Timberline Knife and Tool hasn’t been around very long but is a company that seriously wants to build the best production knives available. An impressive list of nationally known custom knifemakers have contributed to Timberline’s sporting and tactical knife designs during the first twenty years of Timberline’s existence. Russ Kommer, Greg Lightfoot, and Terry Truetel are only a sample of the experts who have worked with the Timberline design team.
Timberline’s history is still mostly in the future, since John and Nancy Anthon only started the company in 1989. Actually the company’s official name is The Great American Tool Company, or GATCO, based in Buffalo, New York. Timberline Knife & Tool and Timberline Tactical represent the divisions within the company which focus on knives, hatchets, and related products such as sharpening systems. The company’s goal is to build precise and reliable knives which create 100 percent customer satisfaction. Timberline targets the professional community of military, law enforcement, and emergency medical personnel as well as the outdoorsman, hobbyist and homemaker. The unusual models Timberline produces also attract collectors. To mark its 20th business anniversary, Timberline contracted Russ Kommer of Fargo, North Dakota, to create 100 GATCO 20th Anniversary Limited Edition fixed blade knives, handmade from ATS-34 stainless steel and polished black ash burl.
In the Timberline brand you’ll find two main divisions: civilian and professional. A few models could fit in either category, but a double-edged tactical blade can be more than awkward if most of your work is done around camp. Pick more practical models for tasks like whittling tent pegs and field dressing game. Civilian choices include the Lightfoot Pistol Grip, a one-hand opening knife with the look of a dueling pistol; and the Valloton Rescue knife, designed for EMT’s and firemen but equally handy in anyone’s car emergency kit. The Montauk Point Fillet Knives consist of a matched pair of fillet knives designed by Greg Lightfoot and based on advice from commercial fishermen. You’ll also find survival hatchets and sporting knives by Russ Kommer and tactical knives by experts including Kelly Worden and Tim Herman. You may wish you were a secret agent, just so you could carry the Herman Wall Street Tactical knife.
