PMCI November 2021

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pmcimagazine.com BLADES: SPARTAN SPARTAN BLADES: PROFESSIONAL SERIES By Trampas Swanson Within every great civilization, there has been a pivotal blade design for its era. Whether it’s the Roman’s Gladius to the Japanese Tanto, each was created to meet the specific needs of the day. In the United States during these current times are fortunate to live in the most culturally diverse country in the world and can draw on design influences accordingly, as Spartan Blades most certainly do to create some true masterpieces! ur environment is filled with influences on Oour daily lives from all around the globe. Our situational needs can range from extreme cold to extreme heat survival as well as hectic urban environments to desolate rural areas. No matter if it’s for professional, personal or recreational use, humans still have just as many needs for an edged tool every single day as any other point in our history. If you’re like me, being fully dressed and prepared for your day involves a specific list of every day carry items. These items, depending on your area of operations typically include some sort of handgun, your personal effects such as wallet (ID, credit cards, etc), keys to a vehicle or facility (business, home, etc), cell phone, tourniquet, Israeli bandage and of course, the most important tool to mankind ever since the stone age, a good, quality knife. Depending on what my day entails, my needs for the essentials may vary as with the type of knife I may need. Sadly, despite having so many different designs and sizes of knives to choose from, there really seems to be only two levels of quality available. Either blades are cheap and made from poor-performing steel, or they are high end, expensive combat-influenced creations either production or custom made from top-end materials. 32
I grew up hunting with my father and grandfather in environments where your equipment failing could decide your sheer survival. As I grew older, I served in tactical operations and specialized task forces within law enforcement containing the same ramifications for failure. Given a lifetime of solid, real-world experience, I fully understand the importance of purchasing quality tools such as knives. For folks who know wholeheartedly what this means, the biggest task they face is finding a company that produces products can trust. For me, this company has been one that builds “knives with intent” as the Spartan Blades slogan goes. This company, one we are proud to have worked with before in <strong>PMCI</strong>, is located in my birth state of North Carolina and founded by two retired Special Forces snipers and former Private Contractors, Mark Carey and Curtis Iovito. Not only do these gentlemen set an amazing example as outstanding Americans for their service but continue their service in the form of creating exceptional fixed blade and folding knives for military, private military, law enforcement and first responders around the world. The designs come from not only “in house” creators based on firsthand experience and user feedback but Spartan Blades also collaborates with top designers in the industry such as Les George, Tu Lam and knife legend, William Harsey. Spartan Blades easily represents the upper end of quality knives in the industry with numerous awards for their designs and innovate but unfortunately, these blades are also considered expensive for the average person’s budget. As fate would have it, Spartan Blades was able to find a way to offer professionals and civilians alike great blades in a more budget friendly Spartan Blades Professional Grade series of impressive designs. By teaming up with an iconic American brand in the knife Industry, Ka-Bar Knives, Pineland Cutlery was born. In this article, we’ll look at just how this new venture came to be and the outstanding blades that make up the new Pro Grade also known as their Silver series. THE PINELAND CUTLERY FAMILY To quote Spartan Blades co-founder, Curtis Iovito, “Pineland Cutlery is named for the fictitious country, ‘Pineland’ that includes 13 counties in North Carolina, and is the place where the Special Forces Qualification Course - otherwise known as the “Q Course” - is conducted. Given Spartan Blades’ deep roots in SF, Mark and I thought this would be a perfect name to use for the new joint venture between their company and Ka-Bar Knives of Olean, NY.” According to Iovito, it all started in 2016 during a joint knife venture between Ka-Bar and Spartan Blades to product 400 EK Dagger reproductions. During this time, the two companies discovered many shared ideals in manufacturing processes and support of the armed forces. As the project progressed, a true friendship between the two companies emerged. At one point, Curtis Iovito passed a humorous remark to Ka-Bar CEO, John Stitt about the company purchasing a certain small knife manufacturer in eastern NC. For those familiar with Iovito’s impressive intellect and quick wit combined with a signature steely look in his eyes that makes you wonder if he’s serious or joking at times, one can only imagine what the climate in the room could have been with that remark. While it did not lead to Stitt stroking a Ka- Bar check to purchase Spartan Blades, it did lead to months of discussions and lawyers to give birth to a new superpower in the knife industry, Pineland Cutlery. With the formation of Pineland Cutlery with a DBA as Spartan Blades, Mark Carey continues to handle the day-to-day operations, sourcing of materials, logistics, and financial end of the company while Curtis Iovito is still involved with manufacturing, product development, and marketing. John Stitt is the CEO of both Ka-Bar Knives and Pineland Cutlery while overseeing the production of the Pineland Cutlery Silver Line of knives out of the Ka-Bar factory in Olean, NY according to their website information. With the formation of Pineland Cutlery, Spartan Blades now had the resources and manpower to offer top quality blades featuring intelligent designs and legendary quality at better pricing. Spartan Blades state the knives in the Pro (Silver) series will all feature 1095 Cro-Van steel with full tangs running through the grips and average a hardness ranging from 56 – 60 HRC. The handles will all be created from canvas micarta which from my experience offers a solid purchase on the grip regardless of the knife being wet or dry. Each knife features a well thought out locking Kydex sheath that can be mounted using multiple options and be accessed quickly and easily with either hand. The initial three knives that make up this new series are all designed from award winning designer, Curtis Iovito himself and include the Machai, Damysus, and Alala. Earlier this past summer I was fortunate to obtain a sample of each of these knives to take a close look at their design, intended application and performance in the field over the past few months. Let’s check out how each of these different blades size up! Machai – Named for daemons (spirits) of battle and combat in Greek Mythology. This is the largest and visually most impressive of the three blades. The heavy, 6.625” re-curved blade of this knife is the obvious outstanding feature of the Machia. It’s big, it’s bad and very intimidating at first glance. The smart design with an overall length of just over 10” and flat ground blade make it perfect for chopping. With our media group’s extensive work in the realm of Bushcrafting made this knife a “no-brainer” to add to my camping gear. Medium to small branches are no match for the Machia. I enjoyed at the re-curved design works well for limbing up and sharpening make-shift tent poles and stakes quickly without BLADES: SPARTAN pmcimagazine.com
Page 2 and 3: NOV2021 4 SPECIAL REPORT - APACHE K
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Page 16 and 17: pmcimagazine.com Gear on Test Chris
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Page 21 and 22: mic to a radio. These thick cushion
Page 23 and 24: DEBRIEF Overall, I am very impresse
Page 25 and 26: for exceptional durability, contour
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Page 35 and 36: Alala - Named for a Greek battle-cr
Page 37 and 38: to lighten frame. Weighing 4.5 lbs,
Page 40 and 41: pmcimagazine.com PHOENIX SUPPRESSOR
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Page 44: pmcimagazine.com WILLIAMS GLOCK 42/
Page 47 and 48: PMCI BOOK REVIEW I'd like to take t
Page 49 and 50: THE GUNFIGHTER GOES GAS! By Bill Th
Page 51 and 52: uild quality and superb components,
Page 53 and 54: Drum Cussac http://www.drum-cussac.
Page 55: Pistris http://www.pistris.com/Inde

PMCI November 2021

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