We Don’t Need No Stinking Badges . . .

. . . but super-tough nickel-alloy ones, on the other hand:

A rookie cop was “shielded” from death in Queens yesterday when his badge stopped a drunken maniac from plunging a knife into the officer’s heart, authorities said.

The kitchen knife broke into five pieces as it hit the shield.

Officer Stuart Ingram, who joined the force just three months ago, suffered only cuts to his hand in the dramatic clash with crazed Joseph Leonardi, 50.

“When it happened, I was in shock,” Ingram said.

Despite the force of the knife, there were no scratches on Ingram’s NYPD shield. The nickel-alloy badges have been known to deflect a bullet.

“Thanks [to the badge manufacturer] for making it stronger than the knife,” Ingram said.

Leonardi had earlier tried to run over a Catholic nun, cops said.