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Hi Sal and Michael,

I'm working on a short history of the Moran models, and have a "which came first" question, if you don't mind.

Do you recall if the addition of the lanyard hole to the Moran handle was driven by consumer demand or was it part of the Air National Guard spec and then carried over to FB01 and FB02 production models? Also, same question with the black blade. Was FB02PBB planned before the ANG FB02PBBM?

Thank you in advance for the reply.

K

Dear Kissaki:

Cool question...

The lanyard hole and the black blade were both introduced simultaneously on the FB02BBM. Because of the change to the handle design for that model, the lanyard hole was carried over to the other standard models.

The origin of the project was a request from an Air National Guard Unit. Their aircrew survival vests were a modular design with removable pouches. One of those pouches was specifically designed to allow mounting of a Gerber river knife that had been chosen by USAF survival instructors. Unfortunately, that knife didn't hold up well in the field and, over time, many of them ended up with broken tips. The unit approached Gerber to get more, but was informed that the knife had been discontinued and Gerber would not produce more just for that unit.

I discussed the unit's needs with them at length and managed to get a sample of one of the pouches that the knife mounted to. After considering their performance requirements and the available real estate (the pouch has two snap-secured flaps that cover the sheathed knife), the FB02 was the clear choice. The Gerber sheath had a spring clip that attached to a sewn-on "crossover" panel on the pouch. The G-Clip on the FB02 sheath was incompatible with that, so I designed and prototyped a Boltaron panel that fit into the crossover and secured with a "daisy-chained" Dot fastener. It held the sheath to the pouch, but also offered the necessary male side of the snap to secure the cover flap.

The ANG Unit loved the prototype and, in their field testing, found the FB02 to be far more functional and durable than the knife they had. To officially adopt it, however, it needed to have a lanyard hole for a 550 "dummy cord" and the blade had to be black, since shiny things tend to get you shot when you're trying to evade capture. Spyderco's Management Team embraced the opportunity and the FB02BBM, which incorporated both those features, was born.

The lanyard hole was considered a worthwhile addition to the FB01 and FB02 designs, so it was incorporated as an in-line change to both models.

The original ANG unit was ecstatic and quickly replaced the knives in their kits with the FB02BBM. They also informed other units of the knife's availability, but ultimately, it was a small, specialized market. Once we'd satisfied the military need, the remaining black-bladed FB02s were sold for a while to the general consumer market (with standard G-Clip sheaths), and then discontinued.

I hope this helps.

Stay safe,

Mike

This thread is a huge example of how awesome this forum is. Its unheard of in this day and age that Industry stalwarts are so involved and willing to help answer questions like this. Just awesome, learning so much here!

That was real interesting. I’d love to read more such things.

Learning has occurred.

Mike, you're a gentleman and a scholar. Thank you so much. I'm incorporating the new details into the history piece and plan on posting it to the forum within the week.

K

Doc Dan wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 23, 2020 9:47 am

That was real interesting. I’d love to read more such things.

I feel like we've been lucky to have Michael share quite a few development stories lately, and it's some of my favorite content. Perhaps he could be convinced to start a weekly feature? :-)

kennethsime wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 23, 2020 10:02 pm

Doc Dan wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 23, 2020 9:47 am

That was real interesting. I’d love to read more such things.

I feel like we've been lucky to have Michael share quite a few development stories lately, and it's some of my favorite content. Perhaps he could be convinced to start a weekly feature? :-)

That would be fantastic. We’d have Larrin on steel and Michael on history and development.

Thank you Michael,
Great history! Even a monthly briefing by you from the Spyderco archives would be a treat.
Regards,
Dee

Great history lesson, thanks.

I gifted one of those black bladed Morans to a friend of mine as a hunting knife, (replacing a Buck Vanguard) and it sees a lot of work on Sambar deer. He loves the knife.