Al Mar Knives, over 40 years of Quality and Innovation


Over 40 Years of Quality & Innovation
Al Mar was born in the U.S.A., the son of Chinese immigrants. He served in a Special Forces
Reserve Unit and volunteered to serve in a Green Beret special operations group in Vietnam.
After serving in Vietnam, Al completed his college education by earning a master’s degree
in industrial design from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.
He went on to work at Gerber® Legendary Blades under Pete Gerber, concluding his tenure
there as “Head of Knife Design.”
In 1979, Al founded AL MAR® Knives. His mission was to blend mass production methods
with custom knife quality. At first, the majority of his knives were designed for police and
military, because of his vast experiences as a practitioner of Judo and Kendo and his history
as a Green Beret. In fact, Al’s SERE® (Survival-Evasion-Resistance-Escape) knife was the
first knife accepted for use by Special Forces Colonel Nick Rowe for the SERE Instructor
School at Camp Mackall North Carolina. And as the company grew, his designs evolved to
include high-quality hunting/fishing, kitchen, and gentlemen’s gift knives.
Al Mar was a life member of the Special Forces Association, a member of the Special
Operations Association, and a reserve deputy sheriff. He was inducted into both the Fighting
Knives Magazine and Blade Magazine Hall of Fame. Al Mar was a man worthy of the highest
respect.
Today, we continue his mission to make knives with custom-quality design and innovation.

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