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Bio: Gil Hibben
When one first meets Gil, his
soft spoken and friendly manner would quickly reveal that he is a true
gentleman, a family man - father and grandfather. Visiting with him reveals
seemingly endless talents and experiences - some unrelated to knives and
knifemaking. A smooth and pleasing tone sets the stage for learning that
Hibben's tenor voice has been heard singing with the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir as well as the award winning Thoroughbred Barbershop Chorus. It's
a voice that can also be heard a N4LRF on the Amateur Radio bands as well.
With musical talents
not limited to singing, Gil
plays guitar and is extremely talented at the near-lost art of playing
"rhythm bones" - learned in childhood from his father. Whether he makes
do with teaspoons or uses his own handcrafted "bones," Hibben can complement
almost any musical act.
There are other sides to this versatile man such as his expertise in the Martial Arts. He holds a black belt in judo as well as a third degree black belt in Kenpo karate, which he has taught. Hibben enjoys hunting and served as a hunting guide during his residency in Alaska. And, wheneversuch a busy man seeks time to relax, he does so by riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Gil has spent the greatest part
of his life making knives, begining it
as a hobby after his
1956 discharge from the Navy.
His first knife was made in 1950, but he doesn't count it
as the beginning of his knife
making career. That's when he wanted a big knife like the one
carried by Jim Bowie and was
unable to afford to buy one. Looking back at the
experience, Gil figures that
he labored at least sixty hours with a stone grinder, file and
drill in making that first knife.
His early knives were given away
with his father, his brother and a number of friends as
the recipients. "I was having
a great time making them. My love of making knives meant
more than owning them," he recalls,
admitting that as one of his early downfalls. "I
enjoyed it so much that I was
going broke. I couldn't afford to by materials and then give
the knives away - but, I did
it." Then someone wanted to buy a knife and he sold his first
bowie for $45. "Thats the kicker,"
he points out, "when you get some money for your
work. I was hooked. I had graduated
from the pure pleasure of making knives to
thinking, hey, people will actually
buy these things."
During the next several years
as a part time knifemaker, Hibben was selling knives to
local hunters and sportsmen.
Knifemaking began to occupy more and more of his time
and thoughts so that, in 1964,
he became a full-time maker working in Salt Lake City,
Utah. In 1965, when one of his
knives was pictured on the cover of Guns and Ammo
magazine, Hibben was transformed
from a maker of knives for local hunters and
sportsmen into one that was
nationally known. To reduce overhead and because of the
area's good fishing and hunting,
he moved that year to Manti, about 125 miles south and
in the center of the state.
The next five years spent in
Manti were significant ones in Hibben's knifemaking career.
He had the pleasure of working
and learning with, teaching and influencing a number of
makers whose names were relatively
unknown at the time but could now be featured in a
"Who's Who" of the knifemaking
world. The Small Business Association had helped set
up a knifemakers' apprentice
course, with Hibben as the instructor at the Utah School of
Knifemaking and he is the only
knifemaker to have been officially recognized by the
government as a teacher of the
craft. Another highlight of his Utah years was his
designing, in 1968, all of the
Browning's original line of knives.
While living in Seattle after
his Navy Discharge, Hibben worked as a machinist for Boeing
Aircraft and learned of some
excellent metals. He began making knives using an
industrial-use steel known as
01. It was 1964 when he learned of a new "super steel"
called 440C. Because it is available
only in round, square, or hexagon stock, using it was
no easy task. Hibben recalls,
"We had to hand forge everything into knife blanks. I used
gas fired ovens, a fifty pound
trip hammer, a big anvil and wore wrist supports while
pounding my way through all
those knives." He feels confident that he was the first custom
knifemaker to use 440C and,
to the best of his knowledge, Hibben was the first to mirror
polish custom blades. In claiming
these innovations, Hibben is quick to add, "Nothing I
did was all that special; it's
just that I was there." One thing that he's very proud of,
however, is having been able
to help beginning knifemakers. It is with no small degree of
satisfaction that Hibben smiles
as he calls himself the Johnny Appleseed of knifemakers -
"It seems that wherever I go,
there are knifemakers springing up around me."
Hibben was and is a prolific
knifemaker. He made about 300 knives for use by our
servicemen during the Vietnam
conflict and feels that his first hand knowledge of the
martial arts has helped him
in making knives that are functional. Just as his martial arts
experience has benifited his
knifemaking abilities, Hibben feels that his five year
experience serving in Alaska
as a guide to big game hunters helped him to understand just
what is required in knives used
in the wilderness.
When asked about the Rambo III
movie Knife, Hibben explains, "It was luck." Since
meeting a few years ago, Sylvester
Stallone has purchased over twenty Hibben knives for
his collection. Still, there
was real excitement around the Hibben household when Stallone
called him one evening and asked
if he'd like to make the knife for the new movie. They
began discussing designs and
agreed that a large bowie made by Hibben many years ago
should be a good basic design.
The success of the movie is now history, but the knife
featured in it continues to
establish new records; the Rambo III knife could well be the
best selling knife of this decade.
Hibben's association with United Cutlery has resulted in
many thousands of knives, factory
made to his design and specifications, selling
throughout the world.
Hibben's handmade knives cover
a wide variety, from small skinners to large and heavy
swords - some with blades a
yard in length. Production time can range from a week to six
or more months, depending on
the design, Prices of his handmade pieces range from
$300 to over $10,000, depending
upon the knife. More recently, he has preferred to
make art knives and is earning
attention for some of his elaborate work. "I liked doing the
movie knife," he says. "but
I'd like to be remembered even more for being an artist. I
never dreamed of being an artist."
As a teenager slaving away to
make a knife like Bowie's, Gil never dreamed of a hero
like Rambo nor that he would
someday be making a special movie knife. Nor did he
dream that he'd have the opportunity
of making knives for personalities such as John
Wayne, Elvis Presley, Steve
McQueen, Sylvester Stallone and Steven Segal or world
leaders such as Israel's Defense
Minister Moshe Dayan and Vice-President Dan Quayle.
As a knifemaker and knife designer,
Hibben has earned a dedicated following of knife
users and collectors from all
parts of the world. Call it luck, if you want, but recognize
that the luck has been a long
time in coming. Call it the good fortune of being in the right
place at the right time, but
this knifemaker has been in his share of places during several
decades. Gil says, "We all have
inner guidance and I would like ro give credit to that. It's
been like following a dream."
He has, indeed, built his life around knives - an object and a
profession he truly loves.
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International Kenpo Karate
Organization
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