardless of
grip. The Specialist’s textured G10 handle is very secure in my mitts.
The Escort is more slippery and lacks the grooves of its more expensive
counterpart (but it still isn’t too bad and it’s extremely light).

Bracing the handle against your palm before closing
your hand…

…helps mitigate the risks inherent to a guardless
knife.

Both knives were sharp out of the box and
easily cut and stabbed test media such as cardboard and plastic. The
Escort’s drop point pierced more
deeply than the Specialist’s Americanized tanto blade. Neither blade has
what I would call a lot of belly, (the tanto has none, but its secondary point
is good for scoring). Both are more than adequate for cutting and
thrusting in self-defense.

The Escort’s drop point made it an excellent
penetrator.

Carrying the blades as part of the Nealy system
is easy regardless of climate. I must offer a few words of caution,
however. Regardless of the sheath accessories used, the retention
systems in the sheaths are powerful magnets.
Guard your computer equipment and magnetic media
accordingly! It wouldn’t do to come home from a hard day at
work, slip off your tactical vest, and dump your keys and Nealy sheath on top
of your scanner or your wireless router.

Another possible risk of the magnetic retention:
scuff marks on the
blade. If you’re carrying these tools as working blades or
pragmatic self-defense tools, this isn’t a big concern.

The Escort and Specialist ship in
neat boxes containing cutouts for
the sheath and its accessories. Mine came to me with Kydex flanges
installed. The flange screws to one end of the sheath and forms a loose
clamp with the open end pointing towards the knife handle. This is
perfect for inserting the sheath in the inner pocket of a vest or jacket
(particularly if the pocket has a zipper closure so you can snug it up to the
exact width of the sheath). With the handle inverted and ready, it draws
extremely quickly.

The Kydex flange is perfect for inverted carry
outside an inner pocket.

A
secondary belt flange can be installed on the
sheath, permitting horizontal
carry. I didn’t prefer that method with my Boker/Nealy knives (I did not
find it very stable), but you might if your body type or activity levels
differ from my own. A standard ball chain is provided that can be
used for neck carry (the lightweight
Escort works particularly well in this role but is a little large compared to
some neck blades). I quite liked the simple
belt loop for IWB (inside waistband)
carry when wearing an outer concealing garment. It attaches using one of the
provided screws.

The IWB carry option is simple and functional under
an outer shirt.

The blades handle very well thanks to their
streamlined designs and light weights. I showed the Specialist to one of
the instructors at my Kung Fu school and he absolutely loved it, drawing it
and flowing through a series of mock thrusts and cuts. I’d be lying if I
said I hadn’t done the same on occasion.

The Boker/Nealy Specialist 1, a tanto with titanium
nitride coating.

The budget-friendly Boker/Nealy Escort, which has a
Delrin handle.

While the Nealy system can’t be all things to
all people (though it tries) and while there will be those who do not prefer
these designs, I like them a lot. These are
well-executed blades ideally suited to concealed carry that can be
deployed quickly. Having multiple carry options at your fingertips makes
it easy to adapt your methods to your choice of wardrobe (rather than leaving
the blade home in a drawer).

That is reason enough to consider Bud
Nealy’s innovations.

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