corporation industry manufacturing founded tualatin oregon 1979 ; 37 years ago 1979 headquarters tualatin oregon key people al mar founder ; gary fadden president products knives revenue us 500 000 number of employees 5 website al mar knives al mar knives is a production knife company headquartered in tualatin oregon united states . al mar knives was established in 1979 by al mar and has a reputation for making tactical knives of innovative design . while headquartered in the united states al mar knives are made in japan . 1 contents 1 al mar 2 company history 3 collaborations 4 see also 5 references 6 external links al mar edit al mar was born in the us a son of chinese immigrants . mar served in a special forces reserve unit and in the late 1950s volunteered to serve in vietnam with a special project using all asian special forces soldiers . the project was run from okinawa where the 1st sfga had a forward deployed battalion stationed and support assets . mar was a non commissioned officer . after serving in the army mar earned a master s degree in industrial design from art center college of design in pasadena california . his masters thesis was building and launching a working 2 man submarine upon graduating he went to work for an industrial design firm in los angeles in 1967 . 2 mar went on to become a packaging designer and eventually the head of knife design for gerber legendary blades in 1968 . 3 4 gerber s head designer had retired and pete gerber gave mar the task of coming up with an aluminum handle for a kitchen knife . gerber thought the project was very successful and offered mar the position of design chief . 2 in 1979 mar left gerber to form his own company al mar knives . 4 the knives were manufactured in seki city japan in a 1000 year old sword making facility ; mostly by g.sakai . al mar s relationship with them started in 1976 77 when he worked for gerber and g.sakai manufactured the silver knight folders . over the years g.sakai subcontracted some models that were made by mitsuboshi tak fujita and hattori . 1 al mar died in 1992 from an aneurysm . the color guard provided for his memorial service was drawn from the reserve special forces company then stationed at the portland air national guard base . mar had supported the unit for some time and was an honorary member of the company . today the company is headed by gary fadden who purchased a controlling interest . unhappy that g.sakai had the right to manufacture knives under the al mar label for the non u.s.market he switched manufacturing to moki also of seki . 4 in the late 1980s mar was inducted into the fighting knives magazine hall of fame . then in 2009 he was inducted in the blade magazine cutlery hall of fame . 5 mar was a close friend of colonel james nick rowe and other well known and respected special forces green berets luminaries . he was a life member of the special forces association as well as the special operations association . company history edit with the founding of al mar knives mar aimed to blend custom knife quality with mass production methods . drawing on his experiences as martial artist with black belt rankings in judo and kendo and his history as a green beret the majority of al mar knives were initially designed for police and military use . however as the company evolved the designs merged from martial to hunting fishing and kitchen knives . 1 the al mar sere knife was the first knife accepted for use by special forces colonel nick rowe for the sere instructor school at camp mccall north carolina . 6 the sere was the first factory made production knife to sell for more than us 100 in the united states . 7 collaborations edit al mar knives has collaborated with a number of knife makers martial artists and military tacticians including rex applegate nick rowe bob taylor bill harsey jr. and abs mastersmith kirk rexroat . 4 see also edit list of companies based in oregon references edit a b c pacella gerard 2002 . 100 legendary knives . iola wis. krause publications . p. 45 . isbn 0 87349 417 2 . a b american blade magazine november december 1976 volume 10 6 walker greg 1993 . battle blades a professional s guide to combat fighting knives . boulder colo. paladin press . p. 30 . isbn 0 87364 732 7 . a b c d steve shackleford 2010 . blade s guide to knives & their values . krause publications . p. 359 . isbn 978 1 4402 0387 9 . shackleford steve 2009 . al mar inducted into hall of fame . blade . f & w media 10 . todd tank 2006 . military combative masters of the 20th century . los angeles lul press . pp. 55 57 . isbn 978 1 4116 6196 7 . walker 1993 p. 25 external links edit official website v t e knives and daggers list of daggers list of blade materials types of knives aircrew survival egress knife athame balisong butterfly ballistic ballpoint pen knife bayonet boline bolo boning boot knife bowie bread knife cane knife cheese knife chef s knife cleaver clip point combat knife commander corvo cqc 6 deba b ch diving knife drop point electric knife fairbairn sykes fighting knife gerber mark ii ginsu grapefruit knife gravity knife gunong hunting knife jacob s ladder karambit k la kirpan kitchen knife kukri laguiole knife machete mandau mezzaluna misericorde mora knife multi tool nakiri b ch navaja neck knife nontron knife opinel knife palette knife pantographic knife parang penknife penny knife pocket knife putty knife puukko rampuri resolza sabatier sami knife santoku sark scalpel seax sgian dubh sharpfinger shiv sliding knife smatchet sog knife straight razor strider smf survival knife swiss army knife switchblade taping knife throwing knife tomato knife trench knife tumi ulu utility knife warrior knife x acto yanagi ba yatagan types of daggers anelace applegate fairbairn fighting knife arkansas toothpick bc 41 bagh naka baselard bichuwa bollock dagger cinquedea dirk ear dagger emeici fac n french nail hachiwara hunting dagger janbiya kaiken kalis kard katar khanjali khanjar kris mark i trench knife ocean edge knife parrying dagger poignard push dagger rondel dagger seme shobo sica stiletto tant marine raider stiletto v 42 stiletto yarar parachute knife yoroid shi knife manufacturers aitor al mar knives american tomahawk company bear mcg benchmade b ker buck knives caber camillus cutlery company cattaraugus cutlery company chris reeve knives cold steel columbia river knife & tool cuisinart cutco cutlery dovo solingen dexter russell dirte knives eikhorn ek commando knife co. emerson knives erizo f. dick f llkniven famae fiskars f ritechnics gerber legendary blades global golok hanwei imperial schrade j. a. henckels ka bar kershaw knives kitchenaid korin japanese trading company kyocera leatherman mad dog knives mercworx microtech knives morseth murphy knives ontario knife company opinel pro tech knives randall made knives ranz rigid knives r sle sog specialty knives sabatier a n & perrier spyderco strider knives survival aids tekna thiers issard tramontina victorinox vox knives w. r. case & sons cutlery co. walther arms wenger western knife company wilkinson sword windlass steelcrafts w sthof yarara ltd knifemakers a.g. russell american bladesmith society rex applegate james black blackie collins john nelson cooper ernest emerson jerry fisk phill hartsfield bill harsey jr. gil hibben knifemakers guild zanjan knifemakers jimmy lile bob loveless bob lum william f. moran ken onion ralph osterhout bo randall chris reeve jody samson william scagel mike snody robert terzuola michael walker buster warenski daniel winkler book knives and daggers category knives daggers v t e hand tool manufacturers current dasco pro inc. apex tool group allen armstrong tools crescent diamond gearwrench k d tools lufkin nicholson plumb sata tools wiss xcelite bondhus buck bros. channellock cornwell tools digitool solutions disston saw works ega master eklind emerson ridgid empire level estwing felo few fiskars gerber gardner bender gedore gray tools dynamic tools hazet hans tools heyco ideal industries pratt read sk hand tools western forge klein tools knipex kukko leatherman lie nielsen toolworks lisle corporation lowell corporation matco tools martin tool & forge newell brands irwin lenox otc park tool pb swiss saltus sandvik senco snap on bahco cdi torque products williams stahlwille stanley black & decker blackhawk bostitch dewalt facom mac tools proto sidchrome stanley hand tools textron greenlee klauke paladin tools techtronic industries milwaukee thorsen manufacturing tom f teira toptul vaughan victorinox wenger wera tools wescott westward tools wiha tools witte tools wright tool historic coes wrench company easco hand tools forest city screwdriver and drill company goodell pratt hinsdale holtzapffel indestro mathieson mckaig hatch new britain machine company norris north brothers manufacturing company h. d. smith & co. utica tools bonney forge herbrand vlchek house brands ace hardware ace tools autozone duralast blain s farm and fleet duracraft canadian tire mastercraft the home depot husky lee valley veritas lowe s kobalt menards masterforce montgomery ward powrkraft sears craftsman retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title al mar knives & oldid 732271661 categories knife manufacturing companiesmulti tool manufacturersmechanical hand toolscompanies based in tualatin oregonmanufacturing companies based in oregonmanufacturing companies established in 19791979 establishments in oregonhidden categories pages using infobox company with unsupported parametersofficial website different in wikidata and wikipedia navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial 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