Lynn Thompson: The Knife Junkie Podcast (Episode 671)

Lynn Thompson: The Knife Junkie Podcast (Episode 671)

From The Knife Junkie Podcast by Bob "The Knife Junkie" DeMarco

May 10, 2026

About this episode

Lynn Thompson discusses his journey in the knife industry and his new venture in tactical knives.

Lynn Thompson founded Cold Steel Knives in the early 1980s and ran it for about 40 years, building it into one of the most recognized tactical knife brands in the world. After selling to GSM Outdoors and honoring his non-compete through June 2025, Lynn is back with something new: Lynn Thompson Tactical Knives, available at NeverUnarmed.com. On Episode 671 of The Knife Junkie Podcast, host Bob DeMarco sits down with Lynn for a wide-open conversation about where it all started and where it is going. Lynn traces his love of knives back to wooden ones his father made for him when he was a four-year-old growing up in Brazil. That passion led him to build his first push daggers in 1980, years before the word \"tactical\" was applied to knives as a category. After breaking two Gerber Mark II blades during backyard training, he set out to design a knife with an unbreakable point—and that drive eventually produced the Tanto, with the final Trail Master design sketched on a placemat at the Pierpont Inn in Ventura. Bob and Lynn also discuss the sub-hilt fighter, the history of the push dagger from the katar to the riverboat South, and the debate between double-edged and single-edged blades…

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