Navy Seal friend & team uses Daniel Winkler knives and Tomahawks. Why?

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Maybe the manufacturer provided a few dozen or hundred for free, just so they could advertise "as used by the SEALs".
 
The "manufacturer" is a knifemaker, whose reputation was outstanding and his name exceedingly well-known for his custom knives long before he began this line of practical weapons.
 
After doing a little research I can see how Daniel Winkler's knives would be very handy in the harshest environments where your life depended on it. I am very new to knives and metallurgy so all forum members input is appreciated. I might just pick up a belt knife for my self here shortly.
 
Maybe they placed an order, so everybody gets issued one.

Buy something you like and know about and give it to your friend. Maybe have it lasered, or etched with his name or intitials. Make it personable and it will mean more then whatever knife the SEALS may or may not be carrying this year.
 
KI-1304-WINKLER-00.jpg


from Zero Dark 30.
 
Blades said:
Maybe they placed an order, so everybody gets issued one.

Buy something you like and know about and give it to your friend. Maybe have it lasered, or etched with his name or intitials. Make it personable and it will mean more then whatever knife the SEALS may or may not be carrying this year.
Click to expand...

Don't do this. Having to leave his knife in a dead terrorist and giving the dead guy's friends a lead on his identity is not what your friend needs.
 
Here is a little information on my experience working with supplying the SOF community.

I have sold to individuals that purchase what they want specifically. To these I give a 25% Military discount. Just my way of helping with their effort. (There are no unimportant jobs in the Military and I give the 25% to all members of the Military and LE.)

I have also sold to Platoons or Squadrons where a group will get together and place a larger order. These orders usually vary in designs and materials. Often I will do a Team logo engraved into each piece. These orders may get a larger discount depending on the numbers.

Sometimes a Unit will order a group of the same knife or axe. The numbers vary but rarely are less than 10 pieces. These will sometimes get a specific logo or text designation. These are also discounted based on the numbers.

Other orders are from DOD contractors for a specific Team or Squadron. A Team or Unit will send out bid requests for a specific knife or axe. We will sometimes bid on these orders ourselves and other times just take the actual order from a contractor. They in turn sell to the DOD for the Team. Even if we bid on a project ourselves we may not get the contract. The DOD has regulations and there are percentages of their expenses that must go to minority or women owned businesses. Therefore, although we may submit the lowest bid we may not directly get the contract.

I also have a few groups I have worked with that fall into a special circumstance. These items may be procured through a private funding program. There are also some unfortunate instances where we will do a special memorial piece that has some meaning to surviving members of the deceased family and/or teammates. Karen and I normally cover the cost of these and at times when the costs are too high we may turn to friends for financial assistance. There have been way too many of these memorials and I hope this is one segment of our business that completely stops. (Not because of the $$ cost but the life cost is too high.)
Sometimes the Team guys will just buy what they want. Other times the design will be tested and reviewed by an equipment review board. Sometimes I will design a specific knife or axe based on the needs of the buyer. These are always tested and the samples are most often returned for my own post testing evaluation.

I don’t give stuff away to gain favor with the procurement personnel. It probably wouldn’t work if I did as there are a lot more unknown people involved than I could ever know about.

Word of mouth and having a good reputation in the community is very important. I may not make the best knives for every situation but the guy’s know I stand behind what we make and they will be taken care of whatever they need. If a design or material needs to be changed, I change it. I figure these guys probably use their equipment harder than most so if I make a knife or axe that works for them it will most likely work for most civilian outdoor applications. I use steels that perform based on both their and my own testing. When the need is there I will use some of the newer high tech cpm grades of steel. Most often the 1084, 5160, S7 and cpm154 handle most needs.

Our prices are higher than most factory knives that might be considered comparable. We are even higher than a lot of custom makers. However I am also a business man and I realize to stay alive in this business I can’t lose money on a long term basis. The steels I use are not because of price but because of performance. We do things that make a difference like tapered tangs and salt pot heat treaating that are expensive to do in production but make a difference in performance.

We don’t advertise who we work for. Others have speculated on who our customers are. Some information has been made available by some who have been there and have undeniable credibility. I have no control of what these people say.

Some folks like our knives and axes but they are not for everybody. Cost, design, materials and fit and finish are all criteria that are subjective to individual tastes. I have been making knives for a long time and plan on being around a lot longer. Every piece we make may not be perfect but I do stand behind each one. I feel the important thing is for each knife buyer to evaluate what features are important based on the intended use then find the knife that best fits those needs. Maybe it will be one of mine.

Daniel
 
I'd like to put my $0.02 here, if I may.

I used to own a Winkler II Belt Knife. Had it done up, loved that thing, but things happened(as they sometimes do) and I decided that I was going to go somewhere else with my money. I then proceeded to buy a custom fighter from a maker on here. Gorgeous knife, Blued 1018 guard, hand-carved curly maple handles, clay-tempered W2 blade, the works.

However, the other day I placed an order with Mr. Winkler for a neck knife, and am working on saving for another Belt knife. Now why, after buying a quite expensive custom fighter that has really everything someone could want, would I decide to go back for a Winkler with a (still great) but simpler design that I hadn't particularly enjoyed the first round?

Well, the answer to that is that Winkler knives feel at home with you. I have yet to meet a guy who owns or owned a Winkler who was completely happy getting rid of it. I feel like his work fits me and although it may not be the prettiest or the newest thing around, they are time honored designs with a maker with one of the best attitudes I've ever encountered.

I would never hesitate to buy from Mr. Winkler again, because I know that I have a knife that I can pass down to my children, and have a knife that I know I can trust the maker of, but most importantly I have a knife that is a part of ME.

Lots of rambling above, but hopefully it gives you an idea. ;)
 
All I can say is that when you lay out the extra $$ for a unique or a custom made piece from Daniel, it's very gratifying. His knives and axes are just plain cool. They become your trusted companions. When you speak or deal with Daniel, you're dealing with a straight up person, not a policy-laden manufacturer. It's impossible to regret buying something from him, IMHO.

Pete
 
My 2 cents. One Reason some carry daniel winkler is because they are given one upon completion of NSW Sniper School. As seen in the photos of my Daniel Winkler Sayoc RnD Compact. probably bought by the people who run the school. as not a lot of people pass. the hardest class in the military. Some Say. I concur





 
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One thing some here should be made aware of --- there are more men alive today claiming to be SEALS than there ever were men who actually are or were SEALS.

And the wannabe situation seems to get worse as time moves on. Sad but true.
 
I don't care if it's one year old or ten, that's one of the most respectable statements I've read/ heard in a long time and makes me regret not buying one of his knives at Blade.


DWinkler said:
Here is a little information on my experience working with supplying the SOF community.

I have sold to individuals that purchase what they want specifically. To these I give a 25% Military discount. Just my way of helping with their effort. (There are no unimportant jobs in the Military and I give the 25% to all members of the Military and LE.)

I have also sold to Platoons or Squadrons where a group will get together and place a larger order. These orders usually vary in designs and materials. Often I will do a Team logo engraved into each piece. These orders may get a larger discount depending on the numbers.

Sometimes a Unit will order a group of the same knife or axe. The numbers vary but rarely are less than 10 pieces. These will sometimes get a specific logo or text designation. These are also discounted based on the numbers.

Other orders are from DOD contractors for a specific Team or Squadron. A Team or Unit will send out bid requests for a specific knife or axe. We will sometimes bid on these orders ourselves and other times just take the actual order from a contractor. They in turn sell to the DOD for the Team. Even if we bid on a project ourselves we may not get the contract. The DOD has regulations and there are percentages of their expenses that must go to minority or women owned businesses. Therefore, although we may submit the lowest bid we may not directly get the contract.

I also have a few groups I have worked with that fall into a special circumstance. These items may be procured through a private funding program. There are also some unfortunate instances where we will do a special memorial piece that has some meaning to surviving members of the deceased family and/or teammates. Karen and I normally cover the cost of these and at times when the costs are too high we may turn to friends for financial assistance. There have been way too many of these memorials and I hope this is one segment of our business that completely stops. (Not because of the $$ cost but the life cost is too high.)
Sometimes the Team guys will just buy what they want. Other times the design will be tested and reviewed by an equipment review board. Sometimes I will design a specific knife or axe based on the needs of the buyer. These are always tested and the samples are most often returned for my own post testing evaluation.

I don’t give stuff away to gain favor with the procurement personnel. It probably wouldn’t work if I did as there are a lot more unknown people involved than I could ever know about.

Word of mouth and having a good reputation in the community is very important. I may not make the best knives for every situation but the guy’s know I stand behind what we make and they will be taken care of whatever they need. If a design or material needs to be changed, I change it. I figure these guys probably use their equipment harder than most so if I make a knife or axe that works for them it will most likely work for most civilian outdoor applications. I use steels that perform based on both their and my own testing. When the need is there I will use some of the newer high tech cpm grades of steel. Most often the 1084, 5160, S7 and cpm154 handle most needs.

Our prices are higher than most factory knives that might be considered comparable. We are even higher than a lot of custom makers. However I am also a business man and I realize to stay alive in this business I can’t lose money on a long term basis. The steels I use are not because of price but because of performance. We do things that make a difference like tapered tangs and salt pot heat treaating that are expensive to do in production but make a difference in performance.

We don’t advertise who we work for. Others have speculated on who our customers are. Some information has been made available by some who have been there and have undeniable credibility. I have no control of what these people say.

Some folks like our knives and axes but they are not for everybody. Cost, design, materials and fit and finish are all criteria that are subjective to individual tastes. I have been making knives for a long time and plan on being around a lot longer. Every piece we make may not be perfect but I do stand behind each one. I feel the important thing is for each knife buyer to evaluate what features are important based on the intended use then find the knife that best fits those needs. Maybe it will be one of mine.

Daniel
Click to expand...
 
I'm a retired 19D40, I had many assignments and a number of my soldiers are on this site. Many civilians simply don't understand that an E-5 is an E-5. Yes certain units get pay bonuses if deployed, Airborne, Underwater, Demolitions, etc. As dangerous as these jobs are the bonus isn't much. So Mama is back at North Island, Ft. Huachuca, Ft. Bragg, Quantico, etc and she has to have money for the Comissary, PX, kids toys, expenses, and every mundane item that any family needs. She will often have small children so having a full time job is tough. (My wife was terrific at organizing families) There is no way in Hades that i or anyone else would shell out $400 bucks for anything, period. "Listen babe, you guys won't eat for a month but I will really have bragging rights." Marriage ended.
Sooo, I go to the PX or Clothing sales and get the best Gerber, SOG, BM Griptillian, and the CRKT M-16 variants. that they have (I was at the PX today and advised several which to get and we decided on Gerber multi tool.) These guys will be in a unit that issues bayonets so all is well. However when we were there several others did come in and purchase one of the others I mentioned. The point I'm making is that so many of you who never served seem to have gotten caught up by Hollywood and Rambo. Hey, I was the champion at dropping Gerber MK 2's out of a Slick into various boonies around the world, but for me they cost 19 bucks at the time in the PX. I think that may explain why I like finer blades now.
Today I make it a point to present a DPX blade to a cop or deploying quarterly through my training organization.
 
All Special Operations Units, regardless of military branch have massive discretionary spending budgets with authorization to buy whatever mission specific equipment they want/need from whoever they want, when they want. Who really gives a crap why they buy one thing over another as long as what they buy works, gets the job done and brings them home safe?
 
I knew some SF guys that all had steel Rolex watches and bought FN-FAL's. It was kind of like in the barracks where everybody wanted JBL speakers, or Bose. The older guys they emulate as a rookie does it a certain way so the younger guys do it too. I saw that in the military but not with Rolexes in my unit.

Joe
 
If a guy can pass the rigors of SEAL training, I'd hope he'd be allowed the best tools available for the job. If others in his unit have made the informed choice to use a Winkler knife or hawk, then there it is; what more validation is necessary? Even if said tools are never used, the confidence and 'esprit de corps' brought on by such choices are surely valuable. I 'only' have a WK II necker, but the ergos, steel, and near indestructable design and build make me a believer in Mr. Winkler's products.
 
No one said all SEALs carry Winklers but there are plenty that do. Many are bought using their own funds replacing what was issued. It's a preference to carry what works for the individual and the mission.
 
Tdhurl1103 said:
All Special Operations Units, regardless of military branch have massive discretionary spending budgets with authorization to buy whatever mission specific equipment they want/need from whoever they want, when they want. Who really gives a crap why they buy one thing over another as long as what they buy works, gets the job done and brings them home safe?
Click to expand...
Depends on the leadership. Served in one where the O6 Deputy put a kabosh on that attitude rather quickly. And no one was going to get by him with some BS justification/rationale. He'd been there, done that, and was too experience to be buffaloed.
 
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