YMMV.

People have taken a fair number of bullets and lived. Somebody took a load of 12ga. buckshot but it didn't stop him from taking away the bad guy's shotgun and beating him to a pulp with it. There are NO guarantees ever. On the other hand, many, many people have been killed by something as feeble as a single .380 or .22LR. It works both ways.

I don't care about statistics and terms like stopping power or blood loss. It's a technical way to talk about something that is completely non-technical in nature. Which often indicates people don't entirely understand what they're talking about.

Anyway, cutting and thrusting with a knife is a gross-motor skill that actually improves under stress as opposed to the fine-motor skills required for using a gun. A lot of people lose fine-motor skills under extreme stress and that's a major factor I've not seen mentioned here lately.

Once you're at grappling range (where attacks tend to happen in the civilian world) there is basically no safe way to defend against a sharp blade. Some of the most experienced combatives instructors were reluctant to teach knife defense techniques because they knew they probably wouldn't work in reality.

A knife is a thrusting weapon first. Anyone can easily land three solid thrusts in a single second. It's not even a matter of skill or training, just intent. A kitchen knife a few inches deep in the gut will stop you in your tracks pretty much right away. Does that qualify for stopping power? A quick cut across the hand will sever fingers and cut tendons. Land a cut on the inside of the wrist or forearm and that arm is gone. A thrust to the groin plus a ripping cut on the withdrawal, whew! Then there's the face and neck, Achilles tendon and all the other minor targets of opportunity.

Above all, a knife is a psychological weapon. There are very few people who won't panic while they're being cut apart. That's also why knives work best in an ambush situation or when you manage to distract the other guy with a verbal ploy, quick punch or some dirt thrown into his eyes. But it definitely doesn't and shouldn't look like an Escrima bout.

Are knives a perfect self-defense weapon? Probably far from it. Are they suitable for women? I don't know, quite a few women have successfully used a knife in self-defense but yes, size and strength are a major factor. Would I recommend a knife to a woman? Extremely unlikely! A can of pepper spray would probably be a better choice most of the time.

But any time I hear somebody talking about knife fighting as if they were trying to write down a new Dungeons & Dragons manual (how many damage points per critical hit again?) I know that person simply does not understand the issue and probably has zero actual experience.

Your Mileage May Vary - and I really mean that!