Re: 1980's Rambo Look-alike knife -?
Arctic, wow, blast from the past.
I had the great pleasure of knowing Jimmy quite well before the Rambo phenomenon and after. What a great gentleman and generous person he was, very much missed.
The knives you speak of were indeed 440c and were licensed out and built like popcorn. Lile, unlike later Hibbens were made in very limited serialized numbers (approx 100 per movie) and when Jimmy said "no more from me" the studio licensed the design (to a different scale) out to be massed produced. Hibben would make a 100 and then license them out himself. It was a major contributing factor to his getting the 3rd film.
Know this, there is absolutely no collectability in the massively run copies. Perhaps some utility, but zero collectable value.
Now, if you want to own a new and collectable variant, you do have choices now that the Lile shop is closed. You can buy an exact replica of the rarest teeth variant here. But, to my mind, there are few folks I care less for than the man responsible for this "run." I can not speak for the quality of the work here, but this was big news not so long ago. The price is, in my opinion, friggin' ridiculous. .
http://www.jimmylile.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=10
Why? Because of Martin Knives...exactly as Matt suggested.
Martin Knives...the finest kind of guys...Martin made a Grey Ghost for me to give to my son a few years back. I gave an original Jimmy's GG to my son only to find he never would allow himself to use it the way it was intended. The GG is by far the best of any really usable JL design so I asked Martins to make one for him out of s30v. I asked for perfect balance, work is nothing short of superb. I am not sure he will make a GG anymore but, if it was me, this is the route I would go.
http://www.martinknives.com/
A lile..
A martin..
Collectable? No. Remarkable? yes,as good as Jimmy's work and he would have said so himself. A finer blade and design does not exist. I could guide you to more places to go but the price of the GG knife above was incredibly inexpensive for what went in it. How much say you. Five years ago this knife was less than $400. Not bad for 1/4" stock! This is a stout and heavy blade.
Arctic, here is one for you. Every one from Jimmy (except III, that from Hibben), every one in the low # range, every number the same, even the Hibbens. And that Hibbens is the only one ever made where every piece is Damascus, blade, bolster, bolt all Damascus. When the 1.5" thick bolster was forged it would be the last, every other one had either a SS blade and fittings or only a Damascus blade with SS fittings.
Good luck with your search. Buy something you can use. The truth of it is that the Rambo knives are only good for cutting ice on the back blade. Originally designed to cut cowlings, it does a poor job. The D2 was a hard working blade and the heat treating was superb. No, these are great knives on the cutting surface, strange knives on the back blade and the hollow handle, like the Randall was a great idea. Too long, past R1, to be practical. If its a Lile design you are after, go GG.
Pat, the Buckmaster won't grapple, nor will it take weight, but it will get a back pack full of food into the trees and away from the bears!
Arctic....don;t know a thing about these guys.
http://myramboknives.blogspot.com/2009/06/rambo-knives-are-coming.html
