Jefferson Spivey invented the Sabertooth out of need while living off the land on his history 4000 mile, seven month horseback journey from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic in 1968. It was used again in 1984, when he rode from Canada down the Rocky Mountains to Mexico, and subsequently on all of his wilderness journeys.
"The knife is called Sabertooth. I invented it during a horseback journey from ocean to ocean in 1968. That ride took seven months and covered 4000 miles through all the seasons. Necessity made me realize the kind of knife I need.160 thickness, 12 ¾ inches long, a 7 ½ inch flat-ground blade, the Sabertooth is perfectly suited for wilderness survival. The blade on a sloping 5 ¼ inch double row of biangular teeth on the spine is the most effective saw on a knife ever designed.”
The first Sabertooth appeared on the cover of Gun World Magazine in 1969. In 1976, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame commissioned a limited edition series of the patented Sabertooth knife. The Sabertooth has been featured in museums such as Randall Knife Museum and The National Cowboy Hall of Fame.
As time went on during the journey word spread that Jefferson Spivey was coming and local journalist would visit for interviews, Jefferson would give speeches and perform gun tricks at schools and churches and his Arabian horse SOL would be the center of attention. He and his horse lived mostly of the land shooting game and catching fish and the horse grazed. At times stranger would welcome him with a meal or place for his horse. He started the trip with $100 but was down to $ .25 by the time he reached Colorado. He sold a spare gun aand other items to raise money and looked for sponsors such as the gentleman that loaned him the Arabian horse, SOL. Occasionally someone that heard about his journey would join for a day or two with their horse, people would offer a meal, aplace to sleep and sometimes corn or hay for SOL.
Article on Jefferson Spivey: https://okmag.com/blog/saddling-up-making-history/
When Jefferson Spivey appeared on " To Tell the Truth" ; TV Show
The Sabertooth knife was patented and sold at knife shows in the early years. It came in 2 basic designs the Sabertooth with the saw edge and without and a variety of handles although the Polymer handle was the toughest and came in 3 colors..
He worked and promoted a coast to coast trail for horseback riding. A goal that has still not been achieved.
Specifications:
MANUFACTURER/BRAND: Jefferson Spivey (Yukon, Oklahoma)
PATTERN NAME: Sabertooth (Sawtooth). It was designed as a Wilderness Survival Knife, almost a Bowie style knife, that could also double as a fighting knife.
SERIAL NUMBER: 305
BLADE: 7 1/4” double-edge, flat ground (almost a semi-hollow ground), trailing point two-tone blade with a polished satin finish on the lower section and a tempered, Rockwell dark blue color on the top that is left from the tempering process. The blade has a 5" sloping spine that has a double row of biangular saw teeth, ending with a sharpened 1 7/8” top edge out to the knife point.
LENGTH: OAL 12 3/4”
HANDLE: 5 9/16” long, ergonomically designed, sculpted and checkered brown high-impact synthetic polymer with a bird head shaped pommel that has a hole and an attached leather lanyard. The material is what some have referred to as a "bowling ball" composite. The handle flows into a forefinger-hole ringed guard that is built into the full tang. The two-piece polymer handles are held on by brass screws. The leather sheath secures the knife with the keeper strap going through the finger grip.
BLADE METAL: 4130 Chromolybdenum steel.
MARKINGS: An image of a Sabertooth tiger on the front, underneath reading "USA/ST 305 (the "ST" standing for "saw tooth"). The back side reads "Jefferson Spivey Sabertooth" in a circular fashion surrounding a Jefferson Spivey logo.
Jefferson Spivey promoted a trail system for horse riders until his passing in 2022. If you would like to know more, I highly recommend his book "Wind Drinker" about his historic trip available on Amazon.com; Wind drinker as well as other books he has written.
link: Obituary