Slot on Rambo III knife - what for??

MisterSat said:
Over 250,000 of the replicas have been sold and are still selling 20 years later. How many have been sold of your design?
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By your absurd standard, no one could ever criticize the design of anything unless he/she was in the business of designing it, and McDonald's would be considered the epitome of dining. Does that make any sense? Of course not, and neither does your argument.
 
MisterSat said:
Over 250,000 of the replicas have been sold and are still selling 20 years later. How many have been sold of your design?
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My guess is that out of the 250,000 that have been sold probably one of the lowest percentages of them compared to most knife designs in general have been acually used in the field to do any type of useful task.

I have designed a couple of knives that I had custom makers construct for me and they are useable and I carry them and use them. As a hobby I also make custom grips for knives and have done around a hundred of them with not one single complaint of any type back from anyone that I made one for. They are ergonomic and made to the customers specs. and most of them get used instead of stuck on a wall in a frame. That's what they are for.
 
No, your claim that the knife is useless is absurd. It is a knife and it cuts, and even chops. What else is a knife supposed to do?

Your guesses really don't carry any weight especially when making claims like yours.

OK, you don't like it. Obviously a lot of people do like it. No, McDonalds will never be considered the epitome of dining but a lot of people are eating there every day. It has it's place.

Gil Hibben has been designing and making knives for over 50 years. He is in the Knifemaker Hall of Fame and is very well respected by those who use and collect his knives.

Some people don't like his style and that's fine. I for one happen to like the Rambo III knife and I think it has done as much as any other knife ever made to bring people into buying and/or collecting knives. That's a good thing IMHO.
 
MisterSat said:
No, your claim that the knife is useless is absurd. It is a knife and it cuts, and even chops. What else is a knife supposed to do?

Your guesses really don't carry any weight especially when making claims like yours.

OK, you don't like it. Obviously a lot of people do like it. No, McDonalds will never be considered the epitome of dining but a lot of people are eating there every day. It has it's place.

Gil Hibben has been designing and making knives for over 50 years. He is in the Knifemaker Hall of Fame and is very well respected by those who use and collect his knives.

Some people don't like his style and that's fine. I for one happen to like the Rambo III knife and I think it has done as much as any other knife ever made to bring people into buying and/or collecting knives. That's a good thing IMHO.
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OK fine it is not useless, you are right, I am sure it can cut and chop. But I am still betting that an extremely high percentage of them are just sitting in the box they came in and have never been used and a lot of that is, of course, because the United Cutlery copies are pretty bad and the other part is that the general utility of the design is very low and the ergonomics of the handle are less than ideal. That is as far as I will go as to saying that it is usefull.
 
In reality the Rambo III is a Bowie.If one does some research one finds that the "real" bowies in use around 1830 were very heavy, many of them being made out of 3/8 inch stock just like the Rambo III. This Bowie is probably similar in heft to a Randall Smithsonian (also 3/8th of an inch thick) which is based on a knife contemporary to James Bowie and in the Smithsonian's collection. I would like to have the money (and the balls) to take both the Randall Smithsonian and the Gil Hibben Rambo III and go beserk in the jungle with them. I bet both of these knives could chop the hell out of anything. They both have very awesome points as well. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of these. I consider these huge (and historic) Bowies to be the "large caliber" fighters of yesteryear. Too bad I don't have the bucks and do a Smithsonian vs. Rambo III type of test. Now THAT would be fun. These things are 11 - 12 inches long and heavy and can be considered like short swords. Those who enjoy these type of blades could probably appreciate the design of both. Maybe somebody could post a photo of the knife in question - I can't because I am not enabled to post on this site.
 
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Alex p. Schorsc said:
In reality the Rambo III is a Bowie.If one does some research one finds that the "real" bowies in use around 1830 were very heavy, many of them being made out of 3/8 inch stock just like the Rambo III. This Bowie is probably similar in heft to a Randall Smithsonian (also 3/8th of an inch thick) which is based on a knife contemporary to James Bowie and in the Smithsonian's collection. I would like to have the money (and the balls) to take both the Randall Smithsonian and the Gil Hibben Rambo III and go beserk in the jungle with them. I bet both of these knives could chop the hell out of anything. They both have very awesome points as well. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of these. I consider these huge (and historic) Bowies to be the "large caliber" fighters of yesteryear. Too bad I don't have the bucks and do a Smithsonian vs. Rambo III type of test. Now THAT would be fun. These things are 11 - 12 inches long and heavy and can be considered like short swords. Those who enjoy these type of blades could probably appreciate the design of both. Maybe somebody could post a photo of the knife in question - I can't because I am not enabled to post on this site.
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Research it in the books all you want, I do my research in the woods. Because a knife has a long blade and it has style similarities with knives made in the 1830's does not make it an ideal tool. Every facet of knife design has come a long way in 178 years. I would rather have a modern steel knife with full tang and a decent ergo design handle made of modern materials any day over something from that era if it was to be used as a tool in the woods.

I go out at least once every month throughout the year in all weather conditions in different terrain and on different types of wilderness trips from Boy Scouting to Hunting to wildernesss survival outings and I would never consider using a knife like the Rambo 3 in any situation. Just because it may cut or chop a few times with little trouble is not proof of usefulness. How will the knife and your hand and your arm hold up to using it for a couple of hours to make a shelter and a fire or how well can it be used to make a few tent pegs or a frame to hold a skewer over the fire for cooking. I would rather have a Swiss army knife and if I felt like I wanted to bring a large knife I will bring a Busse or a Brend custom or even a CS Trailmaster that I put a custom handle on.

The grip is the thing that kills that knife more than any other feature, its terrible especially if you have large hands. I handled one of those many years back at a knife show and instantly knew that it was not very usefull. I would even rather have one of the earlier Lile design Rambo knives over that thing any day.

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I don't want to knock your point of view or anything but I doubt if you spent as much time knocking around the woods as your average frontiersman from 1830. Historical swords have been proven to have a more refined and sophisticated design than modern swords. Swordsmiths back then were real artists who knew what thay were doing. I don't think there is a hell of a lot of difference between a modern Busse and a Confederate style Bowie. Sure the steel is better but as afar as handles go, I think many of your old style handles are perfect - maybe even better than a lot of the modern stuff. I haven't used the Rambo III so I can't comment on its handle and any lack of comfort it might have. I do see you posted some really top drawer knives, but I myself will opt for a good 10 or 11 inch knife in the woods anytime. That way I don't need to lug around a stupid ax. Also - to make a leanto out of branches I can bet you anything you want that a 10 inch Bowie will get the job done so fast that it will not tire out your arm while chopping away for 3 times as much time with a little 7 incher will give you arm fatigue. Different strokes for different folks. The hand guard on the Rambo III does look that it might be agressive on the hand - that remains to be seen - but I still think that Gil Hibben did a nice job on the blade format. Cheers.
 
vjb,

It's time to stop hijacking this thread with your tangental feelings about the Rambo III knife. This thread is about the slot in the blade, not about you or your opinion on the usefulness of this knife.

Knock it off, please.
 
Just when it was startin' to get fun!! Yeah I'll probably agree that for everyday use both the Smithsonian and the Rambo III are probably too heavy for realistic carry. They could be fun though, but their cost usually condemns them to the safe. I think that the slot question has been pretty well answered. It was to put in some axe-like lateral blades. I guess it remained because it's kinda cool and intrigueing and has become a sort of trademark. Thanks to all for the input. Cheers, Alex.
 
MisterSat said:
No, your claim that the knife is useless is absurd. It is a knife and it cuts, and even chops. What else is a knife supposed to do?

Your guesses really don't carry any weight especially when making claims like yours.

OK, you don't like it. Obviously a lot of people do like it. No, McDonalds will never be considered the epitome of dining but a lot of people are eating there every day. It has it's place.

Gil Hibben has been designing and making knives for over 50 years. He is in the Knifemaker Hall of Fame and is very well respected by those who use and collect his knives.

Some people don't like his style and that's fine. I for one happen to like the Rambo III knife and I think it has done as much as any other knife ever made to bring people into buying and/or collecting knives. That's a good thing IMHO.
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Singing the praises of a knifemaker has absolutely nothing to do with what the slot in the blade of one of his knives is for.

In fact, it's argumentative sleight-of-hand--you know the slot in the blade is absolutely worthless, and is only there for cosmetics or a ridiculous second wing blade. But instead of stopping at "Oh, it's a goofy Hollywood cosmetic thing" we've stooped to trading insults.

Because somebody, somewhere out there, isn't bowing a the alter of Gil Hibbin's knife designs, and has dared imply that they don't like one of his famous designs.

Blaspheme!
 
enderwiggin said:
Singing the praises of a knifemaker has absolutely nothing to do with what the slot in the blade of one of his knives is for.

In fact, it's argumentative sleight-of-hand--you know the slot in the blade is absolutely worthless, and is only there for cosmetics or a ridiculous second wing blade. But instead of stopping at "Oh, it's a goofy Hollywood cosmetic thing" we've stooped to trading insults.

Because somebody, somewhere out there, isn't bowing a the alter of Gil Hibbin's knife designs, and has dared imply that they don't like one of his famous designs.

Blaspheme!
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enderwiggin, your post contributes nothing here and just stirs the pot, so you drop it, too. Thank you.
 
OH OH OH!!! I wanna stir the pot!!!!

I kid I kid!!!

Anyway... On the whole Blood Groove/Fuller thing.... I have an idea...

Why don't someone with an large collection of various knives both with the groove and without the groove try and round up similar sized knives and what not with similar blade shapes and take to sticking them into something like a pumpkin or watermelon or cantaloupe and such... Or maybe a big ole chunk of raw roast. But before doing so affix a lanyard to the handle of each of them and attach that to a set of digital handheld scale thing like a fish weighing scale.

Then you could thrust them all in say on the pumpkin all the way around it and as you come around back to the beginning and pull them out with the scale attached to the lanyard and video the whole thing we'd be able to watch the numbers on the scale to see if it truly reduces friction or not. I personally think it will to the point like a fluted arrow shaft would have less stiction when withdrawing it than the smooth shafts do.

BUT anyway.... I think it'd be cool... And I'd offer to help out with it in anyway I can so let me know. I may be able to supply the scale device if I can find it...

What says you??

DM
 
DevilMan said:
OH OH OH!!! I wanna stir the pot!!!!

I kid I kid!!!

Anyway... On the whole Blood Groove/Fuller thing.... I have an idea...

Why don't someone with an large collection of various knives both with the groove and without the groove try and round up similar sized knives and what not with similar blade shapes and take to sticking them into something like a pumpkin or watermelon or cantaloupe and such... Or maybe a big ole chunk of raw roast. But before doing so affix a lanyard to the handle of each of them and attach that to a set of digital handheld scale thing like a fish weighing scale.

Then you could thrust them all in say on the pumpkin all the way around it and as you come around back to the beginning and pull them out with the scale attached to the lanyard and video the whole thing we'd be able to watch the numbers on the scale to see if it truly reduces friction or not. I personally think it will to the point like a fluted arrow shaft would have less stiction when withdrawing it than the smooth shafts do.

BUT anyway.... I think it'd be cool... And I'd offer to help out with it in anyway I can so let me know. I may be able to supply the scale device if I can find it...

What says you??

DM
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The ancient Japanese did myriad experiments on live prisoners (tied to posts) to test a blade's qualities. No where is mentioned the ability of bo-hi to effectively drain blood. Just slashing ability. How well a blade slices through flesh and bone.

Uh... watelmerron test uneccesally...
 
enderwiggin said:
Singing the praises of a knifemaker has absolutely nothing to do with what the slot in the blade of one of his knives is for.

In fact, it's argumentative sleight-of-hand--you know the slot in the blade is absolutely worthless, and is only there for cosmetics or a ridiculous second wing blade. But instead of stopping at "Oh, it's a goofy Hollywood cosmetic thing" we've stooped to trading insults.

Because somebody, somewhere out there, isn't bowing a the alter of Gil Hibbin's knife designs, and has dared imply that they don't like one of his famous designs.

Blaspheme!
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Give me a break! I don't give a squat if you like Gil's designs or not. That's up to you. There is a big difference between saying "I don't like it" and "It's a useless knife".

To imply that nobody likes it or uses it is pretty far fetched in light of how many have been sold over twenty years. I wish I could come up with a knife that "useless".

Whether you like Gil Hibben or his designs or not, he has earned and deserves a bit of respect. He does read these threads by the way. He also knows a thing or two about knives in the wilderness having been a professional hunting guide in Alaska.

The knife in question however IS a movie knife. In the end, only one person had to like it, the customer he made it for. The fact that it proved to be one of the most popular production knives ever made is secondary.
 
This goes for you, too, MisterSat. Those of us who know better know that Gil and his work need no defending. His reputation and his quality of work stand on their own.
 
Geez, will you guys stop getting all political and stuff?

Can't we all just get along?

<Sorry. I'm a baaaad boy!>
 
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