So here's the scoop!
Several months ago, we received a call from our good friend, knifemaker Bill Harsey from Creswell, OR. Via legendary knifemaker, Ron Lake, he had been requested by U.S. Army Special Operations Command to design a knife for the US Special Forces, and Bill wanted us to manufacture the knife. Once he had a basic pattern, a very clean, no-nonsense knife, he and Chris refined the details from a manufacturing and function point of view. Prototypes were made and presented, and the selection process began. A myriad of military hoops were jumped! We received invaluable assistance from Bill Strang of Tactical and Survival Specialties, Inc in Harrisonburg, VA and it is through TSSI
www.tacsurv.com that the actual sales will be made to the military.
The knife to the Green Berets will be known as the Yarborough, named for Brigadier General William P. Yarborough, former Special Warfare Center Commander. Beginning with the class graduating on August 23, each graduate from Q (qualification) Course will be presented with a serialized Yarborough. Also available to current and formers members of the U.S Army Special Forces through the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum Gift Shop, the serialized version is subject to USASOC approval.
Without the name Yarborough and non-serialized, the otherwise identical knife is available from Chris Reeve Knives, and will be available from your CRK dealer. It will be known simply as The Green Beret knife. Retail: $299.00
The specs:
Blade material: Crucible Steels CPM S30V stainless steel
Blade hardness: 55-57 RC
Coating: KG Gun-Kote ®
Handle material: OD Green Canvas Micarta
Blade length: 7 inches
Overall length: 12 3/8 inches
Sheath: Airborne DeLuxe model by BlackHawk Industries, Inc
www.blackhawkindustries.com
This project represents some new things at Chris Reeve Knives! It is the first collaboration we have ever done; it is a different style of knife from those for which we are best known; it is our first offical association with the military. What is not new is our devotion to quality, to producing the finest military knife for the finest fighting men. It is an incredible honor to be making these knives and we have been privileged to meet many outstanding people as project has moved along.
The knife in the picture - #0001 is the very knife that was presented to Brigadier General Yarborough. The following is an exerpt from The Pilot, which is the local newspaper in North Carolina where BG Yarborough lives:
'Yarborough Knife':
First Copy Brought to Retired General
by John Chappell: Staff Writer
It's called the Yarborough knife.
That's the name written on it. It isn't just any name, and it isn't just any knife. Lt. Gen. Doug Brown hand-delivered the very first one to retired Gen.William Yarborough, for whom the knife has been named. From now on, the only way to get a Yarborough knife will be to complete U.S. Army Special Forces training.
Brown commands the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, headquartered at Fort Bragg, which includes Special Forces. Thursday afternoon, his command car pulled up outside Yarborough's Southern Pines home. Welcoming as he emerged were the general's son, retired Lt. Col. Lee Yarborough, and his wife, Ellen; retired Special Forces Maj. Rudi Gresham, who had served as the general's aide; and an old family friend, retired Col. Lee Mize, who won the Medal of Honor.
Brown presented Gen. Yarbor-ough with Special Forces Knife No. 001, the first "Yarborough Knife."
"It is a tremendous honor, General Brown, that you gave me the honor of this knife," Yarborough said. "You know, I tried to pass the Bowie knife, and it didn't make it. This will be an heirloom for my children and grandchildren."
Gresham told The Pilot that Yarborough tried to introduce the Bowie knife years ago for Special Forces soldiers to use.
"It never was authorized," Gresham said. "Later, we had what we called a SOG knife in Vietnam. General Brown got in contact with me and said he wanted to do something for General Yarborough. So, he called me and told me how he went to over 100 different manufacturers to find a knife that would be ideal."
The Yarborough knife is not for show. It is in deadly earnest, a working knife for a soldier.
Gresham said. "He has the first knife, and it says 001. Every student from now on that goes through the Q (Qualification) course will get one. It is only for Special Forces graduates. Retirees can buy one through the museum, but none are to be given ceremonially. The only person other than Special Forces who will get one is the
commander-in-chief, the president of the United States."
Gresham says many special features in the design of the knife are included to make it more useful under conditions encountered by Special Forces soldiers.
"When it gets wet, it gets sticky so you don't lose it," he said. "It is a working knife. It is one heck of a quality knife."
Mize told Brown that Yarborough had at last been recognized as the father of the modern Green Berets. "Sir, this is the least that they could do," he said. "I am honored to be here." Mize told The Pilot that Yarborough more than deserved the honor. "He is not only the father of the Green Berets," Mize said, "he is the one who brought us out of the Wilderness and brought us into the light. He has done more than anyone alive or dead for special forces."
As to Yarborough's reaction, Gresham told The Pilot, "He was overwhelmed."
So you can see it's been kinda busy round here...
Anne
