The Karambit (also spelled kerambit) is a curved, hand-held knife originating from Indonesia. It was the preferred close-combat knife that both Fourth Echelon commander Sam Fisher and Fourth Echelon operator Isaac Briggs used during the Blacklist Attacks in 2012. Blade that designed with a quick-draw, is versatile, and deadly with cuts that cause deep gashes and wounds.

Overview

The karambit is a curved knife that is both unique in look and function, as it is meant to operate as an 'extension' of the user's hand. It is non-retractable and features a small ring on the bottom of the hand, allowing the user to slip their finger through it. In the right hands, it can be a very deadly weapon that can be used in both combat situations when enemies are close as well as in stealth-based sections where the user can eliminate enemies quietly. Sam either pulls the enemy down then slitting his throat, pulling the enemy down and jabbing the enemy in the throat. From above Sam will pull back the head of the enemy where he would then proceed to slitting their throat. The karambit replaces the previous knife that Third Echelon issued to Splinter Cell operatives, the SC Combat Knife.

As the style of the blade suggests, it is a very efficient weapon for close-quarter encounters as it works as an extension of the fist and can be used in unison with most hand-to-hand fighting styles, but this particular knife is used most often in the Southeast Asian arts of Silat and Kali. The blade is well suited for close quarter work. The use of such a tool is extremely fluid and fast, accentuating the thought of Sam's movement being one fluid motion. While the original model for the knife has folding knife characteristics (much like the SC protector in Double Agent) its actually a fixed-blade knife.

History

2012: Blacklist Attack

During the Blacklist Attacks in 2012, six months sometime after the EMP attacks in D.C., Fourth Echelon commander Sam Fisher, at the time working for Paladin 9 Security, was given a karambit by Victor Coste, who obtained it while in Indonesia, before reconnaissance of Anderson Base in Guam. Fourth Echelon operator Isaac Briggs carried one during missions for lethal takedowns, combat situations, or environmental interactions such as cutting fabric of tents. Throughout the Blacklist Attacks, Sam and Isaac uses it as an extension of their bodies by using it as a hook to pull in enemies and later finishing them off.

Trivia

• In the first gameplay video of Blacklist, the player moved the left stick to interrogate a guard about Jadid Haidos' whereabouts after he was stabbed in the shoulder. In the game, however, Sam Fisher interrogates them automatically without the player moving the stick or pressing any buttons.
• Sam Fisher possessed a karambit before the events of Splinter Cell: Blacklist, as he uses one in Splinter Cell: Echoes.
• The karambit Sam uses in Blacklist appears to be a hybrid of the Strider Tarani HS , and the Mantis MK-3 Cinq 3.
• The karambit in Splinter Cell: Blacklist was modeled by Ubisoft's Tito Belgrave.
• A secondary karambit with a carbon coating is used by Sam Fisher during the mission to investigate Igor Kasperov's crashed plane.
• Isaac Briggs carries a karambit, although he did not use it during the Transit Yards mission.
• In Spies vs Mercs in Blacklist, the spies use karambits as their melee weapon to perform hand-to-hand kills. An icon of a karambit is shown in the kill feed when a spy or merc performs a melee kill (despite the fact that mercs do not use a karambit).