Gil Hibben, 1996 Kenpo Karate Knife


Sometimes you just run across a knife too unique not to get...even if made in China in 1996.- Elvis owned an original Parker/Hibben Kenpo Karate Knife.
Gill Hibben Kenpo Karate knife with brown leather sheath. It is model UC-950 Kenpo Karate and came out in 1996. It is 12-3/4" overall.The Kenpo Karate cloisonné shield is inlaid in the wood handle. It is now out of production. It was licensed by Gil Hibben to United Cutlery and produced in Taiwan, China. It is just a beautiful knife that would be devastating if used defensively.
This Finely Crafted Knife is a reproduction of the custom Hibben/Parker Kenpo Karate knife Gil submitted for his black belt thesis in 1968. Gil studied under Ed Parker, the undisputed "father" of American Kenpo Karate. Gil also made one of the Hibben/Parker Kenpo Karate knives for Elvis Presley, one of many celebrities who also studied under Ed Parker. The knife features a cloisonné shield with the Kenpo insignia. They also reissued the knife late on  but without the Kenpo Karate insignia. The originals were limited to 1500? fitzwillies.com



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1970's Smith & Wesson handbuilt knives designed by Blackie Collins

Image
S&W Survival series. In 1972 Smith and Wesson worked with well known and innovative knife designer Blackie Collins to introduce the company into the knife business. This program was announced in 1975 and seven knives were initially offered. Called the Survival Series they included a Bowie, Outdoorsman, Survival, Skinner a folding hunter knife, a fisherman knife and a filet knife. The Outdoorsman and the Survival knife featured a Hollow Handle for the storage of Survival supplies. The blades were forged from modified 440 Series Stainless Steel. A total of 47 operation from forging to hand polishing are performed on the blade before fitting to the handle on the Survival knife. The amount of work necessary for these knives caused S&W to fall behind on production and delivery to the retailers. Smith and Wesson produced in house a few other knives but none that required the amount of hand fitting as this series. The most beautiful knives S&W ever pro
Read more

1970's Carl Schlieper Survival Knife; Eye Brand mfg. Solingen, Germany

Image
Was a Vendor at the Washington Arms Collectors show in Puyallup, WA recently. I bought more knives that I sold but found this1970's Carl Schlieper Survival Knife. Eye Brand mfg. Solingen, Germany. Carl Schlieper was a German hardware manufacturing business established in Remscheid, Germany in 1793. Eye Brand knives, sometimes called German Eye, have been Hammer forged in Solingen Germany by the Carl Schlieper family for over 100 years. Eye Brand Knives still use forged blades. Hammer forging compresses and realigns the blade steel's grain structure, thereby increasing the toughness and edge holding characteristics of the knife blade. It is a more costly and time consuming process, but worth the effort.  www.fitzwillies.com
Read more

Valor 373 Long Commando Knife - Made in Seki, Japan by Tak Fukuta

Image
T akao FUKUTA, began making pocket and hunting knives inSeki, Japan then around 1970, he went to the United States to sell his TAK FUKUTA products. Takao FUKUTA’s passion for knives continued to develop, and in 1978 he was recognized by Robert Wald “Bob” Loveless, known as the “god of knives” in the United States, with whom he began an apprenticeship.  The same year, he was the first Japanese person to be accepted into the American Knife Guild for his high-quality work the “Loveless folding knife.” Since Mr. Loveless appreciated Takao FUKUTA, he shared with him all of his skills in making hand-crafted knives. When he got back to Japan, Takao FUKUTA continued creating very useful handmade knives that were simultaneously handy, strong and elegant.  Over the years, his factory in Seki, Japan also produced knives for Parker, Valor, Gutmann, Explorer, Frost, and Browning among others. Valor model 373 Long Commando knife Model: Valor 373 This is a rare Valor long comma
Read more