timberline specwar

Status
Not open for further replies.
It's not, you have to look for them just like the Basic 7. Good luck. I have them just like I have the basic 7 and they are great. Well one is for sure, the other is a safe queen. They come up for sale frm time to time.
 
Post edited by moderator for unacceptable content. This post was a violation of the Bladeforums terms of use. No one not intended to purposely offend would use that term.
 
We don't use racist terms like "chink" here on the forums.
If you want to use that kind of language then go somewhere else.

Besides, there are top-notch knives coming out of Japan and Taiwan--every bit as good as anything coming out of the USA and better than a lot coming out of Europe.
And the knives from China are getting better and better.

Allen.
 
Sorry, I didn`t mean anything by it. I just like products that are made by USA. No offense to any foriegn members. To me those chinese p.o.s. knives are nowhere near the quality of what comes out of the USA.
 
Just a little history about the Specwar. It was a collaboration between Nealy and Emerson. Timberline produced it and the retail was near $400 when new. The knives ended up selling for under $300 and from what I understand Timberline took a loss on the knives and thus stopped producing them. The handle material was non conductive and impervious to everything including heat, and chemicals. The coating on the blade was not a corrosion resistant coating. It was a wear resistant coating that was reputed to be a Rockwell hardness of 80-90. Harder than even Chrome. The edge was chisel like all the emerson specwars. The Aviator was much smaller and cheaper and sold better, I think. The knife was top quality and you could tell. I have two and will not part with them.
 
jarrode93@gmail.com said:
Sorry, I didn`t mean anything by it. I just like products that are made by USA. No offense to any foriegn members. To me those chinese p.o.s. knives are nowhere near the quality of what comes out of the USA.
Click to expand...

You're quite right, the Chinese p.o.s. knives don't compare favorably with the U.S. ones---unless you compare them to the U.S. p.o.s. knives. The higher quality Chinese knives, on the other hand, are doing better and better as was said, and most U.S. companies are doing very well if they can match the quality control of Japanese and modern Taiwanese manufacturing. Fifty years ago it was quite true, we were leading the world in industry and innovation. Trouble is, the world was watching and figuring out what it took to achieve what we were achieving, and things just aren't like they used to be. We have become a very throw-away society (disposable anything) so the concept of something being built to levels of quality that'll let it last longer than five years has become somewhat alien to many. Don't get me wrong, there are American knives being built that rival/exceed anything else being made in the world---but don't be fooled into thinking "Made in U.S.A." is an official stamp of quality.

I certainly buy American when I can, but it can't be my only consideration.
 
Stay clear of the Timberline/Camillus Pilot Survival Knife. It looks like a SpecWar, but it's a real piece of crap. 440C or not, it arrived as dull as a butterknife, the handles are very chizy, and by the weight it's obvious that there's not much of a tang.

Some of my favorite knives are made in Japan, much better quality than an average American-made knife. Columbia River's Tawain-made knives are excellent values for the money, decent materials, interesting designs, and good quality.

-Bob
 
Cobalt tell us more about the Specwar. I have one and it's pretty cool. THe sheath system is somethin else. I've seen a bunch of different sheath configurations and can't figure out the setup, by and large....
Here's my Timberline/Emerson/Neeley Specwar
IMG_3691.jpg


IMG_3681.jpg


Tom
 
Bob W said:
Stay clear of the Timberline/Camillus Pilot Survival Knife. It looks like a SpecWar, but it's a real piece of crap. 440C or not, it arrived as dull as a butterknife, the handles are very chizy, and by the weight it's obvious that there's not much of a tang.

Some of my favorite knives are made in Japan, much better quality than an average American-made knife. Columbia River's Tawain-made knives are excellent values for the money, decent materials, interesting designs, and good quality.

-Bob
Click to expand...


Yes, I have heard that the aviator was considered a pos by some that had them. I guess when you try to save money things may go wrong.
 
Ok the Specwar is made of 60Rc, ATS34. The handle is made of Grivory, which is a thermoplastic cross that has some flexibility and hardness while being non-conductive and heat resistant.

Made in the USA

The knife was deigned with Prying, insulated cutting, chopping, swing cutting and light hammering, in that order of priority.

The 304 stainless steel pommel is not attached to the blade but can be used for light hammering, but will not conduct electricity from the blade.

Ernest Emerson and Timberlines Vaugh Neely collaborated on the Timberline Specwar and was made in Timberlines Colorado Facility using hadnmade techniques to get it right.

The knife retailed for $400 which at the time was way too high and I think that is what killed it. I also heard that at the prices that they ended up being sold (around $272 was normal), timberline was taking a loss and decided it wasn't worth making anymore.

Production of the Specwar stopped and the Aviator was born. A low cost alternative.

TOB9595 said:
Cobalt tell us more about the Specwar. I have one and it's pretty cool. THe sheath system is somethin else. I've seen a bunch of different sheath configurations and can't figure out the setup, by and large....
Here's my Timberline/Emerson/Neeley Specwar
IMG_3691.jpg


IMG_3681.jpg


Tom
Click to expand...
 
Yes, I have heard that the aviator was considered a pos by some that had them. I guess when you try to save money things may go wrong.
Click to expand...
Here's my quick review from a few months ago:
Next knife, not such a score. It's the Camillus(R) Timberline(R) Pilot Survival Knife ($30). I've always been intrigued by the unique design of the Timbrline Specwar, so I ordered this knife to satiate my curiosity. First impression, this feels like a very cheap knife. The handle is lightweight hard plastic, and the weight of the knife indicates there's not much of a tang. The ergonomics are not what I expected; I think the real Specwar is quite a bit larger. There's a gap along where the blade and handle meet, proving the tang is only half the width of the exposed blade. The knife is advertised as 440C - good steel or not, it's incredibly dull. I wrote to S.G. regarding the lack of markings on the knife. They confirmed that the knife was made by Camillus, and I learned on the Camillus Forum that the markings were skipped to keep the cost down on a closeout product. The sheath is also a cost-cutter, a simple sewn pouch with a plastic insert, belt loop, and snap.
I've seen a visually-identical Timberline knife advertised as "Aviator" for $170. I sincerely hope this is not the same knife. Is it worth $30? Probably. Is it worth $60? Probably not. Worth $100? No way.
Click to expand...

-Bob
 
Bob W said:
Here's my quick review from a few months ago:


-Bob
Click to expand...


It probably isn't the same knife as the original aviator had good reviews. But non-the-less, it is shameful to make a knife and advertise it as what it was but at 1/5 the cost, knowng that it is a POS.

The same thing happened with the Junglee Hattori Fighter. The older Junglee Hattori Fighters that retailed for over $200 were awesome knives, the ones that came later and you could buy for $70 out of smokey mtn works were junk comparatively.
 
Few words to add on the Timberline Specwar.
It was in my mind, the perfect tactical fixed blade tanto.
Loved the styling. The material was top of the line then.
With a name like Emerson behind its design what could possibly be any righter than that!
Heck! It even paired up real well with my Benchmade CQC7. And they were both black TiNi. Beautiful!
The only fault in the Specwar, I found was in its construction of the integral kydex "button release" which was prone to damage whenever the blade was drawn in/out of its sheath. No, it wasn't being sliced so much by its razor sharp edge then by its thick and perfectly stright edge tang along the sides. In no time, I found myself having to stop "toying-around" with the blade as much as I would have liked to. And so I ended up keeping it aside and got the Aviator instead.
Yup! The Aviator was lighter, smaller, had a less less complicated sheath and the steel wasn't state of the art. But, strangely enough it was better profiled for cutting than the Specwar as it was an "American Tanto", ie double bevel edge. Only thing was it cost a fair bit of money then. Looking back, there weren't too many folks owing the Specwar which was probably due to the fact that the "in-thing" then were tactical folders. Guess I was one of the "lucky ones (?)" who choose to spend my well earned dollar on a piece of "functional art"!

Krizzard, out
"...Whoever kills with the sword must be killed by the sword... "
- The New Testament, Revelation 13:10
 
I think that the aviator you got was one of the early ones made by Cutco which were much better than the later ones made with Camillus. The Cutco ones were quality which is why they still cost some money unlike the aviators of later years.

As for the Specwar, it remains one of my favorites. It cuts well enough because it is a chisel grind which reduces the cutting angle in half and makes up for all the steel near the edge which makes it so strong as well. It may not be a finess cutter but it can hold it's own in that department. Man all this talk is taking me back in time.



Krizzard said:
Few words to add on the Timberline Specwar.
It was in my mind, the perfect tactical fixed blade tanto.
Loved the styling. The material was top of the line then.
With a name like Emerson behind its design what could possibly be any righter than that!
Heck! It even paired up real well with my Benchmade CQC7. And they were both black TiNi. Beautiful!
The only fault in the Specwar, I found was in its construction of the integral kydex "button release" which was prone to damage whenever the blade was drawn in/out of its sheath. No, it wasn't being sliced so much by its razor sharp edge then by its thick and perfectly stright edge tang along the sides. In no time, I found myself having to stop "toying-around" with the blade as much as I would have liked to. And so I ended up keeping it aside and got the Aviator instead.
Yup! The Aviator was lighter, smaller, had a less less complicated sheath and the steel wasn't state of the art. But, strangely enough it was better profiled for cutting than the Specwar as it was an "American Tanto", ie double bevel edge. Only thing was it cost a fair bit of money then. Looking back, there weren't too many folks owing the Specwar which was probably due to the fact that the "in-thing" then were tactical folders. Guess I was one of the "lucky ones (?)" who choose to spend my well earned dollar on a piece of "functional art"!

Krizzard, out
"...Whoever kills with the sword must be killed by the sword... "
- The New Testament, Revelation 13:10
Click to expand...
 
I've always thought the Specwar handle was Zytel - but if its Grivory (also known as GV-6H as used in the Camillus Becker line) then that is a much better material.

I do recall the metal hammer does not actually the tang so the knife handle is 100% electrically insulated.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top