Spyderco Designer's Insight Series: The Street Bowie Media

Fred Perrin is widely regarded as France’s most revered maker of handmade tactical knives. In addition to his talents as a knifemaker and bladesmith, he is also an expert practitioner and instructor of old-school French Savate and its use of street weapons like brass knuckles, blackjacks, saps, derringers, and knives. A veteran of the French Army, Perrin is one of Europe’s most in-demand instructors of both practical self-defense and mission-specific military combative skills. Those skills, along with a lifetime of experience as a tradesman and knife user, have given him an exceptional insight into functional knife design.

Perrin’s innovative design style pioneered the use of the index-finger hole and the deep forefinger choil, both of which maximize grip security while maintaining a slim, concealable profile. These design features have had a far-reaching impact on both custom and factory-made knives worldwide, yet many knife enthusiasts—and other knifemakers—fail to realize their historic origins.

In this installment of the Spyderco Designer's Insight video series, renowned Perrin explains how he developed the deep index-finger choil from the classic Mediterranean dagger and how this game-changing feature became a focal point of his iconic Street Bowie design.


Thank you for your continued trust, confidence, and interest in Spyderco and our products. We are honored to serve you.
Visit our website at http://www.spyderco.com