Courtesy of Tactical Life

It seems like at least once a week we see a press release about yet another new “SEAL Team” combat knife designed by a heroic Navy swimmer. Many of these first-time designers give me the impression that reinventing the wheel is more important to them than actually producing a useful tool for the field. On the other hand, you don’t hear much about new combat and survival blades bearing the stamp of the 75th Ranger Regiment, which is befitting for real “quiet professionals.”

The U.S. Army Rangers have been in constant combat on direct-action raids almost every night for the last 15 years. They have also made many more combat parachute jumps during the War on Terror than any of the legendary World War II Airborne units. With this kind of real field experience, it would seem that they’d be the go-to troops on the subject of battlefield cutlery. It could be that they just needed to be asked by a fellow ex-Ranger, Justin Gingrich. Enter the Maximus knife, a totally practical combat field knife designed in conjunction with Ranger Hall of Fame Master Sergeant (retired) Howard “Mad Max” Mullen. Not only is he one of the 2nd battalion 75th Rangers troops that parachuted into Grenada, but he also helped design the M9 bayonet, coauthored one of the Army’s close-combat manuals and taught hand-to-hand skills at the Ranger School for a number of years. Mullen also served in all three 75th Ranger battalions and the elite Regimental Headquarters Group.

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