Strider Knives, Inc. is a custom and production knifemaking facility headed by Mick Strider based in San Marcos, California.

Materials and design

Strider Knives makes folding knives and fixed-blade knives, using metals such as ATS-34, CPM S30V steel,

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...

, stellite,

beryllium Beryllium is a chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a steel-gray, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal. It is a divalent element that occurs naturally only in combination with other elements to form m ...

damascus steel Damascus steel was the forged steel of the blades of swords smithed in the Near East from ingots of Wootz steel either imported from Southern India or made in production centres in Sri Lanka, or Khorasan, Iran. These swords are characterized by ...

, and BG-42 for the blades. Currently Strider does runs in many premium super steels (CTS-204P, Z-Wear, CTS-40CP, CTS-B75P, CPM-154, CPM-S110V,CPM-3V).Covert, Pat."Strider Knives Are Hard Corps", '' American Handgunner'', March–April 2000 Strider fixed blade knives utilize Steel,

Paracord Parachute cord (also paracord or 550 cord when referring to type-III paracord) is a lightweight nylon kernmantle rope originally used in the suspension lines of parachutes. This cord is now used as a general purpose utility cord. This versati ...

or G-10

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

for the handle material. Strider uses a proprietary heat treatment originally developed by Paul Bos of

Buck Knives Buck Knives is an American knife manufacturer founded in Mountain Home, Idaho and now located in Post Falls, Idaho. The company has a long history through five generations of the Buck family from 1902 to the present day. Buck Knives primarily man ...

.Gardner, James."Duel of the Titans: two exceptional folders exemplify state-of-the-art",''Guns Magazine'', June 2005 This resulted in knives with blades of ATS-34 or BG-42 coming back from heat treat with a very dark colored blade which would then be bead blasted a flat grey color. After masking a blade before beadblasting, Mick Strider found it resulted in a striping or

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

effect and it has become a part of the design.Kertzman,Joe."Earn Your Steel Stripes", ''Blade Magazine'', March, 2006Covert, Pat."Evolving edges: Strider Knives get Better and Badder!",'' American Handgunner'', January–February 2005 As the newest steel Strider uses, CPM S30V does not darken after heat treating, a black oxide coating is applied beforehand.

Strider folding knives

After eight years of making fixed blade knives, Strider turned to making folding knives. Strider's goal was to produce a folding knife that was as strong as a fixed blade. To work toward this goal, Strider relied on the use of G10 Fiberglass handles, titanium liners thicker than what was in current use throughout the cutlery industry and an oversized pivot screw 0.19" in diameter. The end results were two linerlocks known as the AR and GB models. Strider makes titanium handled framelock folding knives. These models utilize the handle itself as the locking mechanism and are named the SMF, SnG, PT, and RC models.

Military models

Strider's first project as a company was to supply Naval Special Warfare Group 1 with WB and BG models in 1994. Strider Knives currently makes several models specifically for units of the US Military in the Global

War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

, each with its own NSN.

NATO Stock Number A NATO Stock Number, or National Stock Number (NSN) as it is known in the US, is a 13-digit numeric code used by the NATO military alliance, identifying all the 'standardized material items of supply' as they have been recognized by all member s ...

s are: Strider SMF (officially - Knife, Folding, Special Mission) 1095-01-531-5015, Strider DB-L (officially - Knife, Fixed, Camo) 1095-01-531-5023, the JB1 (officially - Shroud Knife) 1670-09-000-3920, and the Probe Knife 1095-01-503-7231, built for landmine detection. Strider Knives has designed a new bayonet it hopes to market to the US military. The blade is CPM S30V and it features a tang extending all the way to the latch plate for increased strength. Strider designed the bayonet for Zero Tolerance Knives, which will release it as the ZT Bayonet D9. Strider Knives has manufactured modern versions of classic military designs such as the

V-42 stiletto The V-42 stiletto was a fighting knife issued during World War II to the First Special Service Force (1st SSF or FSSF, also known as Devil's Brigade), a joint American/Canadian commando unit. Design and features Based on the Fairbairn–Sy ...

, the Marine Raider stiletto, the SOG Knife, the USMC Fighting Utility Knife, and the

Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife The Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife is a double-edged fighting knife resembling a dagger or poignard with a foil grip. It was developed by William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes in Shanghai based on ideas that the two men had while se ...

. These versions have the same profile as the originals, but incorporate modern steel and materials in their designs. The SOG Knife, Marine Raider stiletto, and V-42 stiletto have been used to raise funds for Veteran's Groups associated with those units.

Collaborations

Strider Knives has collaborated with the following companies: *

for a variety of Strider developed knife designs mass-produced at a more affordable price. * SureFire Flashlights. Strider Knives collaborated with SureFire by making an exclusive SF fixed-blade numbered and marked with the SureFire logo and sold with an identically numbered Strider marked M2CombatLight. * Unertl Optical Company, Inc. (longtime manufacturer of USMC

Scout Sniper United States Marine Corps Scout Sniper (MOS 0317, formerly 8541) is a secondary MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) designator of U.S. Marine Corps infantrymen and reconnaissance Marines that have graduated from a U.S. Marine Corps Scout Snipe ...

Scopes) for a unique SMF knife paired up with each custom 1911 pistol sold. * Zero Tolerance Knives for Strider joint designs with custom Knifemaker, Ken Onion. A portion of the proceeds from every sale of Zero Tolerance Knives is donated to the Paralyzed Veterans of America. Strider, Ken Onion and Zero Tolerance won Blade Magazine's Publisher's Award for 2006 because of this collaboration. *

Richard Marcinko Richard Marcinko (November 21, 1940 – December 25, 2021) was a U.S. Navy SEAL commander and Vietnam War veteran. He was the first commanding officer of SEAL Team Six. After retiring from the United States Navy, he became an author, radio talk ...

for the "Rogue Warrior" series of knives named after the author's

series of books A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their pub ...

References

External links

Strider Knives, Inc. official site
{{Knives Knife manufacturing companies Companies based in San Marcos, California