In 1989 and 1990 I became very interested in making knives after reading many articles about knives that were capable of being pushed through car doors and steel drums. I decided to build a knife that would be much stronger than that. To me, car doors and steel drums didn't seem like much of a test. Upon completion of my prototype, I used a hydraulic press to push it through steel diamond plate. There was absolutely no damage to the edge or point! This is credited to three factors: steel, design, and heat treat. This knife, the Model 11, was made from a 6-1/2 pound bar of modified A-8 tool steel, which I have found to be the main ingredient of its success. After making some improvements over the past few years, I found myself playing catch up with the number of knives being ordered. Some of my customers had to wait over a year for their knife!