GIL HIBBEN - DIETMAR POHL - JIMMY LILE
JIMMY LILE
This is the Holy Grail of Movie Knives of which 6 were made and sent to Stallone for the filming. Unfortunately Mr. Lile passed away in 1991 but you can always find his original First Blood or Sly 2 survival knives on the market. LILE Knives Inc, John Hill has carried on the name with Master Bladesmith Vaughn Neeley at the helm. Check out his beautiful work.
HIBBEN KNIVES
Legendary Knife Maker Gil Hibben, who is responsible for the Rambo 3 and Rambo 4 knives, needs no introduction. Mr. Hibben has been making knives since the 50's and has made knives for such stars as John Wayne, Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen, Steven Segal and of course Sylvester Stallone. I had the honor of Mr. Hibben making me a custom Rambo 4 knife a few years back which is one of my prized possessions. The famous "Rambo 4" knife also makes a cameo in Rambo 5.
Gil and his wonderful wife Linda are two of the most down to earth people you could ever come across. Gil's son Wesley has been making knives since he was 8 years old and is carrying on the Hibben knife making tradition. Gil's other son Derek, is a leathersmith who made my Rambo 4 movie sheath for me. Both Wesley and Derek are absolutely professional and their work is stunning.
Dietmar Pohl with Sylvester Stallone
MK-9
Nicknamed the “Heartstopper,” the Pohl’s MK-9 is the larger of the two knives Rambo uses in Rambo 5. Pohl said the MK-9 pays homage to the survival knife featured in First Blood, tweaked for a modern tactical aesthetic.
MK-8
The MK-8 is the smaller of Pohl’s Rambo knives. This time, the maker dipped even further back into knife history for inspiration, paying respects to the bowie design that influenced the First Blood knife.
Mr. Pohl joined Jimmy Lile and Gil Hibben on the
roster of legendary knife designer's that have
supplied Sylvester Stallone’s movie knives spanning
almost four decades. As a testament to the longevity
of the franchise, and the importance of the knives
appearing in the movies, Mr. Pohl cited Lile’s First
Blood knife as an early influence on his path to
designing knives. In fact, he even came into
possession of one of Lile’s movie originals. I had the
honour of meeting Mr. Pohl at the 40th Anniversary of
First Blood in Hope. Mr. Pohl was so kind as to give
me a gift (pictured on the right) while I took the entire
crew on a tour of the First Blood filming locations that
were filmed outside of Hope. I would also like to
thank Mr. Pohl for encouraging me to update my
website. I told him... "When Dietmar Pohl tells you that
you need to update your website, you update your
website!"
MK-9 First Blood Legacy 40th Anniversary Knife coming soon!
