Chute knife?

Don't know if there is a "definition" of the Chute knife or not but AG Russell started making a custom knife for pilots in the 60s for those flying in the Viet Nam War. He made under his name and then continued when his company absorbed Morseth in 1972. Most think of the AG Russell (which is still handmade in his shop) as the definitive "Chute Knife". Most will have a 4 1/2 to 5" blade with a long swedge and double guard. Many will have guards large enough to provide lashing holes. Sheathes often included a sharpen stone as well.

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Of course Loveless has often been credited with the first Chute Knife but it had much smaller guards, I aways think of Russell's as being the more recognizable design.
 
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I have a lot to learn about knives and forum etiquette. Thankyou for answering to my question and including the picture of those awesome chutes.
 
FWIW---I had a Red Rucarta handled Chute knife in the 70's and---sold it!!
 
From the Bark River web site;

The famous Chute Knife as designed by Harry Archer--Bob Loveless and Ken Warner. Harry Archer was an Operative for the U.S. Government. He served in many Theaters and Regions of the World and was a true American Warrior. After many years in that Service he sat down with Ken Warner and designed what he said was missing in the Cutting Tool Market. They designed a Compact--Light and very well balanced knife that would be--in Harry's Mind--the ideal knife for Missions both overt and covert. Harry and Ken Contacted Bob Loveless and had Bob make the First one.
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Chute knife, the back of the blade is sharpended half way down( If your parachute is stuck in a tree you can use the back of the blade to cut yourself free):)
 
From an article in the Jan '06 Blade:

Loveless associate & maker Steve Johnson's def:

"A chute knife is basically a fairly small, compact fighter/survival knife. It is short, light, double edged and strong, but not out of heavier stock than 3/16 of an inch. There are holes in the guard and rear of the handle to allow lashing of the knife to a pole or limb."

Quote from Ken Warner:

"Warner stresses that, being a purpose-designed piece for someone who parachuted into unknown terrain, the original chute knife was built in exacting detail. 'A lot of people are making chute knives, and once in a while someone gets it right.....There are several things a guy has to do in [parachute] rigging. One is to cut. Say the guy is on his way down; he really can't dig around searching for an edge..."

Hence the double edge.

Quote from Bob Loveless, maker of the first chute knife:

"'I basically took the bowie, or the so-called bowie knife, with a top clip [swedge on the blade spine ending at the tip] and sharpened it,' Loveless explains. 'I brought the main blade bevel up about halfway, maybe two-thirds or three fifths of the way up toward the spine, and left a big flat on the upper side of the blade for trademarking. I made the knife with a double guard and pierced holes in the guard so that Harry could lash it down onto a pole if he needed to--all of the original chute knives had those holes for years, but the don't anymore.'"
 
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Not to hijack but whats everyones feelings on the brkt sandstorm since it's based on the chute knife design ?
 
I would point out the in the quotes wutitiz posted it should be noted that on a true chute knife:

There are holes in the guard and rear of the handle to allow lashing of the knife to a pole or limb. (Steve Johnson)
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made the knife with a double guard and pierced holes in the guard so that Harry could lash it down onto a pole if he needed to--all of the original chute knives had those holes for years, but the don't anymore. (Bob Loveless)
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Ag Russell is still making his Chute Knives that same as he made them in the 60's including these lashing holes. Any one looking for a true to the originals knife should consider his as I think that other than some custom work Mr Loveless is right, the guards have shrunk and the holes for lashing have disappeared. Are the holes needed for most of us? Nope but if you want a Chute knife for your collection it should be as true to the originals as possible.
 
Jpalmer1988 said:
Not to hijack but whats everyones feelings on the brkt sandstorm since it's based on the chute knife design ?
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The BRKT Sandstorm is a fine knife.
Lightweight , slim & sturdy:
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The blade's made of 12C27 Stainless.
It's a nice size knife for general,all around use in my opinion.
Cliff
 
A "chute" knife has several purposes. First, rarely, but occasionally, a military parachutist will have his chute fail to deploy from it's cover. The shroud lines become tangled when the jumper clears the door. This leaves the soldier banging on the side of the aircraft. Since he cannot be "reeled" back in, and the aircraft cannot land without killing him, his best course of action is to signal to the jumpmaster that he is alive and able to deploy his reserve. Then the jumpmaster will cut his shroud lines free, allowing him to drop free and deploy his reserve. Occasionally, the jumper may have to cut his own lines.

If the jumper lands on an obstacle, he can use his knife to cut half his lines, and if he can free himself from his harness, drop down on the cut lines that now extend below him – hopefully they will be long enough to help him get safely to the ground.

Many soldiers carry one hand opening folders attached to the outside of their load so they can get at them.
 
I was a Vietnam fighter pilot. I was issued a "chute knife". It was an orange handled folder with two blades. One was an automatic standard blade (about 3") and the other (carried open in my g-suit knife pocket) was a sharpened "U" to be used to cut tangled parachute cords if necessary on the way down. That was not a likely event since the aircraft I flew (F-4) had Martin-Baker ejection seats. The chute was my backrest and integral to the seat. It was pulled from the seat by a drogue chute. The main chute would then pull me free. It was an extremely reliable design and never failed if serviced properly.

But I digress.... I did have an occasion to use the "U" blade on a cord or rope one day and it broke in half with virtually no pressure. I replaced it with a German locking slip blade I have (second "blade" is a corkscrew).
 
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I guess a chute knife is any knife you can use to cut yourself free from
a parachute. I've known some who have used Ka-Bars to cut themselves
free, and one who used it when he had to cut his main chute away so he
would employ his secondary chute. And I know a woman who had no
chute knife and no way of cutting herself free. She was lucky enough
to break a few bones, but she lived. Has no memory of hitting the ground,
but her friends took a photo of the hole she left in the sod. Lucky she
hit some tree branches and that her two chutes managed to slow
her descent.

If I had to jump out of a plane, I'd sure have the best steel money
could buy and the best design.

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A chute knife is generally a small, easily-weilded
blade that has some sort of a double edge. I've seen
some hawk-billed chute knives, so opinions vary.
 
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Confederate said:
If I had to jump out of a plane, I'd sure have the best steel money
could buy and the best design.
A chute knife is generally a small, easily-weilded
blade that has some sort of a double edge. I've seen
some hawk-billed chute knives, so opinions vary.
Click to expand...

I was lucky enough not to have to eject. I did go through Army Paratrooper School at Fort Benning. If you bail out, you are going to experience a variety of forces both when you leave your aircraft and when you land (hopefully not in a tree). I would be extremely careful about carrying a fixed blade knife. It would have to be very securely sheathed. I never carry a fixed blade knife in the wild, and I've never known a horseback hunter to carry one - too dangerous in case of a fall. I'll never jump out of an airplane again, but If I did, I'd be carrying an easily accessible AO or automatic that I was very familiar with.
 
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