MIL-TAC’s knife customers have a different plan for their knives. They intend to give them a good beating while operating in extreme conditions in remote locations. Their edged tools need to be hearty, reliable—and not very shiny. The name of the game is being durable in harsh environs.

Craig Sword’s MIL-TAC satisfies those needs. Based in Wylie, Texas, MIL-TAC has been supplying tactical knives since the 2005 BLADE Show West, where it debuted its first four models.

Sword started in the gun industry and has been a Federal Firearms Licensed dealer since 1985. He also worked in the electronics engineering industry for years at Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Alcatel and Fujitsu, along with some of his own start-up companies in the Northeast.

“Along the way, I was building my own gun parts and gunsmithing—I have built some of my own rifles and pistols,” he explained. “I also built some of my own knives in the old days. When I first started doing this stuff, I wanted to be a custom knifemaker because there’s nothing more beautiful [than a custom knife].”

He said he worked very closely with Mission Knives & Tools, cutting his teeth in the world of tactical weaponry from 1998 until starting MIL-TAC in 2005. He added that he has been heavily involved with the cutlery and firearms industries, from designers to writers to users of his knives. He has met a lot of colleagues and friends in the industry by going to shows and meeting with law enforcement teams.
“And, of course,” Sword maintained, “I just like to talk and learn, so anybody who is willing to either talk or listen, I like to engage with them.”

Even though Sword didn’t follow the narrow road of crafting one-off customs, he still stays involved on the creative end of his business. “I’ve done most of the design work if it was made here inside the company,” he noted. “The CS-1 was a design I worked on for four or five years and brought to market.”

MIL-TAC’s prime directive is “to serve those who defend us on a daily basis.” Their hyper-tactical knives mirror the appearance of military and law enforcement tools—and they serve that market very effectively.

“Knife designs must be very functional if they are to be used in harsh and rugged environments for long periods of time and still provide a comfortable grip to the customer,” Sword explained. “MIL-TAC knives are always designed with maintenance in mind, because many of our customers are located in remote locations and don’t have large quantities of maintenance tools.”

Soldiers and cops aren’t MIL-TAC’s only intended customers. Hunters, survivalists, sportsmen and a whole range of civilians also need a knife that is uncomplicated, strong and dependable to help solve their requirements.

“We’ve been written up in tactical, military and law enforcement magazines,” Sword continued, “but we also have received favorable reviews from the outdoor, hunting and camping areas as well. Our overall design and quality is also perfect for the elk hunter who has to travel many miles with a heavy load in search of that 6x6 elk.”

Ease of use and reliability is at the heart of MIL-TAC’s design philosophy. The knives are intended for use in rough terrain, so their features are well thought out yet simple and straightforward.

One of the company’s biggest sellers is an Allen Elishewitz design called the MTF-1. The folder has a G-10 handle and a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $160. Elishewitz spent several years as a Marine Recon and trained in martial arts most of his life, according to the company’s website. “These folders represent 18 years of honing his skills in the tactical knife industry,” Sword remarked.

The MTF-1 is a heavy-duty field knife, “designed primarily with our soldiers in mind,” weighing in at 5.5 ounces. It has a thick blade for added strength with high grind lines for ease of sharpening. At 4 inches long and with a drop point, the blade is designed for easy re-sharpening in the field. Also, the point is located close to the centerline, which Sword said makes the blade easier to index at night. With textured grips, the knife offers secure handling with gloves or in wet conditions.

The Sword-designed CS-1 Combat and Survival 12-inch knife with a G-10 handle (MSRP: $249) is another brisk seller for the company. The 6.5-inch blade is CPM S30V stainless steel in a satin finish. The fixed-blade field knife weighs in at about 10 ounces and was developed over six years of feedback from military and law enforcement units.

According to Sword, a bird’s beak in the handle butt allows multiple positive gripping positions, and a ramp provides positive traction for the thumb. Ultimately, it is exactly what MIL-TAC intends—a reliable, brutally tough, low-maintenance knife for military, law enforcement and whoever else finds themselves “in the field.” A ceramic-coated blade in black, desert tan or olive drab green and additional handle colors of G-10 will be available soon, Sword said.

Another forward-thinking design by Elishewitz is the TDP-1 Tactical Defense Pen. It is a writing instrument for extreme situations. Designed primarily for the military and law enforcement, it is tough and reliable, even attractive. It is a very cool tool.

One end is pointed and the other is blunt, the latter for use as a non-lethal control device. The multi-use, 5.25-inch pen has an aircraft-grade aluminum body with Type 3 anodizing for extra ruggedness. It weighs just under 1.5 ounces and is .45 inch thick.

Sword stressed that MIL-TAC is serious about its designs, and company personnel obsess about customer service. Moreover, he said he ensures that those who test his prototypes come from varied backgrounds.

“Giving a product to a bunch of 6-foot-4, 250-pound Marines with hands four times bigger than mine will get you one set of feedback,” he grinned. “But giving it to an FBI SWAT team will give you an entirely different set of feedback. We try to meet everybody’s requirements with one knife.”

MIL-TAC assesses customer feedback and works with designers to improve its knives with each successive release, Sword said. With the CS-1 fixed blade, for example, the thickness of the handle and position of the choil were modified to make the knife more ergonomic and to fit better in multiple gripping positions. Moreover, the Tactical Defense Pen was improved to make it more durable in harsh environments.

“We added a pressurized ball-point refill with waterproof ink to make our pen compatible and certified to work with the Rite-in-the-Rain® paper that dominates the military and law enforcement fields,” Sword noted.

According to a long list of testimonials on the company website, MIL-TAC knives are reported to stand up to whatever comes their way and still deliver a comfortable, affordable and attractive choice in a tactical piece. Try one. The next testimonial may be yours.

Resources
MIL-TAC
attn: C. Sword
POB 642, Dept. BL11
Wylie, TX 75098
877.MIL-TAC6
www.mil-tac.com
Specialties Tactical fixed blades and folders; also rescue knives
Blade Steels CPM S30V stainless
Handle Materials G-10 in assorted colors
Miscellaneous Designs by Allen Elishewitz, including the MTF-1 folder; also offers Rite-In-The-Rain® notebooks for use with its tactical defense pen, EOD kits, eyewear, tactical medical packs, flashlights and multi-tools; also pistol grips
MSRPs $19.99-$249