GIL HIBBEN RAMBO III BOWIE KNIFE

June 10, 2013

When Stallone decided to make a 3^rd sequel of his movie Rambo III, he again requested Jimmy Lile but when Jimmy Lile sent the prototypes, Stallone told him that he want to have a different one. So as gentleman as he is, Lile requested Stallone to return the prototypes he sent and wished him good luck. This time Stallone has to head to a new direction with Gil Hibben whom he requested to make a knife for him for his third Rambo Movie. Then they had to discuss the kind of knife he will use for the movie. After thorough discussion they settled to have the famous Bowie Design. It was a great privilege for Gil Hibben. There were a total of 350 Rambo III numbered knives intender for his clients and it does not include the prototypes and the ones sent for the Rambo III movie.

This Bowie knife is made with a heavy-duty laminated hard wood handle enclosed by a stainless steel guard. Its blade is very sharp and is assembled from 420 stainless steel. Its overall measurement is 13” with the blade of 8”. The blade has a thick of ¼” with a tang. It’s secured by 19mm bolt on a thick steel pommel. The bolt can be removed so it’s easy to tighten it when the handle looses from the blade. There is a hole drilled into the pommel that makes for the lanyard to be tied with the hands to add security and safety. It has top-grain genuine leather sheath which has a signature embossed along the word “Rambo III”. This is another creation that made to last. Gil Hibben sent 20 knives for the Rambo movie, some were used but the other wasn’t.

When the movie ended, the United Cutlery and Master Cutlery licensed the design to make a carbon copy reproduction. The designs looks good and has attracted many knife enthusiast and collectors was amazed which made it very fortunate because it became to most and biggest selling knives of all time. They have sold out over 250,000 copies worldwide and have been popular. With the utmost demands they have established a market all over the world. Stallone and his knife are just synonymous to the popular .44 Magnum of Clint Eastwood.

The Master Cutlery and the United Cutlery made these knives with the same looks as the original but they differ in sizes. The United Cutlery is smaller in size than the Master Cutlery. Most of the collectors prefer to have the smaller replica and that boosts the sales for United Cutlery

Gil Hibben is really proud of knives he created in Rambo III. Because of that, he gathered popularity, honor and has earned so much. Until now, you can still find these knives in the internet and ready to be purchased. Even Sylvester Stallone is a collector of different knives and he has a lot collected from his favorite knife makers Jimmy Lile and Gil Hibben. So, for all the knife collectors, don’t hesitate buy them now.

Rambo First Blood II: The Mission Knife

June 2, 2013

In 1985, a sequel from First Blood was released, the Rambo First Blood II: The Mission. They have to make a follow-up on the movie because of its very successful release in the First Blood I in 1982. Jimmy Lile, the maker of the famous knives used in Rambo 1 was again the supplier for the knives that Sylvester Stallone used and he called this knife, “The Mission Knife”. In this movie, this survival knife was used by John Rambo to save the American Prisoners of War in Vietnam. The knife alone really played an important role in the movie as it has seen many times in the movie. At this time, Jimmy produced about 101 literally numbered knives. Ten are given to Sylvester Stallone to be used for his movie. And the rest were released for sale. Aside from these knives, Jimmy Lile also produces more knives that he gave to his friends. Other customers made special orders with specifications of their desired designs. Its really making them a lot of money.

The features of The Mission Knife used in this movie are closely similar with what Stallone used in his first Rambo Movie. The knife handle is wrapped with black nylon chord and made of a hollow, aluminum handle which has a survival kit inside it. The cover on the end of the handle is a pommel, the inside part of the pommel is a precision compass used to find the exact location of the person holding it. Then the outside of the pommel is pointed used in breaking metals and glasses. On top of the stainless steel blade are the saw teeth and a bowie clip point. The blade guard edges have holes and screwdrivers. This knife measures 15 3/8 inches long and ¼ inch thick. The handle of the knife is covered with a hand-stitched leather sheath. Along with the knife is a sharpening stone which is kept on a small pouch.

Just like what happened before, after the movie was released, a lot of knife collectors are interested to buy those knives originally made by Jimmy Lile. To supply the demand from the collectors, Lile’s shop was selling the knife, the first 1 is name “Rambo: The Mission Knife”. Its blade has a length 10” and the entire length is 15”. The handle is a stainless steel and wrapped with a treated nylon. The blade guard has a Philips screwdriver and a regular screwdriver in the bottom. It has also a compass at the handle cover. Another knife is called Rambo: the Mission Stiletto. The overall knife measures 10 ¼” with blade of 6”. This is a simplier version because it does not have features jus like the Mission Knife. This is perfect for sport throwing.

I have met a person who collects different kinds of knives all over the world. And one of his collections is a replica of a Jimmy Lile knife. Even if its just one but he is very proud of it.

FIRST BLOOD KNIFE – Rambo Knife by JIMMY LILE

May 24, 2013

James Buel Lile or better known as Jimmy Lile from Russelville, Arkansas, was very famous in making knives. He was known as “Gentleman Lile” or the “Arkansas Knife maker”. Because of this popularity he was requested by Sylvester Stallone in 1981, to make a knife which will be used in his movie First Blood. Stallone has preferences and specifications in making the knife. It should not only be used for a prop but a real survival knife that performs multiple tasks. Jimmy as an expert in knife making, made it appropriate for its request and purpose. The knife is painted with dull sand-blast gray and was made of stainless steel. Each part of the knife has unique functions that are very useful for survival. The handle is wrapped with green nylon chord and the end of it has a compass which is inside the cap and the outside can break hard materials just like glasses. Inside the handle, there is a survival kit placed in a plastic case. The kit has fishing wire, matches and fishing hooks and other small items necessities. The base of the handle which is the blade guard also serves as a screwdriver. The knife has a very sharp blade and a sharp point. On the top of the blade are 12 saw teeth, which are used to cut wood, metals, wires and other hard materials. This weapon is appropriate for the life of Rambo in the film fist blood. Actually there were about 101 knives made by Lile during this time. Not all of it was for Rambo for the movie because some of it was kept for him, some were offered for the public and others are given to his favorite friends.

Jimmy Lile became more famous when the movie was out and introduced him as the maker of the knife that John Rambo used. A lot became interested to collect knives. After the release of 100 knives made before the movie First Blood. Lile made more knives which he designed based on the knife used by Rambo in the movie. He even named it SLY II with a stainless steel handle and the other SLY II with a cord wrap. He made good money from then. More than what he earned before The First Blood movie.

Nowadays, the knives that was made before the movie First Blood, is already considered as a collectors item. It is now getting more expensive because it is considered rare. The United Cutlery was the first to produced replica of the knives mane by Jimmy Lile. But eventually it was sold to Master Cutlery which is now the one making and producing those knives. It is sold for 100 dollars or more and it’s available all over the internet. Aside from what’s produced by the Master Cutlery, there are now a lot of Chinese made replica knives that looks really the same with the real ones but you can still distinguish that they are the fake ones because it has a poor quality.