First tacticool folder?

C

citizensoldierNY

Joined
Feb 21, 2008
Messages
805
Who made the first tacticool folder and when? Not the Buck 110 or Italian stilletto's, bali-songs etc.. but the high tech designs and materials that we all carry and want to own more of these days. I'm thinking Spyderco as I remember seeing these in gun shops when I turned about 18(about 2 decades ago:eek:), then shortly thereafter I discovered Benchmade folders and had to have one. Interested on others opinions though I'm guessing it might be Gerber though.
 
The first one hand opening knives with pocket clips that I can remember buying were: Gerber EZ Out, Cold Steel Medium Voyager Tanto, and Spyderco Delica (both of these had the molded zytel clips). My first "high tech tacticool" folder was either a Benchmade CQC7 or AFCK - can't remember which I bought first (still have all of them but the Gerber BTW :D). Can't remember exactly when I made these purchases, must have been in the early/mid '90s though. I do know that these styles were around well before I got into them.

p.s. We're about the same age and your timeline seems to fit with what I remember.
 
I don't know if they were the first, but Spyderco was the first folding knife that I ever bought specifically with tactical uses in mind. I have literally not carried a knife without a pocketclip since that day back in 91 or 92, lol...
 
My first was a BuckLite back in the late-1980s.

I'm guessing it might be Gerber though.
Click to expand...
I do recall reading about a knife that was the first to have plastic handles and no liners. I can't recall where I read about it, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a Gerber. The Gator was among the earliest examples though, like the BuckLite.
 
Bob W said:
My first was a BuckLite back in the late-1980s.


I do recall reading about a knife that was the first to have plastic handles and no liners. I can't recall where I read about it, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a Gerber. The Gator was among the earliest examples though, like the BuckLite.
Click to expand...

I had one of the BuckLites and I seem to remember it had a nail nick instead of a one-hand opener and didn't have a pocket clip. One-hand opening and pocket clips are two of the requirements of a Sport Utility Knife (otherwise known as a tactical).

In case you care, I define a Sport Utility Knife by these attributes:

1. One-hand opening
2. Pocket clip
3. Automatically locking blade
4. Robust construction which can withstand hard use
 
I don't remember whether the Gerber LST or Bucklite came out first.

Neither were one-hand opening. Neither had a clip.
 
My first "tactical" knife, arguably, was a BuckLite with a one-armed bandit attached to it. Long before tactical folders came along, Buck 110s with the one-armed bandit or the Flick-it were the order of the day -- Thomas Harris writes of this in Red Dragon, referring to a fellow with a bare forearm who has "knife fighter's mange" and carries a Flick-it equipped 110.

rockerlockback.jpg


The first true tactical folder, meaning one with a pocket clip and built-in one-hand opening feature, was (in terms of production knives) probably the Spyderco PIG ("Pride Integrity Guts"). I think.
 
I bought a Gerber Lst in the late seventies or ealy eighties can't remember exactly. The LST I bought first and then the Buck Lite. Those Buck lites had a sharp edge. I bought a Kershaw DWO with the black rubber handle a little later. I also bought some Gerber FH brass framed folder knives about that time. My first tactical knife was a Spyderco I bought in early 1990. Seems to be a Mariner? not sure about the name it had a hawkbill type blade and was serrated. Next was a folder by Benchmade with a pronounced skinning type blade. None had clips or one hand type opening only the Spyderco. I read about the Spyderco in an early Fighting knives magazine. My next folder was a Spyderco worker and was hooked or addicted.

RKH
 
the spyderco police was made back in the '80s for one, and the delica and endura before that i imagine, was looking thru an old combat handguns a while back, a late '80s issue and they had an ad for a police, i didnt know they were that old.

probably the 1st i had was either a spyderco delica or a BM 800 AFCK, in the early '90s.
 
BTW my first was a delica, me and my brother both got one at the same time and he still has his after all this time. As for the Gerber guess I thought it seemed like a good one as they had all the cool designs back in the day. I forgot what I had to trade to get a Tac II fixed blade from some older kid but I went knife crazy when I saw it.
 
The first I bought was an SOG 'Sogwinder' around 1988. It had brass thumbstuds, lockback, kraton handles and a dagger-type blade. I still have it. I would guess Sal Glesser/Spyderco would be the first, although as someone else posted, the 'one armed bandit' attachable thumb studs were around before that.

Once I posted a thread about the key innovators surrounding sport utility knives, and listed them as: Glesser, Terzuola, Crawford, Emerson, Walker, Onion and Carson.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5541847
Sal Glesser suggested adding Blackie Collins to the list:

Sal Glesser said:
When I first began promoting the Spyderco Clipits in Europe (circa 1986), they were referred to as: "self opening knives" and "new fashion knives". Europe was still into the stag handled folders and fixed blades. They weren't "Tactical" folding knives until; Bob Terzuola, Kit Carson, Blackie Collins and Pat Crawford began to focus on the genre. The US Custom knifemakers Guild was quite influential in that area in the mid to late 80's.

I think much of our innovation was due to our "cowboy" attitude as the Europeans referred to often.

I would have to add Blackie Collins to your list. Our patent office says that until the late 70's / early 80's, the patents on knives had been relatively dormant. The new Renaissance, according to them, began with the Collins "Bolt-Action" patent and the Glesser "Clipit" patent. (The "kids" of the 50's grew up )

Then the patents on knives began to increase greatly.

The American innovation in knives that has emerged in the past 30 years is surprising. (There are so many lock ideas that Spyderco is making a model that will recognize folding knife lock innovation).
Click to expand...

I think Pat Crawford may have been one of the very first too. A.G. Russell sold the Crawford-designed 'one-hand knife' before much else was available. I believe that Bob T. pioneered the use of titanium and also kydex, although I could be wrong about that. Kit Carson did not invent the flipper folder as I would have guessed. He did popularize it, but learned it from a guy named Randall Gilbreath, who in turn learned it from Mal Pardue, as I recall. But there were flipper folders at least as far back as the 1800's, according to Darrel Ralph.
 
Bob Terzoula is often credited with the tactical folder craze. I LOVE tactical foldes!!:D:thumbup::D:thumbup::D:thumbup:
 
I don't know the exact dates, but Bob Lum and Al Mar were instrumental in introducing new shapes, designs and purposes to folders. These two influenced a lot of the top knifemakers today.

Bob Lum introduced the "American" Tanto blade and was making custom knives in the mid 1970's. Al Mar made folders used for military -not sportsmen, applications -such as the SERE knives.
 
I was following the trend on Terzuola when he was still making them down south. Prices were way above me, tho, as most tactical folders were handmades. No factory offered them - other than Gerber. Gerber had tactical down with the Mk I and II, just no clip folder that really worked. Tactical folding knives were still kinda weird - "real" soldiers used fixed blades for tactical. Folders were light pocket tools. Black SAKS were tactical.

There really wasn't anything to buy. Then Benchmade offered the CQC7 from Emerson. I got one on closeout. Still have it. That was tactical - even if it's really a difficult knife to use.
 
Michael Walker's name comes to mind since he pretty much resurrected the liner lock.
 
my first "TACTICOOL" as you put it was probably an older spyderco model that i cant quite remember the name of i got for my tenth birthday from my best friends father if i recall it fell out of my pocket whil rock climbing and got lost but i loved that dang thing
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top