Well it looks like Severtech has closed shop. The company started in the early 2000s and was run by Aaron Riley and later his dad, Dave Riley. They were known for the Severtech Spartan from the movie Spartan with Val Kilmer. The more practical Tanto blade model was the “Mil Bastard” (commonly mistaken for the Spartan.
They shut down for a little while around 2009-2010 and reopened in 2014 when Aaron’s dad, Dave Riley started making them again.
The Knife was was made with A2 tool steel, which is easy to sharpen and has a 61 hardness on the Rockwell scale. The blade was 3.95 inches long and 3/16 of an inch for the spine width. (For reference that is thicker than the spine of a Ka Bar.). The handle was made of 6061 T6 anodized aluminum.
It came with serrations or no serrations. Blade colors were Satin (Naked) Black Oxide or the Armalube Black (corrosion resistant and designed to resist rusting due to the A2 steel high cranium content.) The satin blade was a silver blade that was bead blasted with 80 grit aluminum to remove the shine. Retail was 550 for the Mil Bastard. 650 for the Spartan and an extra 75 with the Armalube blade option.
Dave was a mechanic in the Tuscan AZ area and a solid guy. I remember calling to order and he was operating a tow truck on the job. He was in his 70s a few years ago. He told me he charged extra for the Spartan for obvious reasons (the movie) but stood by the mil bastard as being the more solid utilitarian version. The Spartan was initially a tanto with the lower point rounded off. I consider myself fortunate to have one!
I’m not sure if he passed on or retired, but this knife is one of a kind.
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They shut down for a little while around 2009-2010 and reopened in 2014 when Aaron’s dad, Dave Riley started making them again.
The Knife was was made with A2 tool steel, which is easy to sharpen and has a 61 hardness on the Rockwell scale. The blade was 3.95 inches long and 3/16 of an inch for the spine width. (For reference that is thicker than the spine of a Ka Bar.). The handle was made of 6061 T6 anodized aluminum.
It came with serrations or no serrations. Blade colors were Satin (Naked) Black Oxide or the Armalube Black (corrosion resistant and designed to resist rusting due to the A2 steel high cranium content.) The satin blade was a silver blade that was bead blasted with 80 grit aluminum to remove the shine. Retail was 550 for the Mil Bastard. 650 for the Spartan and an extra 75 with the Armalube blade option.
Dave was a mechanic in the Tuscan AZ area and a solid guy. I remember calling to order and he was operating a tow truck on the job. He was in his 70s a few years ago. He told me he charged extra for the Spartan for obvious reasons (the movie) but stood by the mil bastard as being the more solid utilitarian version. The Spartan was initially a tanto with the lower point rounded off. I consider myself fortunate to have one!
I’m not sure if he passed on or retired, but this knife is one of a kind.
