The Hollow Handle

Morablades

Morablades

Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
1,990
Today I used my old Parker-Brothers Hollow Handle Survival Knife. Now I have a handful of these. The one I used today has a 6'' blade w/ a saw back which looks almost identical to the Randall 18. In all honesty these are not bad knives. They're cheap (at least back then they were) and can take a razor edge. I can easily sharpen mine to a hair popping edge that will retain a good while. Though the cast metal handle does make the knife a bit heavy it is very comfortable to use. Since I don't baton with a fixed blade period (never saw the need) I have no problems having to worry if the knife is going to break at the weak spot. This particular knife was bolted to the handle then filled with what looks like a liquid metal that hardened.
I know this isn't the fancy one piece C. Reeves stuff, but on the rare occasion that I take a fixed blade into the bush I like to go in with some nostalgia, pack the hollow handle full of survival gear and start trekkin'. I just like the concept. Still have the original sheath too, which isn't that cheap lamb skin crap. This is nice thick leather. So, lets all take a trip back in time and tell about our old hollow handles. Oh, and thanks to Parker-Brothers for a knife that is still going strong.:thumbup:

Here's a thread that I dug up: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=509374 Cool stuff:thumbup:
 
Mora,

There's nothing wrong with a well executed hollow handle. Chris Reeves, Aitor and few others have been pretty good. I beat the crap out of Aitor JKII for a while, good knife IMHO. I think the pattern got a bad rap as a result of the crap that got manufactured post-Rambo...
 
Yeah, same here with my Jungle King (1). It was the first fixed blade knife I bought myself. Must be 25-30 years ago!

It lives in the toolbox in the car now. Not something I would really like to put much trust in if push came to shove (or baton) but it's taken a beating over the years and still comes back for more.

The handle of mine used to be full of cotton wool, ferro rod, potassium permanganate/sugar in a tube, bits of birthday cake candle and a few lifeboat matches. I always have been a pyromaniac!
 
Maybe they all did know about other hollow handle knives, but I think these three are a good example: Reeves, Aitor, Parker, of a legitimate design appealing to different manufacturers, available to different levels of user.

For sure, a walk in the woods with gear integrated into the knife handle, maybe a small pack for snacks -- like Slim Pickens said in Dr. Strangelove -- you could have a pretty good time in Vegas with this! :)
 
foxyrick said:
Yeah, same here with my Jungle King (1). It was the first fixed blade knife I bought myself. Must be 25-30 years ago!

It lives in the toolbox in the car now. Not something I would really like to put much trust in if push came to shove (or baton) but it's taken a beating over the years and still comes back for more.
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After all, it is a variation on the Spanish military knife.

The handle of mine used to be full of cotton wool, ferro rod, potassium permanganate/sugar in a tube, bits of birthday cake candle and a few lifeboat matches. I always have been a pyromaniac!
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You and me both! :D
 
The Marto-Brewer Explorer, the Aitor (especially the JKII), Randall, Reeves, Parrish, and Peter Bauchop to name a few. Bauchop had a really interesting hollow handle knife. The tang was in the form of a tuning fork and the handle was steel pipe hammered on over it and set in place. Rock solid. I think that was the "Recce" model.
 
Back in the day, I used to want a Wilkinson Sword Survival Knife - the one with a slot cut into the tang and the hollowed handle slabs held on with a hand nut on the end. Great design!

Unfortunately it was always too rich for my blood, and costs even more now!

Then I wanted the Buckmaster with the anchor pins.

I once saved up enough for a Chris Reeves Jereboam but when I got to the shop they had none in stock, so I bought an Al Mar Pathfinder instead.
 
I have a Hackman-made Garcia "Survival Knife." It's a tank. But the only cogent argument for the design that the creator made was that it could be easily turned into a spear. So, for me, its a solution to a nonexistent problem.

(Ya, Ya. I confess. I also bought ona' those Made-In-Japan dohickies with the lil' survival kit in the handle and the ability to cut wire using the scabbard. Proby' a "collectable" now. :o)
 
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Thomas Linton said:
I have a Hackman-made Garcia "Survival Knife." It's a tank.
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I heard the Hackmans were not Garcias. I don't know, perhaps someone else can clarify that point. I heard the Brazilian (IIRC) were just a bit thinner.

I always wanted to write an article about them but I could never find one for a decent price that had the original matchbox-sharpening-stone combination thingamabob. :D

(Ya, Ya. I confess. I also bought ona' those Made-In-Japan dohickies with the lil' survival kit in the handle and the ability to cut wire using the scabbard. Proby' a "collectable" now. :o)
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I think that's where a lot of people get ignorant on the subject of hollow handle knives. The original one that had the AK-like wirecutter cutout in the blade and matching portion on the sheath was the Marto-Brewer Explorer. They were Made in Spain and all of them made anywhere else were not as good. Same-same with Aitor, Aitor made the first ones with the working slingshot bands, any of them made other than in Spain were garbage. Then some knockoff company made an Aitor Jungle King II copy with the folding slingshot forks on the end of the sheath and the wire cutter mounts combining the Aitor and Brewer ideas into one knife they called, "The Survivor." Ooooohhhh...it was a piece of shit. :D
 
Don,

Yep, it was a POS!

Here is another interesting design:

mike064.jpg


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mike065.jpg


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mike067.jpg
 
Don Rearic said:
I heard the Hackmans were not Garcias. I don't know, perhaps someone else can clarify that point. I heard the Brazilian (IIRC) were just a bit thinner.
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The first ones sold by Garcia came from Hackman. Very well done, as one might ex0pect from an esteemed maker of surgical tools. Later, Garcia shifted to the one made in Brazil - notably thinner and much worse F&F. Doubtless cheaper cost to make. So the designer, Ken Warner, says, and so it is. I have one of each, but neither came with a sheath. Well, theBrazilian model came with tatters that were probably the sheath at one time.

I think that's where a lot of people get ignorant on the subject of hollow handle knives. The original one that had the AK-like wirecutter cutout in the blade and matching portion on the sheath was the Marto-Brewer Explorer. They were Made in Spain and all of them made anywhere else were not as good. Same-same with Aitor, Aitor made the first ones with the working slingshot bands, any of them made other than in Spain were garbage. Then some knockoff company made an Aitor Jungle King II copy with the folding slingshot forks on the end of the sheath and the wire cutter mounts combining the Aitor and Brewer ideas into one knife they called, "The Survivor." Ooooohhhh...it was a piece of shit. :D
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I forgot about the slingshot feature on my Japanese version - rubber rubbing and a mounting system. Shazamm!
 
I've got 2 1980s vintage Japanese imports. One is a Taylor Seto copy of the Randall 18 with a 6" blade, and it is VERY sturdy and well designed. That's the one I take up in the mountains. Has the big trowel-style sawteeth just like Brock Sampson's EDC . . . because cartoon characters have the best gear.

The other is a "Explorer" brand Wilderness I with a 3.5" cutting edge, which makes it legal in the city. Just had an ankle rig made by Survival Sheath Systems for it that cost more than the knife. Ankle rig has a large pocket for additional gear. Compass is on the outside of the endcap on this one, so if I have a bit too much at the pub I can look down and find my way home. Not sure what gear to put in an urban survival rig . . . a 4 oz flask of corn liquor, a 3-pack of condoms, a lighter, a few twenties, and a spare set of keys are in there now.
 
i still have a hollow handle from my child hood...it's around 20 years old now and ive COMPLETELY abused it while a kid and it still is pretty sturdy...Maybe we can bring the coolness back that is the hollow handled survival knife... :D
 
The most "popular" hollow handled knife back in the 80s was this POS with a big globular compass on the end (which usually was smashed within a month -- very poor design for a survival knife). The sawteeth would not cut anything -- but it had a bottle opener that made up for it. Blade would get sharp -- for a while. They were only 5 bucks at the flea market so everyone had one (usually with a broken or missing endcap).
 
The Bianchi Nighthawk and related C. Schlieper(Eye Brand) survival knives were really decent. About the only bad thing I can say about them is that the handle is a bit short. Another semi-forgotten name in the survival knife wars of the 80's.

To the fella that asked, Aitor Knives still catalogs the Jungle KIng 1-3, but you have to be very careful, as the knock-offs have gotten very strong in faking the original markings, sheathes, etc...............
 
I bought a hollow handled knife called the "lifeknife commando" in about 1982. The knife was a 6 inch blade and 440A steel. For about 8 years it was my only fixed blade and heavily used. My only real complaint was the frequent sharpening.

It now looks out of place when I compare it to modern blades of high quality steel, but I still keep it around for posterity.
 
I really like the CRK Mountaineer 1. The larger models are just too heavy for backpacking.

CR8MNI[large].jpg
 
The Glock field knife is a decent current example of this style, although you won't fit very much stuff in the handle.
 
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