Three groundbreaking knife developments in the last century (20th)

golok

golok

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Oct 20, 2000
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I am only familiar with a few decades of the last century so I am not in a position to comment.

Considering that my goodself is also a novice in this specialised field, I thought I leave it to those whose experience overshadows mine from here to Alaska, to comment on this issue.

At the turn of the 20th century, knives were probably trying to keep pace with scientific discoveries which were few and far in between, that is until Einstein decided to shock the world.

So 100 years have passed rather rapidly and what has transpired to propel the knife industry to its current level.

So what might be the three most important developments, or discoveries that have been deemed to have changed the course of the blade industry?

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Make Love your strongest weapon. Compassion your shield and forgiveness your armour.
 
For me I'd say one had opening Tac folders with belt clips(thanks Syderco). This, followed by the great new steels(D-2, CMP440V, ATS-34etc.), and very versatile multi-tools. RKBA!
 
The lowly Gerber LST changed everything more than fifteen years ago. It was the first production knife to feature molded synthetic handles which were stiff enough that liners were not required. The knife is little more than a blade, a lockbar, and a few pins. The LST led the way to modern folder design using lightweight, stiff materials like zytel, G10 which were strong enough to create a knife frame without additional support.

There was a great article a couple of years ago in Blade magazine naming the 25 most influential knives of the last 25 years. The LST was high on the list.
 
A lot of the things people assume are new have been around for centuries. The functional equivalent of the Emerson Wave is found on centuries-old navajas ... the good old-fashioned clasplock is more reliable than most if not all the locks used nowadays ... locking folders designed for one-hand inertial opening have been dug up in Viking encampments....

As far as I know the pocket clip is new. (Clip sheaths are very old, but I've never seen an old folder with a pocket clip. I won't be surprised if an old one turns up, though.) Synthetic handle materials are new -- celluloid and hard rubber were both introduced in the 19th century, other materials later. Stainless steel is new.

Epoxy is new, but glues of approximately equal strength have been used since the Paleolithic....
 
Generally, I'd say:
  1. Stainless steel becomes commerically viable. Real stainless invented around 1914.
  2. Plastics become commercially viable. Phenolics and thermoplastics start to appear in the 20's to 40's.
  3. Hmm... don't know. Liner lock reintroduced in 80's, clips, damascus steel reintroduced in 70's, one-handers: these things all had a big impact.[/list=a]

    Cougar is right that there's usually nothing new under the sun. Stain resistant steels were talked about a couple hundred years ago. Plastics have been around since well before this century. Some of the latest and most influential developments aren't really inventions; just rediscoveries of old ideas.

    One funny example: you occasionally here people talk about how Spyderco invented serrations and how serrations have had such a large impact on modern tactical knives, but serrations are so old that they weren't even invented by our species!
    smile.gif


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    Cerulean

    "The hairy-armed person who figured out how to put an edge on a suitable rock made it possible for us to be recognizably human in the first place." - J.K.M.

    [This message has been edited by cerulean (edited 05-27-2001).]
 
The first ground breaker goes to (DUH) Buck for popularizing the lockback. Many of us can still remember when slip joints seemed the only option. The second GB goes to Crawford for desinging the "one handed knife" sometimes refered to as an AG Russell design-but it was Crawford. I'm going to award the third GB to Chris Reeves for the samll Sebenza-perhaps the most perfect legal pocket carry ever designed. Of course others are free to disagree but they would be wrong.
 
1) Invention of plastics: Made it possible for cheap buut reliable knives to be available to all.

2) Mass production/assembely line: Made knives something you could buy froma store instead of a smith. Recent developments like CNC help too.

3) Stainless steels



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William Callahan

"I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without
hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd
never expect it."
-Jack Handey

I'm one of those wierdos who likes Zytel.
 
Golok,I hope this wont be taken as blowing my own horn,it's definately not meant that way,and I do not include myself, but in my opinion,#1=the advent of effecient and affordable belt grinders,#2=the custom knifemakers who had the foresight to start using said grinders,#3those same makers,for their great designs,which have totally influenced factory knives,who's designs were getting pretty stale b4 the advent of the custom maker.

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MIKE

[This message has been edited by MIHKNIVES (edited 05-27-2001).]
 
1. One handed opening, belt clipped tac folders.

2. Multi-Tools

3. Plastics and other materials, intended to include kydex, concealex, carbon fiber, Zytel, G10, etc.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by cerulean:
Generally, I'd say:
  1. Stainless steel becomes commerically viable. Real stainless invented around 1914.
  2. Plastics become commercially viable. Phenolics and thermoplastics start to appear in the 20's to 40's.[/list=a]</font>
Click to expand...

  1. I fully agree and can't think of a single thing which rises above the rest like these two do.



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    Urban Fredriksson www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/
 
I would say the advent of these three innovations:

Stainless steel

The reliable lockback

Quality Thermoplastic

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I used to be disgusted .Now I am just amused....I feel much better now that I have given up all hope
 
In the last century, they are definately:

1. synthetic handles (Zytel, Micarta, etc..)

2. one handed opening (holes, pegs, discs)

3. pocket clips
 
stjames hit a real nail right on the head. I guess I'd say that his forming the American Bladesmith outfit, combined with his re-discovery of pattern welded steel is one of the most significant development of the century.

Another extremely significant trend during the past century is that Americans ceased to be people who routinely carried knives. It has gotten to the point where the PC and "zero tolerance" types have endangered our very basic right to use effective tools and protect ourselves should that need arise.

Last, I'd say all the precision available in mass produced knives enabled by computers is extremely important in the production of most of the production knives all we here care about. Or, the pocket clip. Or the Internet. (I know, that's more than 3)
smile.gif



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Asi es la vida

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