When people see the knife I carry into the backwoods they immediately want one. The knife is called Sabertooth. I invented it during a horseback journey from ocean to ocean in 1968. That ride took seven months and covered 4000 miles through all the seasons. Necessity made me realize the kind of knife I needed. The Sabertooth at an overall length of 12 ¾ inches, with a 7 ½ inch blade, is perfectly suited for wilderness survival.

The name Sabertooth, originally two words, (Saber tooth) came from my memory of a saber-toothed skull I saw in 1965 at the Los Angeles County Art Museum built on the La Brea tar-pits at Wilshire and La Cienega Boulevard in Hollywood, California. The extinct saber tooth (Smilodon), which was a foot shorter but nearly twice as heavy as a lion, did not eat with its long fangs, it stabbed with them. It held on to its prey and used its powerful neck and shoulder muscles to pound those dagger-like teeth through the tough hide of its victim. With each violent struggle of its quarry, the long fangs sank deeper. In my hand, the knife I invented reminded me of those sharp, well anchored teeth, so I named it Sabertooth.  

~ Jefferson Spivey