The two oldest large knives that I personally bought new in 1985 and still have are the Buckmaster 184 and the Combat Master. An enormous amount if literature has already been written about the Buckmaster 184 so there isn't anything I can add. But the Combat Master is nowhere near as well known. It was made by Blackie Collins, a renowned knife designer and maker. The Combat Master was Blackie Collin's only entry into the survival knife frenzy of the 1980s. One reason for it's annonimity is that
only 1075 of this model was made.
Overall length is 12 5//8 inches, Blade length is 8 inches, weight is 1 lb. The blade is Sandvick 13C 26 Stainless Steel. Handle is molded checkered reinforced Dupont Nylon Glass (Zytel) and covers a unique double tang. The center is hollowed to provide a compartment for survival tools. The compartment cover has a single screw which is opened by a screwdriver fitted into the strap of the sheath. The sheath is a composite design of 9 oz cowhide backing, fiberboard, and 1000 denier cordura in 1980s military "Woodland" camo.
The knife was not etched, but stamped only with "Blackie Collins" on the ricasso and nothing else.
http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums...ollins Combat Master/DSC_0331_zpsk2mlfbqi.jpg
The Combat Master appeared on the cover of "Survival Knives and survival" by J.E. Smith Jr.
Second Edition published in January 1985.
It retailed for $124.95, which back then was alot of money for me.
The Blackie Collins Combat Master was a product of the time period when the survival knife boom had been created, mostly as the result of the successful movie "Rambo, First Blood" which featured the famous saw backed Jimmy Lile custom bowie. When the Combat Master was introduced, the Buckmaster 184, Al Mar Sere 3000 and the CRK Mark IV were already on the market. Blackie Collins was among the famous knife makers of the time, having created the first knife to use Zytel as a handle material with the 1981 LST that he designed for Gerber. Blackie Collins was also a founding member of the
Knifemaker's Guild, and had founded a magazine in 1973 called "American Blade" which later became "Blade" magazine after he sold it in 1982. Blackie Collins did not follow the trend at the time which was for a slim fighter/bowie blade with the compulsory spine serrations. But those who purchased this knife admit that they were drawn to the unique mirror polished blade design.
This design along with the tooling was sold by Blackie Collins to A.G. Russell in the early 1990s who made and sold the knife under the same "Combat Master" name, except with the addition of A.G. Russell etched into the blade. This knife served as the basis of the Mark I and Mark II Bowies which utilized the same handle compartment concept but with A.G. Russell designed bead blasted blades. A photo from a 1992 catalog shows these knives with the Combat Master on top.
* Mr Russell please feel free to add any corrections if needed.
I know this may not be very interesting to the younger guys but I'm sure that the older guys remember the 80s well. Hope you enjoyed the read.
Size comparison:
Regards,
KenHash
only 1075 of this model was made.
Overall length is 12 5//8 inches, Blade length is 8 inches, weight is 1 lb. The blade is Sandvick 13C 26 Stainless Steel. Handle is molded checkered reinforced Dupont Nylon Glass (Zytel) and covers a unique double tang. The center is hollowed to provide a compartment for survival tools. The compartment cover has a single screw which is opened by a screwdriver fitted into the strap of the sheath. The sheath is a composite design of 9 oz cowhide backing, fiberboard, and 1000 denier cordura in 1980s military "Woodland" camo.
The knife was not etched, but stamped only with "Blackie Collins" on the ricasso and nothing else.
http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums...ollins Combat Master/DSC_0331_zpsk2mlfbqi.jpg
The Combat Master appeared on the cover of "Survival Knives and survival" by J.E. Smith Jr.
Second Edition published in January 1985.
It retailed for $124.95, which back then was alot of money for me.
The Blackie Collins Combat Master was a product of the time period when the survival knife boom had been created, mostly as the result of the successful movie "Rambo, First Blood" which featured the famous saw backed Jimmy Lile custom bowie. When the Combat Master was introduced, the Buckmaster 184, Al Mar Sere 3000 and the CRK Mark IV were already on the market. Blackie Collins was among the famous knife makers of the time, having created the first knife to use Zytel as a handle material with the 1981 LST that he designed for Gerber. Blackie Collins was also a founding member of the
Knifemaker's Guild, and had founded a magazine in 1973 called "American Blade" which later became "Blade" magazine after he sold it in 1982. Blackie Collins did not follow the trend at the time which was for a slim fighter/bowie blade with the compulsory spine serrations. But those who purchased this knife admit that they were drawn to the unique mirror polished blade design.
This design along with the tooling was sold by Blackie Collins to A.G. Russell in the early 1990s who made and sold the knife under the same "Combat Master" name, except with the addition of A.G. Russell etched into the blade. This knife served as the basis of the Mark I and Mark II Bowies which utilized the same handle compartment concept but with A.G. Russell designed bead blasted blades. A photo from a 1992 catalog shows these knives with the Combat Master on top.
* Mr Russell please feel free to add any corrections if needed.
I know this may not be very interesting to the younger guys but I'm sure that the older guys remember the 80s well. Hope you enjoyed the read.
Size comparison:
Regards,
KenHash
