Named knives, why are they so desirable? It all depends on what you are looking for and what direction you want your collection to take. They are usually more expensive, so not always the best choice when you are first starting. I just bought one with a replacement handle made up from Plexiglas washers and aluminum. For some collectors this is looked on almost as criminal, at least heretical. For me it just adds one more point of interest. A man can get attached to his rifle or handgun, but his knife is always the closest weapon available to him. A knife is a weapon of closest combat and I believe closest to a warrior’s heart.
Knife combat happens at what some people call “Bad Breath” distance. This is a range where you literally are chest to chest within arm’s and breaths reach. As an instructor of martial arts I found some students could not handle the personal nature of knife-combat training. For them it was too visceral, even using training knives. Many blackbelts would defer and make excuses why they did not want to train with a knife. Some said it was too thuggish. Oddly enough, many branches of the military also feel this way and for these reasons WW-II Commandos were shunned by the “Old Guard” generals.
But getting back to “named knives,” these were the property of men who valued their knives highly, enough to go the extra mile and have them personalized by Wilkinson Sword Co. A man who had his knife disassembled, and a new handle made, took personalization yet another step. It meant he wanted a knife that fit his hand and perhaps even his technical skills. I suspect that such men probably had precisely honed their knife skills as well as their blade. I highly value, even cherish the named knives in my collection, and honor those men unknown, who served their nations in times of extreme danger. God bless them all and all those who serve today.
Knife combat happens at what some people call “Bad Breath” distance. This is a range where you literally are chest to chest within arm’s and breaths reach. As an instructor of martial arts I found some students could not handle the personal nature of knife-combat training. For them it was too visceral, even using training knives. Many blackbelts would defer and make excuses why they did not want to train with a knife. Some said it was too thuggish. Oddly enough, many branches of the military also feel this way and for these reasons WW-II Commandos were shunned by the “Old Guard” generals.
But getting back to “named knives,” these were the property of men who valued their knives highly, enough to go the extra mile and have them personalized by Wilkinson Sword Co. A man who had his knife disassembled, and a new handle made, took personalization yet another step. It meant he wanted a knife that fit his hand and perhaps even his technical skills. I suspect that such men probably had precisely honed their knife skills as well as their blade. I highly value, even cherish the named knives in my collection, and honor those men unknown, who served their nations in times of extreme danger. God bless them all and all those who serve today.
RSS Feed
