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Edged-Weapon Self-Defense System Developed by Michael D. JanichAn
Edged-Weapon Self-Defense System Developed by Michael D. Janich
From top to bottom: A Masters of Defense Tempest with bead-blasted 50/50 blade, a Black-Ti coated plain-edged Tempest, and a Tempest coil-spring automatic.
The original Masters of Defense design team at the 1998 Blade Show. From Left to right, Chief Jim "Patches" Watson, James Keating, Massad Ayoob, Graciela Casillas-Boggs, and Michael Janich
Brewing a Tempest: The Story Behind the Masters of Defense “Tempest” Design
Any time specialized equipment is produced, it is natural to ask, ‘What would the experts use if they designed these tools themselves?’ In the world of tactical knives, specifically regarding utility and self-defense, the Masters of Defense Project is designed to answer that question.”
This simple mission statement summarizes the spirit of one of the most dynamic and innovative knife design projects ever attempted - the Masters of Defense. The brainchild of noted custom knife purveyor Jim Ray, the original Masters of Defense project combined the talents of five respected experts in the fields of self-defense, martial arts, and military special operations to produce a series of distinctive, state-of-the-art tactical knives. My involvement in the Masters of Defense project began in October 1997. Thanks to a recommendation from my friend and fellow Masters participant James Keating, Jim Ray contacted me and asked if I would like to participate in the project. After discussing the project at length with Ray, I was convinced that he was serious and decided to take advantage of the opportunity.
Anyone who has been around knives for a while has probably fantasized about his or her “ultimate” knife. Some people have a mental image of their perfect blade, while others actually put pencil to paper and sketch their design. As a certified knife geek, I have been sketching designs and making prototypes for years; but when the opportunity to commit my ideal knife to steel came along, I decided to start fresh.
The first thing I did was to pull out my entire knife collection and give it a critical look. As I handled each knife, I began to identify and note the things I liked and didn’t like about the design. I carefully considered every aspect of design and construction, as well as features that would allow the knife to be carried and deployed easily. Particular attention was paid to the knives I had carried and used for extended periods and the reasons that they had ultimately been “retired.”
Once I had narrowed the group from more than 100 to about a dozen of my favorite knives, I went out into the garage and set up a series of cutting and thrusting tests. After a marathon session of full-power live blade work, I had a very sore hand and an even better idea of what I wanted in a defensive knife.
With graph paper and mechanical pencil in hand, I set about sketching my vision of the perfect carry knife. Rough sketches slowly evolved into more refined images and after a few weeks I had a distinctive design that included everything I wanted in a knife - or so I thought. To make sure that my two-dimensional design translated well to three dimensions, I made a full-scale model with fiberboard handle slabs and an aluminum blade. Then, based on the feel and handling characteristics of the model, I made several additional tweaks and changes to the design before translating it back to paper as a final mechanical drawing.
Along with the drawing of my original (as yet unnamed) design, I gave Jim Ray a detailed explanation of its salient features. In that explanation, I cited the following specific characteristics that I felt were critical to the design:
Blade - I designed the blade in a Bowie style with a straight swedge. The blade was wider than that typically found on a folding knife to give it plenty of “belly” for efficient slashing and to create an extra wide wound channel during thrusts. The extra width also provides a long blade bevel for a keen edge and superior edge geometry. The straight swedge lowers the point of the blade to the centerline of the knife for direct transfer of energy during thrusts with no drifting or deflection. As for blade length, I purposely chose 3.5 inches since it allows legal carry in practically all jurisdictions, yet is long enough to access major organs and other physiological targets.
In its original form, the blade was designed to be almost completely covered by the handle when the knife was closed. This would allow the swedge to be sharpened to a false edge, yet still enable the knife to be safely carried in the pocket. Rather than a thumb stud, my original design had an integral ramp on the back of the blade near the bolster that served as an ambidextrous thumb-opening device. This convex ramp did not protrude like opening studs do, making the knife sleeker and less prone to snagging.
Liner Lock - The liner lock design was chosen for its superior strength. When properly executed, it also cannot be accidentally released during hard use.
Handle - The handle is tapered toward the butt end to allow the last three fingers of the hand to close tightly around it and anchor it to the palm. This shape, combined with the thumb ramp on the top of the handle, allow the hand to grip the handle tightly with the thumb extended forward on the ramp. The thumb therefore acts as a very efficient index for both the edge and the point of the blade and enables the user to employ the knife almost instinctively. The tapered butt also makes an efficient impact weapon, but is left rounded to allow comfortable “capping” with the thumb if the knife is employed in the reverse grip.
The finger groove on the bottom portion of the handle provides a functional guard to prevent the hand from slipping forward during a thrust and recesses the locking mechanism to prevent accidental release. The rest of the handle is devoid of finger grooves to allow the user maximum flexibility of grip style and to accommodate users with hands of different sizes.
The spring steel clip was designed to be mounted to the butt end of the handle to allow the user to grasp, draw, and open the knife without having to adjust his grip. In the original design, this clip was reversible for left- or right-hand carry to make the knife truly ambidextrous and facilitate the carry of a pair of matched knives.
During the developmental phase of the Masters of Defense project, Tony Marfione, mastermind of Microtech, Inc., was a full partner with Jim Ray. Upon receiving my design, he and Jim reviewed it and set about transforming it into a working prototype. Basically, they took my design and rendered it (with a few changes) utilizing Microtech’s state-of-the art construction methods (If you were wondering about the resemblance between the Masters and Microtech, now you know.).
The Masters of Defense project and the finished prototypes were officially unveiled at the 1998 SHOT Show. This event was both an immediate success for the project and an important source of feedback on the prototypes. My prototype, christened the R.O.C.K. (Ramp-Opening Combat Knife), was beautifully executed, but lacked the reversible clothing clip and the option of a sharpened false edge. Also, the thumb ramp was made concave instead of convex. After a bit of discussion with Jim Ray, I conceded that the false edge was not a good idea for a mass-market knife and he agreed to make the clothing clip reversible for tip-up or tip-down carry (on the right side only). As for the ramp, although it was perfectly functional, it was not what the dealers and public had come to expect. Also, when produced in a concave format, it looked somewhat like Ernest Emerson’s patented “Wave” design. Out of respect for Ernie and the wishes of the buying public, the ramp was replaced with an ambidextrous thumb stud. By that time, I had finally come up with a name for my design and officially dubbed it the “Tempest.”
The Tempest and the other Masters of Defense designs have been produced in several forms to suit both the collector and the hard-core knife user. The Signature Series featured the entire set of five knives with hand-ground, satin-finished blades by accomplished custom maker Claude Montjoy. This series was limited to 100 sets, each displayed in an exquisitely crafted leather-covered box made by award-winning craftsman Edd Lucas. The Commander Series was to be numbered 200-1000 and featured sets of knives handmade by Montjoy and presented in handsome walnut cases. The full complement of these sets was never produced and, although I do not know exact numbers, I would estimate that fewer than 100 were completed.
Production versions of the Masters knives boast machine-ground blades produced by Vaughn Neeley. They were originally available with either bead blasted or black-Ti (titanium carbonitride) coated finishes, but are currently only made in the black-blade version. For auto fans, the Tempest is also available as a coil-spring automatic.
I am very proud of my association with the Masters of Defense project and I am grateful to Jim Ray for the opportunity to be a part of it. Although it is likely that MOD (now a division of Blackhawk Industries) will discontinue the Tempest and the other original MOD designs sometime in 2004, MOD will always enjoy a place in history as one of the most ambitious and innovative edged-weapon projects ever attempted.