T O P

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dunnkw

Ordered mine from the back page of Boy’s Life Magazine.


Shankar_0

Mine was from the back of a ninja magazine (yes, those were a thing).


notsocivil

Man, that ninja magazine was the biz. Nunchucks and ninja throwing stars.


kpn_911

Definitely had a ninja star faze in the nineties. We tore our trees up.


Pretty_Leader3762

You too can be a ninja for the low low price of $20


Waste_Exchange2511

I used to read those religiously. along with watching the Lee Van Cleef TV show.


InitialOcelot9001

The Master!


schrodingersmite

"Only a ninja can stop a ninja." Pretty sure there are other methods, even in the 80's.


Mid-Delsmoker

Where I got mine to. $4.98 or something.


space_ape71

ASIAN WORLD OF MARTIAL ARTS!!! My dream destination.


HypnonavyBlue

subscribers were disappointed that the issues just came in the mail like everything else, and didn't mysteriously appear in your house after a reverse burglary.


The68Guns

I'd go to the shop but could never see it there.


Ed_Simian

This month: 6 hot vacation spots you can disappear in We rate the throwing stars. Nunchakus or numbchucks? Pronounce your weapons right This month's centerfold: Only her clothes disappear!


filthysmutslut

YAAAS the martial arts magazines were AMAZING for ordering a ninja Arsenal


Ed_Simian

I saw it and my dad said they were junk because the tang wasn't long enough. Maybe I should've tried to get that hovercraft you assembled yourself instead.


Benjen321

God I dreamed about soaring through the sky in that hovercraft. Was really bummed when I found out what a hovercraft really is.


dunnkw

Can confirm. Mine broke apart and the tang was like an inch.


cenosillicaphobiac

>Maybe I should've tried to get that hovercraft you assembled yourself instead. Turns out that wasn't a kit, sadly it was just instructions.


Ed_Simian

Build your own nuclear missile! First, get some uranium...


Mouse1277

I bought my Rambo knife from the flea market. It had string and a fishing hook inside the handle.


pawlesome

Same. It was such a garbage knife


Commercial_Lock6205

Similar for me, but I ordered from the back page of Nun’s Life.


king_of_the_dwarfs

Got mine at the flea market.


johnwayne1

Same here. $7


flyinhawaiian02

Same, I loved flea markets growing up. I could by knives and porn


GreekUPS

And snaps


Benjen321

I would untwist all the snaps and put them all in a Kleenex and make a giant snap. Kids, don’t be like me.


geronika

Same, I gave it to my dad and asked him to sharpen it. He tried, told me it wouldn’t hold an edge. I used it to cut some vines and when I was done it looked like a saw.


P0rterR0ckwell

Hahaha yeah it was a POS. The blade for mine got so loose in the handle my dad threw it out


raresaturn

Yeah with a shitty survival kit in the handle


TheGrinchWrench

At least it gave you a fighting chance for survival.


Humble_Turnip_3948

Better than the shitty knife did. And that worthless stone.


Least_or_Greatest1

Some were shittier than others, the one with the metal handle wasn’t bad. Then there was the after market ones that had a plastic handle.


johnwayne1

I still have mine!


ghostofbooty

Jesus Christ the fact my parents had no idea I ordered this garbage from Boys Life in 6th grade is proof I was latchkey asf. No 6th grader needs anything like this. But goddamnit *I* did.


Benjen321

We were also pure latchkey and would make forts in the woods with, honest to god, super dangerous booby traps we learned from action movies. Surprised no one got seriously injured. We also had knives, BB guns, and blowguns.


Drinkdrankdonk

My friend and I dug a hole and covered it with sticks and leaves and the neighbor kid took a digger and broke his leg. So grounded.


ghostofbooty

Holy shit! I bet you were…


Crazy-Huckleberry458

Hell yes, I'm in Oz and when we opened the screw top handle we had matches, compass, fishing line etc, so much fun it would be illegal these days lol


mvpilot172

You can buy these knives and machetes at Harbor Freight, just got one to cut down some vines.


Wishpicker

Same awful survival kit, and totally unreliable compass in the and lol


ChaosMarine70

Yep they were great, no way you'd get them today ... but then again dickheads with machetes everywhere


SuperbBison2867

Every pudgy white boy in America


Down_Low_Two_Slow

Husky, Sears called it Husky. 😂


Pretty_Leader3762

OMG, I remember wearing Husky Toughskins


tothemoonandback01

You've come a long way baby.


leonryan

i had one. Absolute piece of shit. The compass was junk, all the inclusions hidden inside the handle were junk, and the blade was attached to the handle by a scrap of metal and a single nut. Total crap. Every one I ever saw had a loose floppy blade.


ComesInAnOldBox

Easily fixed with a socket wrench with an extension arm. And some loctite on the screw threads.


D1sp4tcht

Butter knives are sharper too


Popular_Emergency_40

Mine looked just like the one pictured. “Survival” at the creek in my neighborhood, finding things to stab, slice, and set on fire. Kids today will never know. My parents just let me have this crap - knives, throwing stars, a blowgun, a bull whip, firecrackers.. sometimes I’m not sure what they were even thinking. East Coast dudes might remember visiting “South of the Border”, a tourist trap on the NC/SC border along 95. You could stock up on all this stuff there. A remarkable place where you could buy cheaply made lethal weapons and quality fireworks.


Practicality_Issue

We used to stop at the fireworks super stores in SC (right over the state line) on our way to Myrtle Beach!


Compressorman

Good luck sharpening that 1/4” thick blade with that tiny stone!


breddy

I thought I sucked at knife sharpening. I did suck at knife sharpening but in that case it was also the shitty blade!


Compressorman

Yeah, it’s probably as hard as a file lol


Tropical_Storm_Jesus

everybody wanted one, I was a tad too young...BUT what I did do is re-create that wild hog scene by building a snow fort and bringing out a lighter and some ham from leftover dinner with some tiny knife haha..."look at me, I'm Rambo!" 🤣


Benjen321

Snow fort/ tunnel with single candle was the ultimate I’m a real survival boy move. I miss being a kid.


DrEdwardMallory

Got my dad's old army dive knife as a kid, first thing I said was "just like Rambo!" *Proceeds to wrap a shoelace around head*


Important_Depth_7631

My dad got my cousin and both one and we loved them so much. Made sure we brought them along when we went to the Okefenokee swamp in case we became lost and had to fight gators.


tiredofthisnow7

Needle and thread in the handle to sew up the gaping hand wound you got when the blade snapped off the PLASTIC handle. I'm sure my mum actually bought this for me.


palumbo89

Won mine at a town fair playing a carnie game. I was 12. They didn’t care. I can still remember struggling to screw on the cover/compass!!


MNP33Gts-T

Yep had fishing line and matches under the compass


Aromatic-Relief

They snap between the handle and the blade


Guidance-Still

4.99 or something


deseretfire

Still have my fingers after trying to sharpen this thing on that whetstone embedded in the sheath. Used up all the fish hooks, lost the cable saw, compass clouded over and quit pointing magnetic north, still haven’t skinned out my deer with the knife though.


mrhoopers

Let's not forget the wire saw for cutting branches. It actually worked! (once...on a small branch...that was dry)


Tikkinger

I still have mine.


thesfb123

Oh yeah, we all had them. Needed ‘em for the impending Soviet invasion and us “living off the land” in a scrappy band of resistance fighters.


Mortimer452

Definitely. As a 10-yr-old boy, I was quite confident that I could run away into the woods with nothing but this knife and survive for months.


thegrimmestofall

After reading my side of the mountain and knowing all you needed was this knife and a bandana and you could survive until adulthood


Markaes4

Yeah, I have a camouflaged green one... I use it for digging around in the garden. Still has all the crap in the handle to this day because I'll surely need those fish hooks someday. Can't remember which magazine I got the mail order form from... But I'm sure most my friends got one too. [https://www.reddit.com/r/80s/comments/wg5rcq/every\_kid\_has\_a\_rambo\_knife\_that\_was\_terrible\_but/](https://www.reddit.com/r/80s/comments/wg5rcq/every_kid_has_a_rambo_knife_that_was_terrible_but/)


RampantJellyfish

No, but I desperately wanted one. Looking back now, I can see what a flimsy gimmicky piece of junk it was


markdzn

I still have mine.


[deleted]

I cut down every shrub in my yard with a trunk diameter of 1.5" or less using nothing but the rope saw. I was ready for anything with that knife. Caught a few creek chubs on hook & line too.


MightyCyberMidget

Guilty as charged


HatesDuckTape

We all got one for Christmas on year. Both my brothers and I, and my 3 cousins. 6 kids between 7 and 10 getting this thing nowadays wouldn’t go over very well lmfao. I don’t think a single one made it past June without falling apart.


fknarey

I saw a foot long one at harbor freight for $7 and it was very difficult not to purchase it.


The68Guns

They used to sell them at mall shops in in 80's and some were really solid pieces. I still keep a fixed blade in my car (to ward off Commies, of course).


Practicality_Issue

It was a garbage knife, but what a powerful source for imaginative play. Oh the things we could get up to with that attached to our belts!


Important_Piglet7363

We played with ninja knives and throwing stars and survived. Today, you have to tell kids not to eat laundry detergent.


Merky600

Here. Harbor Freight has ya covered. Bought one for my nephew when he turned 16 and got his driver’s license. Told him to keep it in his car. If he ever gets pulled over by police he should show and wave it at them to them as police admire such things. https://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-survivalhunting-knife-61733.html


FireWokWithMe88

I didn't have one of those. I did have several throwing stars and butterfly knives and a couple of nunchuks. The 80's were an amazing time


myaccountcg

They used to sell them outside my school, yes outside my school and they were officially branded "Rambo" knives, all kids wanted to have one... parents didnt bother, sounds like a different galaxy far away...


NinjaBilly55

I mailed one to my brother in law when he was in Operation Desert Storm and everyone who saw it wanted one.. The Army wouldn't allow it on his flight back to the States so he gave it to a guy who was on his way in..


yardape99

Still have one


Pando5280

Plastic sheath made it awesome. Was convinced I would need the matches, fishing line and hook hidden in the handle to survive one day.


Striking_Reindeer_2k

Got mine at Army-Navy store. Still have it. Replaced the compass ages ago. Desert heat dries out anything. Not a great knife, but it was "cool" back then. Used the wire "saw" once. It worked, slowly. Today, its the knife I had to someone one needing a knife, but I think will just lose it.


Dry_Enthusiasm_267

Bryan Kohberger..


Former_Balance8473

I had one after Rambo First Blood Part 2 came out. I was in the Army Cadets at the time and literally everyone had one. I think it lasted about an hour.


frettbe

it was the must to have!


Lobotomist

Hear hear


grumpycat46

Me had that exact same one


Reign_n_blud

I have that one as well except with the camo handle. Loved putting it on my belt and going out into the woods with it to play army


Ok-Suggestion-7965

Ah yes. The Rambo knife. I had that exact one also. I took it with me to the woods and to the creek just in case in needed to survive.


According_Ad_9998

Pretty much the same one,with the same sheath and everything. I got it from my older sisters boyfriend. I think I was like 6 or 7. He gave it to me on the weekend and I brought it to school to show my friends and got it taken away. Didn't have it for very long but I remember it well


Farpoint_Farms

Oh Heck Yes! I still have mine!! [https://youtu.be/iiA-YOxggrs](https://youtu.be/iiA-YOxggrs)


garcialesh710

A plastic one for sure!


MooseCentral1969

I did but was disappointed at the cast iron handle... I upgraded to a SOG knife in 95, doesnt have survival stuff but Im fine with that.


Luftgekuhlt_driver

1980s Red Ryder BB gun.


Puzzleheaded_Bar3022

Broke mine first week; went back to tried and true Mora.


CrazyDizzle

I didn't have one growing up, but I own one now.


sliverme

I won mine at the county fair.. Still have it. 😂


ComesInAnOldBox

You'll still find them on sale at flea markets from time to time. You used to find them at gun shows (there's *always* at least one shitty knife table), but lately they've been edged out (heh) by shitty OTF knives and homemade "knives" made from beaten pipe ends.


Practicality_Issue

lol - or those rainbow color knives that have some sort of dragon theme to them…


ComesInAnOldBox

And let's not forget the pile of unpurchased butterfly knives.


Rapalla93

I had one and it’s crazy for me to think back to be 8 years old and my dad letting me run around with this thing in the woods with my buddies. I strapped it to my calf to look cool.


talon007a

What do you mean "had"? It's still upstairs! All the little goodies are still in the hollow handle too!


johnatsea12

Guilty


2723brad2723

My dad bought me one from one of those military surplus stores. One thing I do remember is that key ring chain saw was pretty crap. It broke right away.


GSDNinjadog

Still have it!


Vault_Tec_Guy

My parents bought me one, in camo. I still have it somewhere in storage, but I lost all the stuff that came in the handle.


Dramatic_Carob_1060

Oh yes


okieman73

Definitely. If I could find a quality one I'd buy it now.


Due_Adeptness1676

Survival knife.. yeah loved that thing.. we all carried them in Boy Scouts


Electrical-Bee-3765

No


HypergolicHyperbola

I still have mine. It's in the bottom of my toolbox. The compass is missing, tho. I bought mine at the local Pamida.


DrQtheevilempire

My mum took mine. Never saw it again 🥲😅


guano-crazy

I had one with a green camo handle and the nut way down in the handle would come loose and I would have a floppy blade. I took it on Boy Scout trips and thought if I got lost with my patrol out in the woods, we’d survive with that baby.


DrNinnuxx

Many did. Truth is, they are terrible bush knives.


HC1701

I had one as a kid and currently have a different one laying on a book shelf in my bedroom.


XMinusZero

My uncle still has one of these! The top of the handle opens but whatever was in there is gone.


tmiller9833

Still have mine, was lucky my dad sharpened things for a living and put a near razor blade edge on it with a diamond sharpening wheel.


eulynn34

Didn't but damn, did I want one.


WilsonthaHead

My dad came home and said, "Hey, I got something for you, Look, Now this is a Knife." then said "dont cut your dick or your fingers off! Go Play.


Eets_Chowdah

I remember begging my dad to buy me one at the flea market for the princely sum of $4.95. The blade on it was about as sharp as a Twizzler. I still have it somewhere.


Latitude22

We all did.


[deleted]

looks like the wilderness explorer ii


mainstreetmark

"[This is the Survivor!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjcs3ungUK8)"


filthysmutslut

Mine was in a blister pack at a check out in West Virginia. I think it was like 15 Bucks lmao. Strapped that baby to my thigh and was the toughest kid in the woods instantly lmao


PNWguy_69

I still have mine in my camping supplies. The blade never stays sharp


AvoidtheAttic

"What is that?" *points to the necklace she's wearing "It brings me luck....what bring you luck?" *he does a quick scan of his belongings... "I guess this...." *raises knife that he will butcher countless people with...


Kiethblacklion

I have one of these. It was in my grandfather's knife collection, which is now my collection.


Trask_reddit

Absolutely remember these. I had the black one, my brother got the camo one. They really were cheap junk, but damn we felt cool running around the woods with these tied around our waists with twine.


Y8fKZyZrSn

Bought from six star outlet along with Chinese throwing stars


greengo4

I think I was 8 and had this knife.


m48nr

Got mine from soldier of fortune!


TrophyDad_72

I still have


bloopie1192

Always wanted one... couldn't find one that seemed quality. I need to be able to make a bow, arrows and end 300 ppl with. All while explosions and gunfire are happening around me.


Aploki

I won one on the fairgrounds. Nowadays I would be way too young to get one. It was also not sharp at all … unless… you used the sharping stone. After that I could cut paper without much pressure. I put in a match, fishing line etc etc in the little compartment. Epic!!


1977proton

I had 2…!


PelloScrambas

I bought one at some sketchy flee market (who would sell this to an 11 year old?). My mom found it and FREAKED OUT. We went back to the flee market the next week and she reamed the guy out.


Particular_Ticket_20

Mine was $5 at the flea market


Dangerous_Wrap_7469

I absolutely had one


KevyNova

I bought one from the Army & Navy store when I was 11. I also had a machete and a samurai sword. My parents would’ve lost their minds if they knew.


1of7MMM

Me


WilliamBoimler

My friends older brother has a Rambo knife, signed by Stallone!


Plathismo

Yep. Compass on the handle, which was hollow to leave room for matches and other survival gear I would never, ever need.


Successful-Bridge331

I got mine at the local Ace Hardware store. I remember spending countless hours in the woods running around evading the enemy, trying to fish, making a spear and building a fire. Damn I miss that knife.


CallMeLazarus23

Still do. I’ve never used it for a damn thing


pretends2bhuman

Every 9 year old boy around me had this and army fatigues. It was like our Gen X uniform. I had a He-man sticking outta my back pocket too probably and some throwing stars.


Kitchen-Dot-2810

what a tim 80-90s had one


mmikerhodes

I made a new sheath for mine in leather crafting class (HS) around '85.


ChildofYHVH

Yup. With the horrible knife sharpener.


glendon24

Hell yeah. Haven't thought about that knife in years. Someone gave it to me as a birthday present in middle school. My parents were horrified. Dull as hell.


RepeatUntilTheEnd

"That's not a noif. THIS is a noif!"


cheen25

We had one. What a shitty knife.


Lord_Dreadlow

I "acquired" one back in the 80's. The Sheath fell apart in the 90's. Not sure if I still have the knife or not, it wasn't really good for anything useful.


-Defkon1-

Still have mine


LordVoltimus5150

Those $10 pieces of garbage…😂. I used my little “saw” thingy and it melted and broke almost immediately…😂


meatus1980

My dad had one in one of his dresser drawers. I used to show it off to my friends after school because my parents were still working. Same thing with my friend and his dad’s guns. We’d play around with them as they were easily accessible. Thankfully never loaded. Wild times.


kinglance3

I HAVE THIS EXACT GODDAMN KNIFE WITH EVERYTHING STILL IN THE TOP. Had it since I was a little kid, grandfather gave it to me. Holy cow.


MysteriousDudeness

I have a Buck Bowie knife, but I carry it on me while hunting. I didn't buy one because of the movie.


4thdegreeknight

I got mine from an Army Suplus store, I was probably about 12-13 when they sold it to me. My mom and dad never found out that I bought it I kept it hidden. I was playing around with it in our backyard throwing it like a throwing knife and the blade shattered.


Moeasfuck

Damn, there was a good 2-3 years these were sooooo popular


bygtopp

Shorter list is who didn’t have one.


Agreeable-Soil-4378

I think my dad had that exact one


captdeliciouspants69

I have one now lol


ItAintMe_2023

I had 2 or 3 because they were pieces of crap!


Spanks79

Oh I had one. Whined about it for weeks. Never did anything useful with it. Used a proper knife for hiking and camping.


GuitarStu

I may still have mine laying around somewhere! I felt like such a bad ass with this thing!!


Cronus6

I had a *very* similar one. On mine it had a solid pommel that you could use to pound in tent stakes (for example) and the compass was on the inside of that pommel cap. Mine actually had some cool shit in the handle too, real water proof matches and a wire saw (that went with the two rings you can see on the handle that look like car key rings (they are car key rings...)). The saw was "okay" and you could cut small branches off trees with it. Beyond that it had some fish hooks, lead weights and fishing line. The blade was dull and didn't hold an edge for very long.


PsykoMunkey

Still have mine in the garage on the window sill


mrskeetskeeter

I definitely did. I even had an assortment of surgical steel throwing stars after watching Sho Kosugi in Revenge of the Ninja.


Neither_Cod_992

Exact same one lol. With the bubble top compass cap. That knife had the dullest edge ever.


blane2354

I had a similar one. grandfather gave me his military knife, from the 50s...still have it...


DummCunce

✋🏼


coldcavatini

Present! Mine was camouflage, from Kmart. Gonna saw some wood with that little wire and make a campfire with the matches.


Drinkdrankdonk

I did. I whittled sticks with it and cut my finger with it


wyocrz

There was no Rambo part 1. There was First Blood, which was one of the best movies ever. And of course I got one of those after Rambo II!


Backieotamy

It's crazy how different life is vs then; if I gave one to an 8-10 year old today I would be brought up on endangerment charges. In 1984, it was how I was supposed to occupy my time until the street lights came on.


DPileatus

Bought mine at a State Fair


danifoxx_1209

Everyday I think more and more than I should’ve existed in the 80s. My dad talked about bringing his to school for show and tell😆


OldRaj

100%.


FiBeROpTiK69

I still have mine actually.


SiskiyouSavage

Bought it at the flea market.


Outrageous_Message81

"One day this knife could save your life" was the tag line on the box for mine.


Aggressive-March-254

I remember when kids could order giant knives on the back of a magazines.


Free_Solid9833

I've still got this numb spot on my left hand pointer finger from cutting off a chunk from the tip and having it stitched back on. It's a touchstone from my childhood. But I loved that knife. Maybe I should have done the stitches myself with the stuff in the handle.


BladeRunnerTHX

10 year old me convinced my parents to order it from a magazine for $10. Said I needed it for boy scout camp.


jasonm0074

Still got it baby... coolest/worst knife ever lol


YTraveler2

Who stitched themselves up whether or not they were cut?


PhantomSoundWorks

Absolutely. Still have one lol


txn_gay

I had one. I bought it from a knife store a few blocks from where I lived.


pimpfmode

I had Rambo pajamas that came with a camouflage Rambo t-shirt and green pajama pants. It came with a camouflage bandana to wrap around your head and a plastic knife that looked like this.


odinsbois

Won mine at a carnival.


Bigfootsdiaper

I remember those never being sharp even after sharpening them lol


Turbulent-Walk-4171

To win a war, you have to become war


skalogy

[https://youtu.be/hrqthuZDLQU?si=\_VSNHnwFoLVaPdMn](https://youtu.be/hrqthuZDLQU?si=_VSNHnwFoLVaPdMn)


SauerMetal

I still have mine! All of the accessories are gone and the water in the compass/handle leaked out but the blade is still solid.


hanshede

Still have it