Robert Terzuola

Robert Terzuola
Robert Terzuola
Born	September 14, 1944 (age 79); Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation(s)	Knifemaker, jeweler

Robert G. Terzuola is an American knife maker who popularized the type of knife known as the tactical folding knife.^[1]

Early life

Terzuola was born in Brooklyn, New York on 14 September 1944. He attended Stuyvesant High School where his academic achievements earned him a full scholarship to New York University where he studied vocational education. Upon graduation in 1966 he joined the Peace Corps and went to Panama as a volunteer for two years, after which he was invited to become a Peace Corps trainer in Puerto Rico. He worked as a field supervisor for several experimental education projects in Guatemala and in the mid-eighties, directed the War Damage Surveys in El Salvador and Guatemala for AID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. Terzuola taught himself jade carving and became General Manager of a Jade Jewelry company in the town of Antigua, Guatemala.^[2] By 1980, Terzuola began making knives professionally while managing the Jade business and that same year joined the Knifemakers' Guild on an endorsement from Bob Loveless. Terzuola has also enjoyed membership in the German and Italian Knifemakers Guilds.

Knifemaking

Terzuola's first knives were fixed blade, combat designs, made for soldiers, CIA operatives and security personnel working in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

In 1984 he relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico and began making folding knives. Seeing a need for a knife that could be carried discreetly he developed a model using black micarta for scales and bead-blasted titanium frames; for this effort he coined the term "Tactical Knife".^[3]

Terzuola's most popular model is the ATCF (Advanced Technology Combat Folder), a linerlock folding knife. This was his first tactical folding knife, although he makes it with non-tactical materials on occasion with ivory or stag scales and damascus steel blades.^[4] He is widely considered to be the first maker and “Godfather” of tactical folding knives.^[5]

Terzuola has authored a book about the design of tactical knives which was updated and expanded in the 2019 edition. He has authored articles about tactical knives and knifemaking for Blade, Soldier of Fortune and other publications. In 2008 he relocated his shop to Albuquerque, New Mexico.^[3]

Terzuola has collaborated with other knifemakers and production companies including Spyderco, Strider Knives, and Microtech Knives. Terzuola's first factory collaboration was with Spyderco to produce the C-15 model in 1989. This knife became historic because it was the first liner lock system folder produced by a commercial factory, was the first production knife to use G-10 scales and ATS-34 steel, the first production knife to have parts blanked by laser instead of stamping and the first knife to be produced by a new, start-up company named "Benchmade".^[6]^[7] In 2016, Bob and his wife Suzi moved his home and shop to San Diego, California where he continues to hand-make high quality folding and fixed blade knives. In June of 2023, Terzuola was inducted into the “Cutlery HALL of FAME” at the Blade knife show in Atlanta Georgia. He had already been named as one of the four living “Mount Rushmore” Legends of modern Knifemaking.

References

^ Burch, Michael (2011). "Tactical Tuxedos". In Joe Kertzman (ed.). Knives 2012: The World's Greatest Knife Book (32 ed.). Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-4402-1687-9. some say that it was in the mid-'80s when the phrase became popular to describe Bob Terzuola's ATCF (Advanced Technology Combat Folder).
^ Feldman, Lawrence H. (1975). "Jade workers in the Motagua Valley: the late classic Terzuola site". Museum Briefs (17). Museum of Anthropology, University of Missouri--Columbia: 1–4.
^ ^a ^b Terzuola, Robert (2000). The Tactical Folding Knife: A Study of the Anatomy and Construction of the Liner-Locked Folder. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-858-1.
^ Dick, Steven (1997). The Working Folding Knife. Stoeger Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-88317-210-0.
^ Delavan, Dan (2014). Shackleford (ed.). BLADE's Best Knifemakers: The Best Knifemakers of BLADE's First 40 Years. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-1-4402-4207-6.
^ Walker, Greg (1993). Battle Blades: A Professional's Guide to Combat/Fighting Knives. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press. p. 42. ISBN 0-87364-732-7.
^ Delavigne, Kenneth (2004). Spyderco Story: The New Shape of Sharp (Hardcover). Colorado: Paladin Press. ISBN 1-58160-060-7.

[1] Burch, Michael (2011). "Tactical Tuxedos". In Joe Kertzman (ed.). Knives 2012: The World's Greatest Knife Book (32 ed.). Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-4402-1687-9. some say that it was in the mid-'80s when the phrase became popular to describe Bob Terzuola's ATCF (Advanced Technology Combat Folder).

[2] Feldman, Lawrence H. (1975). "Jade workers in the Motagua Valley: the late classic Terzuola site". Museum Briefs (17). Museum of Anthropology, University of Missouri--Columbia: 1–4.

[tactical-3] Terzuola, Robert (2000). The Tactical Folding Knife: A Study of the Anatomy and Construction of the Liner-Locked Folder. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-858-1.

[4] Dick, Steven (1997). The Working Folding Knife. Stoeger Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-88317-210-0.

[Editors2014-5] Delavan, Dan (2014). Shackleford (ed.). BLADE's Best Knifemakers: The Best Knifemakers of BLADE's First 40 Years. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-1-4402-4207-6.

[6] Walker, Greg (1993). Battle Blades: A Professional's Guide to Combat/Fighting Knives. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press. p. 42. ISBN 0-87364-732-7.

[7] Delavigne, Kenneth (2004). Spyderco Story: The New Shape of Sharp (Hardcover). Colorado: Paladin Press. ISBN 1-58160-060-7.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e Knives and daggers
List of daggers List of blade materials
Kitchen and table knives	Boning Boti Bread knife Butcher knife Butter knife Caidao Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Electric knife Fillet knife Grapefruit knife Lame Mezzaluna Parmesan knife Pizza cutter Splayd Steak knife Tomato knife Japanese kitchen knives Deba bōchō Maguro bōchō Nakiri bōchō Santoku Sashimi bōchō Udon kiri Unagisaki hōchō Usuba bōchō Yanagi ba
Other knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boot knife Bowie Cane knife Ceramic knife Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Golok Gravity knife Guna Hacking knife Higonokami Hunting knife Husa knife Ivan's Knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kard Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Marking knife Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pesh-kabz Pirah Pocketknife Phurba Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Sheath knife Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Verlängerungsmesser Warrior knife Wedung X-Acto Yarara Parachute Knife Yatagan
Daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh nakh Balarao Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dha Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Gunong Hunting dagger Janbiya Jile Kabutowari Kaiken Kalis Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Kunai Liaoning dagger Mark I trench knife Microtech Jagdkommando Parrying dagger Poignard Pugio Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō U.S. Marine Raider stiletto V-42 Yoroi-dōshi
Manufacturers	Aitor Knife Company Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Aritsugu Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Chroma Cnife Clauss Cutlery Company Cobray Company Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Dalian Hanwei Metal Dexter-Russell Ek Commando Knife Co. EKA Emerson Knives F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Gerber Legendary Blades Füritechnics Glock Ges.m.b.H. Imperial Schrade Ivan's Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives Marble Arms Medford Knife and Tool Microtech Knives Morseth Muela Murphy Knives OLFA Ontario Knife Company Opinel Randall Made Knives Ranz Cuchillos Rösle Sabatier Shun Cutlery Slice, Inc. SOG Specialty Knives Spyderco STI Knives Strider Knives Thiers Issard TOPS Knives Tramontina Victorinox W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Carl Walther GmbH Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Wüsthof Yoshida Metal Industry Global Zero Tolerance Knives Zwilling J. A. Henckels
Knifemakers	Rex Applegate James Black Tom Brown Jr. Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Jack W. Crain Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Bill Harsey Jr. Phill Hartsfield Gil Hibben Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve A. G. Russell Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler
Associations	American Bladesmith Society Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association Knifemakers' Guild
Category:Knives / Daggers