The Martialist: The Magazine For Those Who Fight Unfairly

“Stay ‘unreasonable.’  If you
don’t like the solutions [available to you], come up with your
own.” 
Dan Webre

The Martialist does not
constitute legal advice.  It is for ENTERTAINMENT
PURPOSES ONLY.

Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.

Spyderco World Trade Center Folding Rescue Knife

A Review by Lawrence Keeney

EDITOR’S NOTE:  In March of 2004, my wife and I
traveled to the New
York State Museum in Albany, NY.  Among the other material there we
saw the World Trade
Center: Rescue Recovery Response exhibit.  Among the sobering
artifacts recovered from the World Trade Center attacks of September 11 were
various items of clothing, such as holsters and other belt gear, worn by law
enforcement and rescue personnel killed in the collapse of the towers. 
A fire engine, largely intact but with its cab burned and twisted, dominated
the large room.  Under glass in one corner was a pile of half-melted
firearms – a shotgun and several handguns burned white and piled atop each
other, the legacy of evidence housed in a government office.  An
American flag, which flew on one of the towers the day of their collapse,
hung over the somber scene.

Perhaps the most poignant of the
artifacts was a plastic rescue backboard, the type of thing paramedics and
rescue workers use to transport victims.  It was red-orange and almost
whole – except for one side, which was twisted and broken as if it had
exploded from within.  I think that piece of rescue equipment, more
than anything in that exhibit, touched me with the horror and the indecency
of it all.  Men and women who were trying to help their fellow humans
were killed as they tried to fulfill their duties.

Not long after returning home, I was in the drugstore.  On one
shelf amidst puzzles and games in the toy aisle were three plastic jars of
the type used to sell small merchandise at the cash registers.  These
had once been in the front of the store.  They were filled with
American flag pins – all of them reduced for clearance to less than 50
cents each.  I reached in and bought half a dozen.  I could not
help myself.  I could not shake the memories of September 11, nor could
I help but be saddened that so many of us have forgotten so easily.

The next time someone tries to tell you that the victims of September
11 somehow “had it coming” for “failing to understand” how America’s foreign
policy somehow prompts murderous cowards to massacre innocent, unarmed
civilians, I want you to tell them to go to Hell.  The next time
enemies foreign AND domestic tell you that we are to blame for the
mass-murder of men, women, and children, many of whom spent their last
moments in unutterable terror, remember that torn and ruined backboard. 
Remember the good men and women of a good country built on ideals of freedom
and gave their lives for the sake of helping one another.

Remember.

– Phil Elmore

---

If you have ever wondered what we, as knife enthusiasts and
martialists,
could do to help the families of those brave souls who gave their lives
rescuing people from the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, our
friends at Spyderco have an answer.

Spyderco’s World Trade Center knife with its wooden
box.

Through collaboration between company founder Sal Glesser and a group of
firefighters and first responders in the New York City area, Spyderco has
designed a special folder to commemorate their service. The company is
offering a limited number of special folders that honor the men and women who
fell in New York City on that day none of us should ever forget.

Basically, the folder is a special Rescue model with a CPM S30V steel
sheepsfoot blade. This model was also chosen to debut the company’s new ball
bearing lock, which is such an interesting concept that it really deserves a separate
article. The knife is marked with a serial number from 1-2819, to
commemorate all those who died in the towers that day. The WTC Rescue by
itself would be a beautiful and handy folder for any first responder’s kit,
but it boasts at least a couple of other special features.

The WTC Rescue (top) with a standard Spyderco Rescue
folder (bottom).

A plate on the side of each Rescue depicts the skyline of NYC with the towers
in the background. It is tastefully done, but here is the special part: The
plate is made from steel salvaged from the wreckage of World Trade Center
Tower number One. I am not a man given to sentimentality, but just to touch
this small piece of steel brought forth some serious emotions that I cannot
explain in this piece. I feel the knife is done with a sense of style and
reverence of which any collector would be proud.

The special edition retails for $225 and can be obtained from many dealers. 
It can also be purchased directly from Spyderco Knives. To purchase a World Trade Center
Commemorative folder, call Pat Palmer at 1-800-525-7770. There is a
small $6.95 charge for shipping.
 

September 11, 2001: Never Forget.