CK030 | Burt Foster (MS) | Combat Classic Fighter 7.5"
Blade Length - 7.5"
Handle Length - 5.25"
Overall Length - 12.75"
Blade Thickness - .235"
Blade Width - 1.550"
Blade Steel - 420 Stainless with 1095 Core
Handle Material - Turkish Walnut
Bolster / Guard Material - Blued Steel
Hardware - N/A
Blade Finish - Hand-Rubbed Satin
Weight - 11.7 oz.
Sheath - Brown Leather Sheath by Maker
Comments - Burt Foster / Wilson Combat Collaboration
Burt Foster Laminated "Combat Classic Fighter" with Polished Turkish Walnut Handles, 7.5" Blade
We have commissioned Master Bladesmith Burt Foster to build an exclusive model just for our valued Wilson Combat knife customers. These limited production handmade “Combat Classic” fighting knives epitomize the what we consider to be true cutlery classics in every sense of the word.
The inspiration for the design are the hand forged bowies and fighters produced by famed makers of Sheffield and later American hand makers like Scagel, Richtig, Randall and others. These storied makers equipped servicemen and adventurers of the past with high-performance knives that were not only attractive but lovingly crafted and so cherished by their owners that they were often handed down through successive generations.
As firearms developed and became more reliable, combat knives evolved from larger, heavy and unwieldy choppers into a more practical 6-8” blade lengths portable enough to be belt carried every single day along with a sidearm. These knives were used to make camp, cut rope, cook meals and often as last-ditch defensive tools. This genre developed into what we now know as the “fighting knife”.
The Combat Classic’s combination of hand forged blade, figured walnut handle and blued steel guard ensures that this heirloom grade knife will become on of the centerpieces of your collection but is robust enough for any hard-use knife chore.
The traditional clip point Bowie blade of the Combat Classic is hand-forged from Foster’s high performance laminated steel. A hardened, tool steel core is sandwiched between tough, rust resistant stainless steel layers and further hand polished to create a stunning visual effect. This process, similar to the blade making of a traditional samurai sword is called “San-Mai”.
The handle of the Combat Classic is individually shaped stabilized Turkish Walnut and is some of the nicest we could procure. The grip is comfortable for a variety of hand shapes and sizes and is precisely mated to a blued steel guard.
Finally, a superb sheath, handmade by Foster, completes the package. The quality of the leather, stitching, and finishing is some of the best sheath work we have ever examined.
The Burt Foster Wilson Combat Classic comes in two sizes depending on your particular needs. These are extremely limited production and we only have a small batch available.
"My laminated steel blades are unique in that they have a single piece of carbon steel forge welded between two pieces of stainless steel. This is also referred to in Japanese blades as "san-mai" or literally "three layers." There are basically two main advantages to my laminated steel blades. The first is that at the temperatures used to harden the carbon steel core, the stainless sides remain soft and support the hard center. This makes the knife very sharp at the edge, but very tough overall. The second advantage is that because my laminated steel is made with stainless steel on the outside, the knife blade has the performance of carbon steel and the maintenance of a stainless steel. The carbon steel core is exposed only near the edge, so 90% of the blade surface remains very stain resistant. The exposed carbon steel will darken with age, but this darkening adds to the look of the knife, and gives you a knife which when used, improves with age instead of the other way around. This composite blade construction is probably the most practical high-performance blade you can have."