My matched pair of Al Marr SEREs

Trip_Wire (RIP) · 02-03-2005, 22:55

Bill & All: As I had mentioned before Al Mar was a friend & team mate in both the 17th & 12th SFG(A). When he got into the knife business I would would order a knife and he would always put extra stuff on them, for no charge. I ordered a matching set of SERE knives from him and when they arrived, I found that he had put a couple of my Hooah badges and the Regimental Crest on both knives. The folder came with both Camo and a black leather case, the fixed blade with a black leather case. RIP Al.

**Bill Harsey** · 02-04-2005, 10:00

Trip Wire,
Those pics bring back some fond memory's of Al. He was first a friend, second we worked together.

I have a story to share with you here about the SERE folder.

I'll have to do this a bit later today after I get some work done (or at least started).

I wish Al was around to tell him what knives I've done the last few years.

Trip_Wire (RIP) · 02-04-2005, 13:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Harsey

Trip Wire,
Those pics bring back some fond memory's of Al. He was first a friend, second we worked together.

I have a story to share with you here about the SERE folder.

I'll have to do this a bit later today after I get some work done (or at least started).

I wish Al was around to tell him what knives I've done the last few years.

Bill, I'll be waiting to hear that one.

Al was the one who always carried rice cakes on my ODA. We all enjoyed them and he always brought enough for all. They beat the hell out of C's.

He and a CPT Barnett, were big buddies in those days, when he was working at a boat house in West Seattle. It seems that SPD found a big cache of military explosives, in a locker near that boat house....of course nobody at the boat house knew anything about them, especially AL....

NousDefionsDoc · 02-04-2005, 19:37

Beautiful pair Trip Wire. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

**Bill Harsey** · 03-02-2005, 20:00

Trip Wire,
Your posting the pictures of the Al Mar Knives, they prompted some memories.

First, for those of you who may not know, Al Mar was First Group Special Forces and served in Vietnam in the early days of that war.

Al then went on to be what is called the father of specialty cutlery because of his skills as a designer.

I met Al many years ago, probably around 1982. I started doing some things for him as a knifemaker. In the fall of 1984 Al had an urgent request for me, he needed black rubber handles put on about 50 knives of a new design of his.
These were the first AMK SERE folders.
This project had to be done to meet a given deadline and handed to Col. Nick Rowe.
The knives came to me in fully finished working mechanisms, fully sharpened, everything except the handles. We found both a good rubber and the right epoxy to put put them on, all I had to do was fit, glue and final shape all those rubber blocks into knife handles. I had seven days to do this when the box arrived.

On day two and with knife no.1 of this group, I'd gotten some of that blue colored super epoxy in the mechanism and the knife wouldn't work so I turned it over to scrape the hard glue out. The big blade of that folder collapsed over the back of my hand and went in kinda deep. It severed two tendons.

At my request and against my Docs wishes I had the opening closed without connecting the tendons back up and I went back to work shaping all the handles to meet deadline.

After the knives shipped I scheduled the procedure for tendon recconection and had one more thought. I called the plastic-reconstructive hand surgeon the day before and asked if I could make the scalpel for the re-opening work, he said yes and just get in early so it could be cleaned. I did and then stayed awake to make sure he used it. The hand works fine now but I'll always think about that whenever I see an Al Mar SERE folding knife.

Edited to add this post script:
Following Als drawings and directions carefully I handmade the original prototype for the SERE fixed blade that Al produced that is also pictured here. I had nothing to do with designing that knife but was simply the prototype model maker.

NousDefionsDoc · 03-02-2005, 20:13

Great bit of history Bill. Accounts such as yours are one of the things that make our little home so unique.

Thank you for sharing.

vsvo · 03-02-2005, 20:23

Wow, thanks for the story Mr. Harsey!

**Bill Harsey** · 03-02-2005, 21:03

You guys are welcome.
That project was my first exposure to knives for Special Operations.
It was Al Mar who introduced me to Col. Rex Applegate. Looking back on all this, it's been Special Forces guys bringing me along since the beginning of my knifemaking.

mumbleypeg · 03-12-2005, 00:43

Sometimes the world is a very small and amazing place. It is a priviledge to know both Mr. Harsey and the Surgeon mentioned above. They are both the real deal. Like Al Mar and most of the people who frequent this forum these two gentlemen set the bar very high.

Trip_Wire (RIP) · 03-12-2005, 02:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Harsey

You guys are welcome.
That project was my first exposure to knives for Special Operations.
It was Al Mar who introduced me to Col. Rex Applegate. Looking back on all this, it's been Special Forces guys bringing me along since the beginning of my knifemaking.

Su Bell, thats the rest of the story! Thanks!

I first met Al in the 17th SFG at Ft. Lawton, WA. He and I were on the same ODA for awhile. He was a great guy!