In Rwanda, the machete was a popular weapon for mass killings in the most recent civil war. It never runs out of ammunition.
Last week in China, 22 school children were knifed.
For some odd reason that never made the front page of the NY Times.
If the Rwandan population had been armed, those machetes would’ve been much less effective. If the population is armed, the defender usually has the advantage, and the attacker usually has a short lifespan.
And you can make one very easily in your back yard.
Knives are different from guns in two major respects. They require proximity and willingness to harm an enemy up close and personal. They also require sometimes lengthy training for use against a similarly armed opponent.
Guns give you the advantage of distance, as well as a being useful with a minimal degree of training. It should be noted that in some calibers, guns don't produce as large a wound channel (think Kabar knife here).
Of course, putting this kind of logic and information out there is like screaming inside a space suit on the far side of Mars.