Was there a real NATO out the front?

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VOSGTC
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Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by VOSGTC »

All of us saw the cheap OTF kives with the NATO markings. Is there a real NATO otf knife that was issued for military use?
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Fishtail Picklock
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by Fishtail Picklock »

I don't believe there ever was. This is the same marketing "kitsch" (corny, fallacious gimmick) used to market the old Korean Bell brand Rizzuto Estiletto Milano swing guard knives of the 1960's through the 1980's. Nothing more.
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by Bill DeShivs »

No.
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JimBrown257
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by JimBrown257 »

As a general rule, any story about an automatic or similar knife having some official connection to a country's military can be disregarded as an urban legend. Same goes for any intelligence or spy outfits. Those stories are kind of funny as it seems like it would be pretty silly to have official spy-issue knives that, if found on a spy, would basically let you know he was a spy.
Georgedbugge
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by Georgedbugge »

Just curious, does anyone know the "Origin Story" of the NATO Military knife? That is who "invented" the name/styling?

I remember starting to see them in the early 1980's. There were mail order kits available from vendors like EdgeCo. As I recall, the ones my friends & I had were made in Korea. But I've heard of other ones from Taiwan or China (say, none of these countries are in NATO.... :wink: )

Thank you,

George
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TRYKER
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by TRYKER »

these were issued to nato pencil pushers as tact-ta-cool letter openers and for company mumble-peg tournaments at break time during the boring wars.

for those gullible members, the statement above is complete BS
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JimBrown257
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by JimBrown257 »

Those NATO OTFs are 100% Asian and have no connection to NATO or any of the involved countries. The mechanics were copied from existing knives but it does seem like they came up with the handle design. The name NATO was just something they slapped on it because they thought it would be a good name for a knife. They like to put stuff like that on their novelty knives. Sometimes it is military-ish, like "Special Forces" and sometimes it is more general like "Secret Agent". But it is all meaningless. At first the names would have been corny but with all corny things like that, after a certain number of years pass, they become cool.
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Viking45
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by Viking45 »

There are hundreds of knives made for the US Military. Many are extremely rare, obscure and unknown to mainstream collectors.

A few examples-

WWII era Case Stiletto
Case-e26.jpg
Case-e26.jpg (75.51 KiB) Viewed 4292 times
WWII era Case Dagger
Case f53.jpg
Case f53.jpg (65.48 KiB) Viewed 4292 times
Vietnam era Gerber (1967)
Gerber 1967-54.jpg
Gerber 1967-54.jpg (96.29 KiB) Viewed 4292 times
Vietnam era John Ek
John Ek Vietnam.jpg
John Ek Vietnam.jpg (77.17 KiB) Viewed 4292 times
M.H. Cole WWII Knuckle knife (hate to be on the receiving end of this bad boy)
M.H.Cole-f12.jpg
M.H.Cole-f12.jpg (69.21 KiB) Viewed 4292 times
Randall was a huge favorite.
Randall.jpg
Randall.jpg (48.75 KiB) Viewed 4292 times
Randall-model-1-8-vietnam-era-early-70s.jpeg
Randall-model-1-8-vietnam-era-early-70s.jpeg (111.38 KiB) Viewed 4292 times
SOG Vietnam era
SOG 2634-1205070317.jpg
SOG 2634-1205070317.jpg (26.96 KiB) Viewed 4292 times
WWII era Western
Western 20.jpg
Western 20.jpg (76.35 KiB) Viewed 4292 times
And of course the one that started it all. The one that the United States of America owes it's very freedom to. The one that sent many a heathen horde to their bloody demise.
NatoMilitaryCamoOTF.JPG
NatoMilitaryCamoOTF.JPG (101.69 KiB) Viewed 4292 times
sammy the blade
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by sammy the blade »

Laughin my a$$ off on that one!
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CatClaw
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by CatClaw »

I had one of those out the front "NATO" knives. I don't know what ever happened to it. I still have a "Secret Agent" that's a very similar out the front.
Cheap knives but kind of fun. Really not that badly made and handy since they did open automatically. I used mine where I worked to open boxes.
Maybe that's where I lost it.
Made so they could be assembled thus getting around the goofy federal "Switch Blade" laws. Pretty clever idea really. I'm in Arizona so most things like that are legal.
Can't read the writing but that's the "Secret Agent!"

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Fishtail Picklock
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by Fishtail Picklock »

Bloody hilarious!
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sammy the blade
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by sammy the blade »

There are people that collect those for some reason, going for $50 and up depending on condition.
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Fishtail Picklock
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by Fishtail Picklock »

I have one that I bought in Ciudad Juarez in 1982. It is red and dubbed "Super Automatic".
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Georgedbugge
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by Georgedbugge »

Gotta give our friends at BladePlay points for honesty! :D

https://www.bladeplay.com/item--Militar ... -NATO--274

"These knives a a blast to play with- but that's all they're good for (snapping them in and out, opening letters and improving collections, etc). Do not go into the jungle with this knife- you will die!" :mrgreen:
CatClaw
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Re: Was there a real NATO out the front?

Post by CatClaw »

Georgedbugge wrote:Gotta give our friends at BladePlay points for honesty! :D

https://www.bladeplay.com/item--Militar ... -NATO--274

"These knives a a blast to play with- but that's all they're good for (snapping them in and out, opening letters and improving collections, etc). Do not go into the jungle with this knife- you will die!" :mrgreen:
27 Dollars! Wish I had hung on to mine.
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