SHOT Day 3: Bob Terzuola Turns to Fox for 40th Anniversary Gangster

The big Maniago, Italy manufacturers always take the opportunity to show off at SHOT, and one of the most eye-catching offerings from Fox Knives this year is the Gangster, a collaboration model with Bob Terzuola that pays tribute to one of the original tactical knives.

Knife enthusiasts may never agree on the exact definition of ‘tactical,’ and it may be for that reason that there isn’t a single consensus among knife historians as to which knife is the first tactical knife. But most people credit Terzuola with coining the term, and his ATCF custom is one of the names that comes up most often in discussions as to what folder started the tactical trend, a trend whose ramifications continue to be felt to this day. To celebrate this legendary blade’s 40th anniversary, Terzuola teamed up with Fox for a fresh production version that benefits from the modern knife world’s material advances.

The specs are right where you’d expect them to be on a production incarnation of the ATCF (that stands for Advanced Technology Combat Folder, by the way). The Gangster has a single edge drop point blade that measures 3.54 inches in length. It opens with either a low profile flipper tab or thumb disk, and secures with a liner lock, a mechanism that goes hand in hand with Terzuola’s work and, indeed, the first generation of modern locking folders in general.

In those pioneering days, the biggest innovations were mechanical ones; in 2024, it seems that the most significant advances involve steel instead. So naturally, Fox is producing the Gangster with MagnaCut (a steel that Terzuola has also already implemented in his custom work, by the way). Whether it’s out doing hard work or merely attending to mundane everyday chores, MagnaCut will hold up admirably with its highly desirable balance of characteristics.

The Gangster will be hitting shelves in two flavors. There’s a full titanium mode, as well as one with the traditional black G-10 scales; both come with a nylon pouch with the Terzuola logo patch.

Knife in Featured Image: Fox Knives Gangster

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