Rambo Knives

Gil Hibben is perhaps the most prolific and famous knife maker in the USA. He has gained near notoriety for making custom knives for top movie stars and box office films. Most notably the Rambo franchise, ‘The Expendables’ and even ‘Star Trek’. In fact, his knives have featured in over 30 movies and TV shows. His most known knife though, is probably the Rambo Knife.

Gil started way back in 1957. After being discharged from the Navy he sold his first knife for $45, and his long and illustrious career began. The list of mega stars that have had knives made by Gil is remarkable and includes Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen, Sylvester Stallone, Steven Segal, John Travolta, and the Sultan of Brunei. One of Gil Hibben’s knives are even in the Presidential Archives of the White House.

Early Years

In his earlier years, Gil worked as a machinist for Boeing which meant he learned a lot about various metals and their properties. This knowledge and experience is certainly a factor counting toward how exceptional his knives can be.. and the prices they can fetch!

During the sixties Gil designed all of Browning’s original line of knives. Spending 5 years in Alaska as a hunting guide which gave him the experience to design amazing knives perfectly suited to the task. Based on his Alaskan experience he designed many of his knives with the wilderness environment in mind which are used and endorsed by the Alaska Professional Hunters Association.

Gil Hibben was clearly already an established knife maker, but it was in 1988, 30+ years on from his first knife, that he gained fame when Sylvester Stallone commissioned him to design the now iconic knife for Rambo III.

The Rambo III Knife

It was sharp, shiny, dramatically large and absolutely fitting to the franchise. In the films we see it used for various things, including a knife’s true purpose – utility cutting. It featured a massive clipped point and false edge. Sabre ground with slotted flats and a large handguard. The knife included a flawlessly finished wooden handle that hugs the users hand and comes capped with a hooked pommel. It really was a masterpiece for it’s time.

Stallone was a long-time collector of Gil’s custom knives and has an extensive personal collection. They are pictured below 3 years before the movie at the California Knife show. This iconic knife went on to be one of the biggest selling reproduction knives of all time. The shape and style of this knife makes it one of my personal favourites.

Luckily for us, Gil is still going! Now with assistance from his sons Wesley and Derek. As you’d expect with generational knife makers, their work is iconic, they’ll likely go down in history as some of the best knife makers of our time.

They currently operate out of LaGrange, Kentucky in the USA. They still make a limited number of handmade custom knives each year, though getting your hands on one at knife shows can be a real challenge. Many would consider them ‘grail’ knives.

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A Rambo Knife Available Today

Sadly, we can’t all own a work of art hand crafted by the man himself. Luckily, there are two main options for us collectors.

1) You can purchase a cheap reproduction. They vary in quality, performance and balance but usually capture the spirit of the knives. This example is inexpensive, but practical.

2) Purchase an officially licensed Signature Edition Rambo Knife. Still not hand made, but the difference in quality and feel is second to none.

The Rambo Signature Edition Knives are the cream of the crop. Perfectly finished, movie accurate reproductions that are worth every penny. Note that they’re rare too, with only a limited number produced. This is the kind of knife that you could pass down the generations. Lets face it too – something like this can only go up in value over time. You could even consider them an investment!

There are other licensed Hibben knives out there too, but the Rambo series really are the main event. We specifically recommend the Rambo II knife owing to it’s classy and outstandingly well thought out design.