| Line 21: | Line 21: | ||
[[File:RamboIIIProto_b.jpg|thumb|left|274px|The original prototype knife. ]]When the final product knife was constructed, it was still not ready for use in the film. Gil Hibben originally intended to use the slot in the blade as a place you could horizontally insert a spring-loaded blade to use in an axe-like motion. You could also remove the blade by pressing a button and throw it like a throwing knife if you wished. However, Stallone thought this was too campy and decided against it. There were several more revisions made until a final knife was chosen. |
[[File:RamboIIIProto_b.jpg|thumb|left|274px|The original prototype knife. ]]When the final product knife was constructed, it was still not ready for use in the film. Gil Hibben originally intended to use the slot in the blade as a place you could horizontally insert a spring-loaded blade to use in an axe-like motion. You could also remove the blade by pressing a button and throw it like a throwing knife if you wished. However, Stallone thought this was too campy and decided against it. There were several more revisions made until a final knife was chosen. |
||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | |||
==See Also== |
==See Also== |
||
Revision as of 20:27, 27 December 2012
The Rambo III survival knife.
The Rambo III survival knife was designed by knifesmith Gil Hibben for use in 1988's Rambo III.
Rambo III
Because Sylvester Stallone was already a knife collector, he knew of Gil Hibben's work. He had Gil Hibben design a custom fantasy survival knife for use in the film. Although the Rambo III knife is not a fixed blade tactical knife like the other two, it is made for looks rather than practicality.
Design
Sylvester Stallone with the knife in Rambo III.
The Rambo III knife features an 11 7/8 inch long, 5/16 of an inch thick, 440C steel blade with a clipped point. There is a 3 3/4 inch long blood sight in the middle of the blade, and a clipped point resembling a bowie knife. There are five beveled curves at the top of the blade that are supposed to represent the men in Rambo's unit. The handle guard, blade guard, and the blade itself are joined together by a bolt and covered by a laminated hardwood handle. The movie knife's handle is made of Macassar ebony. The knife is kept in a hand stitched leather sheath.
Prototypes
Jimmy Lile Rambo III prototype knife.
The Rambo III knife has several very interesting prototypes. Sylvester Stallone went to Jimmy Lile to again make an original Bowie-style knife for Rambo III. However, Lile could not afford to produce the one Stallone wanted to make, so Lile suggested Gil Hibben, who is more of a fantasy knife artist, who had also designed tactical knives for troops in the Vietnam war. Because Stallone is an avid knife collector, he knew of Hibben's previous work and went to him immediately. Hibben constructed several prototypes that continued the Jimmy Lile style, featuring a similar handle to the original First Blood knife, except with grooved finger grips. The knife was much smaller than the final movie knife and did not have the punched out blood sight, instead the sight was only beveled into the polished knife blade. This knife was actually used briefly in the mine field sequence, but the scene was so poorly lit, most people didn't even notice! However, if you look closely, you can see that the knife has saw teeth, which the final product movie knife never had.
The original prototype knife.
When the final product knife was constructed, it was still not ready for use in the film. Gil Hibben originally intended to use the slot in the blade as a place you could horizontally insert a spring-loaded blade to use in an axe-like motion. You could also remove the blade by pressing a button and throw it like a throwing knife if you wished. However, Stallone thought this was too campy and decided against it. There were several more revisions made until a final knife was chosen.