Rambo First Blood.

David Nowlin

David Nowlin

Joined
Jan 17, 2018
Messages
2,781
Just watched this old movie. Love that knife! Always wanted one of the original Rambo knives back in the day but who wouldn’t? Was great that he had a 2nd and 3rd design for each movie. Marketing!
DN
Looking for Any pictures or info on those knives. Thanks
 
Really was a great movie. I was a kid when it came out.

I cannot believe there is another one coming out. Also can’t believe Stallone is 73 years old. I also read his trademark facial expressions come from trauma suffered at birth from the doctor using two sets of tongs.

Replicas of that knife are readily available. Probably only suitable for wall hanging. It’s marketing I know. But that knife should have been a KaBar or a Randall model1. Or if the hollow handle was needed a Randall model 18.

The story is that Stallone went to Randall and was told he had to go on the wait list like everyone else. So Stallone went elsewhere.

https://rambo.fandom.com/wiki/First_Blood_Survival_Knife
 
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ah, yes! a heartwarming classic tale of an
emotionally insecure wandering hobo
and his trusty knife :)
it is after all THe movie which had
single handedly changed the general
perception of ordinary folks who live to
keep one too many a hunting knife :)
nobody walks away from that
movie emotionally unaffected.
it creates a testosterone level
higher than a bottle of viagra.
the knives are of course, central to the
entire purpose of why anyone watches
and even remembers the name "john rambo".
i dunno if anyone else could have
played the role of john rambo;
it probably helped that sly
understood the visual power of a
huge dramatic knife on screen.
https://blademag.com/tv-and-movie-knives/the-knives-of-the-rambo-movies-behind-the-scenes
who knows, perhaps someday
there will be a nex gen rambo remake
for a new generation of movie goers.
but for now, the back saw tooth surrvival
knives of rambo has achieved a cult status
beyond its human co-stars...
http://www.cartertown.com/rambo1.htm
https://blademag.com/knife-collecting/collecting-rambo-knives-values-history-tips
 
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Eveled i just Checked out your link. Very informative. Still would love to get one even the wall hanger lol.
Wonder if Randell ever regretted their decision to reject “Rambo”?
 
I doubt anyone at Randall has any regrets. Their wait time continues to climb. Up to 6 years now. In the 80’s it couldn’t have been more than 2years. If Stallone was on active duty Randall would have put him right to the top of the list. Randall did not need the extra work then or now.

Interestingly Jesse James refused to build Stallone a bike too. I forget the reason now.
 
Not trying to change the thread but Similarly the big knife Crocodile Dundee carried. Not sure its been awhile and not sure if his knife played such a role in the movie as Rambos did but that line?
Kid “i got a knife” Dundee “that’s not a knife, this is a knife”
Guess i need to watch that movie too?
 
It’s always interesting when a prop on a screen becomes a star.

The General Lee
Bullet mustang
Rifle mans gun
Rambos knife
Judy garlands ruby slippers.

They become part of our collective experience and part of our history.

The Rambo knife inspired a generation of hollow handle knives. The blademag article GIRLYman linked says Rambos knife is more significant than Jim Bowie’s!

For a while I wanted the whole set of Rambo knives. But realized they are just fantasy knives. Not Realistic or practical.
 
Yea really as a collector piece they are probably not users. Kinda like my knock off Samurai sword. Sure in a pinch i could hack or stab an intruder with mine but if i gotta fight off a real Samurai i’m out of luck.
 
eveled said:
Interestingly Jesse James refused to build Stallone a bike too. I forget the reason now.
Click to expand...

It was because he wanted a yellow bike, and Jesse won't do yellow. He says it's the "international color of cowardice." lol
 
There’s a great thread of hollow handle knives at outdoor equipment sub-forum here in BF. Check it out!
 
Both great movies, personally I like the Paul Hogan knife more than the Stallone knife.

Another movie I love which features prominent use of a large knife is Inglorious Bastards.
This is probably the only Brad Pitt movie I like, and I love that classic brass guard crown stay Bowie of his.

I believe the knife was a rehandled Bark river shining mountain Bowie.
That movie may not have the status of the first two, but the knife is as important to the movie as the other two are to their respective movies.
 
eveled said:
I doubt anyone at Randall has any regrets. Their wait time continues to climb. Up to 6 years now. In the 80’s it couldn’t have been more than 2years. ....
Click to expand...

During the 1990s, I managed to collect examples of virtually every popular hollow handled knife in the book. One of my favorites was the Randall model 18. The wife were in Orlando and I had driven to the Randall shop to tour the museum; as we were leaving I asked them if they had any knives for sale. The guy checked in the shop and came back and said they had just finished a batch of the model 18. I told him that I would like to buy one, and he said no problem; so I left with a shiny new model 18 that just come off the assembly line. Sometime, you just get lucky.

n2s
 
David Nowlin said:
Not trying to change the thread but Similarly the big knife Crocodile Dundee carried. Not sure its been awhile and not sure if his knife played such a role in the movie as Rambos did but that line?
Kid “i got a knife” Dundee “that’s not a knife, this is a knife”
Guess i need to watch that movie too?
Click to expand...


From the script:

You got a light, buddy?

Yeah. Sure, kid. There you go.

And your wallet.

Mick, give him your wallet.

- What for?

- He's got a knife.

That's not a knife.

That's a knife.

Shit!
 
First Blood changed my knife interest entirely. After Rambo First Blood movie, I became more interested in "survival knives" and was certainly influenced by a tactical approach. I started going to gun shows around the mid-1980's and the Rambo knives were plentiful at the shows. I was drawn to them. I knew the knives sold at shows were pretty much wall hangers and not users (never bought one), so in a couple years, I purchased several Randall knives (#14, #15, and the Jack Crider Special). Rambo knives and tactical survival knives in general pretty much pushed me to start attending the Blade Show and knife shows in general. Before that, I had little interest in knife shows, but lots of interest in gun shows. My first handmade knives came from gun shows.

My brother in law liked the Rambo III knife and he's picky about his fixed blades. That still didn't convince me to get one, but he definitely influenced my interest in Randall knives as he had several. He later had Gil Hibben put a stag handle on his Rambo III knife. As such, it is definitely distinctive. He provided the stag, some rare African beastie that he had somehow gotten antlers from someone who raised them.

The Stallone story also includes Bill Moran who reportedly refused to make the Rambo I knife unless Stallone paid for it and waited in line like everyone else. Stallone reportedly pulled up to Moran's little shop in MD in a limo. This was after the first Rocky movie, so Stallone had some notoriety at this point as an actor. Stallone was definitely interested in knives and handmade custom knives. I feel sure Jimmy Lyle made out real well eventually in royalties even if he provided the original Rambo I and II knives for free.
 
(Sorry to go a little off topic) ya know I was watching a movie on TV yesterday that I hadn't seen in awhile that had some great knives in it. The Expendables. I believe Mickey Rourke throws a XL ESPADA (I Think) in a contest against Jason Statham.
 
22-rimfire said:
I wonder if any of the Stallone movie knives were ever broken as a result of the filming?
Click to expand...

Yes, he broke a few of the original Lile ones during the filming of "First Blood", one while showing off and stabbing it into the wall of his trailer.
 
Stallone was lucky he did not use the Ontario SP10 Marine Raider or he would have been elevated to Beatles status and could have never left his house again. I know, i use one and the women love me.
 
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