Tom Maringer fighters

Recluse

Recluse

Joined
Jan 15, 2000
Messages
429
Well, I just checked the old posts via "search" and found that Mr. Maringer isn't making knives anymore. Disappointment #1. Anyway, does anyone have any experience with these? Are they worth seeking out on the secondary market? ARE there any on the secondary market? I am particularly interested in the asymmetrical blade fighter he made. I THINK it was called the Vorpal 1A. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
 
Recluse,

Tom's knives are excellent. Very difficult to find in the aftermarket, especially the Vorpal's.

He was doing tactical fixed blades and conceal carry rigs back in the 80's. He had a shoulder rig for a 10" bladed Vorpal with a break front sheath! Very Sweet. I liked it so much Im now having break front sheaths made for many of my tactical fixed blades.

Back before the "enlightened" period we are in now.

Good hunting.



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Les Robertson
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com

"Nobody throws me my own guns and tells me to run, nobody!
 
Recluse,
Les knows more about custom knives than I do, but they are out there. I've handled some of the vorpal series on 2 or 3 occasions. Probably going to be one of those things that will pay off after lots of patience. They are pretty sweet knives.

------------------
Paul Davidson

Them:"What's that clipped to your pocket, a beeper?"
Me:"Uuh....yeah, something like that."
 
These rigs are definately worth hunting down!
I have a friend who is in executive protection and SWEARS by Maringer's stuff, especially the rig that Les mentioned. He carries every day and has for the last 22 years, so I take his opinion very seriously.
For some pics of Maringer's stuff, check out this link: http://web.tampabay.rr.com/bbdogg/maringer/
The draw is bascally pulling back your strong arm as though charging to throw a punch. When you punch you have the knife deployed in the saber grip. Fastest draw there is!

Take Care,
Al
 
Thanks Les, Paul and Al for responding so quickly. Al, that link made my day! I haven't even SEEN any photos of Maringer's knives in about 10 years. At least now I know that the model I want is the Vorpal 2-A. Do you guys have any suggestions on where to start looking for one of these? Are shows a good place? Thanks for all your help.
 
Recluse,

Sorry to say I have no idea where you could definately locate one of these knives.

But the first thing I would try is the Knife Exchange section of these forums under the "Wanted to Buy" section. Then I would let Les and some of the other purveyors know you are looking for one and ask them to keep their eyes out.

And maybe as a last resort you could place a classified ad in the back of Blade magazine.

Good Luck!
Al

[This message has been edited by Biginboca (edited 03-22-2000).]
 
I'm glad I saw this topic, I've wondered on and off about why I have not seen his name in awhile. I agree that he was doing the tactical thing long before most of todays crowd. Does anyone know why he's stopped ? Just curious. TIA

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Buck Collectors Club Member
Knifeknut(just ask my wife)
Cetan Blood Brother
Military & Moran Admiration Society
 

I have purchased two Vorpals this year and they are indeed hard to come by. You have to wait until they come up for sale. One of the two that I have I had to work for 2 months to get the guy to sell it to me.I have more info available about the line if you want to contact me off line.

Bobby Branton

------------------
AKTI member #1000
President South Carolina Association of Knifemakers
President American Knife Throwers Alliance

http://www.brantonknives.com
 
Hey, guys. I got access to the internet out here in the field. Here are some Maringer pics. I had both, but I only have the bowie now:
http://web.tampabay.rr.com/bbdogg/maringer/

I will be back 10 APR.

------------------
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
George Orwell
 
Hi. Tom Maringer here. One of your members pointed me to this forum and I was surprised to find the topic of discussion. I retired from knife/sword-making in 1994 for a wide variety of reasons. I still have all my archival info as to how many of each model was made, and what their serial numbers were and all that... hope to gather it together at some point. I am also in negotiations with a great knifemaker who is considering taking over the Vorpal line, so in the future the knives may be available again if that ever works out.
Any other questions feel free to email me at maringer@arkansas.net or check out my web-page at http://comp.uark.edu/~tmaring if you want to see what I've been up to lately. I wrote an adventure novel entitled A SUPERIOR STATE OF AFFAIRS, which is available for free download and/or reading on the website.
Thanks for all your kind words, and I'm glad somebody actually appreciates all the work I put into those knives! I pretty much thought I was a piece of forgotten knife history.
Tom
 
Tom,
It is great to see you pop up. I was fortunate to own two of your knives...the ones posting in my link. I still have the bowie and I only traded the tanto for a cool trade and a good guy. If you still have an interest in the knifemaking business, it would be great to see you post in the knife maker's section.

------------------
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
George Orwell
 
This topic got my memory banks churning. In 1986 There was a magazine called "Gung Ho" that did a special custom knife handbook.

This was an excellent magazine, i find myself looking at it every few months. In looking at the profile of Mr. Maringer in this magazine, it is obvios that this super talented maker was 15 years ahead of the curve.

Nice to see you post here Mr Maringer, your not a forgotten part of the knife world. You and the others in magazines like the above mentioned helped to define the knife market as we know it today.

Sure hope someone takes over the Vorpal line.

Matt.


------------------
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty"
Thomas Jefferson

www.lameyknives.com
 
Hi Tom

You are certainly not forgotten. I found your website awhile back. Your site was an interesting read. I also had pulled out the books and located an article you had in the Knives 95 Thoughts on Swords. I reread and enjoyed that one again. Very nice to see you post.

Ken Barham

NAMASTE
 
Would you believe I passed up a V-1B this last year? If it had been a V-1A, I'd have had to snap it up.

John Hollister
 
Any one know if the Vorpal line is being made again by the the new maker mentioned above, and also if Tom managed to write up his knife making ''autobiography''?
 
In the above posts it is mentioned that the Vorpals may be going back into production allbeit with another maker, any one know if this has happened?

Also Tom mentioned that he was thinking of writing a history of his knife making career, again any developments?

Tom Maringer, although he didn't know it at the time , created the Tactical knife as we know it today, he was a genius and his retirement was a great loss to the knife making world... IMO
 
Mr. Maringer,
It's really great of you to reply to this thread. I think a lot of people appreciate what you were doing, and the quality of your work. I read your homepage and have an understanding as to why you quit in '94. I've talked to a couple of other knifemakers in the past that are concerned about such thing happening. It's obvious that you are a man of many interests and passions though, and I'm glad to know that you did not quit due to illness or financial problems etc. The Shire Post project is quite interesting. I hope in the future that you do decide to return to knifemaking (which is my own selfish perspective).
Paul
 
Hey Recluse, I'll chime in here as a former owner of several Maringer knives/swords - they are fantastic! I have seen 3 different Vorpals for sale on eBay in the past 18 months - one of them was up 3 times and never sold, the other two sold I believe. So they are out there.

Bob

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"The search is half the fun!"
 
Hi to everybody who is interested in Vorpals. When I saw the picture of them I was completely captivated by blade and handle profile, not mentioning the front break sheath. I was even considering to persuade Tom Maringer to make one more Vorpal untill I have found out that Bobby Branton purchased his equipment and design and is offering several Vorpal models. Needless to say I have ordered one right away. I think it is great that such interesting knife design will be reborn again. My praises to Mr. Branton's enthusiasm in this venture. I loking forward to recieve one and as soon as I get my hands on it , I will post the pics and maybe even do a short review. By the way when I looked at the pictures of Vorpals and the bowie knife I have found that they the handle design on several Polkowski's knives is very similar. Compare for example The profile of the handle on Polecat to Vorpal, and Bulldog/Pug to Maringer bowie. Is it only my opinion or someone else out there can see it too? Alex.
 
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