Lile First Blood movie knife origin
by Greg Foster
Sylvester Stallone contacted Jimmy Lile (the Arkansas knifesmith) in 1981 because he wanted a particular knife to use in the movie First Blood for his character John Rambo.
Jimmy thought the knife should be a survival knife that had several features:
1. A long edge suitable for cutting materials to build shelter, make firewood, and for hunting.
2. A compass.
3. A sealed hollow handle to carry a small survival kit and allow the knife to be used as a spear point.
4. A guard with screwdrivers.
5. A nylon cord that, wrapped around the handle, could be used for making traps and for fishing.
6. A cap with a shiny bottom for flagging.
7. Serrated back for cutting wood and creating a fishing pole or shelter, but also to come in handy in an accident to cut through the sheet metal of a fuselage.
8. And, of course, a reliable weapon.
Jimmy's lucky number was 13 so he originally made 13 knives numbered from 1 of 13 to 13 of 13 marked LILE on the heel of the left side of the blade. On the opposite side was engraved First Blood.
All 13 knives have 14 teeth in the back saw.
Number 1of13 has a typo in the First Blood (Frist Blood) mark; a piece of metal with the correct wording was superimposed to correct it.
Knives number 1of13 through 6of13 were shipped to Stallone for the filming of First Blood.
They have a sandblasted finish with polished edges, and the knives from number 7of13 also have polished bevels on the counterblade, making them different from the first 6 used in the film. But all of the first 13 knives are slightly different from each other because they are handmade.
The movie First Blood is based on the novel by David Morrell but the knives were not in the book and it was Stallone who decided that his character needed a knife.
No one would have guessed that that knife would become one of the most famous knives in the world (if not the most famous knife ever) starting a new generation of survival knives that so many still enjoy today.
Greg Foster
Rambo collector from Australia
- Most of the information was gathered from the book "James B. Lile the Arkansas knifesmith"
