SARK

For the author and illustrator, see SARK (author). For other uses, see Sark (disambiguation).

SARK
Emerson SARK
Type	Folding Knife
Place of origin	Torrance, California, USA
Service history
In service	US Navy
Used by	Navy Special Boat Units
Wars	War on Terror, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Production history
Designer	Ernest Emerson
Designed	1999
Manufacturer	Emerson Knives, Inc.
Produced	1999 through present
Number built	3,000+
Variants	P-SARK(pointed tip), NSAR(line cutter on blade spine)
Specifications
Length	8.2 inches (210 mm)
Blade length	3.5 inches (89 mm)

Blade type	hawkbill
Hilt type	G-10 laminate and 64AVL Titanium
Scabbard/sheath	Pocket Clip

The SARK (Search and Rescue Knife) or NSAR (Navy Search and Rescue) is a folding knife designed by knifemaker Ernest Emerson for use as a search and rescue knife by the US military. It has a hawkbill with a blunt tip in order to cut free trapped victims without cutting them in the process. There is a variant with a pointed-tip designed for police, known as the P-SARK (Police Search and Rescue Knife).

History

After a helicopter crash in 1999, which resulted in the deaths of six marines and one sailor, the United States Navy performed an assessment of its equipment and decided, among other things, that it needed a new search and rescue knife.^[1]^[2] The KA-BAR knives issued to the Special Boat Units (SBUs) had catastrophically failed to cut the marines free from their webbing.^[1]

The Navy went to Emerson Knives, Inc., where the owner, Ernest Emerson, designed and fabricated a working prototype within 24 hours.^[1] The Navy found that the knife met its needs, and the model was dubbed the "SARK" (Search and Rescue Knife).^[2] The SARK is a folding knife with a wharncliffe-style blade and a blunt tip designed so that a rescuer could cut trapped victims free without stabbing them. Seeing another need in the police community, Senior Corporal Darryl Bolke, a police officer of the Ontario Police Department, approached Emerson and asked for a modification to the SARK.^[3] Bolke's request was to make the tip of the blade pointed rather than blunt. Emerson replaced the blunt end of the SARK with a pointed end and named it the "P-SARK", or Police Search And Rescue Knife.^[3] Bolke wrote the knife policy for his department, the first of its kind in the United States.^[3] The P-SARK has been adopted by a number of law enforcement agencies since that time.^[3]

In 2005, the Navy changed the requirements on the SARK to incorporate a guthook on the back of the blade for use as a line-cutter.^[4] Emerson made the change on this model, which was designated the NSAR (Navy Search And Rescue) Knife and only made available to the United States Navy.^[4]

Specifications

The SARK, PSARK, and NSAR, like all of Emerson's knives, are made in the USA. All three models have a wharncliffe shaped chisel-ground blade that is 3.5 inches (89 mm) long and hardened to a Rockwell hardness of 57-59 RC. The handle is 4.7 inches (120 mm) long, making the knife 8.2 inches (210 mm) in length when opened. The blade steel is Crucible's 154CM and is 0.125 inches (3.2 mm) thick. The butt-end of the knife is square-shaped and features a hole for tying a lanyard. Some models are made with partially serrated blades to aid in the cutting of seatbelts or webbing.^[5]

The handle material of the SARK is composed of two titanium liners utilizing a Walker linerlock and a double detent as the locking mechanism. The reasons for using titanium as a linerlock material are its exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. The handle's scales are made from black G-10 fiberglass, although models were made for a few years using green G-10. A pocket clip held in place by three screws allows the knife to be clipped to a pocket, web-gear or MOLLE.^[5]^[6]

Each model is equipped with Emerson's Wave opening mechanism.^[1] The Wave is a small hook on the spine of the blade designed to catch the edge of a user's pocket, opening the blade as the knife is drawn.^[7]^[8]

References

1 2 3 4 Combs, Roger (2004), "Emerson Knives", Knives Illustrated 18 (2): 36–41, 65–69
1 2 Hopkins, Cameron (2002). "SARK Knives by Emerson". Guns magazine. 42 (1): 82.
1 2 3 4 Griffith, David (2002). "On the Cutting Edge". Police Magazine. 10 (2): 68–75
1 2 Rescue and Survival Equipment Manual, NAVAIR 13-1-6.5, Naval Air Systems Command, Washington, D.C., February 2007
1 2 Ewing, Dexter (2001). "Emerson Navy SARK: Dedicated to Saving Lives". Knives Illustrated. 15 (6): 59–60.
↑ Kertzman, Joe (2001). "NASA and Navy go Emerson". Blade. 28 (1): 43.
↑ Emerson, Ernest R. "Self Opening Folding Knife". US Patent. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
↑ Overton, Mac (2007). "Knives Inspired by the World's Most Popular Combat Rifle". Knives Illustrated. 21 (1): 16–20

External links

Emerson Knives Homepage

Knives and daggers

List of daggers List of blade materials

Types of knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boning Boot knife Bowie Bread knife Cane knife Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Electric knife Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Grapefruit knife Gravity knife Gunong Hunting knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kīla Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Mezzaluna Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Nakiri bōchō Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pocket knife Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife Santoku SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Tomato knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Warrior knife X-Acto Yanagi ba Yatagan

Types of daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh naka Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Hachiwara Hunting dagger Janbiya Kaiken Kalis Kard Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Mark I trench knife Ocean Edge Knife Parrying dagger Poignard Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō Marine Raider stiletto V-42 stiletto Yarará Parachute Knife Yoroidōshi

Knife manufacturers	Aitor Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Bear MCG Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Caber Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Cutlery DOVO Solingen Dexter-Russell Dirte Knives Eikhorn Ek Commando Knife Co. Emerson Knives Erizo F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Füritechnics Gerber Legendary Blades Global Golok Hanwei Imperial Schrade J. A. Henckels Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives MercWorx Microtech Knives Morseth Murphy Knives Ontario Knife Company Opinel Pro-Tech Knives Randall Made Knives Ranz Rigid Knives Rösle SOG Specialty Knives Sabatier Aîné & Perrier Spyderco Strider Knives Survival Aids TEKNA Thiers Issard Tramontina Victorinox Vox Knives W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Walther arms Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Windlass Steelcrafts Wüsthof Yarara Ltd

Knifemakers	A.G. Russell American Bladesmith Society Rex Applegate James Black Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Phill Hartsfield Bill Harsey Jr. Gil Hibben Knifemakers' Guild Zanjan Knifemakers Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless Bob Lum William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler

Book:Knives and daggers Category:Knives / Daggers

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