Spyderco byte July 2022 - DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: FRED PERRIN

Spyderco byte July 2022 - DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: FRED PERRIN​

https://youtu.be/As-yIGMhUdQ

Fred Perrin​

Fred Perrin is a name that should be familiar to all savvy knife enthusiasts. Widely regarded as France’s most revered maker of handmade tactical knives, his innovative design style has also had far-reaching impact on both custom and factory-made knives worldwide.

In addition to his talents as a knifemaker and bladesmith, Perrin is one of Europe’s most in-demand instructors of both practical self-defense and mission-specific military combative skills—including knife tactics. Those skills, along with a lifetime of experience as a tradesman and knife user, have given him an exceptional insight into functional knife design.

Martial History​

Fred Perrin’s martial arts training began when he was a teenager. Although the Asian martial arts were already popular in France at that time, he chose to focus on his country’s home-grown fighting art: Savate. Developed in the late 17th century by the sailors of Marseilles, Savate began as a rough-and-tumble fighting system that was especially suited for use on ships. Its tactics focused on powerful, precisely targeted kicks supported by arm extensions that allowed Savateurs to lean against bulkheads, masts, and other surfaces for balance. Classic Savate supplemented its kicks with open-hand slaps, but later the punches of English boxing were added and a sport form of the art emerged. Perrin’s Savate education, however, concentrated on its old-school streetfighting form and included La Canne—a system of cane fighting based on saber fencing—and the use of street weapons like brass knuckles, blackjacks, saps, derringers, and, of course, knives.

After high school, Perrin joined the French Army and quickly rose to the rank of sergeant. Although he was a member of the Army’s regular infantry forces, his unique close-combat skill set attracted the attention of both French and Swiss Special Forces personnel. Upon completion of his active-duty enlistment, he remained in the French Army reserves, providing specialized instruction in close-quarter combat and other topics to elite units throughout Europe. Perrin also continued his own martial arts training, ultimately becoming a French national champion in both Taekwon Do and full-contact stickfighting.

Knifemaking Roots​

Following his military service, Perrin worked in Paris as a scaffold specialist, building scaffolding structures for various construction and renovation projects. That job involved lots of rope work and, consequently, lots of knife work as well. Fred soon realized that the factory-made knives he was using left a lot to be desired. What he needed was a knife that cut very well, allowed the dexterity to perform other tasks without sheathing or closing it, and offered an extremely secure grip so it couldn’t be dropped on the people below. Since such a knife didn’t exist, Perrin, who had made a few knives as a hobby when he was a teenager, set about designing and crafting the perfect tool for the job. After a lot of experimentation, he determined that by putting a large hole in the ricasso, he could place his index finger through the hole and make his grip 100% secure. Even better, while holding the knife in this way he maintained the dexterity to tie knots and work rope without having to sheathe the knife between cuts.

As he refined the design of his new knife, Perrin naturally began to consider its functionality as a personal-defense weapon. He quickly realized that his index-finger hole made the knife practically impossible to disarm and, when paired with a compact, pistol-grip-style handle, allowed the knife to pivot effortlessly between a cutting grip and a powerful, palm-reinforced thrusting grip.

Perrin’s creation was the now-iconic La Griffe (“the claw”)—the progenitor of all modern knives with index-finger retention holes. That groundbreaking knife not only served him well in his job as a scaffolder; it also attracted the attention of both his co-workers and his growing cadre of military close-combat students. As interest in his unique knife design increased, a career in knifemaking began to look much more promising than his job as a scaffolder. Perrin embraced the opportunity and hasn’t looked back since.

The Index-Finger Groove​

Although the La Griffe was Fred’s most popular design, his innovation did not stop there. His other noteworthy contribution to modern knife design—which is clearly evident in his Spyderco collaborations—is the deep index-finger choil. The idea for this feature began with Perrin’s affinity for the classic Corsican dagger. He appreciated the integral guard of that timeless design but wanted better grip security. Again, through lots of experimentation, he determined that by widening the handle everywhere except the index-finger groove, the resulting shape literally locks itself into the user’s hand. During thrusting tactics, the leading surface of the groove is just as effective as a traditional cross guard in keeping the hand from sliding forward, but much more streamlined and easier to carry and conceal. The groove also works in the other direction, offering a positive, secure grip when drawing the knife from its sheath. In use, it allows a focused grip pressure between the forefinger and thumb, providing exceptional control and dexterity.

Forging Ahead​

Early in his knifemaking career, Perrin crafted all his blades by the stock removal method. As his skills improved, he developed a fascination with traditional bladesmithing and was determined to add forging and differential heat treating to his repertoire of skills. He contacted legendary American bladesmith Jimmy Fikes and soon began making regular trips to the U.S. to train with the late bladesmithing master. Soon Perrin was hand forging most of his custom blades and heat treating them with his unique differential tempering process, which produces a distinct temper line similar to traditional Japanese blades. Years later, Fred enhanced his skills even further by training with renowned American knifemaker, designer, and martial artist Shiva Ki.

Today, Perrin is a prolific knifemaker who meticulously hand forges the vast majority of his custom knives in the rustic home shop he shares with his life partner Elsa Fantino, who is also an accomplished custom metalworker and smith. He works primarily in tool steel and reclaimed steel from shears, files, and farm implements he collects from the vineyards around his home in Burgundy, France. In addition to a broad spectrum of fixed blades, friction folders, and even balisongs, he also crafts a wide variety of hand-forged jewelry and covert personal-defense weapons. Besides his Spyderco collaborations, he has numerous designs in production through fellow Frenchman Pierre Supper, owner and operator of Max Knives.

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