The knife is one of humanities oldest and most important tools. Its history can be traced from the simple stone hand axe trough the modern pattern welded steel knife. A knife in its most rudimentary form can be described as a tool with a blade, which could be made from different materials depending on the time period, and a handle. The first knives our ancestors used were made from stone. Not until about 3000 b.C. did humanity learn how to manufacture blades from copper, brass and bronze.

The first culture to master the smelting and forging of iron were the middle eastern hittites who were already able to smelt iron in 1700b.C. Through the process of caburizing they were able to enrich the soft iron with carbon and create steel, which in turn could not only be forged like iron, but also hardened, which gave it superior properties compared to weapons made from bronze or pure iron. Going forward weapons and tools made from steel played a massive role in the cultures and warfares of the ancient world, through the middle ages until our current day. Even nowadays, tools and knives made from steel are indispensible.

Das Messer in seinen mannigfaltigen Formen ist uns seit unserer Urgeschichte ein treuer Begleiter und dieses ursprünglichste aller Werkzeuge wird auch in Zukunft Teil unserer Geschichte bleiben<

The Bowie knife is one of the most well known blade types of all time. Named after James Bowie, a 19th century pioneer and soldier. The knife gained its fame after the legendary „sandbar fight“ in which Bowie used the knife to successfully defend himself against multiple attackers. It is still a matter of debate as to how this original Bowie knife looked like exactly, but there is some consensus that the knife was coparatively large and had some form of clippoint shape. Nowadays there are a myriad of different bowie shapes and variants, from more traditional clippoint shapes to more modern harpoon bladeshapes. The matter of fact is however, that the bowie knife has proven itself to be one of the most popular and effective bladeshapes for every day carry, tactical usage and in all matters outdoors.

The kukri or Khukuri is a nepalese chopping knife, which is used as a simple agricultural tool, but also as a weapon. A kukri is characterized by its heavily forward curved blade, which often had one or multiple fullers worked into the blade to reduce weight. The handle was traditionally made from either wood or bone. Due to the very specialized front heavy bladeshape the kukri is widely considered to be one of the most effective chopping knife designs ever.

The kukri gained its international renown through the nepalese Gurkhas, who fought against the british empire during the Anglo-nepalese war in the early 19th century. These nepalese soldiers and their chracteristic weapon impressed the british in such a way, that they were incoorporated into the british military after nepals capitulation. These Gurkha regiments fought both in the first and second world war and gained international renown for their courage and bravery. As their legend grew, so did the reputation of the kukri.

The tanto is a traditional japanese shortsword. It was carried by the samurai paired with a longword called tachi. The shape of the tanto changed over different periods of japanese history, but the most well know shape today is a 30 to 40 centimeter long, single edged blade which has a sublte curve towards the tip. The first tantos were manufactured about 700AD and were clearly designed for warfare. In the edo period of japanese history the tanto was mostly replaced by the katana and wakizashi, which were also carried as a pair. During the second world war the tanto experienced a massive resurgece and was widely used by the japanese imperial forces. The modern tanto or „american tanto“ was popularized by western knife makers and is characterized by a slightly different blade shape than the original design where the transition between edge and tip is at a straight angle instead of a curve. No matter the time period the tanto has always been a very effective blade with a very rich history.