The little blade is intended as a backup knife when worn on its adjustable neck cord. It weighs only 1 1/5 ounces, excluding the cord and the Kydex sheath. You can wear it all day and be barely aware it is ready at your chest area.

The knife, we are told by Emerson, was designed by French knifemaker Fredric Perrin, and the gentle inside curve of the blade is Emerson’s own. The La Griffe blade and handle are one-piece, 154CM stainless steel with a black oxide finish. The handle is skeletonized for more weight reduction, as well as to provide finger-grip holes for quick withdrawal and better control in use.

Overall length is just under five inches; the curved edge is 1 ¾ inches long. The steel is a quarter-inch thick and heat-treated to a Rockwell C reading of 57-59, a favorite range for Emerson.

The little rectangle of Kydex sheath material is formed over the blade to safely and firmly grip it in the normal handle-down carry mode. With a bit of practice, the wearer will quickly grip the handle with the forefinger through the largest hole while quickly slipping the knife free of the sheath.

Here, a word of caution is in order. In some states and other legal jurisdictions, carrying a small fixed-blade knife concealed may be considered illegal. Some government agencies have passed blade-length and size restrictions on these types of concealable blades. In other places, the same knife worn out in the open is not a problem, but worn under the shirt, it might lead to an additional charge if you were picked up for something else. A small pocket-folding knife would serve the same purpose, but the La Griffe is ready for use instantly, with nothing to open.

The little curved blade does, to be sure, fill a variety of uses, but was designed and is intended for emergency slashing action. That slashing or slicing would include cutting an injured driver out of his seat belt, removing a trouser leg from around a serious wound or cutting yourself out of tangled parachute cords.

Offensively, the La Griffe may be drawn from the sheath with either hand. It is not a dagger. The cutting action should be at the end of a controlled arm swing. There is at least one school of knife fighting that calls for "de-fanging the snake." The idea is to make your opponent drop his knife, or at least lose control of his knife hand. A quick, deep cut across the top of the knife hand will slice through tendons and muscles so that the hand will release the weapon. It does not matter if your assailant is high on drugs or crazy, nor does it matter how big or strong he is, he will drop the knife, improving your survival chances by several percentage points.