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Gil Hibben Knives
Gil Hibben lives and works in LaGrange,
Kentucky. He is an extraordinary man who has been able to build his life
around an object and a profession he truly loves - knives. To call Gil a
knife maker is almost an injustice because it does not recognize his many
other talents. He is also a martial arts instructor in Kempo Karate, an
accomplished singer and musician, a professional Alaskan hunting guide and,
most importantly, the most sincere and generally nice person you could ever
hope to meet. Gil and his family are the kind of people who, as the saying
goes, never meet a stranger. They are always fun to be around and it doesn't
take much prompting for Gil to deliver a song or to break out the "Rhythm
Bones" to entertain his guests.
Gil grew up in Wyoming, the son of a depression-era
"dollar-a-day" cowboy. He began making knives part-time after his discharge
from the Navy in 1956. He sold his first bowie knife for $45 and that
sparked his long and famous career as a professional knifemaker.
While living in Seattle, WA after his Navy discharge,
Gil worked for Boeing Aircraft and learned a lot about metals and their
properties. In 1964, while living in Salt Lake City, Utah, Gil started
making knives full time. This was also the year Gil started making knives
from the relatively new 440C steel. Although it is the industry standard
now, Gil believes he was the first custom knifemaker to use 440C.
In 1965 Gil moved to Manti, Utah where he made his
knives for the next five years. During that period, in 1968, Gil designed
all of Browning's original line of knives. Gil later spent five years living
in Alaska and he feels that just as his military and martial arts experience
helped in designing fighting knives, his experience as a hunting guide
helped him to design his hunting knives. Later, Gil spent about a year as
the resident knifemaker at Silver Dollar City in Missouri. This is where he
met his wonderful wife, Linda.
Over the years Gil achieved fame as a premier custom
knifemaker and his work has been featured in, and on the covers of, national
gun and knife magazines. He has established a whos-who following of
collectors including John Wayne, Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen, Sylvester
Stallone and Steven Segal or world leaders such as Israel's Defense Minister
Moshe Dayan, the Sultan of Brunei and Vice-President Dan Quayle.
Gil's fame dramatically increased in 1988 when
Sylvestor Stallone, who had purchased several of Gil's custom knives for his
own collection, asked Gil to design the now famous knife used in the movie
Rambo III. The factory reproduction of that knife has been one of the
biggest selling production knives ever produced, selling over 250,000
copies. This was just one of over 30 movies and television shows that have
featured Gil's designs including Star Trek Generations.
In 1990, Gil designed the first of his annual fantasy
series knives, The Silver Shadow. United Cutlery has continued the very
successful series ever since and just recently released the 2005 edition and
the 16th annual knife of the series, The Titan. It was in the early 1990's
that Gil began expressing more of his artistic side and started making
elaborate "fantasy" knives. Although these knives are purchased by
collectors who undoubtedly place them in places of honor and would never
dream of using them as functional knives, Gil makes all of his knives using
the same high quality materials and functional knifemaking processes as any
of his working knives.
Gil's long and illustrious career as a custom
knifemaker has earned him fame and the respect of collectors around the
world. Appreciation of his craftsmanship have taken him to Elvis Presley's
home and to the White House where one of knives was entered into the
presidential archives. Gil's handmade custom knives often sell for several
thousand dollars and are prized possessions of collectors. It is quite
admirable to see someone who has been able to spend the majority of his life
doing what he truly loves to do.
Gil is still making knives in LaGrange, Kentucky and
his brother, Darryl, a renowned knifemaker in his own right, lives, and
makes knives, nearby.
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