When did "tactical" become a selling point?

It started to catch on early to mid eighties. There was a radical shift in the knife maker arena towards survival knives at the time. This coincided with the then new use of micarta and what is now common steels such as 154cm. Blackie Collins design of the Gerber Parabellum is considered the first custom/factory collaboration tactical folder. The term has become so overused that it has little meaning anymore. Having been in the Army from the end of Vietnam until 2000, I had a front row seat to this.
 
I think my first copies of "Fighting Knives" magazine are from 88 or 89. That's where I first remember being assaulted by all things tactical.
 
Personally I think there should be two categories: 'Traditional' and 'Technical'.

Traditional would cover all the hand-forged 'ABS style' knives, slippies, hunters, bowies, etc and Technical would cover all the types that employ the latest high-tech materials, machines and processes like CNC, etc etc to make knives.

Of course this type of categorisation applies more easily to customs. Production knives are another matter.

TheCarbideRat said:
So we need a new word! Let's get it on!!!
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Buffalohump said:
Personally I think there should be two categories: 'Traditional' and 'Technical'.

Traditional would cover all the hand-forged 'ABS style' knives, slippies, hunters, bowies, etc and Technical would cover all the types that employ the latest high-tech materials, machines and processes like CNC, etc etc to make knives.

Of course this type of categorisation applies more easily to customs. Production knives are another matter.
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:thumbup: I'll buy Technical -literally-.:D
The good thing about it is that critics can still make fun of it -technicool :rolleyes:-.
 
on the term "tactical knife".
figure that this descriptive vagueness is not new to the knife world.
case in point - Bowie Knife.
experts till this day still haven't come to a rock solid conclusion as to which knife it was that Jim Bowie carried the most.
was it in the form of the alleged oversized butcher knife or some crude handmade, or even perhaps something fancier further on in his life?
the thing is, when Jim Bowie became folklore, enterprising opportunist labled every type of outdoors hunting knife as being a "Bowie Knife".
only because folks of the period simply just couldn't get enough of Jim and had wanted the exact same knife that he was carrying at the legendry Sandbar Fight.
let alone, what else that he might have been carrying right up until his epic last stand at the Alamo.
to other yet, a Bowie Knife simply meant the knife created by Jim's brother, Rezin Bowie.
just think, if nobody knew then, what evidence would there now be to uncover the truth?
today of course, the basis of a knife pattern has been formulated as to what signifies a bowie knife.
it no longer matters about what type of knife pattern Jim Bowie became a legend with.
the important thing was that people would buy anything for as long as it met the basic criteria of bowiecool, now aka tacticool.
i could be wrong, but this thing with the term "tactical knives" can be sorted out once and for all,
just as soon as someone would get down to the legalities of actually specifying a knife pattern with the patented name of "tactical knife".
so there!
 
This:
" listing for his early tanto knives in Soldier of Fortune. "

It's the gol-dang internets! I was obsessed with SOF magazine in the early eighties as a wee-kid. I remember the CS adds too, and I wanted one of those knives bad. Hasn't this obsession with all military-influenced designs been around forever? Somebody just labeled it is all, it's nothing new. The internet just gets it to a broader audience i think.
 
crom said:
This:
" listing for his early tanto knives in Soldier of Fortune. "

It's the gol-dang internets! I was obsessed with SOF magazine in the early eighties as a wee-kid. I remember the CS adds too, and I wanted one of those knives bad. Hasn't this obsession with all military-influenced designs been around forever? Somebody just labeled it is all, it's nothing new. The internet just gets it to a broader audience i think.
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Don't%20Worry,%20Sir,%20I'm%20from%20the%20Internet.preview.jpg
 
GILYMANN...you are close. I hope I'm not repeating something from earlier in the thread.

Bowie's Sandbar knife was most likely a butchers knife. A butcher's knife ain't "sexy" and nobody is going to buy one (they already have one).

Rezin realized this, threw a bunch of extraneous scary pointy design elements on the knife, and started marketing it. Sold like hotcakes.

First "tactical" knife.

No different from today in any way. Exact same thing. I'm sure rezin would have put camo coating on it and called it a Bowie Spec Ops, if he would have tought of it, and if it would have sold more knives to the "ninjas/chairborne commandos" of the day.
 
What's funny to me about "tactical" military ready type equipment is that from friends who have served, they always said their equipment was from the lowest bidder :confused:

As a Sheriff's Deputy, I can say that only one other person in our department actually likes high end knives as much as I do and everyone else carries $25 or less pocket knives. They all cut seat belts just the same, you need a window breaker - use your baton, flashlight, or whatever the hell is available.

Now talk about "Tactical" flashlights and it's a whole other ball game at the department :eek:

Tactical is a selling point. It's something you already use everyday but painted black and put in a dark-mysterious-digi camo package and stamped with military specs.

"Carried by Military and Law Enforcement," is a big line. You know why it's carried by military and LEO's? Because it's inexpensive, it's cheap, and easily replaceable!!! I go on a foot pursuit and there goes my flashlight, damn, buy another one. So I guess it's now "carried by LEO's" and labled as tactical.

Just a quick rant, I feel better now :p

Take care, J.
 
marcinek said:
GILYMANN...you are close. I hope I'm not repeating something from earlier in the thread.

Bowie's Sandbar knife was most likely a butchers knife. A butcher's knife ain't "sexy" and nobody is going to buy one (they already have one).

Rezin realized this, threw a bunch of extraneous scary pointy design elements on the knife, and started marketing it. Sold like hotcakes.

First "tactical" knife.

No different from today in any way. Exact same thing. I'm sure rezin would have put camo coating on it and called it a Bowie Spec Ops, if he would have tought of it, and if it would have sold more knives to the "ninjas/chairborne commandos" of the day.
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Rezin Bowie sold knives?
News to me.
AFAIK, he commissioned some as gifts.

I think the point about Bowie history that a lot of people miss is that the many versions of the bowie knife were the evolution of a design.

A six shooter today is very different from the original percussion cap designs... with many different incarnations along the way.

As far as tactical, I'm gunna blame Lynn Thompson stabbing oil drums and leave it at that :D
 
Ebbtide said:
Rezin Bowie sold knives?
News to me.
AFAIK, he commissioned some as gifts.
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Didn't say he sold them. Said he marketed them. Stuck the scary pointy bits on them and hyped them. Turned them "tactical."

Created the genre....genius really.
 
Once in awhile I would buy SOF magazine and here I found out about Emersons. So I blame Emerson (in a good way).
 
Ankerson said:
Not sure when that really happened, but I never liked that term tactical personally.

I group it with:

  • Mall Ninja
  • Arm Chair Warriors
  • Wannabe Military types
  • Keyboard Ninjas

Every time I see an ad for something Tactical I just start laughing because they are so stupid it is pathetic most of the time.

Some Model dressed up in Camo or black that's never had been in the Military etc holding a product they don't know anything about, will never use or own etc.

I never heard the word Tactical used the whole time I was in the USMC back in the 80's.
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Ankerson said:
Not a high horse at all. ;)

It's just very amusing to me and some others who really did serve in the Military.

1st thought that goes through my mind is they really need to go in the Military instead of acting like a wannabe.

They walk around dressed all tactical etc, I get a good laugh out of it every time I see it. :D
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+1 ..... :thumbup:

MiG Angel said:
August 6, 1991
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Clang! said:
Official start of the World Wide Web?:confused:
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MiG Angel said:
Exactly.
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That settles it then... Al Gore is responsible for the use of the word "tactical".... :eek: :D

A very overused word that is a deal breaker for me most of the time.... cause usually I will not even give the item a second look if "tactical" is used & especially overused in the marketing of it. ;)
 
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