Nystagmus
Gold Member
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2016
- Messages
- 435
That's okay, this isn't a taboo subject.
I like to involve other knowledgeable folks as much as I can when developing something new. Two (or more) heads are better than one and a person with a skill set and experience different than my own can bring a lot to the table. I don't always "credit" those involved. Not because I don't want to give credit where credit is due, but to avoid riding on someone else's coat tails.
For example, Dan Keffeler was very helpful when developing the choppers. I'd love to be able to say "these were developed with four time world cutting champion and blade geometry and handle ergo expert Dr. Dan Keffeler" but that would be capitalizing on his name and reputation. His willingness to share some of that with me was very generous but I can't include that information in the sales because it wouldn't be fair to his "brand".
So, in that sense, the combat knives were a collaboration with Jason Landphair. Jason was a super cool guy and friend of the family and generous with his time and knowledge. The "tactical knife market" is plump with makers claiming Special Forces credentials, and a lot of it is BS, but the reality is the fighters were designed with input from a knowledgeable and experienced Green Beret with multiple deployments in both Iraq and Afghanistan (and apparently other places), and I'm grateful for that though I've never advertised it as such. When I told him I was working on a fighter design we talked about it at length, talking about balance, grips, and use of a modern fighting knife as used in the armed forces. Most servicemen carry a knife. They're not usually used as a weapon, though they need to work in that function. And a person on Jason's team actually did get a knife kill (not one of mine). So his input was important and did shape the design. And his input on the 8" Shiv directly led to the smaller 6" fighter. Those were made specifically with him in mind and he had the first one out the door. I don't know what has come of those knives.
He was killed in Afghanistan last year. This was a real punch in the gut.
I like that picture.
He was educated and well spoken, very intelligent. And he was a real badass, but just came across as no-nonsense and very calm.
I think the last time I saw him we were flushing rats out of my mom's garden with a .22 and shooting wasps. Fun guy. Made good hooch too. :thumbup:
He was going mushroom hunting and somebodies kid was coming along (I don't know, I wasn't there) and the kid had misheard or misunderstood that they were going balloon hunting. Balloon - mushroom. *shrug*. So he went out and got some balloons and hid them out where they were going to be searching so the kid would have something to find and have a good time too.
A little while back Jo and I were going through a tight spot because of some career changes I'd made and our refrigerator was falling apart and needed to be replaced but I couldn't afford it. So he gave me a fridge, but made sure I didn't know it was from him out of consideration for my feelings. He wanted us to have a new fridge and didn't want us to feel weird about it. I only learned it was from him after he died.
Yeah, he was good guy.
Wow. This is a knife design with some history. I read that a fellow GB had helped in the design process, but I didn’t understand the rest of this story. Thank you for sharing it. I spent some years in group (also as a medic) and the refrigerator story specifically reminds me of some teammates.
Small groups of Quiet Professionals are shaping the world in ways we mostly will never understand-not only abroad, but sometimes quite literally in our own backyard.
Nathan, thank you for re-introducing this design.
De Oppresso Liber