iKnife Collector
Hosted by Gus Marsh
Topic: Bob Terzuola
June 4, 2014

Bob Terzuola – The South American Influence

Bob Terzuola is a phenomenon, since he made his first knife when he was barely
ten years old in his native village of Antigua, Guatemala. This passion for
knifemaking has never left him, and after a military career where he learned
under true battle conditions what a combat knife really was, he established
himself in Antigua in 1980 as a knifemaker, specializing in the genre that he knew
the best. Passionately interested in traditions and attracted by the legends of his
own country, he chose the mysterious Mayan dragon as his logo. In 1982, he
joined the famous American Knifemakers Guild before moving to New Mexico in
1984.

All of his models, whether for combat or outdoor activities, are astonishingly well
studied down to the smallest details, including phosphate-coated blades to make
them completely non-reflective. He innovated with sheaths on thermally molded
Kydex, robust and imperishable, just like his micarta handles. Speaking several
languages fluently, he has never hesitated to travel to Europe or Japan where his
work has been unanimously appreciated, becoming a living legend as far as
combat knives are concerned, even if his activities in South America and his
relations with numerous guerillas are shrouded in mystery.

Contact with Frank Centofante, Ron Lake, Warren Osborne and Bill Pease
nurtured a passion in him for the folding knife. When the liner lock became
popular, he started out making large combat models before producing a
“cutthroat razor” model of the type much appreciated by sailors. Whenever he is
asked for his source of inspiration he answers: “Perhaps a little from the Mayan
dragon, but certainly a lot from good Bordeaux wine.”

Robert Terzuola
10121 Eagle Rock NE
Albuquerque, NM 87122
(505) 856-7077